Little wonder some are turning to online buying! (1 Viewer)

[CurtisBilly]

Steven,

I almost didn't buy the 1.5's because of the angled face. I didn't have room behind my couch to put the speakers, and knew that I would have to place the speakers to the side of the couch which is against the back wall. My dealer convinced me that I could have them close to and angled AT the wall and this would create a good reflected/direct combo. Boy was the dealer right. They are making great surrounds in my setup.

Not trying to twist your arm, but just wanted to let you know I was constrained by my setup and am happy with the setup, and excellent deal I got.

Curtis

 

[Bruce Cadotte]

when i moved 2 years ago i wanted to get a new sound system so 1 day after working out at the health club i

went to this audio dealer in Ann Arbor and i think because of the way i was dressed(holes in t-shirt,sweaty,etc)and the way i looked then(everyone said i looked like a teenager-yeah,right-tell that to the grey hair i am getting now) anyways the salesman maybe in his early 50's would not even say hello to me just sat at the sales desk and starred at me and never helping me,i looked around and noticed what they sold at the store and i left.

i went back there the next day on my lunch break in my suit,the same guy came over and said "oh you were here yesterday can i help you?" i said no,found a different salesperson and said i wanted to buy a integra 9.1. and a

toshiba 40H80 TV(impulse buy).

he and i went to the sales desk and the other sales guy came over to us and said to to my salesperson "i waited on him yesterday i will finish this up" i then go "no you didn't,please excuse us why i finish my purchase" he gets into a big huff and goes into his manager office and talking so loud i can hear him say how he waited on me and he should get the sale not "fred",

i then got up went to the office and said to the manager

he did not wait on me and does deserve anything the manager said how sorry he was and then without me asking gave me 20% off my purchase.

now i know i did not look my best the first day i went

in the store but all the salesguy had to say was hello to me and i could have told him what i was looking for but he prejudged me and thats the way it goes.

 

[Joe e h]

Bruce
I live in Davison up by Flint. I have been to the stores in Ann Arbor and was treated pretty good at one and bad at another. The stoere we got good service at was just down the road from the Big House.
I have to drive down towards the city, because I will not buy from snobby idiots up here. However I was in a store in Rochester Hills a few weeks ago looking to buy a Rotel -RMB-1095. I went in with cash in pocket and baby in arms. My wife took the baby when I listened to the amp.
After I made an offer they became real Sh((*^ with me. I left the amp and speaker room and went into the lobby. My wife wanted to show me a new RPTV. We wetn into were the RPTV was playing using a Rotel DV-1080. The salesguy came in and removed the disk and left the room.
If you want to see real high brow snobby service try the store in Birmingham
BTW the store you were in, did the guykind of look like a John Goodman?
Joe

 

[Allen Longcor]

You know the one reason I like going to Best Buy is that the sales people don't work on commission so they don't harass you as soon as you walk in the door. The other reason is that they don't ignore you no matter what you are dressed like. Now I wouldn't buy any audio stuff from them, but they would definitely get a first look for DVD, TV's, and software. I don't know of any hi-fi stores here in the central valley, but from all these stories I hear I'm not sure I would want to go into a high end store. I have found that the best customer service I have received has been over the internet. I had a sub custom built by acoustic-visions.com and they were the nicest people on the planet. Before the sale they answered all the questions I had the same day even though I told them that my purchase would be in the future. Then when I did purchase it they missquoted a price and when they saw it the stayed with the quoted price. The whole transaction was just a joy asa customer. AV123.com that sells for Diva also has awesome service. I had a pricing question and I was emailed back the answer and told that the 4.1's were back ordered and if I called him he would knock $100 of the price for me. Holy crap! I told him that I was looking at them for a future purchase and he replied that he hoped I would give them a chance when that time came. These guys are helpful, friendly, and when the time comes they will most likely get my business. I'd like to help the local guy, but there is no local guy around here. Being a college student, the internet prices are too good to pass up also.

 

[Bob-N]

Allen,

I agree. The internet stores that I've dealt with have been consistently outstanding with regards to customer service. SVS, Outlaw and AV123.com have been great to deal with so far. In theory, you could do an all internet system and be very well off not having to deal with some of the lousy B&M service.

Although I have to give some praise to Rotel (1066 hiss) and Sonic Frontiers (answering AVM20 questions but very territorial) for their good service as traditional distribution model companies.

Bob

 

[Bruce Cadotte]

BTW the store you were in, did the guy kind of look like a John Goodman?
no joe he did not-older
not the store that sells rotel-(the one close by to that store)
the guy there-(owner)-seems like he really wants to help you,he even offered to let me borrow something till he
gets the Rotel 1066 in stock
the only problem i had with that store is one of his workers needs to quit smoking in there-in those little rooms the smell really sticks in there(i have asthma-did not know i had it until i was 26-nine years ago-this age thing really sucks:frowning: )

 

[rodneyH]

This is cracking me up, I have 1 for ya.

