One big reason why brick and mortar high end audio dealers struggle.


I live in a major metropolitan area with several close by high end stores.  I never go in any of them.  A dealer just opened a new location 5 minutes from my house.  Major dealer with Magico, Constellation, McIntosh and many other serious brands.  I went by a couple weeks ago mid day on a Friday.  Door locked, nobody there.  I call today to make sure they are actually open for business.  Guy answers the phone and says that they were out on an install when I can by and that they are short staffed.  No problem, I understand.  But from that point on the guy takes a subtle but clearly defensive and pissy tone.  He states that they recommend setting up an appointment for customers to view their products.  Sure, and I recommend never going there.  Off my list.  Back to buying online.  Here's the issue.  So many of these high end dealers are only after the wealthy guy that comes in, spends less than an hour there and orders a complete home theater or 2 channel system and writes a check for $50k or more on the spot.  That's there customer base.  I get that it can be annoying to allow a bunch of lookers to come in and waste their time and not buy anything, but isn't it good for business to have more customer traffic?  If someone comes in, spends an hour there, listens to some amazing gear and then buys nothing, doesn't he tell his friends and family and coworkers about his great experience?  Isn't this word of mouth valuable?  These brick and mortar dealers almost universally are unwelcoming and unfriendly to people that want to come in and just look and listen and not buy.  Sorry, but the vast majority of potential customers are not going to spend 20 minutes by private appointment to order their new $100k system.  Why not encourage people to come and spend time with zero pressure to purchase.  I have purchased dozens of high end speakers and electronics over the many years I have enjoyed this hobby.  I might well buy from a dealer if they were actually nice, friendly, and encouraged hanging out and getting to know their gear.  But they don't.  I would never go to a high end store that required an appointment.  Because this creates a huge pressure situation for you to purchase that day.  I'm not ready to purchase on my first visit.  And neither are thousands of other potential customers.  If they can make a good living just catering to the wealthy one time buyers, then, ok, good for them.  Doesn't seem like they can though since so many have gone under.  Maybe it's time to try a different approach?  Step one, no commission sales people.  Step two, welcome people to listen and not buy anything.  Encourage it.  This will create positive word of mouth and significantly increase customer traffic and ultimately create more paying customers it would seem.  I don't get it.  Rant over. Please don't respond that you have an amazing dealer.  I'm sure they exist but they are the exception.  What I am describing is the typical customer experience.
jaxwired
The writing's on the wall for the bricks and mortar guys.

Look at it from their point of view.  You go into the store, spend three hours chatting and listening to equipment.  The he lends you a couple of pieces you like the sound of to try in your system.  You go back after two weeks saying 'thanks but they're not quite what I'm looking for'.

Then you go and buy them from a warehouse on the net or a grey importer at a 15% discount to the MRP.

Sure, you would never do this.  But plenty do.

Sorry.  The world's changed and it ain't going back.  No future for them.  For most people  it's every man for himself and a buck's a buck.

Back in the day, ie. late 1970's I found I could mail order camera gear from NYC for a 30% discount vs my local camera stores.  So I would go into the stores and make a cash offer for gear somewhere between MSRP and NYC prices.  Sometimes a deal was struck and sometimes I got kicked out of the store.  Yes, a few grouchy store owners would be offended at an offer below their advertised price.  I wondered even then how stores would stay in business if they cannot compete with the high volume mail order business.  

For me the answer was service before and after the sale and product availability.  A few decades ago I had no patience for stores (Cars, Stereos, appliances, etc) that carried little to no inventory but wanted MSRP.  These same places had disingenuous sales people with little to no product knowledge who trashed any brand that was not in their store.  Today I'm happy to see stores that have found a way to compete with mail order that offer great service, product knowledge and a reasonable if not surprisingly large inventory as well.  One great audio store is in Atlanta and I will buy from them every chance I get regardless of the two hour drive.  I typically have done my research and am either ready to buy or need to down select one more time before buying only to be "sales'd on or ignored".  So I feel for those who have had that experience as well.  And that goes for anything, not just audio gear.

Isn't there an old adage that a sales person has to visit 10 homes to make one sale?  I'm sure that holds true for walk in customers as well.
It may be every man for himself when it comes to purchases but we're all in it together when it comes to the broader world of stereos. This forum is an extreme outlier when it comes to commitment, experience, and budgets. Folks here are comfortable spending thousands of dollars on equipment they've never seen or heard because they know how to research, know where to get trusted recommendations, and know they can resell anything after a few months of listening. 

Out there in the real world, few people will take that route. What sane person who has little experience would spend $5,000+ on speakers without hearing them? The esoteric high end may not be too affected but, without stores, the mid- and upper- ranges will continue to shrink. It's not a pretty vision.
I get that alot of people miss the social aspects of going to a hifi shop. Going in just to browse evolved into a particular kind of customer dropping in to talk about their own systems. They were looking for a “clubhouse”. Sometimes amazing, sometimes cobbled together, always a time suck.

Some stores have tried to “schedule” the massive time suck people at the same time by having a “cars and coffee” style time window weekly. Brooks Berdan used to do these kinds of “events” on Saturday mornings. Lots of DIY types trying to talk about their latest project, why it was better than anything Dave Wilson could construct and then off to unload the shyte out of their cars they had picked up at garage sales and swap meets earlier that morning. Its a generational thing. Heaven help you if you werent in to that vibe and wanted to just shop on a Saturday morning!

When seriously shopping, I have always made appointments. Its convenient, the gear I want to hear will be set up, warmed up and ready to go. Both my time and the dealer’s time is respected. Most importantly, I don’t have to verbalize my hifi resume to some slapdyck following me around the shop (and I’m not talking about the proprietor, I’m talking about the guy who has been constructing a set of speakers for 2 years in his garage). 

I also find it quite ironic that some here talk about carrying wads of cash in their pocket as some kind of qualifier as to why they should receive some kind of perceived treatment. That’s a walking inferiority complex with a chip on his or her shoulder walking in to a store. No thanks.


@millercarbon
I will put into context for you, not that I think it will matter - I never understand your "logic".
"no amount of reading" for the not crazy wealthy, crazy nerdy, crazy expert level audiophile. Have you tried to learn to swim from a book? You need water more the description. 
You need to LISTEN and not just READ to begin somewhere. Words can never describe sound faithfully, and without a lot of money you can't have an intermediate system in your living room, magically that will work and be a good reference. You need to COMPARE, that where a store is vital.