Horrible/dumb music salesmen stories thread

[XeoFLCL]

EDIT: Sorry I posted this in the wrong place.. Meant to click General Discussion.. Can a mod move this? Sorry about that

I'm not sure if one of these threads has happened, I remember reading one somewhere a long time ago, but couldn't find one here.. So here we go!

So I kind of had an experience today that I really feel the need to talk about, and drove me to start one of these threads.

Today I dedicated the day to hunting multiple music stores for good bass cabs. Went to a few samashes and guitarcenters, and didn't really find anything spectacular except for a cab at a local samash that I'm kind of interested in. While doing this however, I decided to drop by a certain Guitar Center in Orange, California. From my experience there, most of the guys are really cool and I've had them score me some awesome deals (mint condition ISP Decimator for 50 dollars? Mint Super Chorus for 40? yes please ) but this story is very different. I went in today and took a look in the used section, and didn't see anything good, so I decided to ask a salesmen to see if there was anything hiding possibly. He asked which amp I was using, which I quickly replied with a 500 watt ampeg. I told him I was mostly aiming for an 8ohm cabinet so I could pair it up with my other 8 ohm cab so it'd turn out to be 4ohms. I told him I was aiming for a higher wattage cab, preferrably with a constant 800w rating. The guy says, and I shit you not, "running a cab that's too high wattage will cause your amp to burn out because your amp will try to run at the wattage of the cabinet, you should run a cab that is under the wattage of your amp so your amp is safe".....

At that point, the first thing that came to mind was "you can't be ....ing serious". I immediately told the guy that was not the case, and he must be confusing the amp wattage with the cabinet wattage, but no, he was insistent. "running your amp through a cab at it's rated ohmage/wattage into a cab that is rated at a higher constant wattage will cause your amp to overheat and die". I tried to convince him for a good 20 minutes, but the guy had to have some kind of brain block or something. He wasn't even trying to sell me anything, he was simply spreading false information and was insistent on convincing me to think that buying a cab that was under my rated wattage for 4ohms would be safer than buying one that had more wattage headroom. I even went on to tell him that I was certain this was not the case, as one, I've run well over 10 different amps, guitar and bass, through cabs rated MUCH higher wattage wise, which he replied with "well, tube amps are different they can run with any wattage cabinet".

Wait, what? I didn't even say any of them were tube amps. So at this point, I just tell him that he should probably look it up and that I've taken classes specifically for electronic engineering, which he replies "I have also gone to school for electronic engineering".. Unfortunately, the guitar center position kind of immediately made him look like a fool saying that .

Granted, after that I quickly handed him the cable I was holding (as this argument wasted at least 15 minutes of my time and I did not even get to try any of the cabs they had), put up the ibanez I was holding, and just left. It's really unfortunate, and honestly makes me not want to ever go back to that particular store. This has to be the most absurd thing I've ever had a guitarcenter employee say to me, ever. It wasn't even to try and sell something, it was just to defend a know it all additude with no actual knowledge.

Kind of saddening the people they hire on there.

Anyways I'd love to hear similar stories from others, since these threads always provide entertaining

 

[Pikka Bird]

Well, a while ago I went into the local 4Sound (the largest chain in the country) and asked if they had the new baritone Iron Label coming in some time. I showed him the guitar in the catalogue and he looked it up in the system. Or rather, he looked up the one right under it even though my finger was firmly planted right next to the model name, so of course he came up with nothing of use. I spotted his mistake and he grudgingly agreed to type in the correct name (as if seven keystrokes would give him RSI or something) and found that they had one of them in the Copenhagen store.

