In a bizarre case out of Ohio, an 18-year-old Guitar Center employee is accused of using customers’ credit card information to make unauthorized purchases – targeting those who were allegedly rude or aggressive during in-store interactions.
According to a report from Cleveland.com, suspicions first arose when a customer contacted the store about a transaction he claimed wasn’t his. Upon investigating, Guitar Center management discovered more questionable activity. The employee reportedly copied credit card details from at least two other customers, eventually charging a total of $5,087 to their accounts.
What sets this case apart is the employee’s reported motive: retaliation. The report suggests that the employee selected his victims based on their behavior, claiming they were people who “used foul language, were rude to him, and made situations bad for him.”
The current status of the employee remains unclear. No formal outcome from the investigation has been made public, and Guitar Center has yet to release an official statement on the matter.
This incident adds a strange twist to Guitar Center’s recent news cycle, which has included CEO Gabe Dalporto’s public stance on competing with industry giants like Fender and Gibson. In a June interview with Guitar World, Dalporto said he wasn’t intimidated by direct-to-consumer shifts in the market: “This is a competitive market. It always has been. We welcome it… I just think we have a much larger, more integrated experience.”
While Guitar Center navigates the pressures of evolving retail trends and a saturated gear market, this internal breach of trust serves as a reminder of the importance of data security and employee conduct in retail environments – especially in an era where customer experience can make or break a brand.
