Guitar Center reviews

2.8

41% would recommend to a friend

(2,732 total reviews)
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Gabe Dalporto

28% approve of CEO

24% positive business outlook

Guitar Center has an employee rating of 2.8 out of 5 stars, based on 2,732 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Guitar Center employee rating is 21% below average for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

3K reviews
2.0
Sep 5, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Easily the employee discount (musical gear at COST) is the most apparent reason to work there. Second to that would be the scheduling flexibility (they let you off for touring, etc.), and the free education from the training modules. Though there are never enough working at one time to help everyone with an issue, the store managers are generally very down-to-earth and ready to aid. The managers are pretty good at verbally acknowledging a job well done.

Cons

The scheduling is extremely haphazard - schedules will change violently from week to week and sometimes at extremely short notice. Management will sometimes forget to inform people of changes altogether. Most departments are regularly understaffed. The pay is horrible and it is EXTREMELY difficult to make a decent salary. Most employees working fairly don't make much more than $50 or so over minimum wage per paycheck. Because of this, most of the employees result to sharky and unfair tactics to undercut each other, i.e., the competition. Employees also rely heavily on selling items with a large profit margin, which usually are proprietary, cheaply made, and NOT the best item for the customer. Management live in fear of higher management, and therefore sweeping changes can be made at the drop of a hat regardless of practicality and without realistic planning. Pay is docked if employees do not meet certain sales performance ratios, like 30% GC warranty sales, etc. The work environment is also FULL of vulgarity and behavior that could easily be considered harassment, which is why I believe the company has very few female employees.

2.0
Aug 15, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

1. If your into music it can be fun to work at 2. The hours are good especially for a retail job 3. As long as the days are spread out you get off almost any day

Cons

1. The managers are horrible at communication and are never consistent 2. You get a lot of grief from customers about checking gear and receipts 3. The managers play favorites and can be unfair 5. Getting a raise or promotion is almost impossible unless you get lucky

Viewing 2635 - 2637 of 2,732 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,796 Guitar Center reviews submitted anonymously by Guitar Center employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Guitar Center is right for you.