Now, witness the power of this fully ARMED and OPERATIONAL battle station... - Anonymous employee Music & Arts Employee Review

2.0
Jul 30, 2011
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You're considered to be more than just a salesperson. They compensate you as such with a Salary + Commission structure (which isn't a half-bad salary considering it's retail). If you're a top seller, the commissions can usually be pretty lucrative. Employee discount on gear can be pretty good depending on what you're looking for. Your coworkers and teachers in the store are generally good people to get along with, and you can make a lot of new friends while you're there.

Cons

You're considered to be more than just a salesperson. Expect to spend a lot of time not making sales (and thereby your commission), but dealing with lesson issues, customer issues, billing issues, repair issues, etc. Corporate also takes a lot of very questionable approaches, often rushing out new "initiatives" nearly daily without a lot of thought as to how it will affect the customer experience. These initiatives are usually forgotten within a few days, as new ones are quickly rushed out to replace them. Most of the time, the store is constantly understaffed. You will likely be alone often, dealing with 5-6 customers as well as 2-3 phone calls at once, leading to always a feeling of being overwhelmed by idiocy, as most customers are at least a 15-20 minute ordeal, no matter what they're in the store to do. You will also grow fond of an immobile and stark longevity. Senior management often takes a very confusing approach when hiring/promoting new store managers, often overlooking top performers for either people from a different industry or just taking the easy route and promoting mediocre talents from within. These people often get burned out quickly (usually within months) and are then replaced by the same. Also, expect to be constantly getting sweaty while moving things. District Managers seem to think that the best way to manage is to make sure employees are moving things from one side of the store to the other, only to change their minds again three days later. This only leads to confusion, as if you actually manage to have a day off, you come back to find out you have no clue where anything is because it's been moved in your absence. Speaking of days off, don't expect to get them when you need them. Oh, and don't expect for it to actually be a day off, as usually a store or district-wide meeting will be scheduled during that time. Full timers (as well as more unlucky part-timers) can sometimes be expected to work 7-9 days in a row, again, often alone due to understaffing. This leads to a lot of burnout and exhaustion, as well as bad customer service.

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5.0
May 18, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Perks and hours were balanced

Cons

Commission structure could be better

2.0
May 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Teachers and sales employees who actually work in retail locations tend to be passionate & knowledgeable about music. Stores open later in day (11am-8pm weekdays) which is nice if you're a night owl or hate waking up early. Good employee discounts on products.

Cons

Inflexible corporate policies & attempts to standardize procedures across stores in wildly different markets makes it impossible for store-level management & employees to deliver well on expectations of upper management & customers. Store managers who work in store full time have no real authority, influence, or decision-making power, whereas district managers (who visit each location once a month at best) have to pass on orders from even higher level management that may have never even stepped foot in the store. They will start you at as close to legal minimum wage as they can get by location, and even the hourly pay for store managers is absolutely criminal compared to the amount of work & complexity of operations required. Commission structure is also highly flawed.

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