If you wanna be totally ignored while the counter salesman grabs a $4k Les Paul and shreds all his favorite licks into boutique amps then this is your place. I went into this store 4 times in one week and was never even greeted with a single word. Also the person pricing the used vintage snare drums is obviously on crack. They had a mid 70's Ludwig snare that was so pitted it looked like it had been salvaged from a plane wreck on a reef and then placed out to be sold with new heads and snares wires. Avoid this place if you are really wanting to purchase anything! read more

absolutely 0 customer service. Ordered stands 2 1/2 hours ago and walked on to get them. After waiting 15 mins while 2 employees chatted with a customer they finally addressed me and then proceeded to give me grief because "it's not ready" it's a guitar stand. Are you building it by hand in the back? The employee Brandon proceeded to tell me how the lessons guy and doesn't typically do sales. So sorry I made you work harder Brandon. took and additional 15 mins to go forge the stands by hand in Mordor given how long it took him. This was purely out of necessity and unfortunately, I was anticipating this kind of interaction. Would give this 0 stars if I could. read more

Employee by the name of Ryan should switch type of job or not work at all. His level of passive aggressiveness, arrogance and rudeness was enough for me to cancel my pick up order, which wasn't available due to a system error. Instead of solving or figuring out what was wrong, it was easier for him to blame me and passive aggressively suggest that I was doing the pickup order wrong and that I wasn't making sense. I Left with a terrible disappointment as I was happy to travel all the way from Haines City to obtain my almost 200 yamaha piano stand which I proudly payed thru the app, to be treated like trash. Amazon made my day better as I end up ordering through them. It is worth the delivery wait than coming to get bullied for no reason by employees such as Ryan. Learn how Treat people with respect and leave personal assumptions out the door. read more

The worst!! I Ordered an epiphone Les by phone on the customer service line and was told it was brand new from the warehouse and it turned out that it was from a store that was hanging on the wall where many used it and to make matters worse, it was damaged. As a result I returned the guitar. I ordered a replacement and was told that they would honor the initial 48 months financing. When I received the guitar I called synchrony and was told that the financing was only 6 months. So both times their customer service reps lied. Guitar center customer service has gone down the toilet. It's no wonder that they applied for chapter 11 a few years ago. I will never do business with them again nor will I ever recommend them. Buyer beware. read more

Guitar Center has a massive inventory of musical instruments and supplies! A person can find just about anything here except for a very limited guitar hardware selection (pots, switches, etc). I've spoke to the guitar techs here before and although they were nice, I do not think they had the level of experience that a lot of small guitar shops do. The added bonus includes people playing instruments with no intent on buying but to show off and comment on them rather loudly to everyone. I do not take it as a negative on the store, but at times it's difficult to talk to sales or service with the noise My opinion is if you need an awesome guitar, drum set, keyboard, this is the place to go. If you need great tech work or you are a dyi technician looking for parts, try Carlton about 4 miles away. read more

I'm going to give this store a 2 store. Why? First and foremost the The store is sloppy. Dj and lighting as if they just moved in... secondly you will wait 15-25mins to have someone available. Thirdly,. I was in a rush to make a purchase. I always open my boxes right there, I didn't have time this time. I was sold an open box without being informed. My guys was still able to perform but I didn't have all the items that were supposed to be inside. I love Guitar center but Lakeland is definitely the worse store. And I go to all of them. I don't mind taking a drive to pick up what I need asap. Shopping experience is my biggest help to make decisions. read more

Drove from Fort Myers to Lakeland last night Jan 27th to purchase a Godin guitar they said was in stock in the store... the place was swamped with people and 2 people working last night... I walked the sore looking for the guitar which was not to be found... they need to hire more help, pay them better because that was a disaster and a disgrace to guitar center read more

Went to Guitar Center for strings... the kid at the counter said that we were at the wrong store? Uhhhh what? Do you not sell strings for the instruments you sell? read more

Update. A quick response was gratefully appreciated. Thank you and your staff for addressing my concerns. I look forward to doing more business with you. Thanks again. read more

Assume crew working here. Went in for the first time and was treated like was previous customer. Although they did not have what I was looking for they went the extra a mile to double check. Solid place! read more

