How Much Does Guitar Center Pay?

If you’ve been wondering about the answer to “how much does Guitar Center pay”, here’s a great guide to see the current hourly pay and salaries.

Although professional or aspiring musicians often find a job at this company ideal, anyone with the desire to learn and apply themselves can apply, as well.

Guitar Center Starting Pay

See the Guitar Center starting pay.

When I refer to the starting pay, I’m talking about the most common entry-level position you can apply for without any experience. The sales associate’s starting pay is between $10.50 to $11.50 an hour, unless you are in an area with a higher minimum wage.

Guitar Center Sales Associate Pay

The average Guitar Center pay rate for a sales associate is $11.86 per hour. It amounts to $474 a week and a yearly salary of $24,648.

This worker is responsible for helping a customer find the right guitars for their needs. This may include understanding the customer’s musical style, what type of strings they want, and what type of guitar they want to learn. An associate job can lead to other higher-paying careers within the company.

The sales associate also helps with matching the customer with the right amplifier and accessories. The job requires working in a fast-paced environment and having excellent interpersonal skills.

Guitar Center Operations Associate Pay

The Guitar Center hourly pay for an operations associate, which is an entry-level job, averages around $12.11 an hour. It equals $484 weekly and a yearly potential salary of $25,188.

The operations associate is responsible for assisting in the day-to-day operations of the store. This includes assisting customers, stocking inventory, and maintaining a clean and safe environment.

Guitar Center Teacher Pay

The Guitar Center pay per hour for teachers is, on average, $21 an hour. It can go as high as close to $30 an hour with experience.

The teachers/instructors are responsible for teaching guitar lessons to students of all ages and skill levels. They are also responsible for maintaining a positive, professional, and fun environment in the classroom.

Guitar Center Warehouse Salaries

The pay at Guitar Center for warehouse workers is approximately $15.87 an hour, which is roughly $33,009 a year.

The warehouse associate is responsible for the safe and efficient movement of products from the warehouse to the sales floor. This includes loading and unloading trucks, moving products on carts, and stocking inventory.

Guitar Center Customer Service Manager Salary

The average salary for a customer service manager at Guitar Center is $39,997 yearly.

The customer service manager is responsible for providing excellent customer service to all customers and ensuring that the store is a great place to work. He or she will be responsible for managing the customer service team, training new employees, making out work schedules, and ensuring that all customer service representatives are meeting company standards.

Guitar Center Operations Manager Salary

The typical salary for an operations manager at Guitar Center is $45,653 a year.

This job requires many operational aspects of management and includes ensuring that the store’s financial goals are met by managing inventory, controlling expenses, and maximizing sales.

Guitar Center Manager Salary

The average salary for a Guitar Center manager is approximately $61,786 a year. Additional yearly bonuses of up to $14,000 to $15,000 are also common for this position.

The manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the store. This includes managing the store team to ensure that customers are served in a friendly and efficient manner and that the store is maintained to company standards. He or she also oversees inventory levels and ensures that all sales are accurately processed and reported.

Guitar Center Commission

Guitar Center offers its employees a .25 to 10% commission on sales, and checks for these bonuses are issued:

  • For hourly workers, every month
  • For salaried employees, once every 3 months

It’s interesting to note that some workers complain about the commission structure working against them because the percentage amount varies greatly sometimes, and as a result, they make less money than expected.

Does Guitar Center Pay Weekly?

Guitar Center pays its hourly store employees bi-weekly on Fridays and adds commission bonuses at the end of the month.

Pay Raises

Once a year, usually in April, Guitar Center offers its employees a pay raise based on performance.

It is reported that you can expect anywhere between a 1% to 3% raise in pay. This is considered an average amount for a retail company pay raise.

Guitar Center Working Hours

The hours of operation are usually between 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM from Monday through Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM on Sundays. Past and present employees say the work schedules are flexible and that oftentimes you can’t get a set schedule you can count on every week.

Full-Time Hours

You can usually expect to work 35-40 hours a week as a full-time hourly worker at Guitar Center. Some employees complain they are not allowed to work a full 40 hours weekly.

Part-time Hours

Part-time hourly workers can expect to be assigned between 15 and 24 hours a week. There are many ways to get promoted from part-time to full-time at the Guitar Center.

One way is by taking on more responsibilities, being a dependable worker, and gaining many sales commissions. Another way is by working more hours per week if you are asked, which will also allow you to make more money in the long run.

Shifts You May Work

Typical shifts you may be scheduled for at a Guitar Center store are as follows:

  • 9 AM to 5:30 PM
  • 9 AM to 1:00 PM
  • 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
  • 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM
  • 11:00 AM to 7:30 PM
  • 2:00 PM to 10:30 PM
  • 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Sick Leave Policy

The sick leave policy for Guitar Center is unique in that it includes unpaid leave time to allow its employees to work their music “gigs” as long as they give advance notice. Full-time hourly employees can also accrue up to 60 hours of paid sick time every year.

Break Policy

Guitar Center adheres to federal and state laws concerning employee breaks, so you can expect fair treatment in this area. If you have any doubts or are unhappy with a lack of break time, make sure you communicate with your management team in a polite and respectful way.

Featured image courtesy of MatthewHoobin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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