Gibson Guitar Reviews

Pros

Great guitars & people. Career advancement is possible if you gain advanced knowledge and work as part of a team.

Cons

Its a big company with politics, rules & regs. I

Pros

I worked for Gibson many years.
Thru good times and bad.
And I own a couple of really nice flame top Les Pauls

Cons

To begin with, I started working for Gibson right after the Nashville factory opened. I left the in the XXXX's (Disco and synthysizers nearly killed guitars). Then returned again, under new owners, from XXXX's to XXXX's. Was that vague enough ?
The differences between working for the Norlin Corporation (former owners), and the Henry Juszkiewicz / Dave Berryman days could not be described in this short blog.
Some very good. Some very bad.
Man the stories I could tell.

Most of what I've read on this site is pretty accurate. True, Henry micro managed to the millionth degree. And continues to do so from what I hear. But he took over a financially failing company and turned it around (at least for a little while). Greatness does indeed court disaster.
Personally, I likened him a little to Elvis. At times, he could be very generous and make you feel like you had the best gig on the planet. And the next day berate, humiliate (and to some) terminate you. Sort of a Jekyll and Hyde kinda guy. I guess he thought it was the best way to motivate employees. WRONG !

You guys are also spot on about the people that work there. The deparment supervisors and factory workers. From the retired road weary guitar player in final assembly, to the kid hand sanding guitars all day. They all loved being around those beautiful instuments. As did I.
I really wish the company could restore itself back to the glory days. Put quality before production, lower the prices, and let the people who know (and love) guitars build them !!
What player in the world can forget the first time he heard an old Les Paul thru a (Plexi) marshall amp !! (emphasis on the word old).

I travel quite a bit. And I am no longer in "the business". But everywhere I go, players and store dealers, consistently say the same thing you guys are saying. They can't all be wrong !

Lastly, I have some fond, funny, insightful memories of my days at Gibson.
And I am not a disgruntled former employee.
Just a sad one.

Advice to Senior Management

Advice or feedback ? You must be kidding.
You're talking about a couple of Harvard MBA's
These guys are intelligent to a fault.
And besides, Henry will never listen.

Pros

Growth Opportunity! Excellent management within the Epiphone division.

Cons

It was difficult to obtain CEO approval regarding new hires.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep doing what you are doing. Seems to be working fine.

Pros

The staff! Amazing, talented people that are loyal to the "Gibson" brand and history make the workplace tolerable. Staff work with others to assist as a team, "we are in this hell hole together" type attitude.

Cons

CEO prides himself on making employees feel as though they could be fired at any time regardless of performance. Letting go of staff is completely random. Executive turnover is terribly high within the company due to CEO and dictatorship style of management. It's no wonder they aren't (and probably never will be) publicly traded.

Pros

I get paid to build guitars.

Cons

Company acts as though you owe them your time. I watched people get promoted in areas where they have no experience, and be trained by the very people who were denied promotions. You are told to run guitars with obvious flaws at the end of every month, and then threatened with write ups when senior managers find a problem with those same guitars. I watch people alongside myself work 10-12 hr days 6 days a week, and watch a select few who can laugh and cut up with management and not contribute much effort at all to production without a word ever being said. I think my biggest issue right now is that regular employees are required to work all but the last Saturday of every month (yes that is only 1 day off a week for most of the month, how's that for family friendly) while supervisors and managers get to switch out and decide who will have to come in.

Advice to Senior Management

I myself have already said more to management than anyone else in my department has dared to (contrary to what others seem to think its not so easy to butt heads with management when your employment options are as limited as they are these days). I have been told that things would be changed and problems would be looked into, and to date no changes have even been attempted. There is a production number every day. That is all anyone cares about. The employees are unappreciated, and the product really only has to be about 90% right to be shipped. Why would anyone be proud to be in that situation? So I have no advice to management, only to potential new hires or the curious: No matter what your thoughts are on the great Gibson name brand, the company is not fun to work for. I literally have never worked for a company where I was told every day that I wasn't doing enough until I started at Gibson Guitars.

Pros

The CEO is a brilliant thinker, and can be very inspiring - he should concentrate on letting decisions be carried through by his highly qualified but unutilized senior/executive teams. The people that work at Gibson, from the shop floor to just outside the C-Suite, are among the best humankind has to offer. I can agree with much of the PROs from other reviewers but the overwhleming weight of my views is in the following sections.

