Guitar Center to Add Lessons, Rentals to Denver Store
by Tim Wenger
Guitar Center is no stranger to musicians, as they have been a leader in retail instrument and gear sales since being founded in California in 1959. What many musicians in Colorado might not know, however, is the full spectrum of services that the stores offer. Here in this new monthly column, CMB will be acting as the grapevine from Guitar Center to our readers, giving them the first shot at getting the best deals and newest gear.
The game of selling music gear, if it can be called a game, is a tough one. Technical knowledge, eccentric personality, and the best pricing possible must all be present to win over customers in a market that offers numerous options to buy your gear from a catalog or online without ever having to leave the house. Nobody knows this better than Tony Buffalo, the District Manager for Guitar Center’s Colorado six Colorado locations. Buffalo has been with Guitar Center for thirty years, and he took some time to meet CMB for breakfast to update us on what’s current, what’s hot, and what’s coming up in his stores.
“We’re really gearing our stores towards services for musicians,” says Buffalo. The Denver location, at 1585 S. Colorado Blvd., is currently under renovation to create space for lesson rooms inside the store. Lessons for just about any instrument you can think of will be taught. “We’re going to have eight lesson rooms. We’re also going to put in a rental facility, so we’ll be in the rental business. Now musicians can come there and have a clean and safe place to rent great quality music gear.” All of this is in addition to the GC Garage guitar repair stations located inside stores. The store hopes to kick off its lesson program in October.
Obviously, the store must hire instructors to teach these lessons, which they will be doing starting this month. “The great thing about our lesson plan is it’s nation-wide,” says Buffalo. “If you’re a student here in Denver and you move to Florida, you can pick up right where you left off. We’re having fun being a place for musicians, not just sales but full service.”
In addition to the birth of in-store lessons and rentals, Buffalo reiterates Guitar Center’s stance as the go-to spot for selection and, once you find what you are looking for, the go-to spot for the best deal. “To me, selection is a given,” says Buffalo. “Price is a given. We have a lowest price guarantee. Just let us know if it’s not. We have a “Music Mentors” series where we are offering free group lessons on recording, and group guitar lessons. The series is free every Saturday morning.”
The series continues on Wednesday evenings also, with additional lessons on mic’ing drums and working with pedals. “We’re always trying to help give musicians knowledge on music,” says Buffalo. “Most importantly, it’s all about the experience. In today’s retail world, the bricks and mortars are having their challenges. I want to make it a great experience when a customer walks in our stores. I coined it ‘edu-taining,’ where our staff helps you learn about the gear you are interested in and have fun doing it.”
That method, Buffalo hopes, will keep customers excited about coming into the front range stores instead of shopping online. He wants the employees to strive for the best service possible to keep people coming back. “Somebody that might want to just click the mouse and order something online, I hope they’d go ‘I’m gonna go down to Guitar Center, I can learn, I can experience the gear, hear how it sounds, and have fun while I’m doing it.’”
As far as gear trends right now, Buffalo says that electronic instruments are still a hot item, as well as powered speakers. “Powered speakers seem to be the way to go right now,” he says. “There are some great powered speakers out right now.”
Buffalo and his staff take pride in helping musicians achieve their goals. Personally, he takes pride in working with musicians (both his staff and the customers). At the end of the day, this is the world of music, and we’re all in it because we love it. “What we do is sell the ‘Greatest Feeling on Earth,’” says Buffalo. “It’s interesting to listen to these amazing and famous musicians and how they talk about it’s not about the money or the glam, it’s really about getting up there and making music. We’re involved in a lot of charities. I want people out there to know that people’s experience in the store is what is most important to me. If there is a situation in our stores that isn’t satisfactory, we’re quick to fix or resolve.” As for his career in music? “I don’t think I could do anything else.”
Contact Tony at TBuffalo@guitarcenter.com and find the location nearest you at guitarcenter.com
Category: Shop Talk
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