Another Nail in GC's Coffin

twocorgis

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Hey Tom, do you know this guy in the article? Sometimes I think GC should just pack it in, and give control back to the mom and pops.
 

davismanLV

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Wow, that's just sad. I don't know Sean Lynch. I might know him to look at him. The couple of key guys that I used to talk to there have all gotten jobs elsewhere because they can't support themselves working at Guitar Center. Mark that sold me my Taylor now works for The Apple Store. He just couldn't do it any more. I think this is just shameful. Asking people to give up their rights or forfeit their jobs. Just ridiculous.

I was there yesterday afternoon and it was DEAD!! Of course, post holidays and before school lets out, I can understand why. I hope they stay in business. I really enjoy going in and playing their guitars and you really can get some great deals there.

But this arbitration agreement is bull$hit!! Jeeze.....
 

twocorgis

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Wow, that's just sad. I don't know Sean Lynch. I might know him to look at him. The couple of key guys that I used to talk to there have all gotten jobs elsewhere because they can't support themselves working at Guitar Center. Mark that sold me my Taylor now works for The Apple Store. He just couldn't do it any more. I think this is just shameful. Asking people to give up their rights or forfeit their jobs. Just ridiculous.

I was there yesterday afternoon and it was DEAD!! Of course, post holidays and before school lets out, I can understand why. I hope they stay in business. I really enjoy going in and playing their guitars and you really can get some great deals there.

But this arbitration agreement is bull$hit!! Jeeze.....

Totally agree Tom. My local GC (what used to be one of the "good" ones) has exactly one employee left from all the guys and girls I used to know so well, and they've taken to running the store like it's going out of business. It's a shame really, but I'm hoping that something good comes from all this eventually, like stores that actually give back to the community.
 

walrus

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I went in a GC near me last week - dead! And I waited a while to get to service to ask a question, I ended up leaving without buying. Went to my local mom and pop and gave them the business - should have done that first. I like GC, but I like my local store better - I'm lucky I have one close by to go to.

walrus
 

mavuser

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they laid off my friend at the Union Square store at the end of last year. he did well for them trust me. but he said they had recently opened up a new store in times square that was crushing the union square store. however, there would be no real way for him to know if that were true. maybe just what they told him as an excuse. he was a manager that was getting paid pretty well.
 

davismanLV

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jcwu, if they knocked the price down on that limited edition Taylor I played yesterday, I'd be first one in line. Beautiful limited edition maple with the Expression System electronics and a killer transparent red finish and an arm bevel!! And that thing just RANG when you strummed it! One of the nicest guitars I've played in a long time!
 

adorshki

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I've got serious doubts about whether a clause like that would even be legal in most states or federally, and an illegal contract can't be enforced even if you did sign it.
I've done it myself on a rental lease and had my position upheld during mediation. (I knew it was a boilerplate lease that had clauses not enforcable under local rent control ordinances and it was just easier to sign and deal with it if a dispute did come up.)
Bu it does say a lot about what's going on in corporate management's heads and it's not pretty.
It also seems to be the way the game gets played these days, shoot first and make the survivors prove their innocence.
 

twocorgis

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I've got serious doubts about whether a clause like that would even be legal in most states or federally, and an illegal contract can't be enforced even if you did sign it.
I've done it myself on a rental lease and had my position upheld during mediation. (I knew it was a boilerplate lease that had clauses not enforcable under local rent control ordinances and it was just easier to sign and deal with it if a dispute did come up.)
Bu it does say a lot about what's going on in corporate management's heads and it's not pretty.
It also seems to be the way the game gets played these days, shoot first and make the survivors prove their innocence.

That might be the case, but perhaps not is all states, Al.

Reading stuff like this makes it hard to wish GC well, and it also seems to be taking the pace of a lot of companies that have gone under similarly. Leverage, restructure, take it out on your employees, and ultimately socialize the debt anyway. Pretty pitiful, and ultimately the employees are the principal victims.
 
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adorshki

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That might be the case, but perhaps not is all states, Al.
Not sure if you meant the "un-enforcability" comment or just whether what GC's demanding is legal in some or even all states.
I guess technically if there's no specific law against it then it's legal until it gets contested at a higher level and I now see that could easily be the case.
I'm thinking that'd be a federal thing with labor law but exploring it here could wind up opening the old "political" can of worms so I didn't want to go there even if I was better informed.
Unenforcability of an illegal contract (or a clause thereof) is universal, the rent thing was just an example of my personal experience with the principle in a specific context.
Reading stuff like this makes it hard to wish GC well..
Right, your original point, and we're definitely in agreement on that.
Edit:
I was also keeping in the back of my mind while reading that article, the source, the Huffington Post, has been know to capitalize on scandal or the hint of it, themselves, from time to time.
Journalism is after all a business, and scandal sells.
So I was taking the whole thing with a grain of salt until seeing it presented from other points of view, for balance.
 
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fronobulax

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So I was taking the whole thing with a grain of salt until seeing it presented from other points of view, for balance.

I was looking for another source and didn't find one but I did find this, which I think is the actual contract covering some types of warranties. If I am reading it correctly it has very similar language about mandatory arbitration and I think the buyer agrees to not file or participate in related class action suits. Perhaps the lawyers are running GC now...
 

strummer

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Not sure if I can join this conversation w/o getting political,which i know is verboten(sp?)but I've been a union member for about 40 years if you count the musicians' union days back in the '70s and this is just another example(in my opinion)of the slow,constant erosion of the working class in our country.I actually was in a G.C. store to redeem a gift card and there was only one kid banging out the requisite metal riffs the whole time I was there!The one thing we know is that when/if they go to seed completely someone or something will take their place.Nature abhors a vacuum (she prefers a broom).
 

bluesypicky

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Pinch me!!!!! Did I see Al's posts on a Saturday???????

I'm dizzy now.... the world is spinning!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edit: I refreshed my browser, now it says "yesterday" on Al's posts.... all is well. please resume, I have found my stability again.
 
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davismanLV

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bluesy, that was SCARY for a moment there!! Monitoring Al's post dates on the weekend is fairly thankless..... good luck until Monday. :devilish:
 

GuildFS4612CE

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If no one signs...then GC has NO staff...good luck running the store.
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wileypickett

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Any employer who plans to treat their employees fairly would not need to impose such onerous conditions on their workers. However, these folks need jobs and most will hold their noses and sign.

I'm not sure what the best way would be to support the workers. You can boycott the stores, but that hurts employees as well as the owners and board members.

Here's an article by Eric Garland that's worth looking at, even if its just to watch the hilarious 30+ second video of 15 metal guitarists and three drummers going bonkers in the Times Square store shortly after it opened! (That half-a-minute will be deducted from the time you spend in Purgatory later on!)

http://www.ericgarland.co/2015/02/03/end-guitar-center/

Glenn
 
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