fun before the shift - Sales Associate Guitar Center Employee Review

3.0
19 Apr 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

gear is fun to work around team members are close and work as a family in store management is excellent great gear discounts

Cons

As a top sales performer during my tenure at GC, I found that even by living the culture, breathing sales and running yourself ragged, you still only came out just a bit better than average. Even , though I loved my managers, it was hard not to get mad on a slow day, when due to their ability to sell "anywhere on the floor" , they would jump on customers as they came through the door. Not a huge deal, but combine that with a constantly changing bonus system and horrid Upper management ( My district manager didnt know my name and I was a top sales performer) and you have a recipe for disenchantment. And it seems that as of now they are making it even harder to make a buck with a cut in percentages for new hires.

Explore other reviews about Guitar Center

5.0
16 Jul 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Management takes good care of you

Cons

No complaints that I can think of

1.0
21 Apr 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Plenty of capable individual contributors doing real work. - The brand and the business itself are legitimate — the problems are organizational.

Cons

- Senior leadership is politically driven rather than outcome-driven. Strategic initiatives stall out, and leaders spend more energy assigning or shifting blame than actually diagnosing and fixing problems. - Some parts of the org operate on deference to the top. Honest assessments get softened into whatever narrative leadership wants to hear, which makes real cross-functional work difficult. - Senior leaders do not consistently advocate for their own teams. When things get political, self-preservation takes precedence over backing the people underneath, and capable managers end up exposed.

2
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