lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?


A phone call just came in caller ID from my local Guitar Center. I
answer and there's a kid with a teenager's awkward voice on the other
end who asks for Todd. I greet him and he says he wanted to let me
know that they're offering 15 months free financing, so if there's any
gear I've been wanting to get now would be a great time.

I chuckle and say "Man, must be lean times if they're having y'all get
to the phones and dig through the customer database." He kinda
laughed and went back to the script asking if there was any gear I've
been needing. I told him I had more than I needed and we bid each
other a good day.

It was actually somewhat refreshing to get a sales call that
originated from someone a) local b) had an actual store background
noise, and c) who probably had to touch a telephone keybad 10 times in
order to dial my number.

Curious if this is an edict from corporate, or if this is local store
getting getting creative.


Best Regards,
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | Todd H
\ / | * w w w .toddh . net /
X Promoting good netiquette |
/ \ * w w w .toddh . net /netiquette/ | * myspace . com /bmiawmb

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

> Curious if this is an edict from corporate, or if this is local store getting getting creative.

Good question but I don't care for the policy regardless. I don't
like unsolicited calls.

Maybe the sales clerk just remembered you fondly :)

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

On Apr 30, 4:55 pm, iarwain <iarwai...@hotmail . com > wrote:
> > Curious if this is an edict from corporate, or if this is local store getting getting creative.
>
> Good question but I don't care for the policy regardless. I don't
> like unsolicited calls.

Around here at least this is an old policy and probably a corporate
one. Just about every time I buy something at GC I soon after get a
post card from the sales clone thanking me for the sale and it gives
you a free cheapo guitar cable, strings or drumsticks the next time
in. They've been doing this forever. And much less frequently you
sometimes get one of those calls. I suspect it's policy too, just
like the cards, but they aren't pushy or anything so it's almost
nice! The sales people at GC always seem to take customer
satisfaction seriously, especially with phone calls. If they say
they'll find out and call you, they always do and if they say we'll
call you when it comes in, they ALWAYS call to tell you. You listening
Sam Ash management?

> Maybe the sales clerk just remembered you fondly :)

Heh. I went to GC for years and bought half the store and nobody there
except for maybe 1 or 2 in the departments I frequent and who were
there when I walked out with something costing a grand without batting
an eye knew me from Adam's off ox. But after I attended this drum
clinic and got called on stage to play with Sheila E, I suddenly got
greeted by name as if I was a long lost relative every time I'd mosey
into GC. Eventually I returned to anonymity! :)

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

Benj wrote:

> Around here at least this is an old policy and probably a corporate
> one. Just about every time I buy something at GC I soon after get a
> post card from the sales clone thanking me for the sale and it gives
> you a free cheapo guitar cable, strings or drumsticks the next time
> in. They've been doing this forever. And much less frequently you
> sometimes get one of those calls. I suspect it's policy too, just
> like the cards, but they aren't pushy or anything so it's almost
> nice! The sales people at GC always seem to take customer
> satisfaction seriously, especially with phone calls. If they say
> they'll find out and call you, they always do and if they say we'll
> call you when it comes in, they ALWAYS call to tell you. You listening
> Sam Ash management?

That's gotta be store dependent. That's never happened to me.

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

Todd H. wrote:
> It was actually somewhat refreshing to get a sales call that
> originated from someone a) local b) had an actual store background
> noise, and c) who probably had to touch a telephone keybad 10 times in
> order to dial my number.

Living in a small city (15 miles away from it in fact) has some
advantages. No sales call. The local music store crew all know my
name. Whenever there is something I asked for or something they think
I would be interested, they drop me a line on Messenger. I usually get
there after work to chat with the guys. Doing that for 10 years now
and I can get the same prices as in the biggest stores in Montreal.



--
Frederic Gelinas

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?


"Todd H." <bmiawmb@toddh . net > wrote in message
news:84fxt3qdaa@news.giganews . com ...
>
.
>
> I chuckle and say "Man, must be lean times if they're having y'all get
> to the phones and dig through the customer database."

> Curious if this is an edict from corporate, or if this is local store
> getting getting creative.
>
>
Got a call from a car dealership we bought from about 15 years ago the other
day. Lean times.

