bearbike137
Well-known member
This is news to me. I have shopped Elderly multiple times and all their inventory was on site. Am I missing something here..?
Bad experience at Gruhn Guitars - nashville
- Thread starter Cornfield
- Start date
This is news to me. I have shopped Elderly multiple times and all their inventory was on site. Am I missing something here..?
pootsie
Well-known member
I had to go look this up because I did not know what a Reso-Rocket is.
Having found out, I feel confident that you are now happy enough to forget the initial bad experience! Those things are GORGEOUS in all ways. Tell us more about this happy end to the story, please
frets alot
Well-known member
No, you aren't missing anything. I KNOW Elderly's and everything that is in stock is right on site. I've been going there since 1974 and know exactly how they work and operate. I know many of the people who work there. Also, you don't have to make an appointment to play any of their guitars. They may have their "special", extremely expensive, one-of-a-kind guitars in a locked cabinet, but if you asked, they'd get it out for you to play. They might stand there with you, though.
OP
OP
We went back and I asked a different salesperson for help. He said I could take down and play anything I wanted (signs all over the store say only sales people can take them down).
I asked for a tech to look at it, he agreed the strings were the wrong ones, changed them out and tested the pickup. It is being shipped to my home so I won't get it till Wed or Thursday.
A better shopping experience than the first time.
RichM
Well-known member
This was a poor choice of language on my part, I meant only that that Elderly, like many stores, does not have all of their inventory on the selling floor and somtimes items need to be brought out on request. This was in no way meant to be an indictment of Elderly, which is one of my favorite stores ever, but an observation that many stores that deal in high-end merchandise maintain some reasonable level of inventory control.
liseamuller
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First trip to Nashville
I know this is an old thread...but wanted to share my experience:
Went to Nashville last week for first time. From Chicago. Took 13 year old daughter for a Christmas present to see her favorite, Ed Sheeran, at Ryman.
Walked by Gruhn and told Emily we should go in. I had heard of it but not being a musician myself, didn't know much about it. I opened front door and we stood there for a moment...there's almost an aura of: "I don't know if I am supposed to be in here!!!" I took a deep breath and said: "come on...let's look around."
Little background: Emily loves singing and playing guitar. She is NOT a Taylor Swift/Justin Bieber type music fan. She much prefers a variety like Foy Vance/ Ed Sheeran (of course)/ Olly Murs/ Barbara Streisand/ Patti Lupone/ Van Morrison etc. She plays guitar every chance that she gets and owns a 300.00 Seagull.
As others have said, there were four people working and there was one customer in the store who was being helped by one of the sales staff. No one said anything to us, so we just walked to the back room. We immediately saw the signs that said to ask the staff for help with the guitars, but it didn't really look like anyone cared so when Emily asked if she could take one down and try it, I said sure.
To make a long story short...Emily tried every acoustic guitar in there that she could reach. She played guitars that were from $500.00 to $5,000.00 and she had an amazing time. "This is the best day of my life." Her favorite was a black Taylor 214-CE...at $975.00, over our budget but perhaps a thought for next Christmas.
Now I know that this story may add evidence to the "real" musicians contention that Gruhn is touristy, but if one visit to a guitar store can fuel any individuals passion for learning and performing...I don't care if they are amateur or professional...they should be there.
In the end, we left with a $4.95 cloth to take home home to polish her Seagull. While paying for it, I thanked the older man at the counter (perhaps George) for allowing Emily to play the guitars and for allowing us to feel like it was OK to be there. The hour and a half spent in that store meant the world to us. Next time, maybe I'll see if we can get a reservation for the second floor!!! lol
I know this is an old thread...but wanted to share my experience:
Went to Nashville last week for first time. From Chicago. Took 13 year old daughter for a Christmas present to see her favorite, Ed Sheeran, at Ryman.
Walked by Gruhn and told Emily we should go in. I had heard of it but not being a musician myself, didn't know much about it. I opened front door and we stood there for a moment...there's almost an aura of: "I don't know if I am supposed to be in here!!!" I took a deep breath and said: "come on...let's look around."
Little background: Emily loves singing and playing guitar. She is NOT a Taylor Swift/Justin Bieber type music fan. She much prefers a variety like Foy Vance/ Ed Sheeran (of course)/ Olly Murs/ Barbara Streisand/ Patti Lupone/ Van Morrison etc. She plays guitar every chance that she gets and owns a 300.00 Seagull.
