Personal update on my goings on- Best Buy Musical Instruments

[smavridis]

Good lord are people getting cranky lately. I'll just agree with Pete - always exercise good manners, especially if you are new.

On topic: Good to hear from you again smavridis! It's great having a good job you like, isnt it? :icon_thumright:

yeah man, you guys helped me out loads! i might as well let you all know whats up and yes, its great to say "hey, i get to go to work today!" instead of "ugh. i have to go to work today.". the guys i work with are awesome too! they are really good friends of mine now. the way best buy hires people is through a personality test. basically everyone is the same person. it makes for great chemistry in the work place

I for one, blah blah blah. Tell us some more about your job smardyvardus. Do yous guys carry all the accessories? Can I find my ernie ball strings at a best buy now?

well basically i am the "luthier". i have already done a refret, a few MAJOR electronics replacements with crazy switches and such, and i repaired a broken gibson songbird neck! that one is my favorite. i have a story to share with you guys about that one! something i realized though is how terrible gibson's corporate big wigs or whatever are when it comes to certain things. you'll understand when i share the story. but yes soon you will find ernie balls at all best buys! there are two different MI departments. there is the MI store-within-a-store, the actual sectioned off place with a wall of guitars and acoustic room, drum room, and amp room (which is just such a place where i work) and then there is the MI Core, which will be in all BB's. the ones in operation right now sell the low end packages and some accessories, like ernie balls.

Congrats to you.  You're learning and putting to use skills that will last you a lifetime.

thanks wyliee! i owe you BIG TIME with all the advice you in particular have lent me! not directly to me, but on the board through lurking. there are a few guys on this board who really have valuable info that has been put out there. =CB= is also a really great contributor! you guys have helped me out alot!

 

[Patrick]

i think you skipped the whole "this is how i fixed it" part  :toothy11:

DETAILS

 

[smavridis]

well basically i smoothed out the inside of the crack to make space for the glue. then i made rough spots for it to grab and hold, glue does NOT stick to smooth surfaces  :laughing7: i glued it, and clamped it. after the glue was set, i smoothed it out with sand paper. 300 to 600 to 800 to something much smoother. it plays great! it was a simple fix that just needed brain power and patience!

 

[dNA]

Smavridis, can you throw me the address of your BB? Lancaster is kinda out of the way - if it was on the way to Philly or NYC I'd be more inclined to stop by. But if i get the chance, i'll still keep it in mind.

 

[smavridis]

Smavridis, can you throw me the address of your BB? Lancaster is kinda out of the way - if it was on the way to Philly or NYC I'd be more inclined to stop by. But if i get the chance, i'll still keep it in mind.

1801 Hempstead Road
Lancaster, PA 17601

 

[Paul-less]

Not the most beautiful of neck repairs, but if it sounds good and feels good, who cares?

(I'm not claiming to have been able to do any better)

Personally, my beef with Gibby is that they seem to have pretty loose QC, and they don't volute their headstocks. I'm sorry, a scarf joint with that much pressure is GOING to fail if you look at it wrong. Also, I'm not Ed Roman. I just share SOME of his less radical beliefs (volutes, and bolt-ons)

 

[smavridis]

yeah it plays like new. im proud.  :headbang:

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

That Gibson was a win-win situation.  If they were just going to trash it anyways, there was no pressure if you failed.  Instead, you got to work your way through it and learn something.  Very cool.  On the job self-learning.

I imagine it might be a bit more stressful working on a customer's guitar if you've never attempted that type of repair.

I'll stop in and say hi next time I'm near Lancaster (which isn't all too often.)

 

[dNA]

whaddya charge for just a setup? My W tele still buzzes a bit on the low E and I've got the action pretty high already... i'm ready to concede that i probably just don't know how to set up a guitar

 

[smavridis]

whaddya charge for just a setup? My W tele still buzzes a bit on the low E and I've got the action pretty high already... i'm ready to concede that i probably just don't know how to set up a guitar

depends, we are really lenient on service charges. the standard rate would be $40. BUT if my supervisor isnt there, which he usually isnt when i work during the week, then i can get it done for $20 for you.

 

[Alfang]

I think your repair looks just fine, I've repaired a few of those, and its hard to get them to look perfect.

