"No Browsing" policy in open music stores

[christophervolume]

The Boomer comment it getting so tired and played out. I bet most people impacted and members here are Gen X.

Who cares what you think?

You compared COVID 19 to AIDS...

 

[Sirloin]

Who cares what you think?

You compared COVID 19 to AIDS...

No I didn’t.

 

[The bear]

No strat for you.

 

[tarheelalum]

If they want to be difficult, buy 3 or 4 strats online at guitarcenter.com and then return everyone of them just before 45 days to the same GC. When they cry about it, tell them, "well you wouldn't let me look at any of them so how am I gonna tell if they are any good". Use their own BS against them.

 

[christophervolume]

If they want to be difficult, buy 3 or 4 strats online at guitarcenter.com and then return everyone of them just before 45 days to the same GC. When they cry about it, tell them, "well you wouldn't let me look at any of them so how am I gonna tell if they are any good". Use their own BS against them.

What are you, twelve?

All of you complaining about not getting to shop for guitars or get haircuts are pathetic, and the kicker is it’s coming from the swath of people always touting “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” and don’t be a “snowflake”.

Y’all are the biggest snowflakes I’ve ever seen. I know children with more mental fortitude and toughness.


And btw, most of you are god-awful at playing guitar anyways.

 

[Whittlez]

The evidence is overwhelming that transmission from TOUCHING things (vs. airborne ) is pretty much not a thing. So, all the handwringers praising GC for their commitment to "safety" might want to consider that.

 

[Frozen Rat]

I disagree 100%

Rarely do they see anyone of the hundreds of thousands that have been allowed to work from home, are wearing masks & being responsible while engaging in limited indoor contact like grocery shopping, trips to the post office, drive thru etc.

Your body is set up to neutralize limited external viral contact quite well. Skin, saliva, nostril hairs, first line of blood defense are all very effective in negating limited exposure. This is why COVID patients almost all tend to have a story that makes sense: prolonged (over hours) indoor unprotected exposure. You need to be exposed to the virus in a certain quantity/quality of exposure.

Thus, I think the fear mongering that by simply touching a guitar in a huge indoor space with less than 10 or so people more than 10 feet apart while all parties wear masks & sanitize you're going to catch COVID doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Those aren't the people in the ICU's.

You say you disagree with me 100% but I think we actually agree about 75%. That is, I agree with 3 out of the 4 things you said. It's the last part where I part ways with your thinking. The body does have frontline defenses, true, but I'm sticking with CDC recommendations on sanitizing surfaces and washing my hands and wearing a mask even in very low risk encounters.

You may have frontline experience (which has a great deal of value, do not think I'm under appreciating it), but I wouldn't bet my life on that experience by letting my guard down just because I don't see a lot of a certain demographic/type of exposure getting sick (now). There's different strains that infect in different ways. It could also mutate and start infecting differently. What you are seeing mostly now could turn on a dime in a month and everything could be very different. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is what I'm betting my life on. I wear a mask everywhere. Not everyone does around me. That's their issue, I'm out to protect myself.

 

[T92780]

OP had mask in hand as he approached GC employee wearing a mask, that was his first mistake. Just wear your mask whenever outside, or no Strat for you!

 

[erikzen]

I always feel awkward playing guitars in a guitar store unless I intend to buy. The idea that I'm going to plop down $500, $1000 or more on the spur of the moment because the guitar "speaks to me" seems somewhat foreign, so this wouldn't have bothered me. I have no issue with Guitar Center enforcing reasonable policies aimed at reducing risk.

I cut all retailers some slack with their policies in the current climate. I'm out shopping for a short period of time and I'm back home. Retailers are working in the public for hours at a time and exposed to multiple people in indoor spaces. I don't blame them for taking any steps they deem necessary to protect themselves and their customers. They are doing me a service, so I'm happy to comply with their requests.

 

[sundog964]

It amazes me that nothing was ever wiped down to being with. It took this virus to make everyone actually clean and to make those who had a false sense that everything was, not have that sense anymore.

Exposure to pathogens is what builds an immune system. With constant cleaning of everything, more allergies and illnesses will crop up.

there is of course a limit to exposure that we should tolerate. I think that a simple wipe down of the guitar would be fine. But realize, you use the door handle to get into and out of the store. The pen on the credit card machine is never cleaned. And so much else that you would touch.

key is to not touch your face, and sanitize your hands before you get in your vehicle.

I am jonesing for a trip to my favorite guitar store though. I wanted to buy a starter bass, and learn that during the COVID-19. Most are sold out.

 

[Jecht]

I recently went to my GC and it was a sad state of affairs. The store had a very low inventory with lots of empty shelves, and amps haphazardly lined up. It felt like being inside of a Goodwill.

 

[Jayyj]

The other factor to bear in mind is that it's not necessarily the shop decided what they do. I can't speak for the US but over here we were given a 40 Government booklet lat week laying out what was expected of us if we wanted to open, plus there's a bunch of additional advisory stuff from the MIA which is the MI retail organisation over here. So it isn't just shops making it up as they go along, there are pretty firm guidelines coming from way above shop level.