As others have said, there were four people working and there was one customer in the store who was being helped by one of the sales staff. No one said anything to us, so we just walked to the back room. We immediately saw the signs that said to ask the staff for help with the guitars, but it didn't really look like anyone cared so when Emily asked if she could take one down and try it, I said sure.
To make a long story short...Emily tried every acoustic guitar in there that she could reach. She played guitars that were from $500.00 to $5,000.00 and she had an amazing time. "This is the best day of my life." Her favorite was a black Taylor 214-CE...at $975.00, over our budget but perhaps a thought for next Christmas.
Now I know that this story may add evidence to the "real" musicians contention that Gruhn is touristy, but if one visit to a guitar store can fuel any individuals passion for learning and performing...I don't care if they are amateur or professional...they should be there.
In the end, we left with a $4.95 cloth to take home home to polish her Seagull. While paying for it, I thanked the older man at the counter (perhaps George) for allowing Emily to play the guitars and for allowing us to feel like it was OK to be there. The hour and a half spent in that store meant the world to us. Next time, maybe I'll see if we can get a reservation for the second floor!!! lol
Plainsong
Well-known member
That's awesome. I remember when a trip to a music store was a trip to Wonderful Town. I'm glad that she got to play stuff she'd otherwise not easily get a chance to get her hands on. Kudos to them for leaving her alone and letting her play, and she has great taste. 
pdxuke
Well-known member
That's awesome. I remember when a trip to a music store was a trip to Wonderful Town. I'm glad that she got to play stuff she'd otherwise not easily get a chance to get her hands on. Kudos to them for leaving her alone and letting her play, and she has great taste.
Agreed. Magic Time for Emily. She'll never forget it, and I'll bet that if she can, someday she'll go back and buy a guitar there and be reminded of her day with her parent!
dkpianoman21
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That really is too bad. I once took a buddy to a guitar store to help him with his first guitar, and after I tried about 5 guitars so my friend could hear them, the sales guy came over and said to us "if you're just going to play everything in the store you might as well go to Long and McQuade" so we left and went there, and
I helped him pick out a great guitar that would have cost him more at the first store.
Poor customer service is a deal breaker for me. The good news is, with so many music stores available, you can usually find another one close by.
I helped him pick out a great guitar that would have cost him more at the first store.
Poor customer service is a deal breaker for me. The good news is, with so many music stores available, you can usually find another one close by.
I'm a new member. I'd like to report my experience with George Gruhn whom I've never met before. I went to his shop introduced myself and my wife, he was in the middle of making a deal on two 10k guitars. He asked me if I'd wait for a moment and I did. Five minutes later he came to me and apologized for not being able to talk and invited me to stay with him as he finished the deal. He took me and my wife upstairs we stood by as he played the guitars and made a deal for one. Afterwards he introduced us to all his employees, showed us his collections of reptiles and guitars. It was a wonderful first meeting with a man I'd never met before and I might ad a very busy man. If someone has had a bad experience with this man I'd suggest he should look in the mirror, maybe the problem wasn't with Mr. Gruhn. Sincerely Robert Brock retired SDFD
pbagley
Well-known member
Old thread, interesting read. I visited Gruhn's a couple of years ago, and had a somewhat similar experience.
It was mid-December in Nashville, and we were tourists on our first visit. We were mostly interested in tourist kinds of things. The Ryman, Grand Old Oprie, a swing past the Blue Bird (as seen on the TV show Nashville), and a few of the local venues. I've been interested in vintage guitars since I returned to music in the early '90s and learned that the guitars I bought and sold in my youth were actually valuable. Who knew. Of course that interest in vintage guitars had led to the purchase of the Gruhn and Carter book.
My wife, son, and I entered the store as tourists. The sales people looked a little bored. I was wide eyed looking at all the guitars. The staff were busy doing other things so there was no interaction until I cornered one and asked questions about a couple of round neck reso's I'd seen on the web site. Both were in the $800-1000. The sales person I talked to said they both had truss rod issues, so both were good for slide only. No early Christmas present for me - these were not the decent round neck reso I was looking for. I ended up buying a coffee mug, hat, and a new copy of the Gruhn and Carter book.
