@oldhvymec Thanks for your story. The whole situation has a very weird vibe to it. In my story, a customer who spent $4k with you is asking about spending, potentially, another $4k and yet… And in your story, you still wind up supporting brick and mortar — but with the right kind of customer service.
@erik_squires I think they do care about the stuff they carry; it seems well-chosen. But there is, I think, a generational difference. These guys are not from a era of the knowledgeable owner and salesperson, someone much more like a trusted mechanic than a quick appliance sales guy. They are from a later era where you learn vocabulary and get a store up and running with good stuff, and then get bedazzled when a tech millionaire comes in and drops $100k on gear. Running a store and dealing with customers is pretty boring to this generation, so there better be a high payout or it just feels like *work.* (And maybe it’s just an *ethos* and not an age-thing, because I know younger people who really do care about their customers.)
@stereo5 I appreciate your story, too. Brick and mortar are becoming fewer and further between, so it’s hard to play hardball. But I know what you’re saying and wish I could emulate.
@oregonpapa I definitely come across like a middle class person; I was raised to be thrifty. I am not eager to buy something I don’t need or pay more than something is worth. That may seem to these guys like I’m cheap; what they don’t understand is that, so far, I have put together a $12k system — everything but the speakers — for $9k by buying used, open box, and demo. The money I have saved is going toward speakers and it will finally tap me out. But they have to be speakers I really believe are right for me.
