Audiophile dealers talk to much

A little product training is a good investment in your sales staff no matter their hourly rate. The guys at the other end of the store are pretty good about talking tech on refrigerators and the computer department seems to have the basics well in hand. Not so much in the Magnolia room. Those guys cant do much more than press the buttons to fire up a demo. And yes, it would be my expectation that someone attempting to sell me thousands of dollars of audio equipment knows what all the information on that little piece of paper with the price means. I don't think understating speaker efficiencies and how much power they require is any more nerdy than talking up and selling the google mesh wifi router. It is a store of nothing but technology.

 

How many of the knowledgeable folks here have been trained? We're just interested and willing to learn! I assume that of some employees at those box stores and you can typically tell them apart from those that are just waiting for their shift to be over. The kid who's into stereos gets a job at the stereo store and the kid who's into fashion gets a job at the clothing store. They learn as they grow if they're actually interested.

 

That's unfortunate. I have had that experience with retailers of other esoteric stuff like watches, but never with the one local audio dealer that gets most of my business. Well, all of my business (and most of my money....). I patronize that business because the owner is very good at evaluating his customer's needs. I talk, he listens. Then he talks and I listen. Then we kick some ideas around and maybe try something out there in the store. So, yeah, there's lots of talking but it is in aid of communication which is pretty essential (in my book) to making informed decisions (i.e. I need the help that is on offer). Plus I learn new stuff almost whenever I visit.

 

You know the key to having great conversations with your local audio shop is spending money. So many people just waste time, have no shopping agenda and just want to talk about themselves or what they know. A serious customer and one that is returning gets a higher level of service.

 

Too bad the OP only has foolish dealers in his town or city? In Whitby, Ontario near where I live, and in Toronto only 30-40 minutes away I can go to a total of five different excellent audio shops. Each of the proprietors is highly knowledgeable, enjoyably talkative, a fountain of information about the audio business (which companies are expanding, which ones are shrinking, which ones are being bought, which ones are doing the buying, new product releases, the latest demos they have access to, and other things). There are a few more audio stores in the area too, but I don’t go into them.

If I walk into a shop without a goal and without a question, the shop owner has no choice but to talk to me and ask questions of his own. If some customer (including the OP) thinks an audio shop is a place where he can go to do only what he wants to do and to talk to only who he wants to talk to, he’s wrong. He should go to the library instead and look at pictures of audio gear or look up specs or back issues of audio mags. No one will bother him at the library.

Audio shop owners are just people. They come in all different shapes, sizes, intelligences and so on. Most of them seem to enjoy the business and try to do their best. Some are good, some are very good, but some are turkeys.

 

I think some dealers just like to chat face-to-face with a fellow audiophile once in a while. Some dealers are legitimately enthusiastic about the brands they sell - they believe they're the best or that they offer great value. I believe fellow member @Warren Jarrett falls into that camp.

 

Perhaps I am lucky. The couple of dealers that I frequent are short on BS. Perhaps it is because I have done my homework before I walk through the door. We both cut to the chase and take care of business. I don’t want to waste any more of their time than I need to. Our relationships have worked out well over the years.

 

It's funny-- that never occurred to me. I'm at the point in my life where I choose not to spend time kicking tires. But yeah, I can see how my experience is better now than it was as a stereo shopping/dreaming kid.

 

Dealers who don't want to talk to me I perceive as being either:
1) Too clueless to be helpful, or
2) Too snobby to want to bother with me, or
3) Both.

I've learned a lot from friendly, knowledgeable, chatty salesmen over the years. If the Op doesn't like this sort of treatment, perhaps he should be shopping at Best Buy.

 

Also, a conversation isn't something that just happens to you, your participation has a very big impact on how it goes. Read the room, know your audience and redirect as needed. If you want a sales guy to leave you alone with the equipment, ask for that.

 

just be like buck ... TK 421! yes, you do need all that bass.

 

I grew up very young looking. Even when I was 25 I looked like I was 15. Audio dealers and car dealers were the worst. I inevitably got the worst sales person, the most obnoxious pitch, talked down to, bullied, belittled, you name it, it all happened to me and it drove me crazy. I finally learned that calling ahead, and asking about something specific (Model #, Vin # for a used car, etc) and scheduling a time for a listen or test drive monumentally changed my experience. Get the sales person's name when you are on the phone. Ask for them when you show up. To this day - anything expensive - I call first. It really works. It changes the whole dynamic of the situation.

