This is a company where you are spending hundreds to thousands of dollars and their process is completely ridiculous! I had gone straight to the source to get a Korg Synthesizer for my boyfriend before Christmas. I decided to buy from guitar center instead of amazon to support a store and in hopes of getting it faster. I called the store and they didnt have in stock and told me to order online and they'd ship it to them in 2-3 business days. I went online ordered the item, added express shipping and the amount was removed from my account. Cut to 2 days later I went to check the status and I had an email saying they CANCELED MY ORDER. Weird becuase my money was still out of my account. I called and to my surprise I was told in fact it wasnt in stock and they said it wouldnt be in until Jan 15th. Imagine my surprise because if I hadnt checked my email, Id never know. Obviously I was livid. Long story short after being on the phone with a rep and explaining how it is bad business to say your items are in stock, let you order it, take your money and then send you an email canceling but not returning your money was unacceptable. I ordered a more expensive version and they only waived the 2 day express shipping. I asked why my money was still gone and she tried to tell me its not its a hold (how is that not the same thing? I cant access it, so its not back to me) She said Id get my money back for the other item 5-7 business days. Can you believe that? And at Christmas! I had to buy another item so now I have over 1200 taken from my account by guitar center. Anyway, figured Id get the money back any day, thought was in the clear and I go to check my email where they said they STILL HAD NOT SHIPPED because I needed to call now and verify the order. Are you kidding me? So if I hadnt checked my email they would have not shipped AGAIN! This is just asinine. Cut to a week later I still dont have my money back from the item ordered 5 days ago and I still dont have the new item. My advice to you is DO NOT ORDER FROM GUITAR CENTER ONLINE. There is no guarantee they have the item even though they say they do, they will cancel your order and keep your money for a week. Hey guitar center, would be real cool if you'd give my money back for the item you canceled!

I've been a customer of Guitar Centers in Oregon for 22 years. Bought a 7 string guitar from a location and I didn't get much help; I was even spending $1100 that night on my total purchases. They told me there wouldn't be any issues with it, making it seem like any other guitar (there are additional parts to the bridge and nut I asked about...). I mostly store it, I've played it twice or three times in a few months. It never stays in tune. When you try to adjust some strings it screws with others. Loosening strings causes others to keep tightening? I asked actual helpful people at Beacock Music in Vancouver, WA and a young expert told me 'no. They require special attention and adjustments or the tuning always goes out and doesn't set right'. Makes sense.

My second string kept tightening on it's own and LOOSENING it caused it to break! The tuning keys don't seem to budge the pegs at times.? I'm still paying for this guitar I can't even now play and have hardly touched.

I've used every medium of customer support and they all worked the same. Online live-chat a girl kept pushing me a phone number as a solution to everything. I went ahead and I related my issues and that I'm out all this money and he said: "what do you want me to do...". I finally said "she said you were a tech... What are you..." He said he wasn't a tech. Lol. I don't even know who or what he was it was like I talked to some random guy for 7 minutes who didn't know what to do and only kept asking me what I wanted him to do. He couldn't tell what he was or did though and had practically nothing to say to me. It's like that girl pushed me incessantly to call some guy's house.

I tried emailing as a third option and received no reply or solutions. It's like no one is knowledgeable about anything and no one cares.

As a 4th option I called the North Portland store to relate all this. (I really didn't want to try and deal with them after my original experiences there). We looked up my purchase and I was being questioned about what was on the guitar for a long time going back and forth. I kept hearing again it was like my 5 string bass or anything else... Then when I kept relating "no it's not it has this and that... I own one and 3 other guitars and have never had these issues." He asked me about the bridge and we got into this conversation about 'Floyd Rose Bridge guitars' and how they're not for beginners etc.

So now I'm hearing all of the things I should've heard when 3 guys were standing around me in December... I'm not a 'beginner' either and these are the questions I was asking that night that didn't get answered.

Literally, the phone conversation started the same way as my live conversation did months ago... 'Oh it's like anything else... No big deal, it's just like your other guitars.' Except they were all looking at it with me in real time when I made this major purchase.

Oh wait... No, now it's not like other guitars and Beacock Music was right. Lol

It was wasting my time and I told him I didn't want to waste his. I have a guitar I'm paying off with broken strings I can't afford to replace.

