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Ever feel like a "low dollar" customer that your dealer doesn't think worth their time?

I'm a careful researcher for audio gear and I also understand the value of brick and mortar stores. I am not OCD and I am not an irascible haggler. Indeed, I have told my local stores that if they carry something I like, I will buy from them and not try to find it cheaper on the net. I have purchased major pieces of gear from them.

Nevertheless, one local shop is erratic in how it treats me. Emails can take a long time to get acknowledged, and often exchanges take several back-and-forths to get clear questions answered. This shop sells gear at my price point and up to 10x more (think Wilson speakers, $7k power cords). I often feel I'm more like a fly buzzing around their heads than a valued customer trying to establish a customer-dealer relationship. I am trying to be loyal, but it makes me want to shop online. I could be reading the situation wrong, but this is definitely a pattern.

Has anyone else had the sense that they were too much of a "low dollar" customer to be worth the dealer's time?
128x128hilde45
limomangus's avatar
limomangus
1,195 posts
 
Good Service  should be expected when your putting down 30k.But I have never experienced that .I remember when I was a teenager I worked the summer .and now said let me get a nice pair of speakers. I saw in the paper a place on Madison Ave in NYC had a sale on Fisher Speakers.  XP something, buy one get one Free.$99 plus tax.I took the train in and bought them.I loved them,hey this was 1968 .Fisher made good stuff.LOL .I had them until I bought a pair of Bose 901s in 1973 .I gave the speakers to my brother in law he was 16 .Did I get good service ? well he put cord on the boxes so I could carry them on the train ,I remember. They were Heavy.
devilboy
1,175 posts
 
Years ago, something happened to me and I wrote in to The Absolute Sound and Stereophile and they both printed my story. Now, I share it with you...

I called a brick-and-mortar store and asked them to listen to a turntable that I was interested in purchasing. The turntable, tonearm and cartridge altogether retailed for around $2,500. The guy on the phone actually told me that he would not take the time to set up that combination. He would, however, set up something for me to listen to if I was spending around $10,000.

NO BS!!! TRUE STORY.

Needless to say this put a very bad taste in my mouth. But I guess karma is a b**** because he was associated with some shady business deals and had to close up shop shortly thereafter.

Still...WTF?
mitch2
3,747 posts
 
No, I never do because I wouldn’t waste my time on people like that.
Any retail outfit can decide which customers they want to cater to and any customer can decide what type of people they want to deal with.
You are what you tolerate.  Go find a better dealer.
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,906 posts
 
@lwin Wow. That's interesting. I was really trying to avoid that conclusion, but I think we all know when we're being given "the bum's rush." I do sense that the people at my shop know their stuff and I do feel like they've dealt more than fairly on purchases. That's why I have some cognitive dissonance about this other kind of treatment. But people are complicated, and what I think folks here are saying they like about their longtime dealers is consistent respect over a long period of time. Not just one good deal.

@devilboy WTF, indeed.

@mitch2 -- You're giving me the "talking to" I probably deserve to hear -- and which I'm already telling myself, however quietly. What makes it hard is that there is such value in *hearing things* that it seems worth it to put up with some mistreatment. But you're right — it is demeaning.
gdnrbob
4,421 posts
 
Here in NYC, there are numerous dealers who 'size up' their clientele.
It got so bad, I never wanted to deal with another dealer(namely one with S and S in their name).
I felt that way until I met with John Rutan at Audioconnection.
Bob
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