Is Guitar Center a good company to work for?

Guitar Center has an overall rating of 2.8 out of 5, based on over 2,797 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 7% over the last 12 months. 39% of employees would recommend working at Guitar Center to a friend and 23% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Guitar Center have been left by employees working as Music Instructor , Private Lessons Instructor and Music Teacher .

Does Guitar Center pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Guitar Center employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.4 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Guitar Center. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Guitar Center?

39% of Guitar Center employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Guitar Center 2.9 out of 5 for work life balance, 2.7 for culture and values and 2.4 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Guitar Center?

Sales Associate (598) , Operations Associate (86) , Store Manager (81) , Instructor (74) , Lessons Lead (69) , Assistant Manager (61) , Gear Advisor (57) , Retail Sales Associate (57) , Customer Service Manager (47) , Operations Manager (44) , Department Manager (40) , Sales (36) , Repair Technician (34) , Customer Service Manager (CSM) (28) , Operations (28)

What are the pros of working at Guitar Center according to real employee reviews?

"The direct people you work with are great and will help you in any way they can." ((in 246 reviews)); "Coworkers are great and helpful" ((in 142 reviews)); "The benefits are good and that's all I can say." ((in 71 reviews)); "The hours are flexible and based on your availability to GC" ((in 46 reviews)); "We swear like sailors in the warehouse and have a great culture as an ops team." ((in 31 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Guitar Center according to real employee reviews?

"Low pay compared to companies with similar store size Low amount of staff result in poor customer and employee experience." ((in 330 reviews)); "Poor management and a corporate atmosphere" ((in 177 reviews)); "Upper management is completely out of touch with what’s going on at the store level" ((in 98 reviews)); "Even though you don't make commission as a store lead they still require you to sell and expect you to be topping the leaderboard." ((in 80 reviews)); "Managers make less than $20 an hour in a state in which other companies pay managers $50k." ((in 74 reviews))

What are employees saying about Guitar Center layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Guitar Center layoffs and their outlook for job security at Guitar Center in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Guitar Center locations?

Westlake Village , Los Angeles , New York , Westlake Village , Indianapolis , Chicago , Nashville , Draper , Austin , Houston , Dallas , Boston , Atlanta , Kansas City , Hollywood , San Jose , San Francisco , Knoxville , Rockville , Las Vegas , Seattle , Miami , Mobile , Salt Lake City , Brooklyn , Plano , Thousand Oaks , Concord , Wilmington , Brownsburg

Guitar Center reviews

2.8

39% would recommend to a friend

(2,733 total reviews)

Gabe Dalporto

29% approve of CEO

23% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (2,733 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

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

1.0

Aug 2, 2021

No Loyaltyq

Forecaster

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good employee discount for music gear in stores or from other divisions. Some musician-centric benefits, such as a gig room and practice rooms for after hours.

Cons

Absolutely no loyalty. Management does not stick to any decision at all, often directing polar opposite mandates on the same day. Hard work and good work is not recognized nor appreciated. NO career development or promotional opportunities. Need management approval before trying for different positions. Covid was the excuse to cut hundreds of well paid positions so they could hopefully fill with entry level hourly employees instead. Bonuses are now extinct.

2.0

Jul 29, 2021

Great job for Children

Customer service manager (csm)

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-great discounts on music gear. -up to 90 day gig leave for touring -great job if you're a full time musician and need something to do part time when you're not gigging

Cons

-huge staff turnaround rate constantly training new people. -no loyalty to staff, the management will throw you under the bus if it means saving their job -no job security you can get fired without warning for ridiculous reasons. -pay structure all over the place you can get lucky and get paid really well or end up getting barely anything. -very corporate top down management style the decisions for individual stores are made at the top by people that have never even worked or visited those stores.

3.0

Aug 26, 2020

Fun job, but a lot of extra work for a SM

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

fun environment, relaxed atmosphere, employees, work in a field i love

Cons

too much put on managers, not enough help to get task done in a timely manner,

Viewing 208 - 210 of 2,733 Reviews

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Guitar Center

Guitar Center reviews

Company ratings over time

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

No Loyaltyq

Great job for Children

Fun job, but a lot of extra work for a SM

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