My uncle was looking to put a dedicated theater in his second home he was building. He goes into a local dealer here in south orange county (probably one of the most Elite dealers and installers in the country, always in the mags, etc...) My uncle walks in and my uncle tells him what he is looking for, yet all the salesman wanted was a price on how much he wanted to spend, my uncle said that it really doesn't matter and to show him what he prefers, etc, etc.. and the salesman just kept asking him about the amount he wanted to spend, it was so obnoxious that he left. He ended up buying a system that was well over $100,000 (Revels, Preceed, huge drop down screen, theater seating, etc, etc....). I was so glad he did it, b/c everytime I go in there they give me attitude as well (I guess it is b/c they have so many systems in the mags, but who cares??)

My dad went in there a few years ago, he was looking for speakers, he was A/Bing a few pair (not even really looking at price), he decided on some Vandersteens, the salesman says, no, you have to listen to these, my dad is like "OK, lets compare those to these" and they went back and forth, they insisted that the others were a better speaker (a different brand, they were linns), my dad says "I don't care if you think they are better, I, personally like those". He ended up buying the vandersteens, but only because after all of this he found out that they were on say (perhaps that is why the salesman didn't care to sell them) how a salesguy thinks he can tell a consumer that another product "sounds better" is beyond me (especially when comparing vandersteen to Linns-2 good companies). My dad is an audio guy and use to have his own car stereo dealer in the early 80s (before it was Ghetto), so he knows his stuff, and also knows that when you pay more $ it DOESn't automatically sound better. After my uncles last experience we don't got htere anymore.

 

[Scott-C]

Oh how these stories hit home for me! I don't know if age is a factor in how I'm treated in the largest of the "higher-end" A/V stores in the Baltimore area, but I'm to the point where I won't even go in there.
This town is seriously devoid of nicer HT stores IMO - I can only think of two companies, one of which is a "mini-chain" and the other is a single location. In the many times I've gone into the "mini-chain" the salesfolks have acted genuinely annoyed to have to provide me customer service. My cousin and I were in the store one time and asked a sales consultant the price of an HDTV tuner. The response we got was "I don't know, probably around $1,000." Then he sneered and walked out. What is that? What company can afford to lose a potential $1,000 sale?
I always take solace in the fact that the companies that are doing this are really hurting themselves in the long run. Forget about the lifetime value of a customer. For me, I'll likely never buy anything in the store again.

 

[StevenK]

I highly doubt they're hurting themselves in the long run. I truly believe that the niche they cater to can single handedly afford to keep their stores running for a long time. I'm not going to get into a cable debate, but when these stores regularly sell $1000 cables to their targeted customers, they don't really care whether or not they are gonna lose you...the well-informed, "I'd like to decide for myself" consumer.

 

[Bruce Cadotte]

i have another one
i went to the store(not the same) where i bought my Def Tech speakers at and told them i was looking at buying a projector well he said they only carry seleco-sim 2 a DLP
projector well i said thanks anyways but i do not like
DLP(gives me a major headache watching it)well he then goes unless i was going to spend over $30,000.00 on a CRT
projector he wasn't going to help me because LCD projectors
are crap(his words-i now have a Sony VW-10HT which i love)
well i gave up on the projector and then he asked me what
sound system i have and i told him i moved my Onkyo Integra
9.1 downstairs until any new Pre-Amps come out(outlaw,Rotel,etc)he goes that he would never have let me buy one of those they sound like crap-i should have bought a Denon 5800 because it sounds better(they sell Denon there),i told him i was happy with it because they kept their promise about the upgrade and i like how it sounds-he then says well,denon will upgrade the 5800 also and i said back(i know he was baiting me but i could not stop myself)yeah for 800.00 dollars and no machine for a month while all i had to do was pay 50.00 put a CD into the computer hook it up to the 9.1 two hrs later-done,his answer back was he never listen to the 9.1 before-all he is into is 2 channel stuff and he never watches movies at home-only two channel music and does not own any Denon products at his home.
rolleyes:rolleyes

 

[Han]

Scott C,

Being from Baltimore, don't you have a bunch of Bryn-Mawr (AKA Tweeter) stores in your area. Or are they the people you're referring to as "mini-chain". Anyway, when I went there to check on their smoking prices for the older Mirage OM speakers last year, I was basically left alone until a younger guy starter helping me out. He actually searched dilligently for about a half an hour when I decided I wanted a pair of OM-R speakers and didn't want the display models which seemed to be the last ones available. Luckily for me, he found them, and I paid a little over $200 for the new pair, which Mirage has since replaced with a newer $500/pair model with the same drivers but high gloss cabinet.

I guess even one person's experience can be totally different than another, depending on the luck of which salesperson they get.

 

[TheLongshot]

I think some of this comes from high end stores haveing to deal with the unwashed masses, since the high margins aren't doing it as much as it used to.

Here, actually, I've had some pretty good dealers. Audio Buys, out in Manassas, is probably the best store I've been to. Helpful sales associates who know their stuff for the most part, and don't push people. A reasonably good selection as well. I've bought my receiver and my surrounds there and definitly would spend more money with those guys.

Gifted Listener Audio is more like what has been described. It is a high end shop. The guy who helped me was nice enough, but he only had one system for me to look at, since the rest was out of my price range. At least he tried.

