Members billythegoat Posted December 27, 2012 Members Share Posted December 27, 2012 ...that you know more about the products in the music shop then the guy selling them to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted December 27, 2012 Members Share Posted December 27, 2012 Yes, quite often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted December 27, 2012 Members Share Posted December 27, 2012 I used to ask them questions I knew the answer to just so I could laugh to myself at their ignorance. I also have helped customers frustrated by uneducated staff, helped them pick out their gear, and then walked them to the sales desk. I should have gotten commission. A couple times the people thought I was an employee, lol. But in the GC workers' defense, a lot of those guys are just slumming it in bands, just working at the shop to try and pay rent. They might not be as interested as we are in the specs of everything, and they don't get paid enough to warrant the time it takes to learn everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kit_strong Posted December 27, 2012 Members Share Posted December 27, 2012 Most definitely. But this applies to pretty much anything else I buy too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted December 27, 2012 Members Share Posted December 27, 2012 Originally Posted by kit_strong Most definitely. But this applies to pretty much anything else I buy too. Lol I research just about everything I buy quite thoroughly, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted December 27, 2012 Members Share Posted December 27, 2012 Yes, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D Carroll Posted December 27, 2012 Members Share Posted December 27, 2012 Yep, I also try to be informed before spending more than $20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members profgalen Posted December 27, 2012 Members Share Posted December 27, 2012 One time in Sam Ash I asked A young guy working in guitars for a set of strings with a .010 first string and a .052 sixth string. He informed me in a very condescending tone that the first string was the heavier string closest to your head and the sixth string was the thinnest closer to your feet. I thanked him for setting me strait. I told him that for 35+ years of playing guitar I had this backwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billythegoat Posted December 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 27, 2012 Ya I didn't think I would be alone on this. Almost every time I go down to pickup something I know they have. I get the usual "Can I help you?", so I say what I am looking for and more often then not they have no idea what I am talking about. "One second sir I will check the computer!", then they are gone before I can tell them they are standing directly in front of what I want. It happened with my Squier Jaguar Bass a little while back, my Holy Grail and the Snark I just got. At least they are friendly and the prices are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ralph onion Posted December 27, 2012 Members Share Posted December 27, 2012 Went to GC in Lakeland Fl. and the rep told me Martin never made a D-15! Well I had one. He was a young kid and he {censored}ed himself out of my buying a D-35. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted December 27, 2012 Members Share Posted December 27, 2012 fwiw, I don't see anything "wrong" with this. Yes, it's nice to find knowledgeable sales people. But being an informed buyer is where it's at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeanoBoy Posted December 28, 2012 Members Share Posted December 28, 2012 Yes, most of the time. When I bought my Kemper the dude in the store didn't even want to show it to me. He had no idea what it was, the regular salesman wasn't there and he was afraid it would get damaged as he looked up the price and got scared. Finally another salesman told him 'Dude, you're a salesman, Sell.' I gave him an education as we fumbled thru the accompanying book together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billythegoat Posted December 28, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 28, 2012 Maybe I am taking it a bit personal with this store in particular. I have tried to land a job there numerous times but without retail experience they don't care how much you know about gear.I like getting used stuff from this place. They usually don't give people much on trade in items and the flip them for only a few bucks more than they paid. I miss the little M&P shop where I used to live. Ex rocker turned into a cop/guitar shop owner. He knows loads of stuff but often tries to sell you a bunch of stuff you don't need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted December 28, 2012 Members Share Posted December 28, 2012 Yep - same for me. It's not surprising though. I've got a post-grad qualification and 25 years of work experience, so there's likely to be a comprehension gap. Not always, but usually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted December 28, 2012 Members Share Posted December 28, 2012 Actually, one of my pet peeves is heavily qualified people that beat up on retail staff as if they should have a Phd in the field they work in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billythegoat Posted December 28, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 28, 2012 They should have some sort of education on the products they are peddling. To the best of my knowledge, I believe they don't get paid commission. It seems to have sucked any drive out of having any sort of responsibility for the task at hand. Now for the most part they are just money handling till jockeys. There may be some sort of incentive to out sell your work mates that I don't know about. I have left that particular establishment more than once empty handed and did my business elsewhere because of the poor help from the staff. Which leads me to believe there is nothing in place. Maybe this is a product of having good prices. There is no meat left on the bone for the business to pay for competent staff. Now that I think about it, it's all OUR fault Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Special J Posted December 28, 2012 Members Share Posted December 28, 2012 Almost always, especially at the big box stores. The higher-end/boutique type stores tend to have very knowledgeable staff though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xrleroyx Posted December 28, 2012 Members Share Posted December 28, 2012 I almost got hired at my home GC, but it would only be for the holidays so they had to pass. Training and such.I usually SELL gear when I'm at GC. Sold 3 guitars and bass in 2 hours when I was just jamming there.I like the 2 music shops by me: the Detroit GC and Huber and Breeze.They both let me play some really cool high end gear because I treat the products and the people there with respect. Also helps I've been going there for almost 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted December 28, 2012 Members Share Posted December 28, 2012 Being the age of information, if you have half a brain, you really should have thoroughly researched anything you buy. It's simply an informed decision making process. I don't expect retail outlets of any sort to be experts on what their selling. I do however, like to be treated respectfully and if so, will return to do more business. I learned a long time ago being an asshole doesn't get you very far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Flatspotter Posted December 28, 2012 Members Share Posted December 28, 2012 You should know more about the product you're interested in than the guy selling it to you. Look at the number of products in the average music store. Think about how much time you spend researching something you're thinking about buying. Multiply that by the number of products in the store. If you were the employee, would you invest that amount of time? I sure as hell wouldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billythegoat Posted December 28, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 28, 2012 Originally Posted by Flatspotter If you were the employee, would you invest that amount of time? Yes. I don't see how anyone wouldn't see it as an asset. I do agree that you should know as much as you can about the particular item you are purchasing. It is just nice to actually have help when they ask, "Can I help you?". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billythegoat Posted December 28, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 28, 2012 Originally Posted by Flatspotter If you were the employee, would you invest that amount of time? Yes. I don't see how anyone wouldn't see it as an asset. I do agree that you should know as much as you can about the particular item you are purchasing. It is just nice to actually have help when they ask, "Can I help you?". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 3 Headed Moses Posted December 28, 2012 Members Share Posted December 28, 2012 Originally Posted by billythegoat ...that you know more about the products in the music shop then the guy selling them to you? I work at a guitar shop. I do sales and repairs here. So, no, I don't find that to be the case. Granted, there are some guys who've been around longer, done more, and therein know more than me. In which case I'm completely respectful and open myself to their knowledge and experience. But mostly, people rarely know more about the stuff in here than I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted December 29, 2012 Members Share Posted December 29, 2012 There's a guy near here that builds ukuleles and claims to be an expert. I finally went to the shop to check out his stuff and he's never heard of Aquila strings or a low wound 4th string. He acted like I was crazy for suggesting that such a thing even existed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bbreaker Posted December 29, 2012 Members Share Posted December 29, 2012 Originally Posted by billythegoat ...that you know more about the products in the music shop then the guy selling them to you? Sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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