Matt was phenomenal! I went into guitar center with no previous knowledge or experience with guitars and Matt helped a ton. He was very knowledgeable on anything guitar related (in this case acoustic) and he was able to steer me in the right direction. Matt didn't just say hey this brand is bad, or this guitar is good, he went in depth and gave me a full understanding of the instrument, brand, quality, design, etc. If there was a question he had the answer. I'm confident I got the right guitar for me and I know that he'll do the sam for you. I'm more motivated than ever to learn guitar! Thanks Matt! read more

As a whole, I would not recommend Guitar Center for any musical purchase. In last last few months I have had numerous issues with them. Wrong hihat stand sent to me, parts missing from "new" cymbal stands, I received a trailer hitch (yes really) in a box with my china cymbal...the china did not win against the trailer hitch, ESP guitar that had a truss rod that couldn't be loosened, and several other issues. While I always contact customer service, the response is just that they can't do anything for me to make it right. When I go to this store location I typically find the manager busting his butt behind the counter while typically the guitar tech is sitting by the door noodling on a guitar. I've wanted to purchase items and ended up walking out because of the wait. Everyone is the store is very nice but things need to change or bring in a new manager. The store is also disorganized and dirty feeling. I used to love going to GC in my teen years but I try to avoid GC like the plague now. Just be aware that you will overpay for less. I recommend going to Sweetwater for a much better buying experience. read more

Guitar Center - Trailer hitch that came in cymbal box - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

Can't say enough positives about guitar tech, Jerry Delano. From the second I spoke with him on the phone, he was kind, attentive, knowledgeable, and funny. In person, he got right to my quick fix- assembling a replacement EQ faceplate for my electro acoustic. Within fifteen minutes, it was done with incredible customer service. I basically had to throw a tip at him because he wouldn't accept it. Everything that an employee or manager could be. Thanks again! read more

I purchased my acoustic ukulele at this guitar center. I absolutely love the sound of it! The employee who helped me figure out which one I wanted was very friendly. I wish they had a larger selection of ukuleles. I had the opportunity to hear what it sounded like with the amp as well in the practice room. Overall it was a great experience. My ukulele is still in amazing condition. read more

Guitar Center - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

came in with a brand new guitar that just needed a single string replaced. the guy who does the string replacements when asked by chaser announced to the whole store "I do all strings or no strings". don't offer the service if you are going to be rude about taking 5 minutes of your day to replace 1 string. read more

If you don't believe the mask hype and want to spend your money,don't go here.After being a good customer for some time,i went to buy a $500 keyboard. I was met at the door and told i was not allowed to enter without a mask.Go to Carlton's Music where they know some facts about masks.Carltons was more than happy to take my money and even shook my hand read more

Hello, I wanted to let you know that the store manager, Chloe, went above and beyond for me and my daughter. My daughter was accepted to the same performing arts school that Chloe attended. She knew exactly what we needed for my daughters classes. Unfortunately the store didn't have anything used, and being a single mom it was going to be hard for me to buy a $900 guitar with only a month to save for the guitar. Chloe had a guitar on layaway for herself that was a used version of what we needed. This was going to be her guitar, and she said they almost never get this kind of guitar used, and she said she'd never seen one in black before. (It is not an electric guitar, but a special kind of acoustic guitar). Well, my daughter freaked because black is her favorite color. When Chloe saw the look on my daughters face when she showed her the black one she had in layaway for herself, she said go ahead and take this guitar. She gave up her guitar for my daughter. I've never seen my daughter happier. As a parent I can't tell you what that means to me. On another note, both my other kids take lessons and classes for multiple instruments. Chloe knew everything about each of the instruments in the store, because I'm sure we drove her crazy with all our questions. However she was very patient with us and answered everything. She never made us feel like we were a bother to her. Even though guitar center can be more expensive than other music stores, I will only shop at guitar center as long as Chloe works there. She is truly a gem of an employee!! I was a manger for The Ritz-Carlton hotels, and we are paid to go to other hotels and businesses and teach them our way of customer service. Having won several awards for customer service ourselves. So, I know what above and beyond customer service is, and Chloe consistently delivered above and beyond customer service. Thank you so much!! Andrea & Emerald Hawkins read more

