Complaints
This profile includes complaints for Guitar Center, Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see
Customer Complaints Summary
- 253 total complaints in the last 3 years.
- 74 complaints closed in the last 12 months.
If you've experienced an issue
Submit a ComplaintThe complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.
Initial Complaint
Date:12/19/2022
Type:Delivery IssuesStatus:ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
05/01/2020 I ordered a new Martin Road Series DRS2 for $528.98. Someone else I know ordered the same guitar the next day. They received theirs, but I never did, and eventually, without any input from me, the order was canceled. I was eventually contacted by a sales rep who offered me a vague “good deal on som***ing else,” but could not get close to offering me another Martin of equal or greater value for the same price.
11/21/22 I ordered a Taylor Academy 10e and a Taylor GS Mini-e Koa for $1057.88, including taxes. The GS Mini-e was always on back order, and is expected to arrive in February. However, the 10e was in stock and would ship in the next few days. I received notification that the 10e had shipped on 11/28. A guitar arrived 11/30, but it was a Taylor Big Baby, a guitar that at the time of purchase was $200 lower in value the 10e I ordered. I spoke with 4 customer sales reps, spending about 4 hours on the phone, and was told there were only two ways I could get the guitar I ordered: 1) Return the one they gave me by mistake, wait 10days for the return to be processed, and then reorder the 10e, or 2) drive 50min to the nearest Guitar Center store, return the guitar there, and then again, put in a new order and wait two months for the now back ordered 10e. I repeatedly expressed my dissatisfaction with these options, as they had essentially stolen $200, and were not lifting a finger to make it right, and because the 10e was supposed to be a Christmas present, but would now be months late to be one. I emailed 3 customer service reps over two or three weeks, and never received any response. Eventually I did take option 2, and will eventually receive the guitars I ordered, one of them months after I needed it. 6 hours of work on my end, including 2 hours of driving (over 50miles added to my van), and Guitar Center still will be doing less than they originally indicated. I’m used to working with companies who take responsibility for these kinds of mistakes.Business Response
Date: 12/23/2022
Hello S***,
I am very sorry to hear about
your difficulties with your order.
Since your item hasn't shipped
yet, we are unable to process a partial refund since we haven't charged for the
order yet. So for the inconvenience, we can apply a $100 in house credit to your
account that can be used in store, over the phone, or in our chat and if you'd
like, we can send it to you as a gift card in the mail.
Additionally, we can upgrade your recent orders shipping to
Expedited shipping on us so that when it does come in, it will arrive much
quicker.
Thank you. And if there is
anything else we can do, do not hesitate to ask.Customer Answer
Date: 01/03/2023
I am rejecting this response because:I have already paid for the first of the two guitars, so the reasoning seems inaccurate. But if you are unable to provide a refund for some other reason, store credit would suffice. I would like to recommend an alternative course of action to expedited shipping: you could upgrade the 10e to the 110e which is currently in stock, so that you could ship it immediately. It obviously is too late to be here for Christmas, but it would be faster than the 10e and would make up for the month+ delay caused by the wrong guitar being shipped.
Regards,
S*** *******Business Response
Date: 01/05/2023
S***,
Thanks for the reply.
Unfortunately we are unable to upgrade your guitar. We have applied the $100.00 in house credit to your account that can be used on a future purchase with us in store, over chat, or over the phone with us.
The current ETA for your Taylor Academy 10e Acoustic-Electric Guitar Natural is 02/10/2023. Please know that this date is subject to change.
If there is anything else that we can do, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Thanks
Customer Answer
Date: 01/06/2023
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 18603891, and find that this resolution will have to do, though the experience with the business over all is still a net negative. They have charged me for the first guitar , I can prove that if helpful via my credit card transactions, so the only reasoning they provided for providing store credit instead of refund is faulty. I am accepting their proposal, as further negotiations look as though they will not improve the outcome, and will continue to take time and add stress.Thank you, BBB for the services you provide!
Regards,
S*** *******Initial Complaint
Date:12/01/2022
Type:Billing IssuesStatus:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Business FALSELY ADVERTISED the price of a drum set as $149.99. The company then charged me 179.99 plus tax. When I asked them to refund this amount, they would not. I want the company to cease their false advertising practices immediately!!!Business Response
Date: 12/07/2022
Thanks for bringing this to our attention and we apologize for the icnonvinece this has been.
