Guitar Center reviews

2.8

41% would recommend to a friend

(2,733 total reviews)
avatar

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 2,733 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
Jan 18, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Store level employees will become your good friends.

Cons

Corporate is the absolute most stunted group of people I have ever worked with. If they couldn't pay you, they would.

avatar
Guitar Center Response
8y
If one has already gone through the process of interviewing and getting an offer, in my experience, a counter might buy us a year before the Associate leaves because they've already checked out and think we could have paid the higher rate all along which just causes agita. I hope you are finding your sound with your new gig.
3.0
Oct 22, 2017

Primary Associate

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Co-Workers were a joy to be around for the most part. Never mandatory OT.

Cons

Management is like a brick wall. HR is potentially even worse. After asking for help to approach an individual that made me uncomfortable, I was told that I was a coward and too young to understand. They were only a couple years older than I, and I've also managed a store in the past. I understand how people are to be approached and handled. This was beyond unprofessional. I have never experienced HR as recluse as this one.

2.0
Oct 13, 2017

You're never safe.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Fun place to work -Meeting interesting people -Making genuine connections with customers -Awesome coworkers -With genuine, real effort, you can make good money -Great employee discount -Get to play some awesome gear, new and vintage

Cons

-Large percentage gaps between commission tiers which results in a BIG pay gap from the top employees and the "bottom" employees. If you're in the drum or accessories department, good luck. The commission scale is not in your favor - at all. (foot traffic is just not terribly high at this location) Albeit, with some effort you can still squeeze SOMETHING out of it -Heavy and often unwarranted pressure from sales managers -You cannot trust anything management tells you -No real guidance, and when the managers do give guidance, it was usually entirely counterproductive Your job is never safe at this location. I even witnessed seasoned, long-time great employees get dropped without warning. If management wants you gone, they will find a way to get you out at the flip of a switch, even if it means blatantly lying. Thanks to the arbitration agreement you must sign, this makes wrongful termination entirely possible without much recourse to the company. You can be a consistent top employee, meeting and exceeding expectations, never having a single issue regarding behavior or attendance, being looked up to and respected by your coworkers, and even being groomed to be a sales lead/manager - and they will still quickly & wrongfully turn their backs on you in a heartbeat. Before I worked for this company, I was very aware of this possibility due to negative reviews literally everywhere about working for Guitar Center. Guess what, they're true.

Viewing 133 - 135 of 2,733 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,797 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.