I think if a retailer wants to compete, they need to be online as well.
Nothing beats the concept of the old brick and mortars where one can go and actually listen to the different gear, but i agree with the customer service, it is pretty crappy.
Ive had about a 50% 50% hit and miss with the brick and mortars. Ive had one place take one look at me and they told me to go to best buy where i could afford the equipment. Had the cash in pocket to buy something during that visit. They certainly diddnt get my money after that.
Ive also been to a couple places where the salesmen were real great, they took the time to show you thier wares, they pointed out not only the positive but negative aspects of the products, and diddnt pressure or hassle you.
But that was the minority.
I guess the thing is they are trying to make a living, and they get paid off commission. I have a hard time trusting any salesman that runs off commission so i take everything they say with a grain of salt.
What gets me are the salesmen who are just pricks, who think that if you walk in thier store and they show you a product, you better be buying thier stuff.
I guess with some very rich people that is how it works, but im not rich, so anytime i plan on buying a set of speakers i find out what is in my price range and try to audition everything. I will probably go to 5-6 stores checking out different speakers, and im only gonna buy one set.
Im certainly not going to give the salesman my hard earned money for speakers that dont suit my purposes in order to prevent hurting his feelings.
There was a forum debate about this kinda stuff a while back, and i was somewhat suprised how many audiophiles who are die-hard brick and mortar supporters get pretty upset if you visit a high end retailer to audition speakers without the intent to buy at that exact time.
I gotta be honest though, if i DO go to a place to check out some speakers and im intending to buy, and say hypothetically, the salesperson starts blowing smoke up my ass, lies, or starts getting rude, im not buying from them. i'd rather order it from the net.
You can no longer tell by looking at a person what they can and cannot afford. If you are in sales you need to be polite to the customer.
My hats off to the Gentlemen at "Soundings" in the Denver Tech Center. I have been there twice, once on a lunch hour to check things out, and once with my fiancee to show her some of the stuff. I had no intention of buying, so i diddnt demand thier attention and tried to stay out of the way, but they were more than polite and very accommodating, very helpful and they had a genuine excitement about high end audio and any discusssion of the matter. Real gentlemen.
Thats a place i will definatly be buying from next time i go there.
Nothing beats the concept of the old brick and mortars where one can go and actually listen to the different gear, but i agree with the customer service, it is pretty crappy.
Ive had about a 50% 50% hit and miss with the brick and mortars. Ive had one place take one look at me and they told me to go to best buy where i could afford the equipment. Had the cash in pocket to buy something during that visit. They certainly diddnt get my money after that.
Ive also been to a couple places where the salesmen were real great, they took the time to show you thier wares, they pointed out not only the positive but negative aspects of the products, and diddnt pressure or hassle you.
But that was the minority.
I guess the thing is they are trying to make a living, and they get paid off commission. I have a hard time trusting any salesman that runs off commission so i take everything they say with a grain of salt.
What gets me are the salesmen who are just pricks, who think that if you walk in thier store and they show you a product, you better be buying thier stuff.
I guess with some very rich people that is how it works, but im not rich, so anytime i plan on buying a set of speakers i find out what is in my price range and try to audition everything. I will probably go to 5-6 stores checking out different speakers, and im only gonna buy one set.
Im certainly not going to give the salesman my hard earned money for speakers that dont suit my purposes in order to prevent hurting his feelings.
There was a forum debate about this kinda stuff a while back, and i was somewhat suprised how many audiophiles who are die-hard brick and mortar supporters get pretty upset if you visit a high end retailer to audition speakers without the intent to buy at that exact time.
I gotta be honest though, if i DO go to a place to check out some speakers and im intending to buy, and say hypothetically, the salesperson starts blowing smoke up my ass, lies, or starts getting rude, im not buying from them. i'd rather order it from the net.
You can no longer tell by looking at a person what they can and cannot afford. If you are in sales you need to be polite to the customer.
My hats off to the Gentlemen at "Soundings" in the Denver Tech Center. I have been there twice, once on a lunch hour to check things out, and once with my fiancee to show her some of the stuff. I had no intention of buying, so i diddnt demand thier attention and tried to stay out of the way, but they were more than polite and very accommodating, very helpful and they had a genuine excitement about high end audio and any discusssion of the matter. Real gentlemen.
Thats a place i will definatly be buying from next time i go there.