We are showing that a $30.00 refund was processed for you and the original deal was honored.
If you are in need of any other assistance, or still haven't seen the refund yet. Please let us know and we can further assist.
Thank you!
Initial Complaint
Date:11/29/2022
Type:Delivery IssuesStatus:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I hate to say that i got cheated twice by Guitar Center. I should have avoided this company when i got cheated the first time. First time I ordered a Roli seaboard block and the order got accepted and confirmed then the status got changed to shipped and i was so excited and suddenly after a couple of days they say the order has been cancelled. It doesnt make any sense that after the order has been shipped, how come they can say it is not in their inventory. This happened more than a year ago but i still have the order history for proof.
Recently on Nov25th I ordered Native Instruments Komplete 13 as it was showing it was on a deal($300). As I ordered that, i also ordered a few software instruments from 8Dio (worth of around $300) which needs Kontakt Player full version which comes with the Komplete 13 that have ordered from GC. Then after three days the order got cancelled and they say they dont have it in their inventory. They dont even consider my problem that i already spent a few hundred dollars on 8Dio which will need Kontakt full version to play and they cannot be returned as they are downloadable versions. The only reason i bought them was i thought i was going to get the Komplete 13. When i call customer service they say they do not have it in their inventory and they can offer 10% discount on Komplete 14($600) which is ridiculous.
If a product is not in the inventory, why does it take three days to notice that. The lady on the customer call says the computers are not perfect. Even after four days, I still see the product on their site.
I think Guitar Center just cheats their customers making them come to their website and place orders so that they can show high number of orders and try to sell them other products when they call their customer service.
It happened to me twice and many other customers might have faced similar issues with GC. Customer Satisfaction seems to be a joke to them.Business Response
Date: 12/05/2022
Thanks for contacting us and we apologize for the icnonvinece
this has been.
The item you purchased has been discontinued from the manufacturer
and we no longer have it available. We had very limited retail box edition left,
which is where your order was sourced to come from, but our retail location your
order was set to come from was unable to ship the item to you due to the
condition the box / item was in. We apologize for the icnonvinece of this and apologize
that this item is no longer available.
We do have Native Instruments KOMPLETE 13 SELECT in stock if
you would be interested in that. We can have a gear advisor reach out to you
and assist with getting that for you if you are interested.
Please let us know if you have any other questions or
concerns.
ThanksInitial Complaint
Date:11/15/2022
Type:Delivery IssuesStatus:ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I was looking online for MPC and found a gold MPC online that appear to be in stock as what it said online and matter of a fact is still see it right now I tried to order the MPC and that’s when it told me it had to be shipped to me.
I figured since it said in stock that I’ll go to the store in person. Well I went in person to only find out that I had to order it. My birthday was three days away from the order date, which was 11-12-22 . The plan was to get the MPC to me before my birthday or at least on my birthday so I put an extra. Money to make sure the shipment gets shipped on time but little do I know I got an email saying that the item was out of stock after I paid over $1100 call the woman to see what happened she get smart on the phone send there’s nothing that she can do in the order will probably be out in January . I drove way out of town to order the MPC and now I would have to drive all the way back out of town to pick up a check when I clearly spent cash I asked the woman is there anyway that she could reimburse me for my time and my gas money she told me it don’t work like that, so now I’m filing a complaint on guitar Center for poor business .Business Response
Date: 11/21/2022
Thanks for contacting us and we apologize for the icnonvinece this has been.
We are showing that we have the Akai Professional MPC Live II Controller Gold in stock in a few of our stores throughout the nation, if you would like, we can have a Gear Advisor give you a call to replace the order at a GC Store location that has multiple in stock. Doing this, we can ship this to your house or your local store and for the icnonvinece, we can provide 2nd day air on us.
If you would like to go ahead with this, please let us know by responding here or emailing us at [email protected].
If there is anything else we can do to make this right, please don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks
Customer Answer
Date: 11/21/2022
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 18407964, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me but only if guitar Center keeps their word.