It's probably stronger now that it was before, and will serve somebody well for years to come.  Good job!

 

[dNA]

whaddya charge for just a setup? My W tele still buzzes a bit on the low E and I've got the action pretty high already... i'm ready to concede that i probably just don't know how to set up a guitar

depends, we are really lenient on service charges. the standard rate would be $40. BUT if my supervisor isnt there, which he usually isnt when i work during the week, then i can get it done for $20 for you.

i may very well take you up on that. if you can get this thing to play nicely with no buzz, i'll be very happy to part with 40 bux, let alone 20. what days/times do you usually work?

 

[Lucky #7]

What's with the personal attacks? It must be your defense mechanism when you start to feel on the short end of the intellectual stick. I really don't care enough about this topic to care about doing research and start name calling. I will however defend myself. Am I speaking in broken english? What the hell would make you question my first language other than my screen name you racist f*ck? What exactly is so idiotic? The fact that I'm making a statement that YOU can't research? Marty Albertson explained to me that Bain Capital was a majority shareholder of BB. Why in the world would you use wikipedia to back up your ramblings? Check that link again and read the history. Anyway I'm done with the whole BB GC thing. However I will continue to personally defend myself. You shouldn't throw chingasos cause I'll f*ck you up boy. You can PM me or email me and we could chat without the restrictions of the forum. Just let me know biotch.

Internet tough guys are fun. And a racist claim too.  Awesome.

A quick perusal says the two companies have nothing to do with each other.  Even if Bain Capital owns a significant portion of Best Buy, that does not equate to them running it.  Hell, they were competitors in bidding for D&M Holdings early on.

 

[Paul-less]

What's with the personal attacks? It must be your defense mechanism when you start to feel on the short end of the intellectual stick. I really don't care enough about this topic to care about doing research and start name calling. I will however defend myself. Am I speaking in broken english? What the hell would make you question my first language other than my screen name you racist f*ck? What exactly is so idiotic? The fact that I'm making a statement that YOU can't research? Marty Albertson explained to me that Bain Capital was a majority shareholder of BB. Why in the world would you use wikipedia to back up your ramblings? Check that link again and read the history. Anyway I'm done with the whole BB GC thing. However I will continue to personally defend myself. You shouldn't throw chingasos cause I'll f*ck you up boy. You can PM me or email me and we could chat without the restrictions of the forum. Just let me know biotch.

Internet tough guys are fun. And a racist claim too.  Awesome.

A quick perusal says the two companies have nothing to do with each other.  Even if Bain Capital owns a significant portion of Best Buy, that does not equate to them running it.  Hell, they were competitors in bidding for D&M Holdings early on.

First of all, lets just drop this. Let's just celebrate a fellow UW member getting a job he loves.

Secondly, Click Here

 

[Lucky #7]

I concur.  Congrats smavridis. 

 

[Cagey]

i worked at gc when bain bought them. everything changed over from the way we clocked in to the way we got paid. comission went away to regular hourly pay. check best buys website for instruments. it's the same as GC. Check out what bain does. they really arent a traditonal owner. they buy out companies and flip them. GC will be back to the public too.

My niece currently works at GC and she gets paid commission. She also gets some absolutely wicked discounts. Makes Musician's Friend look like a rip-off.

Bain is a holding company. They don't flip companies after they get healthy, after some time period, or just for fun. The only reason they'd sell off GC is if it stopped turning a profit at the rate they expect. Being a musical instrument sales company, if that happens, it'll mean things will are really tough all over. The markup on that stuff is incredible.

The reason most people aren't as impressed with GC as they could be is they only stock things that either turn over very quickly, return a high profit, or both. So, it can be a disappointing place to shop. For as large as it is, you expect them to carry some obscure stuff, but they don't. All you get in the stores is the fast-moving mainstream stuff, or high-margin pieces they can afford to let hang for 30 to 90 days. They'll always say they can get whatever it is you're looking for, but of course, so can you via the 'net. Want to see what a Kinman pickup looks like? Or, even buy one? Not gonna happen. Want some obscure Electro-Harmonix special effect? Not gonna happen. Looking around, you'd think they have everything that's worth having, but they don't. It's all cherry-picked for rapid turnover. Which makes sense, actually. Why invest money in things that don't move? Inflation makes you lose money that way, and the gear certainly doesn't appreciate. You'd be better off investing in money market certificates instead of inventory. You wouldn't make as much, but you at least you wouldn't lose.

