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

I own a pair of Chapman audio loudspeakers that are my favorite by far. They are getting a little long in the tooth so I have been interested in hearing what more recent offerings sound like. They only have one dealer, located in Seattle. I am in Albuquerque. I contacted that dealer by email, text and phone to set a time to audition some new Chapmans, flew to Seattle, went to the store and nope the owner would not let me audition a pair unless I put money down with a commitment to purchase prior to hearing. Probably should’ve gotten on the ferry and headed over to Vashon Island and visited Stuart directly. Instead, I hopped in my rental and headed to Tacoma where a dealer let me sit for four hours listening to Vandersteen Quatro’s and Treo’s with no obligation whatsoever. Since that time, I’ve had a number of friends and acquaintances from Portland to San Juan Island ask me for component and full system recommendations. No guessing where I send them and who I tell them to avoid. They’ve spent thousands at Advanced Audio. 

Thanks for those stories. It makes me realize that it may wind up being necessary to support good brick/mortar dealers *somewhere* but necessarily down the road. I have heard numerous good things about John Rutan at Audioconnection. I'll go read about Advanced Audio, next.

Wow, I thought that it was just me. I never really forgot about an experience in Phoenix, Az where a buddy and I visited a High end retailer or two. The visit that I remember most was at a place called Jerry's. We walked in with cash to spare. Wanted to at least look at some McIntosh equipment. Two pieces in a row that we asked about were taken off the shelf as if they had a place to go. I really can't make this up, and it was obvious to both of us that we were in the way. We walked out. Next shop was completely different, but not so good either. They seemed to want to show how damned good the Quad ESL speakers were and they right. Never heard anything like them since. But with nose high in the air, the salesman seemed just want and let us know. That was the end of that shop. Dam! So the 3rd shop was two guys who were making speakers that were quite impressive for the day. They were friendly, ready to advise, and finally we got the feeling that we could actually be customers in the future if there was a need. Drove 100 miles to just look and maybe buy some equipment. If there was a sale to be made that day it would have gone to the 3rd shop.
 Thing is, I probably made more money and had more knowledge than any of the sales people in those stores, except perhaps the two who built their own product. Take note, we are not chumps, so how is treating people like that going to make you a living?

Sorry @hilde45 , my post wasn't meant as a "talking to" but more about my distaste of folks treating others poorly and a reminder that you have options.  Unfortunately, those people just don't get it and don't understand the power of relationships and networking as related to sales.

@mitch2 -- I didn't get that tone at all from your comment. I was re-framing it that way because I found you saying something that I was kind of saying to myself! No worries!

@4krowme That's a great story. And I keep hearing about how much trouble the brick/mortar folks are in. But if the bookstore people are willing to walk me all over the store to find a paperback or talk to me about other books I might like, why is it so hard to do that with someone buying an amp? After all, the bookstore people are not going to sell me a $500 cable a month from now.