Visited a Store and was shunned

@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.

@kob 

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

I was not aware of this loudspeaker. So looked them up. Looks like very special ones. Do they still make them? Saw a site dedicated to them. 

I am in the San Francisco area. Like others, I am curious about what store shunned the OP.  There is a store in San Francisco that has the greatest selection of high end audio brands in the area.  On my first visit there, I spent about 20 minutes listening to a product.  When I came back several days later, the salesman greeted me with "are you going to buy something this time?"  Despite this, I did buy a DAC. When I unpacked it at home, something was rattling inside the case.  I immediately drove 40 minutes back to the store to exchange it. The owner wanted to exchange it for a demo unit on the floor that was marked down by several hundred dollars and I had to argue before getting another new DAC. They also did not loan equipment for home auditioning. Of course, I wonder if that's the store the OP is referring to.