Guitar Center

This store is absolutely incompetent when it comes to customer service. What should have been a short visit took half an hour and I walked out without making a purchase. Word of advice to anyone considering a used piece of equipment here; ask if it’s available to take home the same day because there’s a law requiring the product to be held at the store until a certain date. The employee I dealt with initially failed to inform me of this and his coworker nearby did little to assist him until he had found out that I wasn’t able to complete the transaction because of this law. I’m sure I’m not the first customer to run into this situation but it makes no sense that they should put it out on display until it’s available to take home or give proper notification in regards to that.

I have purchased at this location a few times in the past. Those times, the items I needed were accessible on the floor. A couple of cables here. A capo there. A midi keyboard.
I went there on a Saturday afternoon — not that many customers. There were a few, but I’ve seen them really busy before and I was prepared for a wait if I needed help. It was pretty light customer wise so I figured I would be in and out really quick. Or so I thought. I went to the pro audio section to check out a dj controller. When I saw that they had what I wanted, I asked a clerk for some help. He said to give him a second. Fair enough. I waited. And waited. There was a customer being attended to at the pro audio counter so I waited for them to finish. Well, when they were done, the guy at the counter walked out. He did turn to me for a split second then turn around and made his way to the guitar section counter. So I waited some more. 20 minutes. All alone in the pro audio section. I walked up to the other counter and there were 3 guys on the counter just chatting it up. I told them I needed help and have been there quite a while. I asked for the store manager and got a «well, so and so is sort of a manager» response. I felt like I was being talked down to. Not a good thing to do as I was already frustrated. So I said forget it. As I was walking out, I remembered an email from the store manager Ashley, so I turned around and asked to speak to her. Only then did I have 5 people decide to help out. She’s at the corporate office, someone said. I stayed long enough to check out the controller but decided that if a place is going to treat me badly, they aren’t worth doing business with. I’ve had great experiences with Guitar Center in the past. I’ve had help even when those stores were packed. I don’t think I’ll visit this store again. Read the other reviews. I should have.

I have been taking lessons for Guitar here for a month now and have purchased a few items. I am very happy with the customer service and lessons. Everyone is very laid back but nice and helpful. They have lessons for guitar, keys, mandolin, drums, ukulele, etc. The prices are decent but I didn’t look around much because this location/​times available was very convenient. They send emails with specials frequently and they give you a 10% off when you sign up for classes for any supplies/​instruments you may want to buy.

This was my first time going here, and I won’t be back. I found a used guitar and amp with a price tag within my range, flagged down an employee who set it up to try out. I was going to buy it, but was told it was still being checked out to see if it was stolen and couldn’t leave the store.
«Well, do you have anything else for around this price?»
«No,» said the employee.
Well, I found another guitar and amp, but it was high enough near the ceiling, and we’d need a ladder. No employee was in site, frustrated, we left.
Never again. I ended up finding what I needed at Bookman’s.

I went to this store last thursday to buy strings. The employees outnumbered the customers 3 –1. Not one employee said hi, bye, kiss my ass for at least 20 min. I was ready to say piss on it then finaly a young dude with long straight blonde hair offered to help me. Very friendly and helpfull. All in all, this stores customer service sucks. Ill go to Milanos next time.

I do not like this location do to the poor consistency of customer service and care. I recommend driving the distance to the tempe location. It will probably save you time. Here is a second time unsatisfactory experience relating to the staff.
Walked in and went straght to where we would be looking for exactly what we wanted, the disc jockey area, to look at amps. We found what we wanted.
We waited.
We looked at stuff, played with stuff they had out then after a good 15 minutes hunted down an employee. He helped us, but his mannerisms seemed to say «I’ll help you because I’m required to.» The display was the only amp they had of the model. The associate said he would remove it and get it to us. He then went to the other side of the store and talked with the other employees for over 30 minutes. We kindly assumed he was ‘busy’ and played on the pianos while we waited for him to do a very short task of removing a couple screws to sell us an amp.
When we started walking towards him to see what’s taking so long. He walked past us with a bag of screwdrivers to remove the amp. He got it out in less than a couple minutes and had it on the counter. (Side note: no open box discounts could be given and only the power cord was given. The manual couldn’t be found but he noted it can be found online.) He agreed to test the amp since it wasn’t plugged in while on display. While he’s taking his time to prepare the cords to be plugged in, he alerts us that he’s leaving and someone else will ‘take over’.
We wait 6 or 8 minutes and then go get the guy who was supposed to take over while he arranges things at the register. This employee was professional. He addressed the rest of our Guitar Center experience quickly and like he actually cared.
Unfortunately, his good service doesn’t hide his co-worker’s bad service. It should not take an hour to buy an amp we had selected within five minutes of entering the store.

