Autopilot – The Life of Bill Eager

Back in February of this year, while recording my latest album, Another Life On Mars, I decided to jazz up my tracks with some more human-sounding drums.  I opted for an electronic kit, being that I live on top of four other dwellings, and actually got a very good clearance deal from the Guitar Center in Buffalo on a Simmons SD5K.  That was back on President’s Day weekend.

A short time later, I got some mail from Guitar Center.  To my surprise, it was not spam, but a promotional gift card for $50, a thank you for the purchase I made during their President’s Day sale:

Dear Bill,

Thank you for shopping with us at our Presidents Day Weekend Sale.  We hope you’re thoroughly enjoying the gear you took home from that event.

As promised, here’s your $50 Guitar Center promotional gift card.  Come in and use it toward anything in the store.  But don’t wait too long — this gift card is valid only through June 1, 2009.

…

“Very nice,” I thought, and stashed the card for the next time I go there.  Not long after that initial letter, however, a similar one arrived for me:

Dear Bill,

Thank you for shopping with us at our Presidents Day Weekend Sale.  We hope you’re thoroughly enjoying the gear you took home from that event.

Unfortunately, due to a technical glitch, the promotional gift card we sent you at the beginning of April was less than the amount you should have received.  Enclosed, please find a promotional gift card for the balance owed, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

We have also extended the expiration on the gift card from June 1st to June 30th to give you ample time to come in and use it.

“That sucks that they made a mistake,” I thought, “but it’s nice that they made good on it and gave me some more time as a result.” I stashed the other card with the first one for the next time I go there.

Today, I went in to use the cards.  After about 2 hours of deliberation I settled on a cheap $99 nylon-string guitar (a type of axe currently missing from my arsenal).  I brought it up to the counter and then the trouble began.  I showed the two cards to the guy at the register, and explained that Card A said $50, but was really $25, and Card B said $25, and was actually $25.  I also explained that Card A said it expired June 1st, but according to the second letter I received, “[GC] also extended the expiration on the gift card from June 1st to June 30th”.  He acknowledged, and put in Card B.  Card B came up ok, and took $25 off.  He then tried Card A, and Card A did not work.  According to him, the account was closed.  He then casually asked me how I wanted to pay for the $75, ignoring the fact that I warned him the other $25 might be funky.  “I want you to get the rest of my $50 to work,” I said.  So a page went out for the AM (Assistant Manager).

The AM showed up, and I explained from the beginning again.  It actually took me a few runs through the explanation until he got it.  Seeming to understand, he swiped the dubious card, and again it came up empty.  His only advice was that I take it up with “corporate”, as though GC’s mistake on the whole was in no way any of their business.  “So you want me to mail it to some corporate office I don’t even know about, and wait for them to tell me the same thing?”  Sarcastically, he and the cashier agreed, and informed me that it was in California.  At that point, I was getting pretty upset about the whole thing, and I asked if anyone in the store could help me.  The AM told me he would go get the GM (General Manager) and ask.

The AM came back on his own.  The GM would not come out and explain, s/he just stayed in the back office.  Rather, the GM told the AM the exact same thing, that I would need to take it up with corporate, that it wasn’t their problem.  Incredibly frustrated, and about thirty minutes into it at that point, I told them that I would have to walk out on the sale if they couldn’t help me.  And walk out I did, after the AM showed absolutely no affect at my plight.

Now, I understand that might be the policy for retail GC stores, and I understand.  There’s plenty of exploitation that could come from giving retail stores the ability to change gift card values or expirations.  However, there seemed to be a general disregard for a confused and frustrated customer, especially from the GM who would not make an appearance, and no attempt to even give me a point of contact to resolve my issue (all I was told was to wait until Monday, because “their offices” aren’t open on weekends).  And I can’t understand how Guitar Center can manage to screw up a promotional thank you gift card twice, and then not inform their retail stores about an acceptable path of recourse for resolving it.  And on top of that, a sense of disregard that discourages me from even going back, should this ever get sorted out.

A quick sidebar: those logicians among you might fret over this:

We have also extended the expiration on the gift card from June 1st to June 30th to give you ample time to come in and use it.

I did as well, and “the gift card” could be interpreted a few ways, but I came to the conclusion that they had to be talking about the original card (whose account was closed on June 1 according to the retail store), because the new card never expired on June 1, it was June 30 from the start.  But in a simpler sense, why would you ever issue a gift card, half of which expires before the other half?

I realize this turned into a longwinded, complicated writing, but what kind of customer service nightmare isn’t?  At any rate, Guitar Center lost out on making $50 more on me, and left a real sour taste in my mouth at that.  I was always wary of big-box music stores, and when GC put a foot forward to woo me back, it got negated by the raging dumpster fire of customer service I encountered today.

But there’s a silver lining.  My lamentations about this caught the ear of some folks on Twitter who apparently work for GC, so maybe my pleadings might not go unnoticed.  And if they don’t, my e-mail address is beager@gmail.com.  We shall see.  Until then, I maintain my wariness of GC, and it seems to be a sentiment shared by many.