It is about making up for the issue and correction. Making a positive from a negative is what winning companies do.
You would think that it was a silly mistake. I have brought out my phone at a camera dealer and looked up the online price of a large Pelican camera case. I showed him and asked if he could match it and he did. The camera store has been selling cameras to rich Newport Beach guys for 50 years. They are classy and would never kick anyone out for any online reason.
It is about making up for the issue and correction. Making a positive from a negative is what winning companies do.
You would think that it was a silly mistake. I have brought out my phone at a camera dealer and looked up the online price of a large Pelican camera case. I showed him and asked if he could match it and he did. The camera store has been selling cameras to rich Newport Beach guys for 50 years. They are classy and would never kick anyone out for any online reason.
Even BestBuy does this! I had a set of headphones that I wanted price matched. The site I was looking at didn't qualify for BB's price matching policy. So the salesperson checked the sites that did and actually saved me a couple more $$.
Honestly, I can't say enough good things about my experience renting the HE-6 and EF-6 from The Cable Company.
The phone salesman was extremely knowledgable, and we geeked out for a few minutes about headphones and amps. (I imagine this is what B&M stores like Stereo Exchange can offer in person.)
Renting this $3000 setup for two weeks only cost $186 including round-trip shipping (and the EF-6 is heavy). Of that, $145 was a credit toward my next order from them... which was buying my own HE-6 as soon as my rental ended. So the cost of the rental was effectively only $41. I can't possibly recommend this enough, and I'll definitely be renting and buying from them in the future.
I feel blessed that there are 3 reputable online headphone/hifi retailers - that also maintain a brick and mortar location which they sell from in my city (and another one in another state doing the same).
I find it horrible what happened to you, even though I guess I get their point somewhat. So are you unable to ever listen to anything there again in your life? Are they going to turn you away if they ever see you again?
That is the thing, once a customer becomes friends with the retail staff, it is all over, they will not shop anywhere else, and they will direct all their friends to the store.
I'm not so sure of that. I believe that the free and easy accessibility to information has made a much more severe impact on the industry as a whole. There is no economic model that reconciles the desire to try before you buy with the lowest possible price. Giants of retail such as Home Depot and Future Shop etc are still struggling with this issue. Going to poor service and part time staff to save costs so you can "price match" any competitor is proving to be a very undesirable model for the consumer. I really don't see how a physical audio shop can expect to exist in this day and age let alone in the next decade or so.
I don't really care one way or the other who is in the right or wrong on the original topic. My interest here is in the evolution of how audio is going to be sold to the consumer in the future. The way things are moving, it does not look like dealers will be around for very long. That will leave us with nothing but virtual comparisons on the web to make decisions with. That becomes an entirely new model in that a glut of virtual information has initiated a cycle of events where the end result is the ONLY information available is virtual. That changes the actual consumer and creates a whole new animal in the economic model.
To paraphrase, When the only source becomes word of mouth (or print on web), who's mouth exactly do you believe?
As it sits and to the OT. We have frustrated shops and frustrated consumers. Out of the two of those there will be only one survivor.
I agree with this to an extent but kind of think that the many headphone purchases in the lower and mid-tiers are purchased without a chance to listen to them. I hadn't heard my Q701s, DT990s, CALs, etc. prior to purchasing them. That said, I've been able to figure out how to leverage the review info here and on other sites effectively. Perfect example, am probably going to purchase some T-Peos Altone200s in the coming months...doubt I'll hear them before I pull the trigger.
So how do the brick & mortar shops survive? Adapt! Move with the market by adding personal audio, home theater, etc. to your product mix while retaining the higher end audio brands that don't get discounted. By carrying the more mainstream products and providing their potential customers with superior service, the store earns the chance for 'upselling them to a better value' (if appropriate) as well as 'growing them' through repeat business.
