Terrible boss, terrible compensation, terrible raises, and terrible opportunities to advance for most employees. - Business Analyst Guitar Center Employee Review

1.0
10 Nov 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good discounts on musical gear, but I'm not a musician. People under the level of manager are normally good people to work with.

Cons

I have a boss who has made multiple employees under him quit and is still around. The company is a boys club and it's all about who you know. Company is controlled by Bain Capital so some people spend half their time updating Bain on progress instead of actually making progress on their projects. Employees, especially in higher up positions, are constantly "reorganized," resulting in some people being reorganized out of the organization.

Explore other reviews about Guitar Center

5.0
9 Jan 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Got to work with so many people

Cons

Long hours during holidays were rough

1.0
29 Jun 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Employee discounts are the biggest reason why people work here, as the discount is really good.

Cons

Your experience working at Guitar Center will largely depend on which store you work at. Some stores have a good management team and employees and are fun to work at. But a lot of stores do not have a qualified management team and they have a staff that is not fun to work with. My location needed a new store manager and instead of promoting the ops manager who knew the store better than anyone else and was with the company for 15+ years working at multiple locations, corporate instead promoted a customer service lead who had been with the company less than 2 years and didn't have management experience. These are the people that corporate decides so often to run their stores.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All