Ben C.

I filtered my search results by "in stock within 5 miles of me" and picked out a nice new Gretsch and some picks which the website said I could pick up the same day from my local store. I place the order, and it is stuck on 'processing' after a few hours, so I call the store to make sure they have what I ordered. The guy on the phone says "yep, we have the Gretsch and picks in stock on our system, just wait until tomorrow for the system to process payment." A bit odd considering I used my PayPal balance, but sure.

Fast forward to tomorrow, still 'processing.' I try calling customer service but get no answer, and wait 10 minutes to get online chat help. The guy then says only the store can cancel the order, whilst trying to brush me off. I call the store, get put through to the manager, and the manager says he can only cancel the order if the online rep calls him. I say this to the online rep, he then says that he could only cancel the picks coming from the warehouse (I thought they were in stock?!) and the store would have to cancel the guitar. The manager at the store then says he cannot cancel the guitar, the order has actually been sent to another Guitar Center across the state (why?!). He says I have to call this other store 130 miles away from me and cancel the order myself.

I call the other store, and the manager says the store only received the order 2 hours ago - even though I ordered it 24 hours ago - and the only model they had was the display model (how is it acceptable to sell a display model as new without informing your customer automatically?). He offered to redirect the order again to a store with several models, and I told him I was beyond done with this headache and ask him to cancel the guitar. He says "sure, I will cancel this for you, the money should go back to your PayPal shortly."

Fast forward a few hours, my transaction is still pending on PayPal, and I don't have my funds. I call PayPal, and they say it is on Guitar Center's end, and if they have cancelled it can actually take a few days to get the money back.

Stay away at all costs. I am a patient man, but this pushed my boundaries a bit. I chose Guitar Center over a cheaper online alternative so I could have my items the same day, and now I am without my money for a week. Everything in this company seems disorganised, and employees seem clueless.