• I Hate Guitar Center

I went in to buy strings.  Just strings.  I paid in cash.  The cashier told me that he needed my name.  Why?  For the receipt.  According to him, I can’t return my strings without my name on the receipt.  I declined anyway.

On the way out, I was stopped so that the chubby greeter girl with greasy hair could check my receipt (at least she didn’t get my name).  Again, I asked why.  ”Look, I’m just doing my job.”  Her parents must be proud.

Anyone who has ever been to a Guitar Center with me knows not to repeat the mistake.  I never give my name or address, and I generally refuse to let them see my receipt (which once led to a parking lot confrontation that ended with me being banned from that location).  Am I kind of being a dick about it?  Sure.  I know what I’m getting into when I go there.  I know that they always want my name, and always have someone by the door on my way out.

But strangely, I don’t have this problem anywhere else I shop.  The Guitar Center experience is designed to be abrasive and anti-customer.  Today was my last trip.