I'm so damn done with this location and the entire franchise. Wtf is there a 10 person limit to get in the damn store WITH MASKS ON?!? Then the broad at the door goes "I have a limit..." NO YOU DON'T cause you don't own anything. GUITAR CENTER has the damn limit and why?!? This store is MASSIVE yet I can go directly next door to Dollar Tree and literally there's no damn 10 person cap. I despise even going to Guitar Center but damn how does an artist fill a need to just be around gear outside of my own studio while shows are shutdown all over? Oh well that's why I buy from Reverb lol read more

No customer service at all. Lack of inventory,wouldn't recommend to anyone. Wouldn't even give them one star only did because I couldn't post this without it. Was once a great place to shop years ago. Long time customer but I'm officially done. read more

I have been going to the Lakeland Guitar Center for about 20 years for purchases. Although the names and faces have changed ( w/ the passing of time ) the service has always been excellent. Their inventory have always been great and competitive pricing can be counted on. This particular Guitar Center has always "been there for me." read more

I stopped by the N. Lakeland GC store to try out various 12 string guitars, which I plan to buy soon. Chloe was super helpful. I ended up finding the Guild 1512 that I wanted in a GC store in IL. They shipped it down to N. Lakeland store fore me to look at and pickup if i was satisfied. More than satisfied and I was able to give Chloe credit for the sale even though I went through their phone center. Chloe helped me so much, it was only fair. read more

Apparently my old band teacher works here. Whats good mr miller. I respect the hustle dawg

Nice staff even helpful while doing a return, I enjoy visiting the pro audio department.

I brought in a spotless, pristine vintage guitar I had bought online into the Lakeland store to have it cleaned and restrung and checked out. I was called a day or so later to come get it. When I went to pick it up the sales guy goes into the back for a very long time and then returns out front, still in search for my guitar, acts like he was looking for the wrong guitar. Almost half an hour later when he finally brings out my guitar and lays it on the counter, I saw right away the huge gouge in the neck, I asked "what happened"? The sales guy called the "guitar service guy" and asked if him if the guitar had the damage already, he said no, and to check his report. Sales guy the went into back never to be seen again. Big tall manager guy came out and says " I researched your guitar and it is old, from California, and has had at least two owners so...... it's going to have marks and dings on it and there is really nothing I can do". He ended up giving my a $9.99 chord chart book and a wrecked guitar. It is horribly flawed now and that's the only marks on it. And you feel it every time to play the first fret. Not even so much as an apology from this store. I never even got to play the guitar before they wrecked it. And I won't get my money back for it because it is severely damaged now. NEVER TAKE YOUR VINTAGE STUFF TO THIS STORE. The guy that did the work was fine, but they hire kids to work there and they handle your stuff too. Management is such a joke, and not even a very good one at that. I will never set foot in another GUITAR CENTER FOR DESTRUCTION nor will I ever give them another dollar of mine. And, I make sure to tell and show EVERYBODY what happened and HOW I WAS TREATED. Accidents happen, but to shun responsibility when the proof is there? Shame on you, there IS no excuse, that is just poor management. read more

Jerry spent at least 3 hours with me comparing different guitars and talking through the differences in sound, value, and quality. We played PRS, Gibson, etc. both new and used guitars of various prices. I ended up leaving with a great guitar that was price matched. It was an awesome deal and I highly recommend this Guitar Center. Best customer service. Ask for Jerry. read more

