Stuck in the 80s - Just Another Cog Guitar Center Employee Review

2.0
8 Feb 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Most people are what musicians would call "chill". Laid-back atmosphere, good wages, etc. Some of the below-the-line advertising is fairly basic, but it seems to get the job done. Many employees are ex-rockers, which can make for some interesting lunch conversations.

Cons

For a company who needs to project the anti-authority that rock music imparts, Guitar Center is pretty straight-edge, and somewhat stifling. In this way, work can pretty dull/ mind-numbing. Also, there's no real grasp of web 2.0 concepts, which can be frustrating, esp if you're younger, and your boss has no clue what myspace/youtube is, and refers to it as "the internets"

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
21 Apr 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Plenty of capable individual contributors doing real work. - The brand and the business itself are legitimate — the problems are organizational.

Cons

- Senior leadership is politically driven rather than outcome-driven. Strategic initiatives stall out, and leaders spend more energy assigning or shifting blame than actually diagnosing and fixing problems. - Some parts of the org operate on deference to the top. Honest assessments get softened into whatever narrative leadership wants to hear, which makes real cross-functional work difficult. - Senior leaders do not consistently advocate for their own teams. When things get political, self-preservation takes precedence over backing the people underneath, and capable managers end up exposed.

2
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