I'm not going to claim anyone was doing anything negative to me but the feelings I have walking away... I feel like I'm being tricked and given the run-around by everyone. And like a passive aggressive insult was handed off to me. No one gives a f***.

22 years of business. They got their money and I got a broken item that wasn't set up. I'm never walking into a f****** Guitar Center again in my life.

There are way more options online or with better, knowledgeable shops.

MY NAME IS DAVID EICKHOLT... ON THE EVENING OF APRIL 17 AT THE GUITAR CENTER IN HUNTSVILLE ALABAMA, ANOTHER CUSTOMER AND MYSELF WERE MEETING UP AT THE GUITAR CENTER TO CHECK OUT SOME EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES AND TALK ABOUT WORKING ON ONE OF HIS GUITARS FOR HIM BECAUSE I AM A LUTHIER AND A REPAIR TECHNICIAN, I DO A LOT OF MODIFICATIONS THE NORMAL TECHS DON'T DO. I WAS ALREADY IN THE BUILDING WAITING ON MY FRIEND AND CUSTOMER, MR YOUNG. MR YOUNG IS AN EXTREMELY GOOD GUITAR CENTER CUSTOMER, HE HAS SPENT HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS THERE. AS HE ENTERED THE BUILDING, THE MANAGER, TYLER STANSELL ASKED IF HE COULD HELP HIM AND HE SAID THAT HE WAS LOOKING FOR ME AND STANSILL ASKED HIM WHAT FOR, NOT THAT IT WAS ANY OF HIS BUSINESS BUT MR YOUNG TOLD HIM THAT HE WAS GOING TO GET ME TO DO SOME WORK FOR HIM. AT THAT TIME TYLER STANSILL TOLD HIM THAT THEY HAVE A TECH THERE BUT MR YOUNG TOLD HIM THAT BASICALLY I WAS HIS PREFERRED TECH AND TYLER STANSILL, THE MANAGER TOLD HIM THAT HE COULDN'T COME TO THE GUITAR CENTER TO DISCUSS SOMEONE ELSE DOING WORK ON HIS GUITARS. STANSILL THEN APPROACHED ME AND TOLD ME THE SAME THING AND THAT WE NEED TO LEAVE THE BUILDING.

FIRST OF ALL, NO EMPLOYEE OF GUITAR CENTER CAN TELL ANY CUSTOMER WHO THEY CAN OR CANNOT TALK TO ABOUT WHATEVER IT IS THEY WANT TO TALK ABOUT. PEOPLE MEET UP AT THE GUITAR CENTER JUST TO HANG OUT AND TALK ABOUT ALL KINDS OF THINGS BECAUSE THE GUITAR CENTER HAS ALWAYS HAD THE VIBE OF BEING A COOL PLACE TO HANG OUT. WE ARE NOW TOLD THAT WE CAN'T DO THAT I ASSUME AND THAT OUR PRIVATE BUSINESS IS NO LONGER OUR PRIVATE BUSINESS. A GOOD MANAGER WOULD HAVE TOLD THE CUSTOMER THAT HE RESPECTS HIS DECISION AND THAT NO MATTER WHO HE DECIDES TO WORK ON HIS GUITARS, HE HOPES THAT HE GETS WHAT HE IS LOOKING FOR AND THAT HE APPRECIATES HIS BUSINESS ANYWAY, ESPECIALLY KNOWING MR YOUNG AND THE FACT THAT HE IS A REGULAR CUSTOMER. I USE TO WORK AT GUITAR CENTER AND THE CURRENT MANAGER AND DISTRICT MANAGER ARE THE MAIN REASONS I LEFT. THEY LIED TO ME AS AN EMPLOYEE AND DO NOT PUT CUSTOMERS FIRST. A GOOD MANAGER WOULD HAVE ALWAYS PUT THE CUSTOMERS BEST INTEREST FIRST KNOWING THAT IF HE TREATED THE CUSTOMER WELL, HE WOULD ALWAYS BE ABLE TO DEPEND ON HIS BUSINESS, MAYBE NOT FOR TECH WORK, BUT DEFINITELY FOR EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES.
AS FAR AS I KNOW, CORPORATE HIGHER-UPS MAY HAVE TOLD HIM TO TREAT CUSTOMERS LIKE THAT, I DON'T KNOW BUT I DEFINITELY KNOW THAT TYLER STANSELL'S ATTITUDE AND DEMEANOR WAS VERY RUDE AND ABRASIVE AND VERY DISRESPECTFUL... NOTHING LIKE HOW A MANAGER SHOULD ACT AND RESPOND. I WOULD HOPE THAT GUITAR CENTER WOULD WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR THE CUSTOMERS NO MATTER WHAT AND ALWAYS PUT THEM FIRST.
I BELIEVE THAT GUITAR CENTER SHOULD VERBALLY AND FORMALLY DISAPPROVE OF MR STANSELLS ACTIONS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE PRACTICES. I ALSO BELIEVE THAT THE CUSTOMER, MR YOUNG SHOULD GET AN APOLOGY AND GUARANTEED TO NEVER BE TREATED LIKE THAT AGAIN. AS FOR ME, I'VE BEEN TREATED WORSE BY BETTER PEOPLE SO I JUST BRUSH PEOPLE LIKE THAT OFF AND DON'T CARE ABOUT HIS OPINION ABOUT ANYTHING BECAUSE IF HE DID APOLOGIZE, I KNOW IT WOULDN'T BE REAL AND HE WOULD BE DOING IT JUST BECAUSE HE IS TOLD TO SO.
GUITAR CENTER HAS JUST BEEN GRANTED ANOTHER BANKRUPTCY CLAIM SO I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY WOULD WANT TO LOSE CUSTOMERS ON PURPOSE. THAT PARTICULAR GUITAR CENTER FIRED THE BEST MANAGER THEY EVER HAD LAST YEAR OVER SOME RIDICULOUS STUFF... DUMB... DUMB... DUMB.