I asked if they could have them send it over so I could try it out, but he said that he would rather not, and that they had a baritone Tele in the showroom that I could try because he didn't see how that could possibly feel or sound any different. I have always felt an iffy vibe coming off this guy in regards to his knowledge, but I played along for the time being. As we walked towards the Fender section he was telling me how baritone guitars were made for tuning low (duh), to which I replied that I was well aware of this but that I wouldn't realy go that low at all, but was mainly interested in the feel of the extra long scale for standard tunings or one step down. This is when he puts the god damned Tsar Bomba of music store clerk bombshells on me: "Well, the scale isn't really about the length", he quipped, without giving me the satisfaction of hearing what he then might think the scale length describes. He continued: "And the baritone thing it's just about how low you tune the guitar", once again not bothering to explain his theory about what makes a baritone guitar more suited for lower tunings- something I'd love to hear.

Aaaanyways, he sets me down in front of some Fender amp, a Hot-Rod-something that I don't quite recall the name of, hands me the guitar and leaves while I put it to the test. Now, I am a big Tele nut, and I love the way the neck on my '85 MIJ Custom RI feels, but the combination of the longer scale and the rather thick neck profile made it feel quite alien for what I wanted to use it for. The humbucker in the bridge also didn't seem to work for anything other than slow, single-note drones and simple chords. That's not really the guitar's fault, but it really made me wish the guy had just agreed to bring the IB6 over instead, because this had nothing to do with what I was actually looking for.

So I turn off the amp, hang the guitar on the wall, coil the cable and go find the guy again to give him the cable back. So I told him what I thought of the guitar, and commented that I didn't really know what Fender's idea was when they put that humbucker in there, and then he just pulls another ace out of his sleeve: "Well, that's just the humbucker sound, you know. You can't really change that".

...!!

At this point I just felt like giving him a stern talking to, telling him that he's probably the least qualified, least knowledgeable clerk I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with (a displeasure that's accumulated from previous visits to the store, mind you) and going through his bits of "information" point by point and proving the fallacy of every single thing he's ever said to anyone ever about guitars, and how I believe him to actually cost the store quite a lot of sales because of his complete inability to sense what a customer wants/needs, and ignorance in regards to what would be able to fulfill those needs.

But of course I didn't. "Well, I guess that baritone thing just isn't for me, bye then" I said and left, shocked that this ignorant, middle-aged Fender-worshipping-for-the-sake-of-nothing-but-traditional-high-and-mighty-stuck-up-ness dude has kept his job ever since the store originally opened some eight to ten years ago. Not once have I heard him say anything to a customer that has helt any truth beyond the most basic "this is a guitar. You play it by plunking the strings"-nonsense, and it actually offends my sense of right and wrong that he gets to hang around expensive guitars all day long, and on top of this he is one of the guys who gets a final say in what the store should actually stock up on, meaning 40% Fender, 30% Gibson, 10% Squier, 10% Epi and then the final 10% is shared by the cheapest Jacksons, a couple of mid-range Ibbys and that one Peavey with the digital magic tuner contraption from a couple of years ago.

 

[TRENCHLORD]

Music store dude once was trying to sell me a peavey 412, he says;
Just look how thick those boards are man, leaps and bound sturdier than those thin-ass Mesa cab boards.
Apparently he thought I didn't understand that those "heavy-duty" boards only are on the faceplate, not really part of the construction.
I asked him; Then why are Mesa cabs so much heavier overall?
He said they just weight them to fool people .

 

[Ulvhedin]

Not as annoying as the above, but still qualifies.

Went to a store looking for Laney IRT + 212 cab, they didnt have it, so they told me they could order it for me. After a relatively long discussion I got told it'd take 1-2 weeks for delivery because it was sent from dealer, so I told him okay, grabbed a few sets of strings, and left.

Called in a few weeks later, no arrival yet.

Week after that, nothing.

Randomly drove by like a month after that- greypaper in the windows, store shut down. Luckily I didn't pay any deposit or anything.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Salesmen are salesmen no matter what they're selling. If I had a dollar for every time someone selling me something knew 1/10th (if lucky) about the product they were trying to sell me as I did, I would have my driver take my guitar guy to the music store in my Phantom to buy my gear for me.