The shops I see that succeed build excellent relationships with their existing customers -- who in turn, refer other customers to them. When I've made high-end audio purchases over the years, I've always bought from the store that had the best customer service...even switched brands along the way because they did. At one point, my favorite store was a 45 minute drive away compared to their competition which was 5 mins from my house. Whenever someone asked me where to go for high-end audio, I steered them to the store 45 minutes away with an example or two of why it was worth the drive.
I'll repeat this point I made earlier, when I make the jump to Planars in the fall, I'll listen to them first. I am scheduled to be in NYC for a long weekend in October and had planned to visit their store -- strictly based on the feedback Steve Guttenburg provided in his Innerfidelity article. Now...I will not be going there!
I agree with this to an extent but kind of think that the many headphone purchases in the lower and mid-tiers are purchased without a chance to listen to them. I hadn't heard my Q701s, DT990s, CALs, etc. prior to purchasing them. That said, I've been able to figure out how to leverage the review info here and on other sites effectively. Perfect example, am probably going to purchase some T-Peos Altone200s in the coming months...doubt I'll hear them before I pull the trigger.
So how do the brick & mortar shops survive? Adapt! Move with the market by adding personal audio, home theater, etc. to your product mix while retaining the higher end audio brands that don't get discounted. By carrying the more mainstream products and providing their potential customers with superior service, the store earns the chance for 'upselling them to a better value' (if appropriate) as well as 'growing them' through repeat business.
The shops I see that succeed build excellent relationships with their existing customers -- who in turn, refer other customers to them. When I've made high-end audio purchases over the years, I've always bought from the store that had the best customer service...even switched brands along the way because they did. At one point, my favorite store was a 45 minute drive away compared to their competition which was 5 mins from my house. Whenever someone asked me where to go for high-end audio, I steered them to the store 45 minutes away with an example or two of why it was worth the drive.
I'll repeat this point I made earlier, when I make the jump to Planars in the fall, I'll listen to them first. I am scheduled to be in NYC for a long weekend in October and had planned to visit their store -- strictly based on the feedback Steve Guttenburg provided in his Innerfidelity article. Now...I will not be going there!
Some of you guys are doing yourself a disservice by not visiting Stereo Exchange because of this incident. Granted this wasn't their finest moment, but I think Stereo Exchange is being unfairly demonized in this thread. Because someone is not treated the way he thinks he should be treated, even if there is some merit to his contention, the fact that he posts a long extensive complaint on the internet has the effect, whether intentional or not, of disparaging the place via the internet to a worldwide audience. But, the fact remains that we've heard only his side of the story. Yet multiple posters worldwide then express their righteous indignation.
I'm taking a somewhat different tack because I, and others, know Stereo Exchange as a highly reputable place that's been supporting the audiophile community for some 40 years. The store itself is a huge loft-like place in the Village with several large well-equipped listening rooms. They're authorized dealers for some of the major names. The last time I was there, principals from McIntosh, Bowers & Wilkens, and Audeze were visiting. They're not some fly-by-night place. Management and the salespeople are highly experienced and will spend a lot of time with potential customers explaining items and demonstrating equipment in their listening rooms. But, because this is hyper-competitive NYC, they obviously can't do that with everyone. It's worth noting that the original poster visited the place because, apparently, there wasn't any other place around that he could sample a well-equipped headphone selection. This is the very kind of place that we need and that people say they so often miss.
I say why not go visit Stereo Exchange, especially it's new headphone lounge, and see for yourself.
Good argument. Given they were born pre-internet, you'd think that by now they'd know how to successfully operate as such. What did they have to gain by asking him to leave? Anyone who buys on the internet, will find other reviews of any gear he was going to view. In essence the only thing they succeeded in doing was giving the OP, and anyone who has now had their eyes opened a reason to not bother with them. Had they practiced good customer service, they might have accomplished two things here:
A - Had him purchase something as most of us know, it's so hard to say no when you've got the item you love in hand.
B - Gotten some much needed praise for a dying industry (brick-n-mortar hi-fi), by giving him what we can't get from online stores.
