Guitar Center reviews

2.8

39% would recommend to a friend

(2,735 total reviews)
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Gabe Dalporto

29% approve of CEO

23% positive business outlook

Guitar Center has an employee rating of 2.8 out of 5 stars, based on 2,735 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
Jun 8, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The discount for musicians is a big reason why some work at GC, especially the part timers. Commissions for the good salespeople is a benefit. As long as your in the top 5 of the store, you're probably making ok money for retail.

Cons

The company puts on a face that they care about the employees, but in reality they just want to get in Fortune magazine as part of the bigger plan to go public. Upper management is also in constant fear of the Union and it puts a lot of pressure on them to make decisions that are based off of fear more than fact. They don't trust their employees, in fact Store Managers can't even write their own schedules any more without upper management approving it first. The company publicly states that they want to make things better for employees but from the inside they don't show any loyalty to those who have been really running the company all these years, the frontline store employees. At the end of the day it's all about the dollar. Even with these phase 3 rollouts. In the immediate it might be an investment and no one will be making "minimum wage" anymore (woohoo), but the long term goal is not on the employees side but for self interest to make hitting their payroll numbers more achievable. If you want to be in upper management or even the store manager level, be prepared to pull 50-60 work weeks if you want to earn the respect of your supervisors. Like I said before, if your single and a workaholic then this is the place for you. I could go on with the politics, but I won't. If you are

2.0
Jun 4, 2014

Don't waste your time

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I like some of the people I work with, flexible scheduling because nobody really cares, there's supposed to be a dress code but you can pretty much wear whatever and DISCOUNTS.

Cons

Where to start? The company is incredibly inefficient and it always feels like a competition when dealing with other stores or our online sales associates. The pay structure is pretty abysmal and the amount of grief you're going to be given every single day from customers with cadillac taste and a civic budget or those that just think you don't know anything isn't worth the hassle. It's a job that does require specialized knowledge of gear, but no one wants to pay you for that knowledge. I'd recommend taking your resume to your most local grocery store and giving it to them. I guarantee they'll pay you more and you don't have to deal with the people trying to cut your throat.

5.0
Jun 1, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

This job allows me to be around what I love... Music. Not only that but I'm able to help other people make music whether it's an upcoming musician to a professional one. I'm able to meet new faces daily and come into contact with awesome people that not only learn from me, but I also learn from them as well. The new Phase III pay is phenomenal....

Cons

At this particular moment in my career with GC, I can honestly say that I personally don't have any cons.

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Glassdoor has 2,799 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.