If there is one thing I've learned though, is the second someone doesn't know what they're talking about, use it to your advantage. If they say that MIM Fender is the pinnacle of guitar playability and tone, and that a "Jap Ibanez" is nothing, then tell them you don't want to pay full price for "inferiority" and have them discount the guitar your really want. If they don't understand the various tiers offered by a brand, have them lower the price on the higher end models. If you act like you know what you're talking about, are persistent, you can turn "that idiot at the guitar shop" into "the guy I can get discounts from".

I LOVE that Guitar Center, Sam Ash, and Music-Go-Round tend to hire "less than informed" staff. I've gotten so many MIJ Ibbys for under $200, CS Washburns for the price of imports, MIJ Strats and Teles for the cost of MIM, Avatar and Lopo cabs for next to nothing, etc. etc.

Stupidity is a weakness, exploit it.

 

[Nag]

This thread is basically the reason why I haven't been in a single music store in 3 years.

People who think they know their job just because they got hired is a dreadful thing (I'm saying that and most people I know become teachers, so imagine the disaster)

Don't ever argue with those people and don't EVER ask them for ANY technical information. You never know what kind of dumbass you'll end up talking to. Find the info on the internet, talking to people, and once you know what you're looking for, THEN go to a store.


PS Max, you're hilarious . totally gonna do this.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

You never know what kind of dumbass you'll end up talking to. Find the info on the internet, talking to people, and once you know what you're looking for, THEN go to a store.

Outside of guitars, this goes for every purchase you ever plan on making. An educated shopper is far less likely to get taken by sales BS, and addign to what I said above, can put you in a position to use your knowledge to get a much better price on a piece of gear you actually want.

 

[Dentom79]

Outside of guitars, this goes for every purchase you ever plan on making. An educated shopper is far less likely to get taken by sales BS, and addign to what I said above, can put you in a position to use your knowledge to get a much better price on a piece of gear you actually want.

I couldn't agree more.

A year ago I decided to get my own place and had to buy all sorts of electronics (refrigerators, washing machines,...) of which I did not know anything about.

After half a day of online research I went to the shop and came to the conclusion I already had more knowledge then the average sales person there. 15 minutes later I left the store with everything I needed and nothing else.

But guitar related I've been quite lucky with the service I have been receiving. I tend to stick to small local shops where people love there job and the instruments more than anything else.

 

[stevexc]

Yeah, I'm fortunate enough that at all 3 of my local shops I've got well-informed sales staff to work with... all of whom are willing to cut me a deal when they can. The biggest issue I ever had was one guy getting confused when we were looking up a certain Jackson... but I don't blame him for mixing up "SLATXMGQ3-7" with "SLATTXMG3-7".

 

[DC23]

Haha wow crazy. I prefer to do my own research online. Half of the stuff I am interested in cannot be ordered in a local store anyways.

 

[Dudley]

The staff in the few music shops where I live tend to be absolutely god-awful. There are the odd exceptions, but for the most part I don't even bother going into shops to try/buy gear because of this.

The one experience that always sticks out in my mind is a few years ago I went to play an ESP M-II in a local store. Unfortunately it'd been sold about 30 mins before I got there, but the sales guy was helpful enough and (sensing that I had some money to burn) promptly handed over every other ESP and Caparison they had in store for me to try. Rather enjoyed the Caparison but told the fella that if I were to buy one I'd rather have the oiled mahogany version rather than the painted one they had in stock. "No problem", says the guy, 'we'd be happy to order it in from one of our other stores for you to try some time if you want".