 

[pabloman]

Internet tough guys are fun. And a racist claim too.  Awesome.


What would you call asking somebody if they speak english based solely on the fact that they have a hispanic name? I wasn't speaking spanglish and I don't believe that I type with an accent. It is a comment about race so that makes it racist. Besides that, the issue is over now so It really does not need to be stirred up again. And also just so there is no confusion I'm a tough guy in real life too. There's just alot of different ways to get at somebody and bringing up race in any way should be avoided. That's a sign of desperation. That means you have ran out of arguments or things to say or that you are a racist. But like I said before that issue has been cleared up. I think somebody might get irritated if judgement was passed on them based on one simple fact like a person's name or their location. I mean really how cool would it be for me to come to the conclusion of the color of somebody's neck just because they happen to be from League City? It wouldn't be very polite to just assume that because a guy lives in a southern state that he is extra friendly with his sister. These are all horrible stereotypes that have no constructive purpose whatsoever. I have sense enough to judge people on their own merits and not on something superficial. I remeber hearing an old saying that I thought was pretty offensive. It was the whole steers and queers thing. That's not cool at all beacause A&M fans don't really like horns, ya know? So imagine how it would make those guys feel. It's all pretty silly and should just be taken with a grain of salt. I gave plenty of reasons to attack me without having to resort to race. I was a real a*s. That should have been enough. Again I'd like to say that it has been cleared up though.

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

Internet tough guys are fun. And a racist claim too.  Awesome.


What would you call asking somebody if they speak english based solely on the fact that they have a hispanic name? I wasn't speaking spanglish and I don't believe that I type with an accent. It is a comment about race so that makes it racist. Besides that, the issue is over now so It really does not need to be stirred up again. And also just so there is no confusion I'm a tough guy in real life too. There's just alot of different ways to get at somebody and bringing up race in any way should be avoided. That's a sign of desperation. That means you have ran out of arguments or things to say or that you are a racist. But like I said before that issue has been cleared up. I think somebody might get irritated if judgement was passed on them based on one simple fact like a person's name or their location. I mean really how cool would it be for me to come to the conclusion of the color of somebody's neck just because they happen to be from League City? It wouldn't be very polite to just assume that because a guy lives in a southern state that he is extra friendly with his sister. These are all horrible stereotypes that have no constructive purpose whatsoever. I have sense enough to judge people on their own merits and not on something superficial. I remeber hearing an old saying that I thought was pretty offensive. It was the whole steers and queers thing. That's not cool at all beacause A&M fans don't really like horns, ya know? So imagine how it would make those guys feel. It's all pretty silly and should just be taken with a grain of salt. I gave plenty of reasons to attack me without having to resort to race. I was a real a*s. That should have been enough. Again I'd like to say that it has been cleared up though.

Enough already.

 

[smavridis]

i may very well take you up on that. if you can get this thing to play nicely with no buzz, i'll be very happy to part with 40 bux, let alone 20. what days/times do you usually work?

yeah man i can definitely make her play beautifully. i take my time and i have fun doing it.

First of all, lets just drop this. Let's just celebrate a fellow UW member getting a job he loves.

Secondly, Click Here

I concur.  Congrats smavridis. 

thanks you guys im really lucky to have this job. REALLY lucky.

and cagey, as soon as we get the traffic we are looking for my supervisor is going to get some unique stuff in.

also

Enough already.

dwight is right, pablo i thank you for your apology, but no more. please stop defending yourself and everyone get off his @ss or start pulling his hair cause this is getting nowhere.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Personally, my beef with Gibby is that they seem to have pretty loose QC, and they don't volute their headstocks. I'm sorry, a scarf joint with that much pressure is GOING to fail if you look at it wrong. Also, I'm not Ed Roman. I just share SOME of his less radical beliefs (volutes, and bolt-ons)

I read that too about Ed and his favoring of bolt-ons over setnecks.  I think though, he only prefers the bolt-on because none of the big names are doing them right anymore.  They're using uber amounts of glue to make up the difference on a poor joint.