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Why do dealers do this?

I'm an old fashioned guy. I like to make my audio purchases from a store and have a person I deal with, establish a relationship, and know that I have someone I can call when I need things. That is why I went into one of the larger stores in my area the other day, ready to audition a couple of things and buy my system. I had a very clear idea of what I wanted, asked to listen to a component with a view to buying it.
The dealer had a completely wrong approach from the start, and it is not a unique situation. I know many good folks in the business are on these forums, so I want to ask why this happens.
From the moment I set foot in the store he created an atmosphere of fairly intense pressure. He started with "you know, I only demo for buying customers". Throughout the visit, I felt continuously pressured to buy on the spot. I was forced to cut my visit short and I was unable to fully appreciate the component I was auditioning. I went from wanting to buy to wanting to run away - who feels comfortable buying something when pressured and rushed to do so right away? So I left the store unsure that I would want to do business with him. Had I had a good experience, and a knowledge that I can go to the store any time and have a good experience rather than have to find a way to "escape" the pressure I would not only have been happy to buy what I wanted, but would have been back often for other purchases. I cannot for the life of me understand where this comes from. One argument I heard is that store owners don't want to have people audition things and then buy online. Well, first off short of refusing to have a show room I don't see how you can make completely sure of that. So, wouldn't making the customer feel comfortable in your store be a better strategy? For me, I now want to shop online rather than go back. And here is one more twist. All online dealers for the product I was looking at make it clear they will not sell to anyone who has a dealer in their area. So I could not buy that online anyway!!
Can anyone enlighten me? Why can I not go to a local store and have that be a pleasant experience any more?
roc_doc
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,454 posts
 
You encountered a bad dealer, plain and simple. His attitude is self defeating. The only way he can survive is to provide better service to his customers than the alternatives and apparently he isn't.

Try to find a good one if you can. They are still around at least in my area (Baltimore/DC metro area).

Otherwise, get used to buying online either used so as to be able to try and sell if needed without taking a loss or from good on-line companies with appropriate policies regarding in-home auditioning and guaranteed customer satisfaction.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,454 posts
 
By the way, it must be hard for live dealers to try to operate with traditional boutique business models these days. Audiophiles are a finicky bunch when it comes to how systems sound, and what you hear in a store is not necessarily what you'll hear at home, so there is a risk involved if you are a buyer dropping a lot of cash on a product and then you get it home and it does not pan out for some reason.

I guess really knowledgeable dealers are aware of this and provide good, honest input to help avoid this situation rather than looking for the fast sale, like with those that got us into this sub-prime mortgage problem.

If I were a dealer these days, I would look to provide value added via the live experience over what a customer can expect shopping online. Old fashioned boutique business models alone might not cut it.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
If you tell them you moved to a new bigger house and need a new system they will jump all over you. If you tell them your just kicking tires and you are honest and say you just want to hear something out of curiosity you will usually be ignored. The salespeople are often competing in the store....they size people up fast and try to keep themselves available for when the Goldman Sachs investment banker/broker with the "i want to build a complete HT system" and "it must be better than my friends" walks in.

Fortunately some of your toughest competition (those guys at Goldman Sachs used to earn an average of $622,000 a year and the I bought a brand new bigger house crowd) may be out of a job and a house - so the salespeople may turn their attention to ordinary folks again ;-) ( Just kidding)
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,454 posts
 
Its true as Shadorne points out in a busy store that salespeople will naturally try to target the person who appears to be the next big ticket.

However, most shops I go into these days are not that busy so you would expect the sales people are more ready in general to go the extra mile to make a sale.

And there are still those that will treat anyone with honest intentions with respect and service when they walk into a store...but this may be less common in general unfortunately these days....
dgarretson
2,602 posts
 
This forum is probably a good place for posting specific queries to find the best nearby place & salesman to source a particular piece. That way you can visit the showroom by appointment on a referral basis and get the attention you deserve based on a preexisting relationship. You're unlikely to find too many average audio salesmen who share your ethusiasm for demoing equipment. As an old hooker once said, "You've been the business too long when you start cumming with the customer."
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