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

On Apr 30, 6:17 pm, "tom" <riffed39...@mypacks . net > wrote:
> "Todd H." <bmia...@toddh . net > wrote in message
>
> news:84fxt3qdaa@news.giganews . com ...
>
>
>
> .
>
> > I chuckle and say "Man, must be lean times if they're having y'all get
> > to the phones and dig through the customer database."
> > Curious if this is an edict from corporate, or if this is local store
> > getting getting creative.
>
> Got a call from a car dealership we bought from about 15 years ago the other
> day. Lean times.


Funny you should mention car dealerships. I bought a new car about a
month ago after many inquiry calls (so I was in the sales database). A
few days ago I got an email from the same dealership I bought from,
asking if I'm still in the market for a new vehicle.
Huh?

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

Was the guy's name Gil by any chance? LOL


"tom" <riffed39589@mypacks . net > wrote in message
news:v5CdnZ-p2oyfbYXVnZ2dnUVZ_hCdnZ2d@earthlink . com ...
>
> "Todd H." <bmiawmb@toddh . net > wrote in message
> news:84fxt3qdaa@news.giganews . com ...
> >
> .
> >
> > I chuckle and say "Man, must be lean times if they're having y'all get
> > to the phones and dig through the customer database."
>
> > Curious if this is an edict from corporate, or if this is local store
> > getting getting creative.
> >
> >
> Got a call from a car dealership we bought from about 15 years ago the
other
> day. Lean times.
>
>

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

On Apr 30, 8:56 pm, "js" <nothing AT nothing DOT com> wrote:
> Was the guy's name Gil by any chance? LOL
>
> "tom" <riffed39...@mypacks . net > wrote in message
>
> news:v5CdnZ-p2oyfbYXVnZ2dnUVZ hCdnZ2d@earthlink . com ...
>
>
>
>
>
> > "Todd H." <bmia...@toddh . net > wrote in message
> >news:84fxt3qdaa@news.giganews . com ...
>
> > .
>
> > > I chuckle and say "Man, must be lean times if they're having y'all get=

> > > to the phones and dig through the customer database."
>
> > > Curious if this is an edict from corporate, or if this is local store
> > > getting getting creative.
>
> > Got a call from a car dealership we bought from about 15 years ago the
> other
> > day. Lean times.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Mine was I think Habib from New Dehli. Does India have a GC?
Sometimes its fun to listen as the callers are forced to stick with
the script, no matter what you try and say....

Craig

Craig

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

On 30 Apr, 13:49, bmia...@toddh . net (Todd H.) wrote:
> A phone call just came in caller ID from my local Guitar Center. I
> answer and there's a kid with a teenager's awkward voice on the other
> end who asks for Todd. I greet him and he says he wanted to let me
> know that they're offering 15 months free financing, so if there's any
> gear I've been wanting to get now would be a great time.
>
> I chuckle and say "Man, must be lean times if they're having y'all get
> to the phones and dig through the customer database." He kinda
> laughed and went back to the script asking if there was any gear I've
> been needing. I told him I had more than I needed and we bid each
> other a good day.
>
> It was actually somewhat refreshing to get a sales call that
> originated from someone a) local b) had an actual store background
> noise, and c) who probably had to touch a telephone keybad 10 times in
> order to dial my number.
>
> Curious if this is an edict from corporate, or if this is local store
> getting getting creative.

I've been called a couple of times by my local GC. I don't mind, but
it doesn't work on me; I'm either needing to buy something or I'm not.
But I've bought a ton of shit there (ironically, never a bass or an
amp, but two guitars for my kid, a pricey keyboard for the missus,
miscellaneous smaller stuff), so they're right to contact me -- if
there's a reason.

What really surprised me was the follow-up I got from Sweetwater after
I bought a strap and a music stand there, for a grand total of about
$60. My "sales consultant" (yes, one guy, the one who helped me for
the first sale) called twice in the following year to see if there was
anything I needed. I very politely informed him that there wasn't, and
that I would be a bad place to put in any effort. True to form, I've
never bought anything else from them, but I have to say their service
was exemplary.

