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  • Offer from Guitar Center…

    Posted by David Ross David Ross Musical Instruments on July 21, 2024 at 4:44 pm

    So I’ve been loothing for about 16 years now and have been in business for about 2-1/2 years. I’ve been building up my business organically and getting my name out as best I can. The other day I was contacted by someone who works at Guitar Center who I’ve spoken with once or twice before unrelated to guitar repair, and I got this email:

    “Hello David, I’m contacting you because your name has come up when I’ve been asking around for a qualified guitar tech. The guitar center in Johnson city currently has an opening. Looking at your work seems that you’d be more than qualified. Stop by or give me a call anytime if you’d like to discuss this further. Have a wonderful day!”

    This is an interesting occurrence, but I haven’t really wrapped my head around it. I feel that in part of because of where I’m located regionally, and also the fact that I’m a relatively new business, the customers that I get are not as consistent as I’d like. While I quite like the idea of having a more stable and consistent income that would perhaps come from working as a tech at GC, I feel like there would be a conflict of interest here. Also, I’m not exactly the employee type which I’m sure is relatable.

    I suppose I’m looking for wisdom here. Have any of you worked at a GC or a guitar store? How was it? I’m planning on having a call tomorrow to get further details but I’d like to be somewhat prepared beforehand. Thanks guys!

    -David

  • 5 Replies
  • Ian Davlin The Looth Group

    Administrator
    July 21, 2024 at 6:19 pm

    Well, it doesn’t hurt to hear them out, but I’d be interested to know what the offer actually is. There’s only one reason to ever “partner” with shops and that’s if you aren’t generating enough work on your own. Shops are going to always want a cut somehow and it’s nearly impossible to subtract from 100% and wind up with a larger number.

  • Wyatt Mann Dang Decent Guitar Repair

    Member
    July 22, 2024 at 5:45 pm

    Hey David,

    I spent a few years as a GC tech prior to opening my own shop, and years before that in their sales and management. I think after having my own shop it would be incredibly difficult to conform to that environment again. Each district is different, mine was pretty strict in keeping their techs on the same retail schedule as sales associates, but I’ve known some to be much more lenient.

    There are some pros and plenty more cons. The work comes to you, and you get to clock out and leave it all there. The work itself is primarily setups. They incentivize you to be constantly selling their “platinum setup” and not necessarily prioritizing the overall well being of the instrument if it is a more involved or time-consuming repair. They want it turned around fast, and you’ll get pressure if something is there for longer than a week, even if it is waiting for parts. As far as pay, you would be hourly, almost certainly not more than $15/hr, I think they finally got me up to $13.50 before getting out in late 2022. There is a commission as well, it works on a sliding scale between .5-3% of your total repair sales, based on your “repair revenue per hour”, or RPH. I was at a particularly high-volume location, and would usually knock out something in the realm of $8,000 in repairs myself each month while working with another full time tech. That maths out to just under $250, before tax, which is heavier on commission than hourly (something like 20-30%). There are benefits available. The employee purchase program is a big attractor for many, but I rarely found myself with enough extra bucks to actually utilize it the way you dream about.

    Some of the most challenging parts of the job have absolutely nothing to do with repairing instruments, but rather navigating their different point of sales systems for in-store and online transactions. Their techs are also responsible for fulfilling pro-coverage claims under a certain threshold, which presents a number of mind numbing logistical issues which will fall onto your plate. They’ve also drastically reduced the number of hours each store is allowed to assign to sales people, so be prepared for short-staffed sales floors and getting conscripted into ringing out customers or whatever else needs doing.

    I’m finding it difficult to prevent my personal feelings about my time there from influencing how I describe the experience. It was a great place for me to get a wide variety of practice under my belt while I was still pretty green, and I wouldn’t have been ready to operate the shop that I am now without my time there. It was a great incubator for that. I was there in my mid-twenties for whatever that is worth. I found I still needed to supplement my income with repair work on the side, that is when I wasn’t too busy drinking away any memory of the day I had just endured.

    I would be more than happy to elaborate further or answer any other specific questions as honestly as I can regarding my time there and what you may be able to expect that you certainly won’t be told about the job during the interview process.

  • Carlos Urquidi Urquidi Guitars

    Member
    July 24, 2024 at 1:01 pm

    A friend of mine used to work at GC Chicago, he said that I have a much larger shop than GC. In other words, I don’t think you’ll have access to that many tools and space when working for GC. On the other hand, you may have a salary and benefits. You’ll have to decide what’s best for you. Or maybe try to work out a referral deal with them. That way you get to work at your own shop and charge your own fees.

  • David Ross David Ross Musical Instruments

    Member
    July 25, 2024 at 11:44 am

    Hey guys, thanks for the responses @urquidi_guitars , @DangDecent , @ianhatesguitars . I spoke with the person who contacted me a couple of days ago and ultimately decided not to pursue it. The biggest reason why was because since I’m already an established shop, it would’ve been too much of a conflict of interested for me to split my time between my own shop and GC, especially since I was told that they had hoped that my customers would over time become GC customers. A couple of other details, they would’ve wanted me to work full time which is fine, but I would’ve only been compensated for the repair work that I did, and there was also an expectation that I would have to work on two store owned guitars per day. Additionally, I was told that GC would put out the word that the store had a new tech (which seems quite limited in scope), but that any further advertising would be through word of mouth. I get the feeling that there could’ve been a significant amount of time with me just standing around waiting for a customer to come in while not making an income.

    Ultimately I think that this position would’ve been worthwhile 4 years ago or so before I officially started my business, but now it seems like a bit of a step backwards. I may inquire about a referral type of deal, but I’d need to figure out the parameters of that and whether or not the juice would be worth the squeeze. Thanks again!

    -David

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