My husband and I were so excited to purchase a ukulele and came in happy and ready to buy… Except nobody said hello, nobody asked if we needed help, nothing. There were groups of employees just waiting around and talking and no one helped us even after we asked a question. We are really disappointed and ended up leaving without buying and purchasing at a different store. I’d give it 0 stars for customer service if I could.

On 3 different days I called and asked 3 different employees if they sold Floyd Roses. 2 had to check the computer to find out what one was, and all three said they don’t sell them. I was in the area a couple days later and went in. Sure enough less than 5 feet from the register they had 4 different styles of them hanging there for sale. I can deal with the constant hovering and ignorance to the fact you just watched me tell 2 other employees I didn’t need any help before you sauntered over. But you work at a place named «Guitar» Center. I seriously doubt any one other than the repair guy could tell you the difference between a humbucker and a potentiometer. Between this one and the one off the I-​17 I can see why people hate Guitar Center so much. At least the Scottsdale and Tempe ones are Okay.

Jacob Campbell is a badass, and I told him so to his face. First, he wouldn’t help me move the ladder over to the sweet Schecter bass on the second story. Then he quizzed me and my girlfriend about what the low string on the bass was, since it was a five string. He was knowledgeable about the instruments and equipment he plugged us into.
His enthusiasm to help us never wavered. All our questions were answered and we were very attended to. (Too much, Jacob? Stop hovering! … Kidding.)
When it came time to check out he again helped us right along making a couple of jokes about how he wanted us to pay more. See, the Schecter was marked way down, so we got it at a bargain. Jacob was then helpful enough to price match the pack of bass strings we bought, too.
While he was helping us out, he was also helping one of his fellow employees in the same checkout area, punching in codes, authorizing, etc. He was very attentive to what was going on around him and to the people whom he was serving. Actually, he was serving not only us but his work-​fellow as well. This is a man who can handle responsibility.
He said he’s been there since the grand opening of the store. I like to see the kind of passion, friendliness and joviality in folks who serve me. I’m pleased.
This was the first time I’ve been to this Guitar Center, and really, this review is for that one experience, dealing with basically one very helpful, responsible, eccentric employee. (You’re a badass, Jacob. Thanks for your help.)
Cheerio.

Incompetent and greedy, it’s unbelievable how a store can be so disrespectful to their customers. Buy/​sell any equipment you want or don’t anymore online or in person, it’ll save you the time and money

I was happy to see this place go in so close to my home. Recently I went in to buy new strings for my guitar and I asked if they had someone who could put them on because it takes me forever and I do not think I put them on very well. I was told sure the guitar tech could do that but does not come in till 9 a.m. So I waited… When he finally came in and no one told me he arrived and I was the only one in the store. Then the guy wanted $ 15 to string and tune it. This is probably Guitar Centers fee but he seemed really cocky and annoyed that I even asked. Someone should have told me the fee for this before I waited an hour. I think I will stick to Milano Music on Main St for now on. Guitar Center is just a retail chain store that wants a sale with no customer service. The end.

Great experiences every visit, they always have what I want and the staff is friendly.

