Have you ever been turned off by an Arrogant Dealer? Thoughts

My second week open at my high-end store (1974--South Florida) a young man walked in with no shoes, no shirt, cut-offs, and really long, stringy blonde hair.

Surfer, I thought, but hey, I was only open two weeks, so what the heck?

He bought the most expensive Audio Research and Magneplaners in the store, along with a Trinitron TV (remember them?) and a Thornes TT, SME arm, and Supex cartridge.  He ordered a Nakamichi, which was not out yet.

He then went to his car and came in with a suitcase of cash.

SO, I learned very early that, one, never discount a customer over appearance, and two, NEVER ask a customer what they do for a living.

In those days in South Florida, and thoughout the 1980's, we had MANY cash transactions from people one may not think on first look could make those purchases.

Now, the man I sold the business to had two rules:  treat customers like crap, and if they don't squeal at the price, double it.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess...

Back when we lived in the DC area, I visited a lot of "brick and mortar" shops in search of a new pair of speakers.

If my memory serves me, I stopped at one in Bethesda, MD on a dreadfully hot, humid day, with on-and-off rain all afternoon.  When I walked in the front door, the sales rep greeted me with "do you have an appointment?"  It pretty much went down hill from there.  They had the speakers I was interested in driven by a high-quality amp that was in a rack on the shelf above the amp I owned, but they were not willing to unplug the speaker cables to plug them into the same model I owned.  Being a hot day, the AC fan was so loud, I asked if I could have them turn the AC off for 5-10 minutes, but they weren't willing to, saying they would be happy to increase the volume.

I don't know how dealers like this survive...

 Nothing happens without a customer.  The old saying the customer is king.  Wrong, he's GOD 

I appreciate dealer arrogance. What right do I have to be there? Poseur! Scum! Throw me out! Spit on me! I deserve it!

Every audiophile who's been at it long enough has war stories to tell.  Here's one of mine:

In the late 70's or early 80's, I happened to wander into a local high-end audio shop. It was a gorgeous sunny day in the middle of the week. I had the day off and a couple hours to kill. So, I decided to amuse myself by investiageting what this shop had to offer. It was the middle of a workday and foot traffic was slow. I and, I assumed, the owner were the only people in the shop. Since I was only kicking tires with no intention to buy anything, I certainly didn't want to bother the owner. He seemed busy doing something and I was content to just have a quick look at the inventory and listen to the background music. After 5 or 10 minutes or so, the owner approached and asked if there was anything specific I was looking for. I explained that I had just dropped in to have a quick look around and had no intention of buying anything. Since he, evidently, had nothing better to do himself, we had a very pleasant chat about various pieces of equipment, music we enjoyed and all the stuff audiophiles would talk about in such circumstances. Just as I was about to leave and thank him for letting me look around, he asked if I had another couple minutes or so to listen, for fun, to what he said was the best two channel system in the shop. What audiophile would say "no" to that? I don't remember the specific components involved but the turntable was the best B&O had to offer in those days. The speakers were a pair of 5 or 6 foot tall electrostatic or ribbon speakers and I'm sure the amplification was the best in the shop. I remember the speakers, alone, cost more than I made in a year back then. We listened to some very nice music for about 5 minutes or so and, then, I thanked him for his time and explained I really should be on my way. The owner asked what I thought of the speakers. I responded by politely saying: "Nice." It was clear, from his somewhat surprised countenance, he expected a much more effusive or enthusiastic review. What I really had been privately thinking was: "Who the heck would pay that kind of money for these things? I've heard much better at less than half the cost!" However, realizing fidelity was in the ears of the beholder and wanting to be polite, I just said: "Nice". I tend to be honest that way. It's a curse! This launched a brief discussion about frequency response, bass articulation, detail and everything else one could imagine. You know... audiophilesplaining. This guy was so... well, "angry" wouldn't be fair but acrimoniously disappointed, verging on angry, would be about right.