Not All GC's Are Created Equal

[CandidPicker]

The irony is that Dan's is not a glitzy shiny store. It's a small corner store at the corner of Beretania St. and the H-1 freeway, hardly a glamorous site. It's dusty, and crowded and stuffed with both new and used gear. The "premium" gear is in what resembles an acoustic room. It has a huge following here though due to what they sell...I will reiterate that when you Don't have a GC for decades you come to appreciate the abundance of choices and quality levels not achieved by those that had the lock for so long...

I remember numerous shops in NYC in the music district that sound like how you describe Dan's. These were the days in '77 when a well-worn '54 Strat in the window cost $1300. I remember seeing this and thinking, "That's lot of money for any one guitar..."

Although I ventured only in Manny's that day with my SG in tow, and then down a few shops to a place where some guy was demoing a Boss BF-2 Flanger, and me thinking...*must have...must resist*...though the guy was impressively good and me wide-eyed in NYC.

Some of the best deals were found in larger cities amid the multitudes and crowds who flocked there each day. No one knew what you might find, there were police and emergency crews always rushing to whatever response there was, there were professionals wearing business attire, the folks making a living by whatever means they could, the card hustlers, the buskers, the poor, and the ill and infirm.

It was 1977. I was still a kid in a big city, attending college for my freshman year. The greenest of greenhorns. Things would change the way I thought forever in the next year.

I never ventured back to the 48th St music district in NYC after fall of '78. Not sure why. Perhaps there was too much happening on campus for me to enjoy a trip into the city. Life was hard back then. Music was my safe place, people were too absorbed in school to be too friendly.

Dan's sounds much like the shops in NYC. Dusty backrooms where the best stuff was kept away, packed to the gills with extra stuff any heart could desire. The temptations were there, it took a lot of concerted saying "No, not today," and putting things aside on a wishlist until something could be purchased.

 

[jxe]

love the temptations, could not imagine running into a huge motown act guitar shopping.

 

[CandidPicker]

love the temptations, could not imagine running into a huge motown act guitar shopping.

LOL. The flanger was reminiscent of disco and funk riffs popular back then. (Yep, I remember it) Although I don't remember what guitar the guy was riffing on, it was funky R&B jam. Not the band, the Temptations, though, the stuff you desired, but needed to say no to, for lack of cash or credit card. These were the days where Dad didn't send me off to college with a credit card. I think family sent a $25 check every 3rd week, and I needed to make do with that. Not a lot you could buy in the city for a couple bucks...even food you were dependent on the college cafeteria or frat houses themselves.

 

[CandidPicker]

I had a fairly good experience at the one on Las Vegas Blvd.

I honestly think it's a mix of corporate culture, retail sales... whatever-it's-called, employee training, and individual attitude mixed with what kind of day he's having. Also, how we as customers act...

...Yes, they're probably supposed to treat everybody the same but, are you going to dink around with a guy who wants to check out PRS PS when he obviously can't afford one?

I'm not justifying behavior, I'm just saying that I suspect nobody wants to waste their time on that guy when they're getting paid commission.

It's like hey, in the time that this dude demos 5 ridiculously expensive guitars that he won't buy, I'm missing out on sales commissions from 2 other customers who are buying their first ever guitars plus 2 more guys who have done the research, and just need help finding their next mid-level brand X guitar.

This, too, is part of corporate culture. I think it might be left up to the upper level sales reps (who've worked at GC for some time, and are more experienced at assessing potential high-priced sales) to sell PRSi PS than just the comparatively recent-hire guy who works in the guitar section.

Will the recent-hire sell more entry level guitars? Not necessarily, but his knowledge of guitars and their quality may be more limited based on the sales training he's received from GC. And yes, any business will train its employees and increase their sales knowledge as they've worked more hours in store.

So it may just be that the guy you buy a PRS has more knowledge about high-end guitars, and simply because it's 1) this results in upper level sales reps who are qualified to sell high-end gear, 2) the recent-hire may be allowed to sell only entry-level guitars, and 3) the impression that either sales rep makes on a potential buyer with his customer service attitude may make or break a deal.

Consider the 3rd factor: Could the recent-hire display the proper customer service attitude? If the recent-hire wishes to advance in the business, this may very well be an important factor. Eventually, high-end sales reps are typically promoted and move up the ladder. Someone needs to take their place once they do, which is the reason why recent-hires are encouraged to stick it out with the business until they also are qualified to sell high-end gear. All of this takes patience, time and endurance on the part of recent-hires.

As college graduates conduct their job searches for work in the coming year, some who are sales or business marketing majors may find that there are quite a number of retail positions available these days. The pay may not be the greatest, but no one has ever succeeded in life without first working lower pay jobs before landing their dream job.

If perhaps you know of someone who bucks this trend, please let me know. I've yet to meet someone who has not first worked a lower paying job position before receiving a higher pay scale.

 

[Tremontinator]

you know of someone who bucks this trend, please let me know. I've yet to meet someone who has not first worked a lower paying job position before receiving a higher pay scale.

Kinda

I started out as an apprentice auto Mechanic making $20,000-25,000/yr.

Worked as an iron/steel worker for $20,000-22,000

Odd jobs, same pay scale

Welder/fitter/fabricator up to $32,000/yr


Got my class A commercial driver's license and tried driving concrete trucks for a month. Pay would be $34,000 tax free.



So now, I'm going over the road trucking and once I complete my training phase, it'll be up to me to make anywhere from $58,000-63,000/yr, to start. Depending on how hard I drive. Plus bonuses for productivity and safety.
A pay raise is almost guaranteed within the first year-ish.




So, to answer your question
Yes, I †hAvE† indeed worked lower paying jobs BUT, I am a complete rookie in this current career path, and I'm about to be on track to make a middle class paycheck


Any anybody aged 21+ with a clean record could get their CDL, and make the same money.

An 18 y/o could get their CDL, and probably get maybe like 40k/yr? IDK just guessing.

Point being, by the time that kid is 21, he'll have the years under his belt to move up into long haulin, and be able to demand a much better wage