The Chetboard

Well I thought Eddie would have posted this on here by now, so I'll go ahead and do it.
Today Eddie and I went into a Music store right up the road from me called Guitar Gallery (http://www.classicaxe.com).
There wasn't a soul in the store (now I know why). I asked the guy if I could try the Godin La Patrie classical on the wall. He took it down and I started playing. He later took one down for Eddie to play. We rattled off about 2 or 3 tunes. And out of the blue he bluntly asks us if we are going to purchase them or not. He then asks us if we are in there just to jam during our lunch break or something and that he doesn't let people just come in and jam and then he snatched the guitars out of our hands and placed them back on the wall.
Eddie proceeded to walk out immediately.
I on the other hand, well let's just say......(now how can I say this without the thread getting deleted).....let's just say I ripped the guy a "new one" if you catch my drift.

When he proceeded to just take the guitars from both of us and place them back on the wall....I was left in shock. I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED SUCH DOWNRIGHT RUDENESS IN MY LIFE WHEN IT COMES TO GUITARS. Well, make that the second time, the first time was with Bruce Kunkel of Kunkel guitars (ya know the ones with the heart shaped soundholes, he was at CAAS one year....but that's another story).
After Eddie left I asked him how does he expect to stay in business. I could understand if it was a grungy, goth looking teenager whaling away on a $5,000 Les Paul and scratching it up. But we were playing $400 La Patrie classicals. It ain't like they were rare or anything like George Gruhn would sell. Well, needless to say the guy didn't give one red cent what I had to say. I just told him I would put the word out to all the pickers in the area never to set foot in that store and that he needs to learn a lesson on how to run a music store.

Chime in Eddie...........

Sorry to here about your bad expression here in ontario the small music shops have really nice people the one where i live love to here you pick even give you coffee to drink if your there long enough. I was wondering what you thought of the la patrie phil? I posted a few questions on this board about them a month ago would you say they play nice.

Well from the little time I played it, it seemed nice to play. Had a nice unfinished neck, very loud and plenty of meat on the saddle to shave it down to make the action lower. It would be a great guitar to put a Prismatone on.

I posted about it on Facebook. Phil and I both have been to Gruhn's
and George while a little peculiar has never stopped either of us from
playing some really nice guitars.

If any of you are ever in Central or Northern VA and you are in a guitar buying
mood go to Melodee Music in Leesburg VA or Pickers Supply in Fredericksburg VA or Culpeper Music Center of course
in Culpeper VA.
They all will treat you right. But I will never ever go to that place again.

I sent him as nice an email as I could and told him he would not be in business
long if he treated customers like that. I make it a point in a music store even if I am looking to buy
to not say so until I am ready just to see how they react. If they act badly I don't buy!

Just thought I'd chime in here. There is a music store about 3 miles from me whose staff projects a "smart-aleck" attitude like that and whose prices are not competitive at all. I buy from a small store about 25 miles away and the owner is a super nice guy... great prices and you can test drive anything you want for as long as you want. As a result, I have purchased one guitar, three amps, a delay pedal and various accessories and strings, etc. from him over the years and just one capo from the other place. I don't know how the local store stays in business. Thanks, Tom W.

I think your comments apply pretty much to all retail stores. The customer is king... There are no long term retail stores that don't keep that in mind. Having said that, there are some instances where the shop keepers need to protect their investments, so they do need to kick out the odd person. I'm sure we all have our horror stories about people with buzz saw zippers on their jackets playing 5K guitars.... and kids on skate boards rolling down the aisles between expensive guitar!!!.. Phil, You and Eddie haven't taken up skate boarding... Have you ... LOL

Why even be in the guitar business if you can't even enjoy the "pickin' and grinnin'" experience yourself?

Bill B.

I'd open a music store just hear you guys come in and pick!

There are those type in any business. Not sure how they put food on the table...but my one thought other than that was...Guitar Center. (said like Seinfeld would say "Newman")

You walk into the place and you have 3 guys shredding in different keys at the same time(benefit of the doubt that they know what a key is), while some guy is thumping a base and Jr is pounding on a drum set, while dad is in the acoustic room. More times, than not, this is the environment in our local GC. Just a bunch of folks jamming, all at the same time. How in the heck is that an enjoyable environment?

This type thing never happened in a "music store", that I am aware of. Folks were respectful of others in the stores when they wanted to play an instrument. I dont think todays crowd understands the difference and this guy may have encountered some of that. Maybe he has Guitar Center Syndrome and is just very wary and over reacted. Most likely not...who knows, just a thought to some bizarre behavior. Guess you guys can attend the auction when the place closes down next year.

A different perspective.

I owned a guitar store for about 10 years. We are only hearing one side of the story here. Lets be honest.....you had no intention of purchasing one of the guitars. You guys decided to stop in and strut your stuff a little.

You got to "rattle off" two or three tunes. But evidently that was not enough.

Perhaps its just a "$400 classical" to you and no big deal. But to the owner of that shop that guitar is HIS until someone else buys it. The more people that play on it......the more things that CAN happen. Maybe not this time or the next...but at some point its starts to get smudged/scratched up and banged around.

2 or 3 songs would seem sufficient to get a feel for the guitar. But that was not really what you had in mind.

A lot of people come into a guitar shop, to put it bluntly, show off. They have no intention of buying anything and are there just to entertain themselves and (if they are lucky) get a built in audience. I can't tell you how frustrating this becomes when people with a sense of "entitlement" come into a store.....and get huffy if you have the audacity to point out that this is a store (after all) and if they have any intention of purchasing the $400 item or if they just want to use it awhile. Especially in a small store. It may be just a "$400" classical to you (a bit smug eh?) but to the owner it represents part of his inventory and every piece of inventory is important to a small shop owner.

Now, I learned early on that you have to take control of the store. If you don't people will use the store as their private little den to entertain themselves and their friends. I would come around the corner sometimes and find two guys with their girlfriends sitting on the floor (making themselves at home) settling in a for a nice sit down and play.

If you want to play for yourself or your friends go home and use your own guitars. A small guitar store is NOT a library where the guitars are there for you to use as you please.....along with take up space in the store to show the world how great you are.

Just an FYI about that. Some people will be impressed with your playing and wish they could be just like you and will tell you how great you are. But other people will be turned off and intimidated by your playing in the store. I've seen it many many times.

Perhaps this owner did not handle the situation well. Maybe he had a bad day and you were getting on his nerves. It's not easy owning a small store and somedays you will probably be less "nice" than others. Just like real life.

I have to say that your attitude of "well.....I never......how could this be....Im a guitar player.....I will ruin you for not loving me and my playing"......is exactly the type of attitude I grew very weary of.

I did not mind when people came in the store and played "a few songs" and chatted about guitars and music. But the show offs, flakes, and rude customers really got to me after awhile.

I sold the store.

Go easy on the small store owners fellas and try to see things from their perspective. They may be having a bad day.....or maybe you should be home playing in your den.