Called back in a month or so later and noticed they had that oiled Caparison in and asked a different sales chap, who I'd never really dealt with before but always had a bad vibe from (typical 'heavier-than-thou' attitude even though he never wore much other than Lamb Of God shirts etc) if I could try it as I'd played the other model a few weeks earlier and was told it'd be fine. The guy gave me the filthiest look ever and basically spat "We don't get those kind of guitars off the wall for just anyone, y'know..." then looked me up and down, rolled his eyes and muttered "there's a load of Fenders on the wall over there behind you that you'd probably be happier with anyway", which I can only assume he extrapolated from the fact that I had skinny jeans on and indie was popular at that particular time that that was what I was into, totally ignorant to the Ulcerate shirt I was wearing. Or maybe he just thought I looked like a bum with no money, haha. Absolute douchebag either way.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

I was at a guitar center away from my normal Austin area stores and overheard one of their sales monkeys trying to sell a guy a Schecter with EMG's.

Seems normal enough right? WRONG.

According to the salesman, the advantage of the Schecter over an Ibanez, ESP, or Jackson with the SAME PICKUPS was that, and I quote, "only Schecter uses a proprietary electronics system that lets you swap in different EMG pickups or Blackouts without tearing out all of the knobs, jack, and switch."

Seeing as Schecter has never said this even once about any of their products, I can only assume the guy had seen a video where someone swapped some EMG's and/or a set of Blackouts for some other actives in the same guitar using the quick-connect system, and the guitar used had just happened to be a Schecter

I ended up talking to the customer after the salesman walked off and cleared up the confusion about the quick-connect system, which led him to purchase an ESP he'd been eyeing because he liked the feel of it better than the Schecter the sales guy had tried to push him into buying.

Moral of the story: TWAT is a good Samaritan and it's important to do your own research

 

[JoshuaVonFlash]

I was at a guitar center away from my normal Austin area stores and overheard one of their sales monkeys trying to sell a guy a Schecter with EMG's.

Seems normal enough right? WRONG.

According to the salesman, the advantage of the Schecter over an Ibanez, ESP, or Jackson with the SAME PICKUPS was that, and I quote, "only Schecter uses a proprietary electronics system that lets you swap in different EMG pickups or Blackouts without tearing out all of the knobs, jack, and switch."

Seeing as Schecter has never said this even once about any of their products, I can only assume the guy had seen a video where someone swapped some EMG's and/or a set of Blackouts for some other actives in the same guitar using the quick-connect system, and the guitar used had just happened to be a Schecter

I ended up talking to the customer after the salesman walked off and cleared up the confusion about the quick-connect system, which led him to purchase an ESP he'd been eyeing because he liked the feel of it better than the Schecter the sales guy had tried to push him into buying.

Moral of the story: TWAT is a good Samaritan and it's important to do your own research

Good ol' TWAT.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

Salesmen are salesmen no matter what they're selling. If I had a dollar for every time someone selling me something knew 1/10th (if lucky) about the product they were trying to sell me as I did, I would have my driver take my guitar guy to the music store in my Phantom to buy my gear for me.

If there is one thing I've learned though, is the second someone doesn't know what they're talking about, use it to your advantage. If they say that MIM Fender is the pinnacle of guitar playability and tone, and that a "Jap Ibanez" is nothing, then tell them you don't want to pay full price for "inferiority" and have them discount the guitar your really want. If they don't understand the various tiers offered by a brand, have them lower the price on the higher end models. If you act like you know what you're talking about, are persistent, you can turn "that idiot at the guitar shop" into "the guy I can get discounts from".

I LOVE that Guitar Center, Sam Ash, and Music-Go-Round tend to hire "less than informed" staff. I've gotten so many MIJ Ibbys for under $200, CS Washburns for the price of imports, MIJ Strats and Teles for the cost of MIM, Avatar and Lopo cabs for next to nothing, etc. etc.

Stupidity is a weakness, exploit it.

