Gibson Guitar Reviews

Pros

For the money and benefits

Cons

Working like a robot, that"s how they got the name Robotic Guitar. depression, overworked, no family life, because when you get off you be too tied to do anything, if you have asthma or any other problems do not work there, the exhaust system is very bad. A lot of things in that plant needs to be updated to modern times. Think about your workers, that"s why so many people there be out on medical leave, because of the working conditions. Use some of that money used to fly back and forth to China to update the plant.

Advice to Senior Management

You have some very good people working there. I think mangermemt needs to come out on the floor sometimes and talk to the workers to find out what"s going. Do not just walk down the hallways and glance at people working to keep from getting dirty, come over and have a conversationm, find out about problems that the supervisors are not telling.

Pros

to be employed and earn a paycheck

Cons

No respect from management
In fighting
extreme micromanagement

Advice to Senior Management

respect employees and allow people to perform the jobs for which they were hired

Pros

The product. The product kept me at the company way longer than I should have stayed. It is a great place for young entry level people to get thrown in to the deep end and learn a lot in a short period of time.

Cons

The working environment is awful. No raises, no promotions, no praise......nothing. For young people do not look at this job as a career......It is a start and that is it until management changes.

Advice to Senior Management

Henry sell the company to someone who cares about its well being. Henry read some different management books........You'll catch more bees with honey than vinegar.

Pros

the benefits are good, 401k, paid vac. days, etc. if you are into music everybody that works there is into music. they mostly leave you alone to do your job, most of the time, thank god. the pay is pretty good for me, my job is pretty simple and mindless, low stress. you get a week off in the summer over july 4 and a week off over x-mas.

Cons

working inside of modern american corporate mentality: they won't say it but they want robots to work there, people as robots of course. most people that actually make the guitars have a simple, repetitive job they do all day. we used to be able to listen to music, or have a cup of coffee but that's all gone now. no music, only water while working. when asked if we could listen to music ever again my supervisor actually said, 'we can live w/o music. this place is not about music'. if you forgot, we're talking about a guitar company.

your family definitely takes a back seat to the needs of production. irregular work schedules, ie, working over, saturdays, are rarely talked about until the time they need you.

for me, personally, it's the whole corporate mentality, a basic facet of which is - 'ok, we're really under the gun here', and that's all the time. and the bosses take the position of gibson, as if they are the ones that pay us (they don't sign the checks). they use fear a bit - we should be lucky just to work there. and the bosses make the biggest error that almost all bad leaders make: they think they are more important because they lead. they don't work on the guitars, they are supposed to direct the work we do, they are servants. a leader directs the people he/she is in front of and those people are the point of the leaders presence. they need to be respected to do good work, IF quality work is what is important here.

all and all, though, despite that i've seen some supervisors act like complete jerks/ treat people like crap in the name of satisfying their superiors, they don't keep me there. i am not bound to that place. it is my choices that brought me there and my responsibility to leave if i'm not happy regardless of a difficult job market or economy.

Advice to Senior Management

i don't think your jobs have anything to do with being able to treat people with respect and to value them, the people who work under you that is. try not to enjoy that.

Pros

Perks. Sometimes you get to meet some fantastic people. Pride in that you know that you did the best you can do no matter what.

Cons

lack of leadership. Lack of management. Lack of knowledge. Lack of skill.Lack of experience.
 Lack of true craftsman. Lack of artistry. Lack of communication.

Advice to Senior Management

Experience all job titles in manufacturing. get your hands dirty and try to make the number your self within a team environment.

Pros

I really enjoyed all of the people that visited our facility from the stars to the players. Meeting the people that use the products that we built was always a highlight for me.

Cons

I would have to say the fact that Gibson is extremely micromismanaged by a team who lacks so much when it comes to management skills, team leadership skills, and people skills. The left hand does not know from hour to hour, let alone day to day what the right hand is doing. Annual reviews are intended to provide the employee insight to his/her performance, but at Gibson, they are way less than anual if you see one at all. The other thing is the fact that there are absolutely no oppurtunities in this organization. No oppurtunities for advancement within the company, or for a person to experience any personal growth, any professional growth, or challenge which leads to the extremely high turn over rate. The product has suffered immensely due to this high turn over rate. Gibson appears to be on the imminent downward spiral. I attribute this to the lack of skill on all fronts. It shows that you really get what you pay for when it comes to labor. World wake up.

Advice to Senior Management

To effect change you must get the CEO out of operations management, and hire some management that actually has some management training and some people skills. It is unskilled middle and upper management "yes" men and women that contribute alot to the multiple failures of this once great company.

Pros

the history of the company

Cons

NO LEADERSHIP. all those in a Lead/Supervisor position have no leadership qualities. they are promoted only by how much ass the kiss. it takes decades to move up the ladder. being in Nashville, most employees are white trash and speak like hillbillies. NO COMMUNICATION WHAT SO EVER. human resource dept. over whelmed by belly aching employees. the factory looks like an episode of hee -haw meets yo MTV raps...

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate with employees, find and promote new people from within.

Pros

money, travel, and many daily challenges

Cons

Henry Juszkiewicz and his feudal system of ruling by fear...

Advice to Senior Management

Don't, you're better off working at McDonalds

Pros

The pay is good and the benifits. I was refered by a friend but I wont refer anyone.

Cons

Communication is none, moral has been drained. Supervisors worry only about Henery popping in & leads care about their titles.

Advice to Senior Management

Reveiw resumes of your employees,find new qualified leaders & stop running around in circles & doing nothing about it.

Pros

The further your office is from the Nashville the luckier you are. You get to meet rock stars. Everybody thinks you have a cool job. Good 401K. Some positions are great stepping stones into entertainment industries.

Cons

On your first day you'll be told, "One day, you'll get a call and you'll be gone." Just know that getting fired is what passes for career advancement at Gibson, but getting fired is a blessing. People would be fired and would beg for their jobs back in a strange Munchausen type display.
You'll also be told, "Never suggest a really good idea." This is part and parcel of the incredibly toxic work environment that is is 100% attributable to the CEO. You can read from the other reviews that the character flaws exhibited by the CEO trickle down through upper management all the way to production. Backstabbing is de rigueur at Gibson. It is also the Achilles heel of the company.
The CEO and Management have hugely inflated opinions of the importance and abilities.
It all seems folly. In reality the company operates at 30% of it's potential. It has a storied brand and basically no competition for it product. People will always buy Les Paul guitars. The CEO knows it so he doesn't have to think big picture. He is free to run his fiefdom as he sees fit. The personnel who work closely with the CEO are gluttons for punishment.

Advice to Senior Management

Come down from your pedestal. Every single person at Gibson is replaceable, including the CEO. The brand will outlive all of you, so get over yourselves.