This is pretty much my mantra. When I first took up bass, it was a Yamaha (a BB), when I returned to it many years later, it was a Yamaha again (this time an RBX).
That is not good. As GG are a chain, the whole organisation has been tainted by a worker in just one of their outlets (even worse as I understand that they’re employee owned), this individual’s attitude affects everyone who works for GG - it’s a poor show and terribly selfish.
I might wrong, but it looks like Fender have used the same sized pickups for neck and bridge on these, which was always going to be a compromise. That said, it's vastly improved with that new bridge.