To be honest, I don't think this has ever worked for me. In fact, I tried it and once -- there was an actual, but easily fixable issue with the guitar -- and he goes "I dunno dude, I'm not allowed to give discounts, especially to people that ask for them, because they probably don't have the money to buy the guitar anyways." Not only was this incredibly insulting to a possible customer, but I proceeded to pull out my money, counted it out [all $475 of it] and said, "You could've made commission. Instead, I think I'll go buy a cheeseburger from Mickey D's, because at least they know what they are selling." And of course, walked out without listening to what verbal stool was about to spew out of that herpderp he calls a mouth.


Oh and I almost bought a Viper 407 once, but the douchebag wanted something insane like $525 used or some shit on a 600 dollar guitar and said "Nah, I can't, I'm 'selling it for someone else'." This is a guy who wouldn't give me more than $100 bucks on 4 guitars so he could keep the one he wanted and sold the rest equaling 2.5x the amount he gave me. This person and his store is pretty much the reason I won't buy used and apparently, the rumor is his shit is stolen anyways. Which is kinda interesting cuz I had the worst luck owning shit I got from him, probably because of residual karma from owning stolen stuff. I've mentioned him before in other threads; he's the guy who'd always ask "when are you gonna buy a recto from me" and stated that "EQs are to make shitty amps sound better so I don't want that." Apparently, this dickcheese has never seen, let alone owned a Mark or Pittbull.

 

[TheStig1214]

One of the guys at my local GC tried convincing me that GC owned Groove Tubes while selling them (I was stuck between Sovteks and JJs at the time).

I knew for a fact this wasn't true. Seeing how far I could keep this going, I asked where they were made.

"Highest quality tubes straight from mother Russia!" he exclaimed. At least he was half (or a quarter) right.

"Really?" I questioned. "I could have sworn I've seen Groove Tubes at Sam Ash, and the guy there told me they just match sets of tubes from all different companies, Russian or Chinese, and re-brand them as Groove Tubes. You can get a Sovtek set one time and a Tung-Sol set the next and a JJ set the next."

He was quiet after that.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

One of the guys at my local GC tried convincing me that GC owned Groove Tubes while selling them (I was stuck between Sovteks and JJs at the time).

I knew for a fact this wasn't true. Seeing how far I could keep this going, I asked where they were made.

"Highest quality tubes straight from mother Russia!" he exclaimed. At least he was half (or a quarter) right.

"Really?" I questioned. "I could have sworn I've seen Groove Tubes at Sam Ash, and the guy there told me they just match sets of tubes from all different companies, Russian or Chinese, and re-brand them as Groove Tubes. You can get a Sovtek set one time and a Tung-Sol set the next and a JJ set the next."

He was quiet after that.

Foot... meet mouth.

And it sounds to me like that cockbreath is a supporter of Russia and Che Guevera.

 

[TheStig1214]

Foot... meet mouth.

And it sounds to me like that cockbreath is a supporter of Russia and Che Guevera.

He said it with a thick and obnoxious Russian accent, I think he was trying to be funny.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

He said it with a thick and obnoxious Russian accent, I think he was trying to be funny.

No wonder Guitar Center sucks... they hire a bunch of idiotic, wannabe failed comedians.

 

[TheStig1214]

No wonder Guitar Center sucks... they hire a bunch of idiotic, wannabe failed comedians.

The rest of the guys at this particular GC are actually pretty knowledgeable and friendly. Just that one guy....

 

[Jzbass25]

I had a salesperson be an ass to me because I wanted to shave off some of the price for this used ibby. It was overvalued by $200 even if the thing was mint but this one needed so much work that it wouldn't have been worth it even at a crazy low price, but I still liked it so wanted to try and make a deal.

But he literally laughed when I tried to even get $50 off (it's a longer process than described but basically I wanted to see how low he would go since I knew I couldn't get it at any price but sticker after talking to him), he's like oh that's not how these things work, that's not how this works. I even heard him later tell another employee about the "crazy" $50 discount I tried to get. He was basically writing me off as a stupid kid that doesn't know how "business" works, except at that time I just accepted my degrees for business and economics... lol.