a long tenure that was rewarding in a way and disappointing in too many others - Manager In Training/Full Time Sales Associate Music & Arts Employee Review

1.0
Nov 9, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people you work with on the sales floor and the teachers are the real gems here. This is the best asset they have and they treat them the worst. Reasonable discounts, easy hours in the summer time.

Cons

They treat their employees like crap. They dangle the proverbial carrot in your face FOREVER! I worked with them for 10 years, gave up ever getting my own store after a year and a half and found another career in music education that promoted me 5 times into management. Kept my part time position for the discounts and gas money basically. I worked for the company before they were bought out by guitar center and it was a much better place to work. They don't promote from within very often, work you to death and never compensate you. Pay is well below what the workload deserves. Your days off often have scheduled rah rah sales meetings at 8am on Sundays which are mandatory. Churn and burn operation now that Guitar Center runs it! They don't care about their employees and that's why everyone leaves them every year. Great job for high school kids who don't care about being used and unappreciated.

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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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