Guitar Center Employee Reviews
Out of 393 Guitar Center employee reviews, 61% were positive. The remaining 39% were constructive reviews with the goal of helping Guitar Center improve their work culture. The Sales team, with 69% positive reviews, reports the best experience at Guitar Center compared to all other departments at the company. The Customer Support team offered the most constructive feedback, with 35% of that department's reviews constructive in nature.
Briefly describe your overall experience at your company
What do you like best about the leadership team?
they are calm and collected in high stress moments
The leadership team is aligned and agressive in terms of reaching our goals. Guitar Center is hiring high caliber leadership talent to focus on growth, innovation and experience. Our new CEO is an amazing leader and has implemented an entirely new strategic vision. It's a time of great change!
What leadership team? Everyone secretly despises each other
They have a passion for the brand.
The attention to every detail of the day
What does the leadership team need to get better at?
That retail staff are assets and are worth investing in. Proper onboarding and training and setting realistic goals. They change the goal weekly, therefore difficult for the staff to buy into the business. Do not appoint people to management positions just because of the years they have been ther
Locally speaking, being present in the store, leading by example and just plainly giving a damn.
Listening to Frontline workers. Increasing pay and benefits. A base level of human decency.
Communication, Support, Managing emotions, General Leadership skills
Empathy, respect, communication skills, training and mental health issues. Would just be a start.
What is the best part about your compensation package?
The best thing about my compensation package is the ability to impact my variable pay through strong performance.
vacation, sick time and 401k
Review from Customer Support Dept
The Discount helps out alot
That I get to work strings what I love
Great vacation and sick leave
Why do you feel undervalued and what would make you feel better about your compensation?
I do not have stock equity or benefits. My pay is $11.00 per hour and I have been working here for over a year.
Bonus structure is a joke.. up the base pay and staff the store properly instead of loading all of the work on 1-2 people
Low-ball pay. Overworked, understaffed. Have to beg for annual merit increases just to get over 50 cents. Huge disconnect between store manager and ops manager pay.
Better pay according to education and experience.
I should get paid more. Again, why are customers paying $60/hr and im only getting $20/hr. Wheres the rest of the money going?
What are some of the best things about your team?
We are all friendly people
They are motivated, effective and ask for very little. They want effective management: realistic goals, motivational meetings and tools to help them succeed.
There are many great things about my team but the first thing that comes to mind is how fun they are. We love getting things done and having a good laugh along the way.
Great hardworking people who want to bring music to the world
They are kind, talented people.
What do your coworkers need to improve and how could you work together better?
Common sense. It's hard having to juggle more and get paid the same as someone who doesn't have near the experience or tenure or know how to even accomplish a fraction of what needs to get done in a day.
Hire people with real world experience instead of hiring people that know nothing about the job or skills needed to be successful at the job.
If everyone is focused on their own task at hand we will be better
If employees were held accountable for slacking or cutting corners the company could be more efficient but upper mgmt seems to be the only ones willing to pull that trigger
The kids have a horrible work ethic. The older adults are good.
What is most positive about the culture and environment at your company?
We are all friendly with each other
We are all musicians and I love music.
Being around incredible musicians every day is an absolute joy. Guitar Center is transforming the way we do business and it's an exciting time to be with the company. There's massive opportunity to try new ideas, take risks and drive growth.
The store associates are the only positive when it comes to culture
Absolutely nothing. The only culture is grief. Nothing is ever good enough. Morale has never been lower.
What needs to change to make the company culture better?
"Company Culture" is irrelevant to employees who feel hated by their company.
Invest in your people - keep upper management out of all day meetings so they can assist their people.
Treat your employees like human beings
New Senior leadership, especially a new CEO that actually has a passion for guitars and has a proven track record that cares about the business.
Can't go to the bathroom without taking a ton of flack for " not being at your desk " for even a moment
What did you like most about the interview process?
It was quick and efficient.
The manager at the time, different than my current boss
Learning about vision was exciting for me because it allowed me to picture how I can drive value. Meeting stakeholders and peers helped solidify my interest and belief that I could be successful in the role.
It gave me a good first impression
It was quick and efficient
What would you improve about your company's interview process?
Stop doing group interviews. Actually interview the candidate instead of talking about yourself the whole time.
Store manager should do all interviews.
I went for multiple interviews and was asked the same questions each time. When someone is looking for and applying for work, time is of the essence.
Review from Sales Dept
Nothing i thiught the interview was good, whixh is why im confused how the sudden change in behavior came about
Takes too long. Recruiters are difficult and dont listen.
What makes you most happy at work?
I'm happiest at work when I see our people develop into strong professionals who know how to drive business and reach our customers in meaningful ways. Music is the fabric of our soul and helping artists bring thier vision to life fills me with pride.
interacting with students. As a teacher, I have dedicated my life to being as helpful to students as my teachers were to me; maybe even surpass that usefulness, someday. Sharing the wonders of music gives me life.
the customers and the team members
Review from Customer Support Dept
I love to teach my students
Been here for quite some time, it changes sometimes you got a find a reason to love it/do it.
What's going wrong and how can it be improved?
We need new managers i new set of people to come run the store how it should properly be ran
Accountability across all departments. Making sure everyone understands their role.
Guitar Center is seen as the Walmart of music stores and it is not taken seriously.
1. Brick and Mortar is going out of style 2. Employees have little work ethic due to cut hours/small amounts of pay 3. Customers needs are no longer met due to heavy corporate regulations. 4. Prices are skyrocketing and wages aren’
Thats a good question... maybe if managers were competent
What do you like best about your company?
Coworkers, employee discounts, and the customers with whom I've developed a strong, personal relationship.
What would you most like to see improved at your company?
Acknowledgement of the huge effort and hard work store employees are providing daily, preferably through compensation