Sam Ash Music Stores

I am basing my review on today’s visit. I went in for some guitar strings per a previous visit which I was the told by them they could put strings in for free. I was told today when I went there that I could purchase the strings but they could not put them in since it was Saturday and it was busy and they wanted to sell guitars. Well I can’t go during the week so I went when I could which happens to be on a Saturday.
I wish they would of told me that they could only put in strings on any other day but Saturday so that I wouldn’t have wasted my time. I have never replaced the strings of my guitar so I was hoping to buy and get them put in at the same time.
Anyways I ended up going to music and arts which was way busier than Sam ash and bought strings and they managed to make the time put them on for me, (for free). Next time I know where to go.

This was the worst customer experience i’ve had in a while. I had not been trying the instrument for 5 mins until an employee approached me and told me to move somewhere else because he was trying to conduct business with somebody that actually wanted to buy something. I kept quiet, and as i got up from my seat he rudely got the instrument from my hand and kept asking me cash or credit, cash or credit, cash or credit. When i tried to ask for his name he went to the manager, told him some things and then they both came to me and lmplied that if i wasn’t going to buy anything that i shouldnt be disturbing others. The manager actually didnt even care to rectify the situation and was also rude. I have to say this was the worst music instrument store i’ve ever been. Horrible customer service and horrible people that don’t have manners or actually look like want to help you. Please, go to another store like guitar center or something

Disappointed. We were ready to buy a drum set. No one ever asked us if we needed help. I finally went and found an employee to page for someone to come help us. 20 min later we were still waiting. Finally left. Lets jusy say, im now at Guitar Center.

Loved this place! David was great in the Acoustic room. We did not know what we were looking for and he helped up find a food beginner guitar and was patient with us.

Got an excellent deal on a used ampeg bass amp! Price was a steal. Sales person Shane was great, and even helped me lug that beast to my truck. Never go to shitty guitar center

Here is a letter I wrote to the general manager:
We met the other day when I brought my daughter in for violin lessons and her teacher Claudette was on a cruise. Unfortunately her manager also did not know where she was at that day. Even though you asked me to call you regarding the situation I let it go in hopes the the situation would right itself. I must say I’m terribly disappointed in the lack of professionalism and follow up this team has. Granted they work at a music store but there are basic elements that all customer service should follow. First off, I have tried to call several times and have left messages regarding scheduling my daughters class. He did not return my calls not once. When I was at the store and tried to discuss the matter with him he was nowhere to be found. Then my daughters instructor is fired. She unhappy with her new teacher and has said that she thinks «he doesn’t know what he’s doing». In addition the class prices have fluctuated between 15 and 30 dollars and your staff doesn’t know why. When I asked the young African American lady today she got an attitude and then asked to see my ID when I was paying. As if just verifying my client information was not enough. I found she was rude and quite frankly tacky.
Basically, for 30 a week I can go down the road (closer to my home) and get my daughter superb private lessons with degreed instructors. I’m baffled at how this attitude towards your clients could be allowed to continue. I will assume it’s because you weren’t aware. I hope you are able to work this issues out with your staff and you should let them know they are the reason you will be loosing $ 120 a month of continuous billing. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions regarding this matter.

This place is a whammy (pun totally intended). You either get great or terrible service depending on what you need done or are looking for and there is no middle. I can’t comment on the lessons, but the staff rotates between being super helpful, irritated and cluseless to just trying to sell you higher end gear.
The atmosphere is way better than the «dudemanbro» vibe you get at Guitar Center, and that in itself is a major bonus. Huge selection and definitely better prices, but be sure you know what you’re going for and do your homework.

Sam Ash has a much better selection than guitar center, that’s for sure. More vintage classic guitars, more drums, and way better recording equipment. Their prices are same if not better than other stores. They do price matching which is great! They staff can be a little cold sometimes but one thing for sure is that they really know the gear better than their competition… GC.

I needed work done on my guitar. When I had dropped it off I was very clear that I wanted them to put the guitar in the humidity controlled room so that the guitar will be set up to work on it when the technician got to it. All of these instructions were received by Juan who seemed very competent and helpful; what you would expect. Well, this was the high point of ALL my business with Sam Ash. One week later I received a voicemail when I was at work stating that they were putting the guitar in the humidifier. Dis satisfactory but I can live with that. Then about two weeks later (+/​-​) I get a phone call saying that my guitar is done. This is where I have a huge issue because it states clearly on the copy they have (which is in pen and easy to read) that I don’t want any work done on this guitar until I can speak with a technician.
The reason why I requested this is because this guitar was my uncle’s who was the only other musician in my family. He passed away when I was two years old and the only thing that connects me to him is this guitar, a banjo, and a painting. So with all of this expressed to Juan (I reiterate) he wrote on the top of the form «high sentimental value». This gave me confidence in the service I would receive from them in the future. Then the phone calls. I was out of town. Then having a friend that works there, the next «contact» from them is her texting saying «hey come pick up your guitar or they’re going to buy it out from you.» (?!) I wait a little longer for I know this is illegal and I admit was prolonging the circumstance to see if I would get a follow up phone call from the business itself rather than a friend of mine from her own personal phone. So, with angst I go into Sam Ash. The first person I spoke to immediately got defensive with me when I expressed my dissatisfaction with them disregarding my requests. He told me to calm down and walked off. After he was almost out of sight he yells back to me that he’s getting a manager. Then the manager, Todd, comes out.
«So, I hear you’re an un satisfied customer». I tell him what’s going on and he asks well is this work you wouldn’t want to have done? I repeat the instructions that had been written on the document sitting in front of us. I told I’m not paying for you guys to disregard my requests. In response he asks me, the customer, how he’s supposed to pay his technicians.
«Not my problem.» I respond.
He then has the nerve to tell me that it is my problem as well as that they could reverse the work done to it.
Flabbergasted with this response I ask him, «So, when you drop off your car and say its making a funny noise I need this, this, and this done to it but call me with an estimate before you do any work would you feel obligated to pay for the work you didn’t authorize?»
«You got a point but…»
I couldn’t believe it. It’s like they were trying to lose a customer. I ask him for the number for corporate offices and he said he could give me a bunch of numbers for people who were above him. I called, the regional manager. No response but I leave a voicemail. Then on to corporate and get bounced around on hold until finally I speak to a man with such a thick middle eastern accent I literally could not be helped by him and asked if there was anyone else there that could help me. Then a lady picks up. I tell her I want to submit a customer complaint. She transfers me to Paul Ash, the president of the company. Finally, somebody that can help straighten this out. He tells me that they’ll just have to reverse the order as well, and that in repairs under $ 100 they just do it even if they can’t get ahold of the customer. Yeah right. So being as disgusted with everyone involved with Sam Ash I go back inside to the establishment. I ask to get my guitar so I can «reverse» the work myself so I could get it into a different shop. Just when I get my guitar out and start reversing the work done (strings, bridge lower, new bridge pins) the operations manager, Angela, comes out and says I can just take the instrument and there won’t be a charge. At that point I refused to take the guitar as is out of principle and start undoing the strings myself with her standing over me. Just then the table, the typical white plastic top with fold out legs, crashes to the ground with my guitar taking a ride. Luckily the guitar was set in the case but due to the case being opened, the hinge in the receiving end of the blow got bent out of shape. Worried that something else was going to blow up on me I sign for my guitar and head for the door. Then Angela yelled to me «God bless you».
Absolutely inappropriate.