ANYWAY, I WILL POST THIS LETTER ON AS MANY PLATFORMS AS I CAN IN HOPES THAT SOMEONE WITH SOME SENSE AND RESPONSIBILITY WILL ACTUALLY GIVE A DAMN AND DO THE RIGHT THING.

Once upon a time I worked at Guitar Center. I was trained in customer service pretty well and felt compelled to learn the products and add-ons not just for my own sales numbers but for the benefit of the customer as well. It appears as though the training program I was put through is no longer in service because the service is lackluster at best now. I went to guitar center to get a loop pedal. I knew which one I wanted (The Boss RC-1) and was hoping to get in and out. Here are areas to improve in, take notes guitar center employee's, because if I had been confronted with a sales associate who gave a lick about me OR knew the products at all I would not be writing this review.
1. No one approached me to help for around 10 minutes. I get the employee's are busy with calls and customers and what not but no one even acknowledged me. All it takes is 2 seconds - "hey man, sorry we're real busy with phone calls and customers right now but we see you and we'll help you out ASAP." Simple and effective.
2. I knew more about the guitar products I was buying. This wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact that I'm a drummer. I told the sales associate what I wanted and the first words out of his mouth were "I think you should get this pedal (pointing to the RC-3 which is twice the cost of the RC-1) It has way more recording time. The one you're looking at only has like 30 seconds." If I hadn't known better I probably would have listened to him and spent way more than I wanted to OR needed to. The RC-1 has 12 minutes of recording time. Associate said 30 seconds to try and upsell. He didn't know the product and he pulled a pretty shady tactic to try and get me to spend more money. Gross.
3. In the area where he COULD have gotten me to spend more money he completely failed. Instead of thinking about add-ons I might need he went instantly to "I really think you should buy the protection plan." From working at Guitar center I know this can be hit or miss and I NEVER get it. The problem is I needed an adapter, a guitar cable, some picks, a chord book, NONE of which he suggested at all. All of that is forgivable EXCEPT the power adapter, that should have been the FIRST THING he suggested! I was about to check out when I was like "wait, this doesn't have any adapter does it?" Ooops. Thanks for nothing sales associate.

Guitar Center has their work cut out for them if they want to stay the nations leading musical instrument supplier, because I feel like every time I go there the customer service is worse than the time before. The only reason they're getting 2 stars is because they have a great selection.