Specifically for audio equipment you can ask to make sure it's in stock (not out on loan, or at a show, or they just sold the floor model), that they will have it hooked up when you get there - tested and working, and you can find out what media you should bring. (CD, Phone, Computer) This also helps secure you a room if it's busy.

 

I don't know that you can single out audio salesman from any other salesman. Anymore than you can put labels on any group in general.

These guys are just plain stupid. The funny thing is, they simply don't have a clue and they are not even aware of it!

They go through company sales training and are told that they are now audio salesman. The store trains them to sell audio a certain way.

I like to have a salesman talk, so that I know where their heads are at, both sales wise and product knowledge wise.

The more they speak, the more I know what their qualifications are and the more I know if they have intentions of BSing me.

But a good sales representative will ask specific questions and wait until the prospective customer give them an answer.

As a sales rep, you are speaking to someone who you know nothing about. Music and audio are such subjective subjects. There is much you need to determine about the individual(s) that you are speaking with, to hook them up with an audio system that most suites their needs and tastes.

Consider how much time and research our members do online, prior to making purchasing decisions. In today's average retail environment, you have maybe twenty minutes or so with a customer to nail it all down.

 

That's how my last visit to Audio Concepts in Dallas went. I was surprised he left my friend and me in a room with equipment expensive enough to pay for both of our tuitions twice over.

 

That's true, but I don't think it applies to best shops. The places that are run by folks who attract loyal customers by offering a curated selection of equipment; good after-sales service; and solid ideas of "what makes good audio." It's a long-term game for these folks, and often a completely different sales philosophy.

 

Must be the Canadian TV station that used to play music videos. They may have changed formats and now cover home electronics.

 

I gotta have that! I wonder if Modwright will do the TK 421 to my system??

 

What you are describing is an ideal world that may have existed in 1965 or 1970 but it does not exist today. Best Buy is not a stereo store. Most of their business is not focused on 2-channel stereo equipment, which is why the Magnolia room at most locations is off to the side or back and no one is ever in there. They sell cell phones, TVs, appliances, etc. primarily. What you are saying is like going into a McDonald's and expecting the people that work there will have knowledge about fine French cooking or regional BBQ styles. Get real.

 

Which makes it so odd that they carry McIntosh. Like anybody would want to spend that kind of money there.

 

None of the locations I have been in a few different cities have anything from McIntosh. They did have Marantz, Rotel, Martin Logan, Elac, B&W, etc.

BTW I'm not so sure they're interested in selling any of this stuff because when I have heard the speakers in their demo room they all sounded awful. Not sure if it was the placement or AVR wacky DSP settings, or what but none of the ones I heard (4 different brands/models) sounded any good. I would assume they sound at least decent under better conditions.

 

The fact that I know that TK 421 is the Stormtrooper that Luke Skywalker has stolen his armour and parades around in the Death Star is either mind blowing or pathetic and I’m not sure which one at this point.

 

A good dealer will ask questions and offer relevant advice, but shouldn’t push personal opinions.

Everyone has their own individual approach and expectations when it comes to audio gear. The dealer’s job should be about understanding and accommodating those interests of a potential customer. And importantly, a dealer should know the equipment they’re selling. I’ve run into more than one audio shop that had no clue about what they sell.

 

That’s an interesting perspective. I’ve heard about similar experiences, but never had dealt with it personally.

I dropped into a high end dealer back when I was in university, looking into buying some new speakers. I quickly realized that I couldn’t afford the gear, but the guy who owned the shop was very accommodating, and I got to hear some great equipment. That was 30 years ago. I’ve since spent a lot of money in his store, to this day.

 

That is the point I was trying to make. There is a difference between serving the customers and talking AT the customer and telling stories irrelevant to the customers needs. So many here went on a tangent without reading. Maybe they are the dealers. Just recently a local dealer gave me so much BS that I told him I'd rather buy from a dealer I knew many miles away, because that guy earned my trust. He said "that guy sells seconds" ... which was real interesting because I didnt mention the dealers name.

As a middle age man I've been thru the same cheesy sales training and know the tricks. Its insulting to my intelligence when the old school zig ziglar tactics are pulled on me like I was born this morning. Especially when I am spending MY money. But then I am a consumer, not looking for buddies or a club to join. Obviously, I've had great service at a few places. All I was saying is there is an overall trend in high end audio towards arrogant story tellers who often ruin their own sales by going thru the stories and pitches when a guy with his wallet his right in front of them, if only they'd take the order.