Guitar Center (part three)

After a while of going round and round with the phone jockeys I was finally able to speak with someone who could help me. No it was not the store manager, it was Nick. I was assured that he could help, whatever the problem. So I lay it all on him about the poor experience I had and more importantly about the defects. He tells me, "No prob just return the guitar and we will get another one for ya." I say "Great how long is this going to take, I will be out of town for a week." He replies, "That'll be great, we'll have enough time to get it in and inspect it for you." I also remind him of the strings and setup that was promised and not delivered.

6 days later

I call Guitar Center to let them now I will be flying into Chicago on a Thursday and I will be there to pick up my new guitar on Friday. I am informed that they have two awaiting my inspection.

My entrance to Guitar Center is anything but welcome. I get the cold shoulder from Michale... not a word. Nick the store go-to-guy is nowhere to be found and I am stuck with a bunch of clueless lackeys who are trying to put away stock without falling all over each other. Before I go any further, I do not blame the young dudes for being clueless, it is there managers job to make sure they are properly trained. So I wait... and I wait... finally Nick comes from the back with one guitar, not two for me to inspect, just one. I plug it in and inspect. "Couple of dead frets, and the neck is a bit bent." I say to Nick. He turns to Michale and says, "Do you have time to fix this." "No not really." he snaps. Nick informs him he has time to fix it. I walk with Michale to the repair area he does not talk or make eye contact even when I ask, " What store did this guitar get shipped from?" Although he did not like having to do this, I have to say he did do a great job on the guitar setup.

Now it's time to check out and I still don't have the case I wanted, the new strings, or the extras.
There are no tags or registration card. I ask the kid behind the counter to make sure I get this stuff. He hands me a poster and some booklet and a registration card for a Cherry Sunburst Gibson Les Paul. My guitar is not a Cherry Sunburst Gibson Les Paul. Although it is a Les Paul, I don't think it will work to register it with the Cherry Sunburst' serial number. I keep the registration card anyway, he wants to be a doof I'll let him. I will call Gibson and take care of my registration problems over the phone with them. (this could be blog worthy!)
I leave feeling somewhat justified, at least I now have a new guitar.