People who have been established a long time don't like dealing with change.
It reminds me a lot of a common kind of car accident -- the rear-ender. The car in front stops suddenly and the person behind, in instant panic about hitting the car in front....hits the car in front as they slam on the brakes. The experienced, fearless driver will swerve neatly around the car.
But overall, people drive towards their fears. The more you focus on something, the more you move towards it.
An experienced driver may well swerve the car in front, but that's not due to being fearless, it's as you firstly state - experience.
In this case, though I'm not defending Stereo Exchanges apparent poor reaction to the OP, and seemingly just plain rude, lacking in common courtesy and basic respect for another individual, it seems more a case of you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
"Fearless" suggests ego which in Stereo Exchanges case seems correct in that context, and "experienced" as they have apparently been in business for 30yrs.
What Stereo Exchange appear to be failing at is their reaction time - reacting appropriately to circumstances they seem unable to grasp that they have no control over and seem to misunderstand with in trepidation , namely the internet.
This situation appears to be SE regarding the internet as "the enemy" and place the OP within that bracket, to disastrous consequence for the retailer in question - the disaster for this store is largely this thread and the very negative light it now is in over one single incident and individual whom happens to be a member of the largest headphone enthusiast site in the world, which coincidentally brings me to quote you again Currawong - sorry if this seems like I'm stalking you
But they are doing something stupid. 14 years ago or so, when I first started in big-store retail, we were taught that a happy customer tells, on average, 4.5 people about their experience. An unhappy customer, on the other hand, tells 9, so the odds are stacked against you. Now with Yelp and the internet being the size it is, this is magnified out of all proportion. So stores with staff that are arrogant are shooting themselves in the foot.
I remember a friend, who runs a small film studio who wanted to upgrade all his computers and place a big order with a suitable local Apple retailer. So he goes into a store and asks to buy an iPod. Being a small sale (with effectively no profit) the staff treat him like crap. They didn't realise that their attitude lost them a 6-figure sale!
If the online world is such a threat to their business, then they can't afford to treat customers in anything other than an excellent manner. The guy who comes in to try a pair of headphones might just be someone who wants to come back later and buy a far more serious system.
This is exactly right - word of mouth from satisfied customers is not only free advertising, but creates return business and eventually to a loyal core customer base, but also new customers as a lot of value is placed on recommendations from people whom have enjoyed a positive experience from a retailer - it's like gold dust to retailers if they get it right, but if they get it wrong - well just look at this thread.
Everyone can have an off day, but IMO the lady whom dealt with the OP was severely lacking in customer service skills and should recognise this and have staff experienced enough to have handled the OP in a much better light.
A skilled individual trained well in customer service and with the right attitude can even make turning down an individuals request into a positive one - that might sound impossible but believe me it's not.
Leaving a customer or potential customer with a negative experience is such a no-no in retail it's saddening to hear of stories like this - for both sides of the equation.
Obviously they feel that those who enter the store with their wallets open shouting "Shut up and take my money!" are the only ones worthy of crossing their threshold.
You're absolutely right. Dissatisfied customers will tell more people about their bad experience than satisfied customers will tell people about their good experience. Probably because those who had the good experience are busy enjoying their purchase.
se
I can see how that appears to be SE's attitude, but I don't think it's as simple as that to dismiss them with.
I genuinely hope SE see this thread and use it as a steep learning curve to climb quickly as bricks and mortar stores like these if done right would be celebrated by this community and it's surrounding walk in localised potential customers.
I'd love to see a positive come out of this negative for the store and OP.