What I like about Guitar Center

LOL, I know the feeling Dude. 😄

+1 RimShot

True about instruments (depending on what type) bit but accessories, sticks, strings, mics, cables, picks, etc. can come straight to your door with free shipping when ordered online.

bitflipper
I still patronize my local music store (not GC). Sure, the kids working there are my grandchildren's age. And they seem to think I'm not only from another age but a separate species altogether. Still, internet shopping will never match the experience of plugging in gear to see how it feels and sounds. 

Totally agree Bit.  As much as I complain about GC, I still visit there often and appreciate that there are still music stores to go to and try out gear.  When buying an instrument or amp, I still prefer to try them out before I buy, especially guitars.  Out of an entire wall of Strat's, one will feel right in my hands, over the others.  
 
I also appreciate that you can still demo most amps and guitars at GC.  I have learned a lot about what I like in amps by being able to demo them and with new amps continually coming onto the market, it is great to be able to play them to narrow down what you may want to add to the pallet.  
 
I know that I am constantly surrounded by kids and less experience when I go into these stores, but that is fine by me.  It actually give us old geezers the opportunity to pass some knowledge on to the younger guns.  Some of them actually want to learn.  
 
I was in a Guitar Center on Monday on my day off.  I was pretty much ignored as an old guy when I went into the store.  They probably thought I was looking for a guitar for my son or grandson.  Most of the kids were hovered around the Line 6 amps and noodling around.  I picked up a MIM Strat, plugged into one of the new Mesa Boogie micro tube amps to try it out, played a very bendy lead and watched all of the heads snap around to look at me.  I guess that old guy could play something.  
 
A basic Strat, straight through a good old tube amp still rules in my book.  

bitflipper
I still patronize my local music store (not GC). Sure, the kids working there are my grandchildren's age. And they seem to think I'm not only from another age but a separate species altogether. Still, internet shopping will never match the experience of plugging in gear to see how it feels and sounds. 

And I have to give a +1 to the guys in the back of the local shops (in my case: AZ Music Pro here in Flagstaff). Their guitar tech has helped me out more than once. We also have a really good luthier in town, but I've not met him yet. This post should get my mojo in motivation.

Rimshot
...accessories, sticks, strings, mics, cables, picks, etc. can come straight to your door with free shipping when ordered online.

True that. But that fact does not do you any good when you're setting up for a gig and discover that your microphone cable's broken. That's why I know the location of every music store in the area - and what time they close.
 
Which reminds me...I did order a cable online back in March that never arrived. Now, who was it that I ordered from? Did they charge my credit card? Well, no matter, as I did save $1.95 by ordering it online.

I hate store greeters. I know they're only doing their job but there's something about forced hellos and welcomes that makes life seem so phony and dishonest. I also hate a lot of modern trends in customer service, like referring to customers as "guests" as in "would the next guest please step down to the register." You can just imagine some latte-sipping marketing douchebag insisting that referring to people as customers makes them feel like they're only there to spend money and that this is a bad thing (even though it's 100% true). No, call them "guests" and they'll develop an emotional attachment to the store and come back! Well I'm sure there are some people who are manipulated by this kind of plastic BS but I'm not one of them. 
 
I also hate when store workers won't leave you alone and continually ask you if they can help you. I always say no the first time with sincere politeness - if they won't leave me alone after that I get snippy. I once went into a Manhattan Portage store to buy a new shoulder bag and even after I made clear that I was just looking and didn't need any help, the guy attached himself to me like a magnet as I made my way around the store, asking me questions, telling me about the features of the bags etc. It just completely distracted me from my personal decision making process and in the end I walked away from him without saying a word and left the store. Last time I was in Staples I had 3 employees approach me within the space of a minute to ask me if I needed help choosing printer paper. I got thrown out of Best Buy a few years ago for "not needing help" as I looked at laptops. I was in the market to spend over a grand on a notebook for work and I was checking all the store models out one by one (as you do). Douchebag comes over and asks if I need any help, I reply with "no thanks I'm good," and he says "if you don't need help then we consider you to be loitering and would ask that you leave the store." Bye bye thousand dollar sale. 
 
I worked in sales for a few years. Which makes me immediately sensitive to being fed a sales pitch - I've heard it all before. Leave me alone to browse in peace, and if there's anything I need to know (especially what other people think via online reviews) then I'll look it up on my phone. 

bapu
I too still shop local (not GC). The manager is the only guy I've been dealing with for just over 30 years now. He's about 10 years younger than me and my biggest hope is he will outlive me cuz I ent got time to build a new relationship.
 
To him I'm simply Ed.
 

who's Ed?