I went with my novice guitar friend and the guy treated us like total fucking twats, even when I know enough about guitars to competent.

I played my tune-up riff that I do and they guy said "Is that it?" Bastard!

They are not too bad with drums though.

It's like the record shop in hi fidelity but worse.

as mogwai say....
\ Music Store personnel and their attitudes towards Customers
"These microphones are for 'high-end applications;'"
"I'm sorry I can't fix your stuff, there's a professional musician bringing in stuff I have to fix first"
"This delay pedal, I've not fixed it properly so I've not charged you but as long as you're careful, it should be fine"
"What is it?" (When presented with a MOTU 828 soundcard for repair.....one of the most popular soundcards in the world)
"I'm only going to sell this bass to someone who would really play it"

Just some of the comments made to members of Mogwai and their producer Tony Doogan in music stores in Glasgow in the last year or three.
What kind of service do they think they're providing for us musicians?
I mean, a few months ago we had to pay off and cancel our (substantial) account with a Glasgow/National music store for the unbelievably rude treatment shown towards me (Barry) when I had to go and pick up some pretty expensive and essential equipment we needed for the ATP festival.
Needless to say I went into a kind of rage I've only ever suffered twice in my life and began chasing the cunt around the shop, shouting, swearing and spitting hateful words at his face to alleviate my anger. Apparently my eyes were bulging from their sockets and I was pacing around like a caged tiger.
Aristotle said,
"Anyone can become angry-that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way-this is not easy"
He's right of course, but it was hard not to be furious with the arsepiece in the shop with his superiority complex and delusions of adequacy, treating me, the paying customer, with abject contempt.
Why would any customer stick around if that's the kind of experience he expects when parting with his hard earned cash?
What irks me more is the fact that I'm a 29 year old professional musician with some sort of confidence in my job, but transfer that same scenario to a 13 year old kid, and he'll be crippled with self doubt and feel like he can never go back to that (or any?) music store because of the total lack of encouragement he is to feel because of some minimum wage prick's unhelpful, foolish comments.
I'm not here to fix the situation. That is the store manager's remit, but I do wish that this supersciliousness which exists in the music store assistant's head would vanish like Bin Laden immediately. We don't need that, it's not helpful. If you don't like the job, get a new one, dickhead.
I rest my case.
Barry

p.s. I can't resist it. Every single bad incident was in the Glasgow store of Sound Control. You'd do well to avoid this place. Fuckwits. (Except the two chaps I like who work in there, no offence to you two)

and I don't feel like this at all. I just go in, get what I need and leave.

There is a really cool guitar shop just round the corner from my house that I use mainly and the guy there is really nice.

In places like Sound Control, if they try to adopt a superiour attitude I remind myself that, despite how good they are on guitar, I don't work in retail.

maybe Johnny Roadhouse in Manchester is just an exception? They're all lovely there.

there was no-one there except the one assistant who was playing something enormously complex on the electronic piano thing, eyes almost closed in concentration, really into it.

He had to stop half way through, get up and open the till so I could buy a 50p plectrum.

No wonder they hate us...

99% of all the music places I've been to have been staffed by top blokes. And in one instance, my actual friend.

That said, one of the bass places in Denmark Street is staffed by a total wanker who was lucky not to get knocked out. Or at least asked what his attitude was for.

is how they all seem to adopt a false sense of superiority over people they don't think are "proper" musicians. I know i'm far from that, since i've never had a music lesson in my life and know absolutely zero about music theory, but i always thought that there'd be a kind of mutual bond, musician-helping-musician thing going on, not "lol check this guy out, he doesn't know what a diminished seventh chord is". Twats.

(saying that, there's one guy in there who's never been anything but sorted with me, and pretty much rescued my guitar from death for a very respectable discount. I like him).

FYI!

to buy a lead, and asked about that new fender thats 37 diff sounds in one. i forget the name, i think it was s strat basic.
anyway i asked this guy a harmless question and he proceeded to lecture me in an annoyed voice about the pitchshifters in it and how its JUST A PITCHSHIFTER. treated me like a cunt, so eventually i said ok and walked off mid sentence

vs

people who work in videogame shops

THIS SUMMER
EVERYBODY LOSES