I live nowhere near the store, nor do I care to travel there. However, I am one that much prefers the in person face to face experience over online buying when it's available. When you have the opportunity to make a life long customer, and get a positive blurb in an online review that will more than likely reach at least a handful of readers that live nearby, but choose to be negative and unhelpful..... You're only hurting yourself.
There was NO downside, especially once he had agreed to post a link to their site and no others. Where is the potential harm? It would have helped anyone who happens to be local find the B&M store and encouraged them to go there. Anyone outside their market wasn't going to buy from them anyway. Instead, they are faced with negative publicity that DWARFS any potential imagined negative impact that could have come from the reviews/blog post.
I spent 7 years selling in the B&M stereo store world (Bryn Mawr Stereo and HiFi House in the suburban Philadelphia markets) in the 90's. Yes, there was trans-shipping and mail order back then too. The issues are the same. Expecting a blogger to not post links to online retailers would be the equivalent of them expecting Stereophile to not except ads from competing retailers back in the 90's.
Any retailer who wants to continue to survive better come to grips with the potential good that can come from the internet and stop focusing on the negative...because that's not going to change any time soon.
Any retailer who wants to continue to survive better come to grips with the potential good that can come from the internet and stop focusing on the negative...because that's not going to change any time soon.
Some of you guys are doing yourself a disservice by not visiting Stereo Exchange because of this incident. Granted this wasn't their finest moment, but I think Stereo Exchange is being unfairly demonized in this thread. Because someone is not treated the way he thinks he should be treated, even if there is some merit to his contention, the fact that he posts a long extensive complaint on the internet has the effect, whether intentional or not, of disparaging the place via the internet to a worldwide audience. But, the fact remains that we've heard only his side of the story. Yet multiple posters worldwide then express their righteous indignation.
I'm taking a somewhat different tack because I, and others, know Stereo Exchange as a highly reputable place that's been supporting the audiophile community for some 40 years. The store itself is a huge loft-like place in the Village with several large well-equipped listening rooms. They're authorized dealers for some of the major names. The last time I was there, principals from McIntosh, Bowers & Wilkens, and Audeze were visiting. They're not some fly-by-night place. Management and the salespeople are highly experienced and will spend a lot of time with potential customers explaining items and demonstrating equipment in their listening rooms. But, because this is hyper-competitive NYC, they obviously can't do that with everyone. It's worth noting that the original poster visited the place because, apparently, there wasn't any other place around that he could sample a well-equipped headphone selection. This is the very kind of place that we need and that people say they so often miss.
I say why not go visit Stereo Exchange, especially it's new headphone lounge, and see for yourself.
You're right, we haven't heard the other side of the story at all. If I were a betting person, I'd feel pretty comfortable saying that they know about this discussion by now. So...to this I'd say,
They either don't care about the headphone market -- given head-fi's position as a user forum in this space...or
They're incredibly inept when it comes to understanding the role that the web plays in selling a company's products and services. Not a selling point to me -- though YMMV!
I don't recall any disparaging comments from the OP in his posts here. In fact, he seems to be almost apologetic for the poor Customer Service he experienced at Stereo Exchange.
No righteous indignation from my end...simply the desire to vote with my dollars where I feel I'll get the best value (a combination of price, service, and support). As mentioned, I've had similar experiences with local stores in Northern Ohio and found that it was worth a 30 mile drive to shop at a competitor.
As far as their showroom, authorized dealer status, etc. that's all well and good but it wouldn't override the apparent attitude for me. As I'd mentioned in an earlier post in this thread, I'd first heard the HiFiMANs in a Michigan store that was considering carrying them. Yes..he spent time on me when they didn't even carry the products I was interested in.
They also had nice listening rooms etc. Probably not as much square footage as Stereo Exchange, but I was able to spend as much time as I wanted listening to them in a comfortable, quiet setting. Also, the salesperson was knowledgable and nice...go figure!