-jb

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

John Bigboote <Bigboote.YPS@gmail . com > wrote:
> On 30 Apr, 13:49, bmia...@toddh . net (Todd H.) wrote:
>> A phone call just came in caller ID from my local Guitar Center. I
>> answer and there's a kid with a teenager's awkward voice on the other
>> end who asks for Todd. I greet him and he says he wanted to let me
>> know that they're offering 15 months free financing, so if there's
>> any gear I've been wanting to get now would be a great time.
>>
>> I chuckle and say "Man, must be lean times if they're having y'all
>> get to the phones and dig through the customer database." He kinda
>> laughed and went back to the script asking if there was any gear I've
>> been needing. I told him I had more than I needed and we bid each
>> other a good day.
>>
>> It was actually somewhat refreshing to get a sales call that
>> originated from someone a) local b) had an actual store background
>> noise, and c) who probably had to touch a telephone keybad 10 times
>> in order to dial my number.
>>
>> Curious if this is an edict from corporate, or if this is local store
>> getting getting creative.
>
> I've been called a couple of times by my local GC. I don't mind, but
> it doesn't work on me; I'm either needing to buy something or I'm not.
> But I've bought a ton of shit there (ironically, never a bass or an
> amp, but two guitars for my kid, a pricey keyboard for the missus,
> miscellaneous smaller stuff), so they're right to contact me -- if
> there's a reason.
>
> What really surprised me was the follow-up I got from Sweetwater after
> I bought a strap and a music stand there, for a grand total of about
> $60. My "sales consultant" (yes, one guy, the one who helped me for
> the first sale) called twice in the following year to see if there was
> anything I needed. I very politely informed him that there wasn't, and
> that I would be a bad place to put in any effort. True to form, I've
> never bought anything else from them, but I have to say their service
> was exemplary.

Yeah, I was surprised by Sweetwater. Just did my first order with them
last week (got it today as a matter of fact), and I got both a
personalized e-mail from the sales guy and also a phone call from the
same guy (wasn't here, so he left a message). All I ordered were a few
straps, two sets of strings, and a pedal. I do like that personal
touch, although I'm not a fan of unsolicited calls.

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

"RichL" <rpleavitt@yahoo . com > writes:

> Yeah, I was surprised by Sweetwater. Just did my first order with them
> last week (got it today as a matter of fact), and I got both a
> personalized e-mail from the sales guy and also a phone call from the
> same guy (wasn't here, so he left a message). All I ordered were a few
> straps, two sets of strings, and a pedal. I do like that personal
> touch, although I'm not a fan of unsolicited calls.

Actually, that's been Sweetwater's bag for a long time though--nothing
to do with slow sales or the economy. They're the only place I know
of in music stuff that assigns you a sales rep to take care of ya. I
don't mind their calls at all actually because the guys generally know
what they're talkin about and are good folks.

5 years ago when I made my first sweetwater purchase, I got a call a
week or so later from the sales rep I was assigned and he introduced
himself, etc.



--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | Todd H
\ / | * w w w .toddh . net /
X Promoting good netiquette |
/ \ * w w w .toddh . net /netiquette/ | * myspace . com /bmiawmb

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

Todd H. <bmiawmb@toddh . net > wrote:
> "RichL" <rpleavitt@yahoo . com > writes:
>
>> Yeah, I was surprised by Sweetwater. Just did my first order with
>> them last week (got it today as a matter of fact), and I got both a
>> personalized e-mail from the sales guy and also a phone call from the
>> same guy (wasn't here, so he left a message). All I ordered were a
>> few straps, two sets of strings, and a pedal. I do like that
>> personal touch, although I'm not a fan of unsolicited calls.
>
> Actually, that's been Sweetwater's bag for a long time though--nothing
> to do with slow sales or the economy. They're the only place I know
> of in music stuff that assigns you a sales rep to take care of ya. I
> don't mind their calls at all actually because the guys generally know
> what they're talkin about and are good folks.
>
> 5 years ago when I made my first sweetwater purchase, I got a call a
> week or so later from the sales rep I was assigned and he introduced
> himself, etc.