In my opinion the people working at Gruhn's acted a lot like sales people in a tourist town at the end of the season. Tired of tourists. Polite enough, but not friendly. I've had similar treatment at a local vintage guitar shop (Willies) so the behavior was somewhat expected I guess. I would not call it a bad experience, more of an indifferent experience. Next time I get to Nashville I'll visit again, and it may be completely different. Different day, different attitude. I've seen this at Willies - some days the staff are very friendly and others they are indifferent. Good days and bad... Most times when I visit these guitar stores I have money in my pocket and I am shopping for something. Oddly enough I've spent more at the two local stores that treat me well every time I visit.
It was mid-December in Nashville, and we were tourists on our first visit. We were mostly interested in tourist kinds of things. The Ryman, Grand Old Oprie, a swing past the Blue Bird (as seen on the TV show Nashville), and a few of the local venues. I've been interested in vintage guitars since I returned to music in the early '90s and learned that the guitars I bought and sold in my youth were actually valuable. Who knew. Of course that interest in vintage guitars had led to the purchase of the Gruhn and Carter book.
My wife, son, and I entered the store as tourists. The sales people looked a little bored. I was wide eyed looking at all the guitars. The staff were busy doing other things so there was no interaction until I cornered one and asked questions about a couple of round neck reso's I'd seen on the web site. Both were in the $800-1000. The sales person I talked to said they both had truss rod issues, so both were good for slide only. No early Christmas present for me - these were not the decent round neck reso I was looking for. I ended up buying a coffee mug, hat, and a new copy of the Gruhn and Carter book.
In my opinion the people working at Gruhn's acted a lot like sales people in a tourist town at the end of the season. Tired of tourists. Polite enough, but not friendly. I've had similar treatment at a local vintage guitar shop (Willies) so the behavior was somewhat expected I guess. I would not call it a bad experience, more of an indifferent experience. Next time I get to Nashville I'll visit again, and it may be completely different. Different day, different attitude. I've seen this at Willies - some days the staff are very friendly and others they are indifferent. Good days and bad... Most times when I visit these guitar stores I have money in my pocket and I am shopping for something. Oddly enough I've spent more at the two local stores that treat me well every time I visit.
Croaky Keith
Well-known member
No surprise there, if the staff are friendly you are going to go back again.
In defense of the rude salesman... I think someone looking to spend 50k on a guitar probably would know that they needed an appointment and that someone in the store looking for a ukulele probably was not in the market for a $50k guitar the same day. But a polite sales person would have said "The second floor isn't open to the public but if you would like to make an appointment for a private showing you can call ?Steve? and set something up.
If it was me, even though I have not intention of spending that kind of money I'd have asked how I go about making an appointment.
If it was me, even though I have not intention of spending that kind of money I'd have asked how I go about making an appointment.
I cannot speak for an in-store experience but I have purchased several guitars from Gruhn's and always been treated very well. My last experience was FANTASTIC...!
I had purchased a guitar from the Ltl. Jimmy Dicken's Estate Sale, handled by Gruhn's. I had a question about a letter written by Mr. Dickens, in reference to him being given the guitar by Brad Paisley for his Birthday. The situation was not handled by a Gruhn's employee but by Mr. Gruhn, himself.
He called me and advised that he was going to go to the Grand Ole Opry, where Brad Paisley was appearing that night and see if he could get him to authenticate the letter. Mr. Gruhn went to the Opry. Called me from there and advised that Mr. Paisley was in the process of writing a letter of authenticity and he, (Mr. Gruhn), was taking pictures as Brad wrote it. He then forwarded me the letter by mail and the pictures by phone. TALK ABOUT PERSONAL SERVICE.....NONE BETTER...!!!
I had purchased a guitar from the Ltl. Jimmy Dicken's Estate Sale, handled by Gruhn's. I had a question about a letter written by Mr. Dickens, in reference to him being given the guitar by Brad Paisley for his Birthday. The situation was not handled by a Gruhn's employee but by Mr. Gruhn, himself.
He called me and advised that he was going to go to the Grand Ole Opry, where Brad Paisley was appearing that night and see if he could get him to authenticate the letter. Mr. Gruhn went to the Opry. Called me from there and advised that Mr. Paisley was in the process of writing a letter of authenticity and he, (Mr. Gruhn), was taking pictures as Brad wrote it. He then forwarded me the letter by mail and the pictures by phone. TALK ABOUT PERSONAL SERVICE.....NONE BETTER...!!!
