[dokebi]

[vent mode]I went into this small hi-fi audio store near my neighborhood looking for a possible sacd player and a pair of mdr7506's when I receive my refund check from school. The guy had the most snobby know-it-all attitude. Made me regret going inside in the first place. He told me all sony products are cheesy(to my face) and that sennheiser and akg products are what I should be looking for. He told me some ridiculous price for a pair of hd600's in the range of $400 dollars. I told him I already have a pair of hd580's and open headphones weren't what I was looking for and I can pick up a pair of hd600 for $250. I asked him what he thought about the cd3000 and he didn't have a clue what I was talking about. He seemed to know what the 7506's were though. He gave me the dirtiest stare and attitude from then on. Fsck you, I'll take my business elsewhere. Forget even asking about CD players. Probably charge me twice the going rate. [/vent mode]

 

[DanG]

It's probably what they learn on day one of training. When I went into the HiFi shop on Comm. Ave (Spearit Sound) for the first time (back then it was Goodwin's Audio), I asked about Sennheiser and the guy gave me a blank stare. It's just anything that they don't know about or have limited knowledge of.

Yet some guys can be just awesome. When Audio&Me and I went to that same store after Headroom came to Massachusetts, the guy who talked to us was really helpful and friendly, though it seemed clear that we weren't going to buy anything then and there. Despite the fact that he tried to convince us Krell was better than everything else (including EAR and CJ), he did it respectfully and presented it as his opinion!

It comes down to who you talk to.

 

[dokebi]

That is understandable and I would be a happy customer if so. But this guy had some real issues. Maybe he is lacking down there or he got slapped around as a kid. This guy was a total *********. I was willing to give him a few hundred dollars worth of business that would probably take him 5 minutes to complete yet he didn't want it. The thing I dont understand is that this store is always empty. They have nice displays and such but no one is ever in the store. Now I know why.

 

[Audio-Me]

Here's the thing when it comes to audio sales people. The dudes who know absolutely nothing about audio, are total dickheads and you can tell they are idiots right away. The ones who actually know a little and some more, well they're usually friendly and actually do try to help you out. But it's not always black and white, there's a gray area as well.

Here's my advice:
these guys amount to absolutely nothing to you, so don't mind the lowly dumbasses and just do your thing, or try to find a different sales guy. I usually don't even acknowledge salespeople who are pricks and simply ignore them and do my browsing, then leave. No questions, no comments, no foul.

 

[Ebonyks]

The only thing worse than snooby hi-fi stores, is smelly hi-fi stores... yuck!

 

[andrzejpw]

Although I haven't been to one in a while(the one I went to closed), I faintly remember an experience a few years back. . . my dad was looking for speakers, and we stepped in. My dad was looking for speakers around $500-600 dollars. When we went in, and asked about speakers in that price range, by salesperson told us that the only speakers worth considering were in the $1000 range.

I realize now why they went bankrupt.

 

[Zanth]

I have had many bad experiences with some local shops, but then many good ones with others. I stay away from the pricks, and I give my money to the nice guys.

 

[TimSchirmer]

Quote:

Originally posted by dokebi He told me all sony products are cheesy(to my face) and that sennheiser and akg products are what I should be looking for.

He was 100% correct about that

Seriously though, he probabally didn't know that sony makes some decent headphones. Whenever I shop in a hifi store, i always tell them how much i am willing to spend first. Most of the time they understand that i'm a college student, and that i'm looking for the best i can get for my money, and they appreciate this.

Then again... i usually tend to talk to the owners/managers, because they always know more about the products. I ALWAYS do research before i go listen to stuff.

 

[Born2bwire]

Like Tim, I prefer to deal with the managers or owners as much as possible. That way you don't get communication problems between employees on deals you make and such.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Here's another key into what he was doing: the average person who walks in the door of a hi-fi store can easliy be talked into spending almost twice as much as he wanted to spend when he came in. It's a statistic that almost all salesman know, hence some of them REALLY push to make sales to get the higher commission rates on overpriced stuff instead of just serving the customer's needs and requests. I don't mind if they point me to what I want and then see if I'll listen to/try out something more expensive, but when they ignore my request and push something else I take my business elsewhere from that point on!! There's no call for what he did, and I would make sure the manager of the store knew how you felt about what he did, and what you did in response. It may get you nowhere, but at least they should train their people in better customer service skills, or risk losing more sales!!!!

 

[TimSchirmer]

Another thing i'd like to note...

Don't expect to get the same prices at a hifi shop as you would online. A lot of the time you are paying for the ability to audition many different components in the same place. It is somewhat insulting to tell dealers prices you can get online, because they generally have to charge suggested retail. I encourage supporting local dealers (so they are still there in the future). Hifi shops are becoming a dying breed these days.

 

[DanG]

I really don't think there's much evidence to support the statement that hifi shops are a dying breed as you put it -- they're the only kind of store that can give the audiophile customer what he wants -- the ability to audition equipment in-store and then at home if he's more interested.

Further, you'll find that some hifi shops have better (that's right, I said better) prices than what you can get online. On lots of new gear, word won't be out on which online retailers will sell with a big discount off the suggested price. But if you give your neighborhood dealer some business now and then and you know he gives discounts, you can be more sure to get one there.

You can also sometimes find some decent used/old stock gear at a local dealer.

 

[TimSchirmer]

this is true...

I think the next pair of grados i get will be from a local dealer.

 

[jessica00]

cheaper? naw, almost all prices for stuff like at hi-fi buys is MSRP or near it.

 

[dokebi]

Everything is priced at MSRP or a bit over with some stores charging way over the MSRP here in NY.