I have not been to a Sam Ash in quite sometime, I figured I would pop in to see if there was anything that caught my eye. I give them an A for having all their amps and guitars out for you to check out and play to check them out. They have their «used» stuff in an awkward location and its really hard to determine what is used and what is not, I give them a D for this. The Henry Cho looking sales guy started out nice and professional. It went downhill after that. I had been eying a few new pedals and a new wired pick guard. I could not get any help with guitar pedals. When I asked about a wired pick guard, they only had one and the Henry Cho looking guy looked like I wasting his time. He told me about a used one they had for over $ 200. When I questioned him about it, he got rude, shook his head and walked away.
I do not care if Sam Ash has things that Guitar Center can not get. Their prices ok. You can do better at other places. The service is horrible. There used to be a music store that became the big box music store that is a competitor. I joked that unless you were in «the click», you would get horrible service. This place is just like that. Thanks but no thanks. I will take my business elsewhere.

I don’t know what it is about Sam Ash, it is always hit or miss when you go there. Sometimes you receive the best service ever or sometimes you get the clerk who thinks he is doing you a favor. Given that I will review this establishment based on the experience and service I was given that day. First rule of business to customer relationship, acknowledge we are there. On this day, the sales-​rep was very attentive. Second rule, especially in a music store, don’t act like a know-​it-​all Grammy nominated artist. Instead give us helpful tips and suggest musical options for novice as well as experienced players. The sales-​rep was very helpful and answered all my questions I had on various musical items. The third rule and the most important, don’t treat us like chattle with money or approach us impatiently like a sales-​person working on a commish! Again, the sales-​rep was very professional and patient with me as I was trying to make a decision on all my purchases. All and all my shopping experience was good and I will return there again sometime because a day like this totally makes up for the bad ones.

I’ve been my husbands roadie since we were in high school and as a result, I’ve come to be familiar with Sam Ash Music Center. The main difference between Sam Ash and their competitor, Guitar Center, is that while Guitar Center owns on the inventory front, Sam Ash has more knowledgeable employees and cheaper prices for services.
Frankensteining his bass is kind of my husband’s thing and whenever there’s a project that needs slightly more expertise, he takes his #2 girl in to a tech at Sam Ash to realize his vision. They’ve done everything from simple tasks like raising the strings to more complex things like adding a whammy bar to a bass (apparently this is a BFD). It’s usually done quickly and for a great price.
I also love that they have classes here. Watching a bunch of kids learn the drum solo in Limelight was one of the coolest things ever.

i bought my first ukelele here, i was able to ask a few questions from the guys behind the counter from the different types and why each was priced the way it was. it was ok, but for someone who’s only played piano its was a little scary. the staff was nice but it looked like they rather play the instruments than help the confused customers and from reading the other reviews i’m not the only one that felt that way. the selection is good from what i saw, it’s also the only music place i found going to. it’s ok for instruments, and price in my book. i think their prices on the website might be cheaper than the ones in the store though.

Helpful staff. Good selection of drums and drum notations. If I have no questions, they encourage me to test anything and leave me alone, which makes me happy.

A cool place. The staff was a bit stand-​offiish. Lots of hardware. Not much in the way of sheet music or books.

This location has seen me buy several gifts for my drummer husband. This is a pretty huge store with lots of variety at super reasonable prices. I do feel like there should be more staff interacting with the customers on the sales floor. I am not a musician and had questions about the practice drummer pads and I had to search for someone to help me. The guy made me feel like I was bothering him. Yikes! I do feel like they are knowledgeable, though, and will be back to get Christmas presents. You just really can’t find selection like theirs at the same price.

Good selection of low to mid end gear. Excellent pricing and a prompt sales staff. I usually avoid the «Big Box» music stores like Sam Ash and Guitar Center as the commissioned sales staff will make you feel like a t-​bone steak dropped into a barrel of piranhas. I don’t ever feel like that in this store.