The Good: They have a particularly nice selection of interesting Gibson Les Paul guitars as you walk in. They are also the only Canadian distributor of Chapman guitars which are excellent value for money. They have a Boxing Day sale every year where everything in the store is 20% off.
The Bad: They're prices a generally a bit higher than Long & McQuade. The staff are all on commission which means it sometimes feels like entering the shark tank to me. They do seem to have high staff turnover so its hard to develop any long term relationship with anyone who works there. (Most of the people I know at Long & McQuade have been working there for years and know me by name). Another downside to GW is that once you buy something there its yours (other than store credit). At L&M anything can be returned within 30 days for full cash refund.
The Ugly: I was interested in buying a guitar and asked about the trade-in value of one of my guitars which I had my guitar tech check the week before to ensure all was good. It was in perfect condition with a replacement value of about $2500. Guitarworks (or more specifically someone named Dean) initially offered me only $900 trade-in which was bad enough but then he looked down the neck and told me the neck was warped and would only offer $500. No deal as far as I'm concerned. Took it back to my tech who confirmed there was nothing wrong with the neck. Bottom line is that some of their staff are unethical so buyer beware. A byproduct of commission sales no doubt. (Long & McQuade staff are paid by the hour).