I've shopped at this guitar center since it opened so years ago. I haven't been in a few years, and I was shocked at what I saw. The store is a shadow of what it once was. The first thing I noticed is that the store was empty. Not only was there no one shopping, there is barely any product compared to what it once was. The main floor was so open and empty, the whole wall section of high quality vintage guitars behind the counter is gone, half the wall of electric guitars was empty, what use to be many large head tall selections of amplifiers to try out is now a small knee high grouping of combos, and the acoustic room was half empty and poorly organized. It looked like they were in the middle of a going out of business liquidation sale. Every acoustic I picked up was in tune and had fresh new strings. Now, you may think that is a good thing. What it tells me is that they are seldom played, because in years past you always needed to slightly tune a guitar before trying it out and the strings always had heavy wear from all the use. The staff I remember was not there, nor was the quality of the service that mad this store awesome. I was in the acoustic room for a good 30min and never saw a single soul. I was one of two costumers in the store. Not once did any of the employees who looked in and saw me ever came in to say a word. I remember a man called Ozzy use to work there. He and his crew always had good advice and were fun to talk with. Polar opposite from what can be found today. The store use to be packed every time I went no matter what day or time, and even when it was packed the staff always met with you without need to flagging them down. When I went to the counter to buy some strings, I asked the gentleman behind the counter some questions. I hadn't bought strings In about a year and I wanted some advice on what I should get. Long story short he wasn't very knowledgeable, and I ended up doing a quick Google search to find the answers to my questions. I see no reason to go again. I understand why no one else was there shopping. Might as well buy off of Guitarcenter.com and have it shipped. I was sad to see the store in this state, I use to love shopping there. I have shopped there for well over 10 years, way back when they opened and have good memories of this store. Best of luck to them, and I hope they can turn it around. read more

I purchased an electric drum kit for our church in February. The staff was very helpful and the purchase was made. They told me when to expect delivery. Once I got a call they were in I picked them up and set them up for band practice only to find out there was two pieces missing. Went back in a spoke to Bill B. who was very helpful and pull missing items from stock. Even though there were some problems he made sure we were taken care of. Thanks Bill I'll be back thanks to you. read more

With Covid on the rise and FL is a hot zone, I am thankful that this company takes safety seriously. I will feel a lot better going to this store knowing that they are trying to keep their customers safe. The staff has been very helpful and the pricing is reasonable. read more

They generally have good support, one of their workers though is very rude and condescending, making me not want to return. All of this stuff can be bought, often more cheaply, online, so to have rude customer service is just not a good business model. Customer service representatives should realize that people are approaching music from varying degrees of experience, and to belittle or condescend to them just defeats the purpose of being in the instrument business. read more

Worst customer service ever. I've been waiting in line to buy a piano that cost over 700 and not once did the rep call for back up. He left us waiting and even walked away because of a Computer issue. Never again will I comeback . Time to buy online or Sam ash. Couldn't find anyone to help and the only other person is a girl busy texting on her phone. Never again. read more

Waited for over 20 minutes to check out while guitar repairman rudely checked people in front of us out and told us he was too busy for us. There are associates everywhere, only one running a register and she is running around doing other things too. There are only 10-15 customers in the store. The music store snobs are in full effect. I'll be taking my business elsewhere next time. read more

First review ever of any store, but I was looking online for the GC website and this store popped up. I just have to give a SUPER THUMBS DOWN. I am a Pastor, I Was buying equipment for a friend and their new startup Church, my wife, my daughter and I were ready with $$$ in hand, we sat in the drum room for 45 mins (If any one wanted to take anything out of that room NO ONE would have noticed or cared), finally a person came our way, but he didnt acknoledge us, we asked do you work here?!? He said he was on lunch, and not in this section, even though we saw him sitting in the store (what kinda lunch break is that?) We waited 2hrs for service, NO ONE in the store helped, finally the greeter girl said she'd go and get the stuff, I felt bad for her, she was a young girl trying to carry heavy drums and keyboards - and I didnt want to put her through the trouble, the "manager" kid gave me his card told me he'd ring up the purchase and even come by to help install the equipment at the church, only just let him finish a call and had me wait another 45mins. It was now about 9:00 PM We walked out without purchasing anything, I ripped his card up and tossed it in the street. The staff seems very unattentive and abosolutley are not at work or available on anytime zone on earth anytime of the day. I even visited this store several times before just to see if there was a staff during another part of the day who would be attentive, the only reason I tried to make a purchase that night is because we were in the area and wanted to surprise our friends on the way over to their side of town. I'll NEVER shop at this store again they couldnt pay me to do it or even bother to go in to just waste time. Ill drive 55mins to the Orlando store where we did receive prompt service and purchased our Church equipment less than 1hr. Compared to the Lakeland store - I'll drive in any direction across the state of FLORIDA - except in the direction of this Lakeland Guitar Center store. Ps. They showed extreme prejudice: So here's a LESSON, not making sales will cost you $$$$ on an already bogus commission pay scale especially when dealing with a church. Eventually, the word will get out and they'll have to likely close this store. Word to the wise, Dont waste your time. read more