Cons

I find very little to disagree with in the CONs of these reviews. Executive turnover is off the charts at Gibson. I was employed at a high level and I had a global overview. I was warned by former executives that I probably would not make it through the first year. They were right, many execs quit and just as many get dumped - we're talking dozens here. One new general manager of a major division quit during his first week. The record is astonishing and shameful. CEO surrounds himself with entrepreneurial thinkers and resolute decision makers - who have endured 10 to 20 hours of interviews and a 4 to 6 hour psychological evaluation - but does not empower them AT ALL to do what they are best at and explicitly hired for. He makes every decision himself. Rarely gives feedback or course correction on your daily reports, but easily pulls the plug on a whim when he's unsatisfied. Routinely humiliates people in front of their peers. Plans or reports that are requested can be left on the shelf without approval, rejection, alternative ideas or even acknowledgement. Promising initiatives with substantial investments behind them are cancelled before they have a chance to get any traction. Action requests affecting critical resources or deadlines are ignored. People are sidelined or fired without warning or explanation - and quickly forgotten. History is routinely rewritten. Fear and uncertaintiy is pervasive. Recalls Stalin's best years. Do not ever seriously consider accepting a position here as long as Henry plays a decision-making role. It's hard to believe he graduated HBS.

Advice to Senior Management

The owners can rightfully take credit for saving and rebuilding Gibson (15-25 years ago...), but company performance has been pretty flat for the last decade because of the deep organizational psychosis amply and accurately described in these reviews. Owners should channel some of the apparently limitless litigation budget to hiring Ram Charan or someone else who can cut through their hubris, and explore whether they’ve hit their limit and what is the best thing to do for the company, the brand, the tradition and the dedicated people who really want to make it all work. Henry should be in an advisory role not in an executing role. This company could use a strong board of directors. This review will certainly have no impact on the owners, but it should be seriously considered by anyone offered a position with Gibson at any level anywhere in the world.

Pros

Excellent co-workers. It's interesting to see the process that goes into building a guitar, if you're into that.

Cons

Absolutely terrible communication between management and employees. Schedule is constantly up in the air. You're allotted vacation days but basically never allowed to use them. You're given one heck of a sales pitch about the company when you start, but you'll find out soon enough it's not much more than a sales pitch. If you're thinking of working here, BE SURE TO ASK IN THE INTERVIEW THE HOURS YOU WILL BE WORKING, DON'T LET THEM BEAT AROUND THE BUSH AND BLOW SMOKE IN YOUR FACE. They'll tell you one thing but when you start working it will be something else. If you're absolutely desperate for a job, give this place a shot. If not, you'd be better off somewhere else.

Advice to Senior Management

Be upfront with employees. Not being upfront gives the impression you don't know or don't care. It builds resentment and contributes to low morale.

Pros

Great people on the front lines who make the products.
The power of the Gibson brand keeps the company going.

Cons

Dictatorial CEO who is not open to honest input or opinions from others.
CEO is a micromanager through whom ALL decisions, no matter how small, must be approved.
Company has no recognition programs, no training benefits, no career paths or advancement plans.
For a company involved with music and a rich heritage the corporate office is a joyless place to work.
Do not be swayed by brand or opportunity to work in Nashville. This company is not worth your time or talents

Advice to Senior Management

Address the cons above as well as the advice received from others posted on this site.

Pros

Great Product, Great People, good visions for the future, manageable and non-stressful work environment.

Cons

Uniformity accross global operating procuedures lacking.
Comunication path could do with improvement.
CEO Needs to listen to the people he employs.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep it simple, provide the Gibsons the world love and tweak your systems to imporve product flow.

Pros

Great brand history and legacy.

Cons

You are expected to perform at superhuman levels with little support, little staff, and little resources. Let me use an analogy to decribe daily life: You are expected to pull a rabbit out of a hat daily, but due to internal draconian laws set by the CEO, you are not permitted to posess a rabbit and/or hat. You are not allowed funding to purchase said rabbit and hat. In addition, you are required to submit a daily report to the CEO explaining why you did not pull a rabbit from the hat, but you are not allowed to cite the draconian rules as an excuse. You are responsible to figure it out yourself. Prepare to be blamed, and publicly humiliated in scathing and insulting email messages that copy most of the other employees in the company. This is how you are "motivated" to succeed.

Advice to Senior Management

After all the reviews with advice for the leadership at the company, the CEO still will not listen. He thinks its' only a few "disgruntled ex-employees" who are posting these reviews. He is 100% wrong. No one at the company respects him.