Great environment, until customers walk in the store. - Sales Associate Guitar Center Employee Review

4.0
Jan 7, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Discount Connections with other musicians Promotions are easily attainable Very relaxed environment; they feed off of weird/quirky personalities Sometimes famous musicians come in the store The management at the store I work at are phenomenal and are always willing to help.

Cons

Pay- if you're on the sales floor you're working for hourly plus commission Customers can either be very arrogant, they are musicians after all, or incredibly clueless. Example: "I am looking for strings for my brother, but I don't know what brand he likes, the size, or the kind of music he plays.....or if he has an electric or acoustic...can you help me?" The goals the management sets, whether it be sales, pro coverage, or follow ups, can be unreachable if you are new and don't have clientele. If you are female...prepare to be offended by both customers and co-workers daily.

Explore other reviews about Guitar Center

5.0
Jul 16, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Management takes good care of you

Cons

No complaints that I can think of

1.0
Apr 21, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Plenty of capable individual contributors doing real work. - The brand and the business itself are legitimate — the problems are organizational.

Cons

- Senior leadership is politically driven rather than outcome-driven. Strategic initiatives stall out, and leaders spend more energy assigning or shifting blame than actually diagnosing and fixing problems. - Some parts of the org operate on deference to the top. Honest assessments get softened into whatever narrative leadership wants to hear, which makes real cross-functional work difficult. - Senior leaders do not consistently advocate for their own teams. When things get political, self-preservation takes precedence over backing the people underneath, and capable managers end up exposed.

2
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