Dealer Behavior


I’ve visited a number of dealers, after being out of the hunt for a long time, and I’m still surprised by the way many deal with potential new customers. A number of things that don’t seem like good sales strategy with a potential customer. A few observations:
  • Wouldn’t you ask about the kind of music they listen to first? Maybe establish some rapport and develop a sense of what to play to try out equipment? At least establish if it really is about the music or the equipment, and sell accordingly. Getting enthusiastic about a recording is a great way to build listening rapport. I came in with a group os sample tracks I know well (I think I inventoried them in another thread). This has happened only once so far, and only tepidly - "oh - I have that on LP!" (Karajan Beethoven Symphonies, 1963, remastered).
  • Why crap on their equipment? If someone’s been happy listening to something, that may be a clue (and for god’s sake, make sure you know specifically which equipment before making a fool of yourself by describing the shortcomings some other piece of equipment, real or made-up). I have an Adcom 5802 amp driving Thiel CS 3.6. I’ve now been told by *everybody* how harsh and grainy it is, and, more amusingly, how it’s not powerful enough to drive most good speakers. It works in my setup, perhaps counterintuitively. Or maybe I have play-doh ears, but if I do, why would you tell me that?
  • Why all the correcting and mansplaining? Even if a prospect is wrong, it seems more reasonable to say "that’s interesting, my experience is X"
  • Why make broad assertions and shut down discussion? If a customer expresses doubt that, for instance, dollars invested in cables will make a big enough difference, why wouldn’t you smile and say "Ooh - I’d love to run a demonstration for you that might make you change your mind!" instead of just "cables make a huge difference, you just haven’t listened with good enough equipment".
I’m fully aware that one sales technique for high-ticket items is to challenge someone with money to not feel worthy of the snake oil. I worked at an audio store as a gopher when I was a kid (Atlantis Sound, Third Ave, NYC) in 1978, when I first got the bug. These types of techniques were prevalent then, and I was shocked at the behind-the-scenes cynicism of the salespeople. But over my lifetime, the marketplace has been rejecting it. I’m really surprised, while Lexus, BMW, etc. have beaten this kind of behavior out of their salespeople, to see it still going on in Audio.
I don’t mean to say I’ve found it uniformly true - I’ve encountered two individuals who avoided, in the main, this sort of thing, but the majority were still....jerks.
I’m in the money management (and before that lending) business - thirty years now. I never interrupt someone when they are making a mistake that might help me or give me information. I can usually tell when people are bluffing and can’t factually back up their claims, best revealed by simply letting them talk. I smile and nod, but I go back to the office and trade. I assume a lot of other people who can afford this stuff have probably learned similar life lessons. I just don’t think this behavior makes sense, and it may help explain the parlous state of the industry at this point.
end rant.
Actually (Columbo!) one more thing: If you act like that in the store, why would I EVER want you in my home helping set up my equipment and negotiating the everyday non-audio, cosmetic obstacles that will come up there?
ahofer
Toys from the Attic in White Plains, NY was the place I used to frequent when the audio bug first bit me. I was able to audition a lot of equipment at home just by giving them my credit card ... if I wanted to buy it, they put the charge through; otherwise, I just returned the stuff within the specified period and no harm, no foul. The staff was great there and taught me a lot about the high end. I remember hearing a pair of Maggies there for the first time ... wow, what a holographic experience! It gives me chills to this day. TFTA is long gone now, but I still have some of the equipment I bought there, and very good memories of the kind folks who took the time to befriend a then audio neophyte and teach him the ropes.
Have to agree with Paragon Sight and Sound in Ann Arbor. Excellent low pressure service, voluntarily left me alone to listen, and even happily demoed some top end Wilsons with D’Agostino amplification even though they were clearly not in my range. 

Another Michigan dealer I’ll mention is David Michael Audio in Royal Oak just outside of Detroit. Slightly annoying by-appointment policy but once there, service is stellar. Not to mention an incredible range of very well chosen equipment. 
@batman1971, I was a Glenn Poor's groupie back when they were still at Round Barn center.  It was the first store where I got to see and hear much of the big name high end electronics and speakers that I had only read about in TAS and Stereophile.  The staff were awesome and I still own and use many of the pieces I bought from there.  I remember the day when I was told that Geoff was heading east for a big audio venture!  I watched him walk to his car, a nice Porsche  IIRC, thinking the place will never be the same.  But Glenn Poor's survives!  I must visit next time I am in the area.

Best dealer I ever knew was Stewart Marcantoni of Weekend Environments. Stewart was one of those guys who never really cared about much besides audio. One of the hardest things about this is how the very best stuff is so scarce and scattered around the world. Stewart spent all his free time flying around buying and trying. A flippers flipper. Until his wife said look this is all you're doing why not do it as a business?

I met Stewart when he was moving out to Washington from the east coast. He drove cross country in a mini-van packed full of gear. Not straight across, but zig-zagging from one customer to another! Still a lot of stuff in there by the time he got to me at the end of the line. Whole lot of stuff I never heard of back then- Synergistic Research, Aronov, bunch of stuff I'm forgetting as this was nearly 30 years ago.

Ordinarily the extra stuff would turn out to be crap. But Stewart was no ordinary dealer. I told him only interested in a pre-amp. Stewart brought in an amazingly good pre-amp. But then he said might want to try this Aronov integrated. Which turned out seriously good. Not only better, but cheaper. Even before factoring in interconnect. I could sell my amp, buy the Aronov, now I don't need a pre-amp, or interconnect, or power cord... and even have money left over.

Everything Stewart brought in was like that. Speaker cable. Interconnects. CD player. Every single one not only better than what I had (which, let's face it, there is always better) but cheaper too! And not only cheaper, but cheaper enough I could sell what I had and buy what Stewart had and have money left over! How often does that happen?

About as often as you find a dealer with more knowledge and better ears and greater customer service than Stewart. Which is to say, never.

Stewart set up shop in the daylight basement of a custom home on the shore of a nice little lake out by Bremerton. No ads, just a small website. Residential area. You could get further out, but not by much. By appointment. Always seemed to have people flying in from all over. They came because of the reputation Stewart had for finding the best sounding gear for the money. I don't recall him ever carrying any of the really big name brands. Only the really good stuff.

Way back when most people still questioned whether cables really made any difference Stewart demo'd a system with more money in cables and conditioners than amp, source and speakers. Twice more. Caelin lived nearby and would bring his newest Shunyata cables over for Stewart to compare. One time he's all excited, got some power cord he's gonna sell for $500. What do you think? Stewart didn't say a word. Just said here try this one. Caelin was impressed. What's that one retail for? $750? $1000?
That one goes for $300. Oh. Back to the drawing board. 

Golden ears. Encyclopedic knowledge. All the best components. Connections. Leading edge. Value. And I haven't even touched on acoustics, tweaks, setup, ability to help anyone of any interest at any budget. Totally unfair, but Stewart was my standard for what a dealer should be.

Sad to say Stewart retired a few years ago. Wish there were more like him. 
Funny, I seem to encounter more the attitude that there is an orderly and positive correlation between price and sound quality, and every tweak is worth having.  Sorry, it just ain't so.