Visited a Store and was shunned

Sometimes these threads get so long that they’re just difficult to manage. I still work full-time and in the fall, I work two jobs. Maybe the OP is in the same boat.

I don’t blame you for walking out. I went to the Audio Consultants in Chicago many years when I had no money and they always treated me well. I had moved to California for work and made a trip back to Chicago to buy my 20.1 Magnepans from them because they had earned my business with all the kindness they showed me (once I saved up the money). I am sorry to say that the store is closed but have very fond memories of spending many hours listening to great systems there. Luckily my off days were during the week most of the time so they enjoyed it too and I always told them to drop me if another customer came in. Wild story is that they sold me new speakers at a used price because they were the last pair coming out of the factory and didn’t know what was in stock. I was so pleased and they were really happy for me. I’ll never forget them. My wife surprised me and found a nice quaint store near our apartment for my birthday, and they also auditioned some great equipment. I’ll buy from them when I’m next in the market. . I agree that customer service is the cornerstone of a brick and mortar store, I’m willing to pay more to support them. 

@milpai 

I read your post regarding the experience of being shown a product priced much higher than you were looking for.

I was selling mid-fi in the late 70s when I happened into a High End store. I let the salesman know what I did and that I was not buying anything that day.

When he started up the Hill Plasmatronics for me, I was hooked. 

I’ve hung out in many high-end audio stores when I was w/o financial means and was (apparently) lucky to have been treated nicely.

In a similar vein, how many of us have been nervous to buy an LP because the “cool” sales clerk might sneer at our choice?

As others have stated, it's hard to know what really went down when the OP visited that shop. I'd love to say I'm surprised to hear about his negative experience with a high-end retailer, but I'd be lying if I did. That said, we're only hearing one side of the story.

I haven't personally set foot in a brick-and-mortar audio shop in a very long time. None of the gear I was interested in for my latest system was available locally, so - for the first time ever - I bought everything sight unseen and sound unheard. Risky, to be sure, but I relied on word-of-mouth recommendations, my own research, and remote dealers with whom I spoke at length and who earned my trust. Luckily, it all worked out very well, but it could just as easily have gone south.

While building my current system, I did run into one local retailer who really put me off. They were the only dealer in the area selling a storied British speaker line that interested me. I contacted them about auditioning a particular pair of the brand's speakers, and they told me they didn't have that model in the store. Since it's one of the brand's most popular and celebrated models, that was a bit surprising.

I asked how I could audition the speakers before purchasing them, and they told me it wouldn't be possible - all of their customers simply buy them without hearing them first. I ended up finding a similar used model for sale online and purchased those instead.

A few weeks later, I received an email from the dealer stating that there was going to be a price increase on the speakers I'd inquired about, but that he could get me a pair at the current price if I ordered quickly. I politely replied that I had purchased a similar pair elsewhere, but thanked him for reaching out.

He responded by asking if I would be willing to share why I hadn't purchased the speakers from him, as they wanted to use the feedback as a learning experience. I explained that I wasn't prepared to buy speakers at that price point without listening to them first, and that they had made no real effort to accommodate my request for an audition.

That clearly annoyed him. He sent me a very nasty reply criticizing my purchase and disparaging the speaker brand he sells, claiming he could have sold me a better pair of speakers for less money. So not only is he a terrible salesman (and, as it turns out, the owner of the shop), but he's also an awful representative for the brand. Needless to say, they'll never see a dime of my money.