Regarding "hyper-competitive NYC" as an excuse for poor customer service, you may have something there. I knew there was a reason I stayed in the Midwest!
But seriously, the high-end stores sell price controlled products -- McIntosh, Audio Research, Krell, B&W, Wilson, etc. Question...If you're selling the same/equivalent products as someone else for the same price, how do you differentiate yourself, close the sale, and generate repeat business? Through a better sales experience and customer service.
FWIW...here's their Yelp URL (http://www.yelp.com/biz/stereo-exchange-new-york)...2.5 Stars out of 5. Apparently this experience was not a 'one-off', bad day kind of thing.
You're right, we haven't heard the other side of the story at all. If I were a betting person, I'd feel pretty comfortable saying that they know about this discussion by now. So...to this I'd say,
They either don't care about the headphone market -- given head-fi's position as a user forum in this space...or
They're incredibly inept when it comes to understanding the role that the web plays in selling a company's products and services. Not a selling point to me -- though YMMV!
I don't recall any disparaging comments from the OP in his posts here. In fact, he seems to be almost apologetic for the poor Customer Service he experienced at Stereo Exchange.
No righteous indignation from my end...simply the desire to vote with my dollars where I feel I'll get the best value (a combination of price, service, and support). As mentioned, I've had similar experiences with local stores in Northern Ohio and found that it was worth a 30 mile drive to shop at a competitor.
As far as their showroom, authorized dealer status, etc. that's all well and good but it wouldn't override the apparent attitude for me. As I'd mentioned in an earlier post in this thread, I'd first heard the HiFiMANs in a Michigan store that was considering carrying them. Yes..he spent time on me when they didn't even carry the products I was interested in.
They also had nice listening rooms etc. Probably not as much square footage as Stereo Exchange, but I was able to spend as much time as I wanted listening to them in a comfortable, quiet setting. Also, the salesperson was knowledgable and nice...go figure!
Regarding "hyper-competitive NYC" as an excuse for poor customer service, you may have something there. I knew there was a reason I stayed in the Midwest!
But seriously, the high-end stores sell price controlled products -- McIntosh, Audio Research, Krell, B&W, Wilson, etc. Question...If you're selling the same/equivalent products as someone else for the same price, how do you differentiate yourself, close the sale, and generate repeat business? Through a better sales experience and customer service.
FWIW...here's their Yelp URL (http://www.yelp.com/biz/stereo-exchange-new-york)...2.5 Stars out of 5. Apparently this experience was not a 'one-off', bad day kind of thing.
Or alternatively they have no interest in participating in a forum which has in large, already made up it's mind.
Or HF's impact in the NYC area is grossly overestimated and they can actually afford to let this run unchallenged.
Or They have realized a sudden increase in foot traffic from people dropping in to ask "Did you guys really.........." and walking out with a carload of Krell
Or alternatively they have no interest in participating in a forum which has in large, already made up it's mind.
Or HF's impact in the NYC area is grossly overestimated and they can actually afford to let this run unchallenged.
Or They have realized a sudden increase in foot traffic from people dropping in to ask "Did you guys really.........." and walking out with a carload of Krell
Or alternatively they have no interest in participating in a forum which has in large, already made up it's mind.
Or HF's impact in the NYC area is grossly overestimated and they can actually afford to let this run unchallenged.
Or They have realized a sudden increase in foot traffic from people dropping in to ask "Did you guys really.........." and walking out with a carload of Krell
Yes, this could actually work to Stereo Exchange's benefit. As in, "any publicity is good publicity" -- where people eventually forget what all the fuss was about but do remember the name of the place, and then go there when they have the chance. It's very likely that many more people now know about the store than previously.
Yes, this could actually work to Stereo Exchange's benefit. As in, "any publicity is good publicity" -- where people eventually forget what all the fuss was about but do remember the name of the place, and then go there when they have the chance. It's very likely that many more people now know about the store than previously.
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