The most unfriendly workers I've ever met none of them came to help us maybe because we were Asians ,a white family came and they greeted and help them right away. read more

Happy New Year to everyone! My experience with Nico, Customer Service Manager, was in one word, incredible! I actually live in CA and was buying a piano for a family member. The entire transaction was accomplished with 1-2 phone conversations. The interesting thing is that Nico made it seem as if we were actually speaking in person at the store from the beginning to the end of our conversations - now that's talent! To tell the truth, I could not have been happier with the professionalism and genuine enthusiasm that Nico showed to me in this, my first buying experience at the Lakeland Guitar Center in more than 10 years! This was my favorite store to visit when I lived in FL. The next time I am in FL, I will make it a point to stop in and shake hands with Nico. I'm also going to send a copy of my great experience to the corporate office in order to give Nico recognition for a job well done. Amazing job, Nico! My Best, S. D, read more

These guys are always BUSY for a reason. They have great products, great prices, and superior service. I've purchased 3 guitars from the Lakeland Guitar Center. I'll be back for more. Disregard these one star clowns. They "think" they are someone 'special' and salespeople should 'fall all over them.' read more

This store has really gone downhill. It used to be a nice store, but staff has changed and their customer service sucks now. I called up about an exchange of a faulty product. I was told by the associate that I could return the product in-store as long as I made the purchase within 60 days. I drove an hour to get to the store, and the associate I met with told me at first that it was 30 days, and then, after I brought up the phone call I made, she said it was 45 days. So I wasted an hour driving to Guitar Center and was denied an exchange over a difference of 15 days. I understand policies are policies, but that's ridiculous, especially after I was told over the phone that I could make the exchange. his is not how you treat a long-term customer. I will be looking into doing business with another music retailer in the future. read more

So I went In there on the only day that I could and it was probably 6 o'clock. I had a Kramer guitar from the 80s and it needed wired or something. I don't know anything about it. I asked one young lady if the guitar tech was there she said no he just left. And he would be back tomorrow around nine or 10. So having the two kids and lack of time tomorrow I figured this is going to wait another three weeks. When I was checking out with my guitar strings and pics I asked if someone could look at my guitar, young man with long hair I believe his name is Chris came over and grabbed it and took the back off probably took about 15 minutes of his time Essentially needed a grounding wires soldered from the input to something else, I couldn't do it. So he did within 20 minutes and did not charge me for it, which is amazing, North Lakeland usually has shit for customer service no matter where you're at so this was refreshing that he helped me out. Save me another trip and another headache with the kids. I try to give them some money and he wouldn't take it said he couldn't so that was pretty honorable good deal I'm glad I'm going to go back for my next guitar. read more

I recently bought my second guitar from this store, an Epiphone Casino. The Orlando store which is closer to me didn't have one in stock. I called Lakeland to see if they still had the one listed on the web site and spoke to Eddie. He confirmed that he did have one and would hold it for me. I inspected it and quickly determined that the intonation was pretty decent. Eddie told me they have a set-up guy who checks out all guitars before hey are hung on the wall. But I took it to my local guy for a set up any way to just be sure. He charged me $16 for a full set up including a new set of D'addario's. When I asked why he charged so little, he replied that the set up required very little he had to do. When I bought my Epiphone Dot from them in 2010, I also called ahead. When I got there they had it out being polished for me. I know GC gets a lot of bad reviews, but I have always had good good experiences at this store. read more

Absolutely disgusted with whoever was working the drum room at 5:45 Christmas Eve. Came in to look for an electric drum kit to get my little brother for Christmas. As I had just gotten off work, I came in 15 before close. I sat down to try one of the electric kits and as I began playing it whoever was working the Drums section interrupted me and said "Shut up were closing!!"...I asked "the store closes in 14 minutes right?" His was response was to THEN check his watch and say "it's actually 10 minutes now". Guitar Center of Lakeland, you can have your 10 minutes, sorry for offering my business. And thank you drum guy for making me feel so unwelcome in your store. I'll take my money to Carltons. Just a side note I wonder if in his interview to get hired he said he would react that way in a situation like that? read more

If you need help go see Theo. The quiet force who delivers exactly what you need with concern for the customer first and fore most. Very impressed. read more