Guitar Center reviews

Low wages and no career advancement. Sadly, for all its benefits, this is a dead end job. Noise. Lots of it. A total cacophony. To be expected in the music biz, but a lot more than is necessary. Too often some goofball cranks the "Vibe" way more than needed. And the Metal noodlers. Good grief. Get a rig for at home to try every scale at mach one. Staff with a lack of dedication and enthusiasm. I understand the low wages can cause complacency, but whatever you are doing in life should be done well and with pride. Many try hard to do the right thing, but I feel the lack of appreciation from all of management up to corporate causes this lack of enthusiasm. This is not WalMart and the fake enthusiasm is a bloody joke.

Guitar Center salespeople get some of the worst reputations of any retail employee out there. It probably has a lot to do with the way they're paid and trained. The training system is marginal at best (you better know something about gear and sales before you get there) and there is very little oversight. As far as the commissioned sales guys are concerned, I'd be willing to bet that only about 20 percent are earning above the poverty line. Of them, only about 3 percent are earning a competitive wage (i.e. enough to pay a mortgage, raise a family, stay out of debt). Store managers and anyone working at the corporate level likely make a reasonable living wage. Sales managers are asked to take a pay cut from their previous year's salaries, with monthly bonuses intended to make up the difference (no guarantee of that happening of course) Assistant managers have the worst gig of all, having all the responsibilities (time and otherwise) of a manager, while still being a commissioned salesperson. Combine that with the usual shady dealings and in-fighting that comes with salesguys on a salesfloor, and it adds up to a completely thankless position. The only reason to take the job is the commission percentage rate hike, which still doesn't make the wage truly rewarding.