Horrendous Paradigm Demo Experience (long post) (1 Viewer)

[Jon_Welker]

I've been to most of the mid/hi end dealers in my city, and I think I have logically ruled out the ones that I'll never go to again. My biggest pet peeve is when a dealer starts ragging on the equipment that you told him that you just purchased. I told this Marantz/Integra/Sunfire (for components) sales guy that I just bought an Elite 45tx, and he shakes his head and starts in on how bad their internal amps are. I cut the guy off and told him, "you can find a hundred different people that will tell you a hundred different things when it comes to receivers," followed by, "thanks, I gotta go." BTW, I didn't have the heart to tell him that the combination of music/receiver/speakers he was playing for me sounded like crap compared to just about everything I have heard before.

Now the place where I bought my NHT's, those cats were cool. I went in wearing a ratty pair of gym shorts, a t-shirt, and some sneaks, and they treated me with respect. Let me listen to just about every cd in my collection on the NHT's, gave me the remote, answered questions, and I felt good about the purchase.

The dilemma I run into is when there is something on the market that I feel is the best in the category and for the max I'm willing to spend, but that dealer doesn't carry that brand. It's a tough trade-off between customer service and the product(s) you want.

 

[RobWil]

If you find out who to contact let me know and I will also write something to the effect that I was considering this line also , but if that's the kind of distributors they deal with forget it. You ought to get the @%$$# fired. Man, I can't stand that kind of crap!

 

[jorgen_boberg]

Hello,
I am sorry to hear about your bad experiance. I myself have nearly completed my new HiFi purchase and I must say I was very lucky. After narrowing my choice down to three brands I went to three stores to demo the equipment. The first store was ok... nothing special but not bad service either. Still the equipment wasn't really what I wanted. I then on the following Saturday proceeded to another store to demo Calsse HT amp, processor and DVD along with B&W speakers (803 fronts,805 surround, HTM1 and 800 sub). The sound was really good, the design top notch and the price range was about what I planned to spend (40,000USD). The service was good the get let me in to my own listening room because usually they don't audition on Saturdays. He then left me there and let me listen for a couple of hours. When I was ready to leave we had a long talk about payment opions, cables installation etc. and he was very helpful and accomondating. A b+ for service and knowledge.

Then I went to the final shop. I was supposed to be there 13:00 but I was 15 minutes late (the shop closed at 14:00 so I didn't expect to get much listening done that day). However when I got the the owners greeted me and said for mme to have a look round whilst he finished off with another customer. I found this nice for two reasons. First it let me get a good look at the store and range of products and also showed me that he wasn't the type who stressed to get done with one customer just so he could get on with the next. After about 15 minutes we started talking for about an hour about what to look for when choosing a good HT system (actually by then another salesperson joined so I had two people helping me the whole time). We discussed main use Music/HT, brands, differences between floor/ and monitor speakers etc. etc. He talked openly about other vendors brands and was in my opinion unbiased as he both told me about the pro's and con's of other brands (in this case B&W). After the talk we had established what I wanted to spend and he recommended we start at about half that price and work our way up different speaker/amp configurations. After a short while I pretty much concluded I'd concentrate on Totem speakers and either niame or simaudio amps. To cut a long story short(er)
In the end I had a good picture of what I liked and did not like. When I setteld on the simaudio amps and totem speakers we tried different models of speaker with my chosen amp as well as different priced cables to find what suited me. Like I said the store closed at 14:00; I think I left at 18:30! Now that is service. In future I won't even bother going anywhere else for my HiFi purchases.

// jorgen

 

[ChrisHeflen]

I would definitely write paradigm. They usually respond very quickly.
And while your at it, tell them their dealer in Portland Or. are a bunch of a--holes too.
I have had nothing but the same type of abuse from them as well when I spent my money there.

Someone should do something about everything!

 

[John Royster]

I've got a suggestion...

Go back and listen again. If the salesman gives you any flack or starts chatting say simply "I'm trying to listen to these speakers as I'm making a purchasing decision. I've brought my favorite tracks and want to use x receiver or y pre/amp. Could you please hand me the remote and shutup? When we need to switch speakers I'll let you know"

You can be a little nicer than shutup, but all I can tell you is developing a good relationship with a local dealer is like having your own mechanic/lawyer/doctor.

You're the customer remember? You call the shots.

 

[Jamey F]

The first time he opens his mouth to give you flack something nicer than shut-up is in order. After that...fire away

 

[DanaA]

Personally, there's no way I'd give that store a chance whatsoever for my business. If they treat a customer that way before the sale, watch out afterwards if you need any help after they have your money.

 

[FrankieD]

Hey all, yesterday I called Paradigm to complain about the dealer; they were closed Monday for a Canadian holiday. They told me that the local regional representative will give me a call. Within 2 hours, the gentleman called. We were on the phone for over 40 minutes. He listened and was shocked by the events. He did say he will address the problem with the dealer, (he knew them by name). I was satisfied with the conversation. Thanks for all of your support and recommendations. This will be the last and only time I put up with this kind of #$@#. I will give Paradigm another demo within a few weeks, at a different dealer. I’ll give you an update…..

Frank

 

[Steve Carlo]

I'm glad you found some satisfaction with Paradigm. It's a shame they weren't prepared to offer you some ca$h to aid your decision making process. Some places will do that.

Also for a different experience try and listen to a different brand of speaker. When I listened to the Paradigms (from F3's, Mini Monitors and some floor standing ones in the 400 region) I noticed the sound was very clear - some might say high endy, but to me it didn't sound right (and I hated the mini monitor). The Mirage on the other hand sounded a good compromise for my (and my wife's ears). We based some of our choice on how some piano music sounded - the reason being that we all know what a piano *should* sound like, and were surprised at the difference.

Jorgen - those Totem's are cool! They will be my next upgrade (being twice the price of my new Mirage Omni's I can do an upgrade in a year)