UPDATE: This issue has been resolved so I’ve grayed out the image and text of the original complaint. You are free to read it if you so desire but the details of the final outcome, which I’m satisfied with, are at the end in normal black text.

Okay everyone,



Not sure if you’ve dealt with Guitar Center but I’ve been a loyal customer (a big one at that) for several years, but this situation has certainly changed that.

I have recently been looking to buy a Tascam DP-008 Digital Portastudio and checked out Amazon.com for their pricing. They had it listed at $212.03. Being a loyal Guitar Center customer, I checked Guitar Center and the same unit was listed for the price of $299.

I thought, no problem, Guitar Center has a lowest price guarantee in which they will match a lower price along with a 10% discount of the difference when an authorized dealer, Amazon.com in this case, has a lower price. Their guarantee can be seen on their website here…

http://gc.guitarcenter.com/financing/30_30.cfm

This price match and discount should have brought the price down to $203.33. So I e-mailed the store through the website letting them know about the lower price and linking directly to the page on Amazon.com so they could verify it.

The next day I get the following e-mail back from Guitar Center store manager Barrett Zenger…





Mr. Zenger ohh so politely, tells me that if I order from Amazon.com that I will have to wait a week or two to receive the item and then tells me how much next day shipping would cost. Completley irrelevant considering I don’t mind waiting a week or two to get a good deal and standard shipping is FREE at Amazon.

Next up, Barrett ignores my request for the price match guarantee which I specifically asked for and offers me a ridiculous 15% coupon with some Sony headphones that I don’t want or need.

After this I sent the following e-mail to Barrett…

In his e-mail, Barrett Zenger also says that I can call Guitar Center here in Corpus Christi, Texas and speak to him about this, so in addition to sending him the e-mail asking about the discount again, I called. I actually called twice and Barrett was not available either time. I left a message both times and even made sure that the person on the phone wrote down my name, my number, and that this was in regards to our e-mail communication regarding the lowest price match guarantee.

Barrett Zenger never returned my e-mails or either of my phone calls or messages.

Of course I just went and ordered the unit from Amazon.com rather than dealing with an obviously dishonest company.

After spending a fortune in Guitar Centers over the last few years by purchasing nearly all my gear in their stores while building a studio here in my home, I’m now done doing business with them. The first time I have any contact with the staff besides handing them my debit card, they lie, refuse to honor their own guarantee, and then eventually refuse to even respond to any communication. Never again.

If this is how Guitar Center wants to treat long time customers like myself, or new ones for that matter, during a down economy when customers are being much more discerning in their shopping choices, it’s only going to hurt them.

I recommend that if you have any music needs, go with a different store. Try Amazon.com or a local music store to find what you need.

NOTE: I’ve been informed that Guitar Center also owns MusiciansFriend.com so steer clear of that site as well.

UPDATE: I reported this to corporate and they (Justin Lawrence) laughingly tried to offer me a 15% off coupon after the whole 15% off coupon fiasco with Barrett Zenger at the local Guitar Center here in Corpus Christi. After I said that wasn’t acceptable, I was offered a $25 coupon, which would be less than the 15% off coupon based on my spending history. In lieu of both of those, I was offered a cheap guitar cable. Pretty ridiculous considering I’ve purchased several thousand dollars in gear in the place in the last couple of years. Looks like corporate is following suit with the local store. Take your business elsewhere everyone.

Update & Final Conclusion – As you can see in the comments below, Jeremy Cole, the Customer Service Manager for Guitar Center Retail responded to this situation after it going through a couple of levels of unsatisfactory handling.

Jeremy was nice and wanted to make sure that I was made whole and that something like this didn’t happen again. Jeremy put me in contact with Parker Bradley, the District Manager, who was scheduled to be in the Corpus Christi store the next day.

The end result was me meeting up with Parker Bradley as well as Barrett Zenger, the store manager, in the Corpus Christi Guitar Center location. Barrett apologized for the situation, as did Parker and we talked for a minute about how I did not want to stop shopping there as I liked the store. Parker said that he appreciated my business and the tone was friendly.

I was given a Blue Snowball USB microphone as compensation for the way that I was treated and am happy with that resolution. Christmas is coming up and I will be making a trip there for a few Christmas presents, as I have a few small ones in mind for certain people.

I believe this entire situation was certainly unintentional and was an honest mistake and will once again be shopping in Guitar Center (and MusiciansFriend.com) for many of my music needs. I also feel comfortable telling you, my reader, to do the same.

Until next time,



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Tags: Barrett Zenger, good guitar center customer service, guitar center, guitar center corpus christi texas, guitar center problem resolved, guitarcenter.com, justin lawrence