Myer Emco is hit or miss. The Tyson's store is pretty good, but the Fairfax store sucks. The salesmen seem to be mostly kids not really wanting to help.

AudioWorks, in Kensington, MD, was pretty good to me. Like the guy before, they were pushing certain speakers (In my case, they were Vandersteens.), but they did allow me to listen to other speakers and make up my own mind. (I went with the Vandys.)

I did step into the new Tweeter in Fairfax. (Ironically enough, where Audio Buys used to be.) It seemed pretty decent, and the salesmen were out to help, since I had a couple approach me. Probably wouldn't shop there, since everything seems to be list price, but I wasn't unhappy with them.

Jason

 

[Bob McElfresh]

I walked into a local "botique" stereo store here in Walnut Creek and WANTED to listen to some NHT's. The sales lady offered to show me some Aerials they had hooked up. Then she asked about my current equipment and wanted to sell me a $75 coaxial digital cable that she was sure would improve my current system. She then invited me to come back to listen to whatever they had hooked up at the time. (No offer to help me listen to what I wanted to hear)

A few months later, I was near the shop and stopped in. They had some Magnapan HT speakers in a little demo room. I started listening to them, but the sound was quite bad. This same sales lady came into the room and I asked her why the rear sounds were flat/weak. She toss over her shoulder "Well, these have not been Calibrated." Then she went to the DVD player, removed the disk and walked out without a glance at me.

So you guys are not alone. Now we have 3 dedicated Home Theater stores within 3 blocks of this place. And while I have never bought things from them, they have always been friendly and polite to me.

 

[KevinGS]

I too, can relate to the elitist attitude and bad service, but I don't tell the salesperson/manager that I bought my stuff somewhere else, why should I? If they want to treat people like crap, hopefully those people will tell others not to shop there due to the bad service/attitude and they will go out of business or straighten up!

 

[Alex Prosak]

I disagree, I think you should tell the manager or owner about the bad service you have received. I have received some very poor service at one of the two local stores, even after I've bought a $4300 big screen from them. The people in charge may not always be aware of what's happening "on the floor". If you don't let them know, they can't fix the problem, if they care. But I do believe that you're correct in encouraging your friends not to shop there.

I certainly will not be making any more purchases from the store I've had bad experience with. The only reason I bought from them to begin with is that based on what I wanted, I had no other choice.

When I first moved into town I went to see if they carried any tube equipment. The salesman told me, "We have never carried them and never will. They just don't have enough balls."

 

[Suharsh]

Hey Steve - which shop was it, Paradyme? They have two locations one in Sac & other in Roseville. I have been to the Roseville store and they certainly are ok if not the best.

But I will agree with someone's comment earlier that the hi-fi stores in Sac suck. I have been to all Paradyme, The Home Theater company and audiofx. There are some others for whom I left messages never to be called back audiogallery and some other.

I have moved to online shopping already...

 

[StevenK]

suharsh,

it's not paradyme. actually, I've had great experiences with paradyme (the one on howe). Unfortunately they don't carry what I'm looking for.

 

[Ricky T]

Steven,

I returned your email, and sent you a private message.

 

[Scott-C]

Han,
Yes, we have the Tweeter chain in Baltimore (I actually forgot about them in my prior post and you'll understand why in a minute). There is a Tweeter just a few minutes from my home.
I bought my Mits WS-65907 from Tweeter, and though I've had no problems with it, I paid through the nose. At the time I bought it I was pretty uneducated about pricing and didn't realize how high Tweeter's prices really were.
But the real reasons why I tend to avoid Tweeter, besides their prices, are:
1) The stores I've been to in the Balt. area carry primarily receivers, and I'm in the market for separates. The only separate I recall ever seeing in their store is a B&K Ref30.
2) I bought and subsequently returned a Pioneer Elite DV-37 DVD player, which they told me was brand-new factory fresh. When I got home and opened it, it was plainly obvious it had been opened and resealed - no manual inside, warranty for a Sony product had found its way into the box, setup menu had already been bypassed by previous user. Now, I don't know if anything was wrong with the unit, but on a purely ethical basis I would not keep the machine. If they had told me it was opened before I bought it, then I would have felt differently (I then bought it online for $100 less).
I purchased most of my stuff at Soundscape. I can't say it's a great place to shop but I have had ok experiences there. The place I was referring to in my previous post is Gramophone. I mean no disrespect to anyone affiliated with the store, and I'm sure others have had better experiences. But for whatever reason, I've not been treated too well in there.

 

[Stefan A]

As I told Scott in a private E-mail (since we are from the same area and have shopped at the same stores), you just have to be aware of the format of the store. In Gramaphone for instance, the salesman just sit up front at a main desk and let you walk around on your own. Of course, only the salesmen can turn on the equipment and tell you the price. If you have any questions, you have to go up front and ask. At that point, at least for me, the experience was OK. The salesmen demoed whatever I asked for (and I even said I wasn't buying).

Yes, there is a feeling of superiority, but I find that the salesmen want to help. I don't doubt any of the bad experiences everybody has had, but I suggest just understanding the format of the store. Lets face it, if you want to hear high end equipment, you are just going to have to go into these type of stores.