Regards,
S****** *****Initial Complaint
Date:11/15/2022
Type:Billing IssuesStatus:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
On August 6th I informed a representative with Guitar Center at the location in Caselton Square that my son C***** ***** last day of Guitar lessons would be that day, and that we would not be continuing with next month. I was advised that all billing would cease at that time.
I check my credit card and see that I had been charged for two months of services that my son hasn't be in attendance for.
I called and spoke with the manager Kyle on 9/26/2022 who advised that the store has had two turnovers in Lesson leads in the past month he apologized for the error and stopped all future billing. He stated that he could not process the refund himself and only his store manager could.
10/10/2022 called to speak with the store manager no answer or no response
10/19/2022 the same as above
10/25/2022 I contacted customer relations at Guitar Center and spoke with a rep who started the complaint process, which the complaint was escalated to the district manager in my area. The rep also advised that I should receive a call within 5 business days.
As of today I have yet to hear from the District manager, Store Manager, or manager or most importantly the services I was fraudulently charged for have not been refunded.Business Response
Date: 11/17/2022
Hello,
I'm sorry for the frustrating experience with the Guitar Center in Indianapolis. I'll gladly share your comments with the management chain in charge of the store including the Store Manager, as well as the District Manager. I assure you, we take your feedback seriously, and will do our best to work with you to show you that we're better than what you have experienced.
A member of management will be reaching out to you within 48 to 72 business hours to go over a resolution with you.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Again, I'm sorry for the frustration you've experienced.Initial Complaint
Date:11/14/2022
Type:Delivery IssuesStatus:ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Shopping around for a Bose L1 Pro system… found one on there website mislabeled as a Bose S1 Pro system and priced accordingly. I purchased said item and walked away from one privately for sale that I was going to purchase. Later on my order was cancelled because, as I was explained by customer service, the item was “damaged beyond repair”. When I questioned it the response was then “we are not responsible for the accuracy of our website”. Now the other one is sold, and I am left with no recourse and ultimately wasted my time. What kind of company doesn’t stand behind their own mistakes? If I walk into the store and something is mis priced there does that get damaged beyond repair also?Business Response
Date: 11/17/2022
Hello,
I'm sorry for the frustrating experience with the Guitar Center in Clearwater, FL. I'll gladly share your comments with the management chain in charge of the store including the Store Manager, as well as the District Manager. I assure you, we take your feedback seriously, and will do our best to work with you to show you that we're better than what you have experienced.
A member of management will be contacting you in 48 to 72 business hours to assist and go over a resolution for you.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Again, I'm sorry for the frustration you've experienced.Customer Answer
Date: 11/28/2022
I am rejecting this response because:I was contacted via phone and I gave my email address and said I would prefer to speak to someone where the conversation was saved. I have yet to receive an email from the individual “Jim”. In no way has this been closed to any satisfaction on my behalf. All that has been done is someone called.
Regards,
A*** *********Business Response
Date: 11/28/2022
Thanks for the response.
We have contacted the Store and District Manager over the Clearwater Store with your preference of communication and have asked that they contact you with an update.
If there is anything else we can do to make this right, please don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks
Customer Answer
Date: 12/02/2022
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 18394872, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
A*** *********Initial Complaint
Date:11/09/2022
Type:Product IssuesStatus:ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
On 28 Sept., '22, I placed an order online (GC order #GC2*****10) GC for a guitar case that turned out to be the wrong size. Upon attempting to return it to my local GC, I was told that since it was purchased w/ GC Rewards gift certificate that I was stuck with the case--no refund, no exchange.
The rewards gift certificates came from a recent purchase at GC I made for over $3K ($150 in rewards). In fact, I spend thousands w/ this company annually, and they can't make a simple exchange. This whole endeavor has cost me time and money.Business Response
Date: 11/11/2022
Thanks for bringing this to our attention and we apologize for the inconvenience this has been.
We have applied a $25.00 in house credit to your account to make up for the item. You can keep the case or discard it as we will not be requiring you return it.
To use the credit, please give us a call, chat online with us, or inform your local store of your online account number: 10*****74 and they will be able to transfer the credit to your store account for use.
If there is anything else we can do, please don't hesitate to contact us.