Yeah, I didn't mean that this was an unusual departure from their usual
routine. It's just that I'm used to dealing with Musician's Friend as
my default online source, since generally they're as fast as anyone else
and I haven't had problems with them. But I had read good things about
Sweetwater from posters here and in other newsgroups and decided to give
them a shot.

By the way, my comment about unsolicited calls was directed toward the
OP and not Sweetwater, as I wouldn't have considered that "unsolicited".
Trouble for me is, I get so many garbage calls that I've gotten to the
point where I don't answer calls from numbers I don't recognize or that
have blocked their caller ID.

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

People seem to forget that the Do Not Call registry does NOT block calls
from any company with which you have a business relationship for a certain
length of time.

GC and Sweetwater are totally within the scope of the law by calling you.
However, it's probably a BAD idea, as most people assume any sales "cold
calls" are a violation, and will write off the company as a result.

You'd have to send a letter to say, GC and tell them to stop calling, or
block them from your phone.

"RichL" <rpleavitt@yahoo . com > wrote in message
news:qDaSj.7978$PY5.5131@trnddc01...
> Todd H. <bmiawmb@toddh . net > wrote:
> > "RichL" <rpleavitt@yahoo . com > writes:
> >
> >> Yeah, I was surprised by Sweetwater. Just did my first order with
> >> them last week (got it today as a matter of fact), and I got both a
> >> personalized e-mail from the sales guy and also a phone call from the
> >> same guy (wasn't here, so he left a message). All I ordered were a
> >> few straps, two sets of strings, and a pedal. I do like that
> >> personal touch, although I'm not a fan of unsolicited calls.
> >
> > Actually, that's been Sweetwater's bag for a long time though--nothing
> > to do with slow sales or the economy. They're the only place I know
> > of in music stuff that assigns you a sales rep to take care of ya. I
> > don't mind their calls at all actually because the guys generally know
> > what they're talkin about and are good folks.
> >
> > 5 years ago when I made my first sweetwater purchase, I got a call a
> > week or so later from the sales rep I was assigned and he introduced
> > himself, etc.
>
> Yeah, I didn't mean that this was an unusual departure from their usual
> routine. It's just that I'm used to dealing with Musician's Friend as
> my default online source, since generally they're as fast as anyone else
> and I haven't had problems with them. But I had read good things about
> Sweetwater from posters here and in other newsgroups and decided to give
> them a shot.
>
> By the way, my comment about unsolicited calls was directed toward the
> OP and not Sweetwater, as I wouldn't have considered that "unsolicited".
> Trouble for me is, I get so many garbage calls that I've gotten to the
> point where I don't answer calls from numbers I don't recognize or that
> have blocked their caller ID.
>
>

Re: lean times at Guitar Center? Cold calls from teen sales lackies?

js <nothing AT nothing DOT com> wrote:
> People seem to forget that the Do Not Call registry does NOT block
> calls from any company with which you have a business relationship
> for a certain length of time.

Oh yeah, that's true. And my recollection is that the law isn't very
specific about what constitutes that "certain length of time", and
anyway, no one's going to enforce it.

> GC and Sweetwater are totally within the scope of the law by calling
> you. However, it's probably a BAD idea, as most people assume any
> sales "cold calls" are a violation, and will write off the company as
> a result.

For some people, sure. As for me, unless they leave a message, I have
no way of knowing they called. As I said, I don't put Sweetwater's call
in the "cold call" category, it was a personalized response to an order,
which I consider good business. But yeah, generally the cold call thing
is a losing strategy in my view. Especially recorded calls. Sheeks!
Not to take this OT, but the first time I got a recorded call from a
political candidate I swore I'd never vote for any politician that did
that. Well, guess what, if I had followed that this spring I'd have
scratched off everyone who was on the ballot. I did scratch off the
stupid idiots who didn't use technology sophisticated enough to
recognize that their machine was speaking to my machine while my machine
was still speaking ;-)

> You'd have to send a letter to say, GC and tell them to stop calling,
> or block them from your phone.

For me, no need. Unless they leave a message, they're not gonna get to
me :-)