I have always and will be pleasantly surprised with the store. Every time I going to the store I get excellent customer service and being in the customer service industry myself as a rare thing to find. It feels good knowing to go in there only after a few times and some associates are you remembering my name they help me out give me pointers and astutely to every purchase that I’ve always been satisfied with. I even had to deal with the store manager wants are in regards to the situation from the other guitar center and she unwillingly without me even asking offered to take her the situation and resolve the issue. Yes it may not be as a big as a store the other ones but I will always keep going back to this

Hey Super Star, get to Guitar Center right now! Plug in an axe and crank that amp. Every kid is there looking to be discovered by secret talent scouts, so don’t get left out!
I’ll brave the annoying comissioned sales folks on my own after you’ve been signed to a major label (or just lost interest and gone back home for mom’s pot roast).
Typical selection of new equipment. Small and disappointing selection of used equipment. Service is typical of an untrained sales staff– friendly but clueless.
This is what you get when you let economics majors run your music business.

First of all… I am a HUGE guitar center fan for both instruments and their sound equipment. I was os excited when I heard they were coming to the east Valley and went to the store the second day after they opened. I was there for over an our checking out all the details, while smaller than the Tempe location, it seemed fine to me. Then I went back to make a purchase.
I was looking at guitars and listening to the salesperson take care of another guy in the store. He was all about the deal… saying things like «hey man, you never pay full price at Guitar Center» and «let me go talk to the manager and see if I can get you a deal.» I was excited for my turn to «cut a deal» only to be disappointed by the sales guy that helped me. He pretty much snubbed me. I have no idea why? He wasn’t even interested in talking about the guitar I wanted to buy, much less any special deal.
I thought i would give it awhile and go back… after all it is a brand new location. After waiting for a couple of months… I went back and was treated even worse. I’ve been buying strings etc. there because of convenience… but I’m not sure I’d buy anything expensive due to their poor customer service. Too bad… I love the Tempe location.
The bright spot in my experience was that one of their guitar teachers was out on the floor playing and he was amazing. I talked with him about a couple of guitars and he was more help than the sales staff!

Like others in the SE Valley, I was excited to see a new Guitar Center open up close to home. However I was disappointed when I set foot in the store.
This particular location should be called «Guitar Center Jr.» The store is small and the selection very limited compared to other GCs, particularly the one in Tempe. The keyboard section was woefully lacking in demo models (no Yamaha Motif or S-​90? Seriously??). Same was true for rest of the place.
I had limited interaction with the staff but those I did briefly speak with seemed friendly enough.
I can see that my visits to this particular store will likely be limited to merely picking up accessories like mic cords, etc. Too bad – I was really hoping for another location like the one on Eliot Rd.

Guitar Center comes to the east valley! I have to say I have been so excited to know that a Guitar Center was going to be so close to my house. I have been going to the Tempe location for years. I am hoping that soon I can add a few more stars in a future update. Today was a BIG disappointment. I think the new employees need way more training.
Pros: A Brand New Guitar Center in the East Valley. A large selection of amazing guitars, drum kits and a variety of other instruments.
Needs Improvement: I interacted with over 7 employees and I have no idea who they were, they never introduced themselves or even welcomed me to the new store. The Tempe store was a great place to go, there is just a cool welcoming vibe. I sure hope that this location grows into that type of place. The employees are new and they are just learning, they were not very up on what grand opening specials they had and then when I asked about a special on some software, (Like what exactly does the software do) multiple employees had no clue.
This is just a young store and I hope that it will get better over time, right now, if you are someone who has been to the tempe store, the new mesa store is a bit different.
As someone in Pro Audio, I was really excited to see how they were going to showcase the PRO equipment. I don’t think that the corporate office really thought this through. There is no room for monitoring speakers, the pro audio section seems like an after thought by corporate. I can’t believe that they do not have a separate room for DAW demos like in Tempe. They have one for the drum cymbals, nothing for the PRO equipment. I think they really missed the mark.
I was really hoping that this would become a place where they would have Avid Demo nights and special clinics. It does not look like that is going to be the case.
Like I said before, I will be back and I hope that can add a few stars, today 2 is all that I can give.