ThanksCustomer Answer
Date: 11/14/2022
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 18377828, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
L******* *****Initial Complaint
Date:11/07/2022
Type:Delivery IssuesStatus:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Made a purchase from guitar center, requested overnight shipping on 9/25/2022. Expected delivery was 9/27/2022. Unfortunately I live in North Carolina and along the projected path for a hurricane that was near the coast of Florida causing me to evacuate. When returning home on 9/30/2022 my package was not there. I contacted Guitar Center to resolve the issue as well as Fedex and my claim was denied. Now I am forced to pay for something I had not received and guitar center is refusing to refund or reship the item to a store location for pick up.Business Response
Date: 11/11/2022
Thank you for contacting us and we apologize for the inconvenience this has been.
FedEx has confirmed for us that your package was delivered as addressed. At this point, we would recommend that you contact the police to make a left report and also to contact your home owners insurance. They should be able to assist you in getting this replaced / funds returned to you for the loss you have endured.
Please give us a call at ###-###-#### and we can assist you further.
ThanksInitial Complaint
Date:11/07/2022
Type:Product IssuesStatus:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
On the morning of Saturday October 29th I ordered a used Fender Blues Deluxe Amplifier online from the Orlando, FL Guitar Center location. The amplifier was listed at $399.99. I placed my order, chose my shipping options, and waited for an update. Saturday passed - nothing. Sunday - nothing. Okay, fine, it was the weekend. Monday - still nothing. Tuesday - STILL nothing. My order had been listed as "processing" since Saturday, so on Tuesday evening I reached out to Guitar Center through their online customer service system. I didn't hear anything until the next morning when I received an email from Guitar Center saying that I had canceled my order. I had not. Concerned, I called customer service to inquire as to what was going on. I still very much wanted the amp I bought. There was no explanation as to why I had been blamed for the cancellation (again, I did not cancel the order). I was told the amplifier had not passed its final inspection and that I could look for another amplifier. For my trouble I was told that Guitar Center would give me a free cable. So, I returned to their website to look for another amp. To my surprise, the very amp I purchased on Saturday (and was told had not passed inspection) had been relisted by the Orlando store. However, the price was now $599.99. I reached back out to customer service who told me they were troubled by what I found. The representative promised to contact the district manager and get back with me, however I've received no follow up. All I want is the amp I purchased, at the price I purchased it. Instead, I am being given the run around. At this point, I no longer trust that I will be able to receive the amp I tried to purchase. I fear it will likely be intentionally damaged or some other excuse will be made to ensure I don't receive the amp in order to cover the business's tracks. I'm not really sure how to proceed. I hope you can help hold this business accountable. Thank you.Business Response
Date: 11/11/2022
Hello,
I'm sorry for the frustrating experience with the Guitar Center in Orlando, FL. I'll gladly share your comments with the management chain in charge of the store including the Store Manager, as well as the District Manager. I assure you, we take your feedback seriously, and will do our best to work with you to show you that we're better than what you have experienced.
A member of management will be contacting you within 48 to 72 business hours to go over a resolution.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Again, I'm sorry for the frustration you've experienced.Initial Complaint
Date:10/31/2022
Type:Billing IssuesStatus:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I sold my Ibanez BTB 705 to this store and at the time of this transaction, the store informed me that I would get a 15 % off my next purchase without limitations . I sold this $1,000 item to the store for $400 cash I went in to this store on 10/27 and was informed that they were not going to honor it and it was for the day i sold my guitar to them earlier this year. The manager was very rude and not wanting to listen to me or provide what was promised to me. I have tried to reach out to the DM and the store wouldn't give me his contact information. I would like to speak to the DM about this matter accordingly.Business Response
Date: 11/04/2022
Thanks for contacting us and we apologize for the inconvenience this has been.
If you could provide more details, such as the store you visited, and email it to us at [email protected] or reply here, we will get this feedback over to the store and District manager for review.
Please let us know if there is anything else we can assist with.
Thank you!
Customer Answer
Date: 11/07/2022
I am rejecting this response because:I’ve reached out to the store with no resolution and Ryan has yet to cont at me
Regards,
J*** *****Business Response
Date: 11/09/2022
Thanks for contacting us.
We received your email and have gotten in contact with the store management team and the district manager over this.
You should be hearing back from them within 72 business hours.
If there is anything else we can do to help, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Thanks
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