I think the thing I keep coming back to is I read all this emerging stuff about how there's probably not much risk of picking it up off a contaminated surface in a shop or from a short conversation with a customer and it's a big relief, but it's still something we're learning about and if there's any chance these measures help a bit and it really isn't that much of an inconvenience to wear a mask for a few minutes or phone ahead to ask if it's ok to come in and try something, why not just stay on the safe side for a few more weeks? It won't be forever and it's surely good to stay on the safe side. It's also worth reiterating what someone said a few posts back, you're only in the shop for 1/2 hour, I work in one 8 hours a day, five days a week - low risk for a customer might not be the same for the people working there and, you know, us shop workers don't particularly want to get this thing either.

We're just finishing our first week back and for the most part it's been a really nice experience - customers have been lovely and happy to accommodate the temporary rules about masks and appointments, we've had lots of nice comments from people who are really glad we survived the lockdown, the appointments thing has meant being able to focus more on individual customers and make sure they're happy and got whatever they wanted. We'd had one person throw a tantrum because he didn't like being told to wear a mask and that he couldn't randomly pick up guitars, but otherwise no grumbles at all. And oh yeah, we had a guy in who tried over 20 acoustics with our blessing and it was fine, just meant 20 minutes cleaning afterwards.

So for the most part it bears out what I was hoping for when I last posted in the thread on Tues, for most people we're all on the same side, all just getting through this thing by whatever means necessary, and it's all going to be ok. The good old Blitz spirit and all that!

 

[ben777]

Contamination from surfaces is irrelevant if you're in a GC because you are also breathing shared air which is the #1 way it gets passed on. The masks are probably way more important than wiping down guitars. Unless you need to regale everyone in the GC with your killer singing you can play fine with a mask on.

A lot of skeptics and think "only certain demographics are getting it" will get your wake up call soon. I notice a lot of you live in regions that haven't gotten the brunt of their first wave yet. We don't all work in meat packing plants and factories here in the northeast where things have already been super bad, almost no one works in those types of places here, a much higher percentage of people here have high paying knowledge jobs that can be done from home, and yet we got nailed.

Guitar shopping will not seem like such a major problem once you are personally affected whether that is family, co-workers, or you yourself.

 

[themannamedbones]

This debate, if we could call it that, would be better suited for the Pub or Sound Lounge. It’s not about guitars, it’s some armchair warriors having a poorly researched political/medical dispute. This section is about guitars only.

 

[RobDaglish]

Go get 'em, tiger!

it worked for me... I got thrown out of woolies one lunchtime when I’d popped out of school to get something. I got thrown out by someone who obviously thought she’d thrown me out before... so I never went in another woolies, and what do you know, 15 years later they went out of business!

I've never understood people that want to demo community harmonicas and horns or put your mouth on a used talk-box every other person, booger fingered kid and who knows what else has been checking out.

~ss

Experienced woodwind players either take our own mouthpiece and reed if we’re trying instruments, or disinfectant wipes if we’re trying mouthpieces. Brass players are usually so full of alcohol no germs can survive contact with them

 

[ShredSquatch]

Experienced woodwind players either take our own mouthpiece and reed if we’re trying instruments, or disinfectant wipes if we’re trying mouthpieces. Brass players are usually so full of alcohol no germs can survive contact with them

Yeah all the experienced brass players I know go to GC to check stuff out! And snotty booger fingers can contaminate the entire piece!

~ss

 

[RobDaglish]

Yeah all the experienced brass players I know go to GC to check stuff out! And snotty booger fingers can contaminate the entire piece!

~ss

Ah... that’ll be the trombonists! The ones for whom even three valves is too much to work out

 

[Occam]

As musicians we should be acutely aware of infections diseases since we have the coolest named disease of all time, NAMMthrax. Again if you're not an actual infections disease expert either listen to one or just admit you don't care AND that you you're not only risking yourself but the more people that have the virus the easier it'll be spread to others so you're also making that decision for others who didn't consent to your behavior.

 

[christophervolume]

Get a grip Karen. The post was a joke, just like you.

Whatever you say, grandpa.

 

[DrumBob]

Alto Music in Middletown, NY is doing appointments at this time, in order to keep customer count down. They asked me specifically what I anted to try out, and my answer was, I don't know, because I come in and browse and see what's hanging on the wall. If it appeals to me, I pick the guitar up and try it. Same with snare drums. I was told that was OK, but an employee would be escorting me to the drum department after I was done in guitars. I asked why and was told they're implementing "white glove service," whatever that means. I don't know why I require a sales guy to walk me to the drum department. In any event, I hope to go next Saturday and am prepared for it to be a weird experience.

Ritchie's Music in Rockaway, NJ is not open at all for some reason, and no one seems to know why. There's a sign on the door saying they are closed due to an unfortunate circumstance, whatever that may be. Before the virus hit, they were scheduled to move to a larger building in the downtown area. Who knows what's happening with that now.