Audiophile 'Attitude'

08-27-12: Rok2id
All of the responses reinforce my reasons for buying at Amazon, J&R, Audio Advisor, Music Direct, Crutchfield, Blue Jeans et al...... All are Snob-Free zones. But, Amazon recently decided to collect taxes for all the 'anti-tax' politicians here in Texas, so I might drop them.

Same for me, three times this past month I got to Amazon check out page and killed the purchase. The tax they charge is due to Amazon having an office in Dallas County. As you probably know, if a company has an office in Texas they must collect sales tax.

Still, they ignored the rule for several years and only recently after threatening to pull all operations out of Texas (and dismiss all their employees) came to some agreement where they owed nothing for past sins but must collect from now on.

Amazon is frequently good pricing but this past six months or so I've found better offers elsewhere, even before tax.

Since I’m here I may as well add to the story line. My story is the reverse of what most have posted, a story from the salesman point of view.

Long ago I was assistant manager of a (very) high end audio store. We had McIntosh, Marantz, Thorens, Ortofon, SME, JBL, Tandberg and good mid line gear like Kenwood, Dual and the wonderful bookshelf speakers from AR and KLH.

The manager was quite a bit older than I, he loved to sit in his high chair behind the counter and scope out the customers. He hated answering the phone and would often let people wander about without even asking if he could help.

I was the opposite, I thought as long as I was there I might as well find someone who liked music and we could listen together. I really was not concerned if they bought or not, it was more fun to pass the day and (in some cases) hear what they brought to audition. I discovered new music nearly every week that way.

One hot summer day it was very slow (yes, audio was slow in the summer then too). A young man came into the store with torn blue jeans, a plaid shirt and cowboy boots. He seemed nice and I looked over at Ed (the manager) as if to ask if he wanted this turn.

The gesture was an emphatic NO so I leaped to my feet and addressed the guy. He said he was going off to school and wanted a system. I showed him the entry level Kenwood receiver and least expensive KLH speaker and his choice of small Dual or AR turntable with "free" cartridge.

He listened for awhile and then ask if this was the best we had. I said no and showed him the upper end of the Kenwood line and some very good AR speakers.

Again, he listened and all the while Ed was grinning through the sound room window as if to say "fool, you're wasting your time."

When the LP ended the young man walked over to the top line Macintosh and ask if he could hear it with a really good speaker.

I accommodated him and even did a brief demo with our pro line Ampex AG440 studio machine and top line Thorens.

I ask what he thought and he said, "I like it, I'll take it." I ask which equipment he was referring to and he said, "The good ones you showed me last."

The young man went into the office where the owner of the store was and we wrote up his invoice. The amount was staggering, as much as an good car cost back then. I ask the owner quietly if this young man could quality for credit to buy and I was informed his family owned a company that manufactured aircraft and he would be paying mostly cash plus a small check.

For weeks afterward Ed actually got off his ass and waited on a few people. Then it was back to me again. I always enjoyed the people that came into our store and thought it crazy that I could make money listening to music with nice people.

08-28-12: Xiekitchen
Albertporter that is a great story and wish I had run into more salespersons like you over the years.
In my case, when I was a young twenty-something struggling graphic designer back in the early 80's, no, I could not afford the best, but IF you let me do some listening... Well then SOMEDAY when I HAD money, I might come back and buy bigtime

I always treated young people (and everyone else) with respect because that's my personality. One current member of my audio group was a customer of mine back then, a guy that never really bought anything but loved to come in and listen.

We have been friends for more than 40 years and we still laugh about those days.

08-28-12: Hotmailjbc
This discussion has me thinking of how we sold audio back in the 70s/80s. The most effective strategy i used was to never show people entry level gear first.

That period was about the end of my involvement in working at an audio store, I was gaining success with my photography and moving away from audio, at least as a career.

The store I worked for then had everything from grand pianos and marching band equipment to PA systems for churches and high end audio.

When people came into our department you never knew if they were a student killing time, waiting to get their guitar tuned up or maybe a member of a famous rock band in town looking around to see what we had.

My approach in those days was first see if they were responding to an ad, because we frequently ran double page in the newspaper and that brought in lots of lookers.

What I did that was different was sell on quality. If someone was looking at a brand that I knew was not the best sound I made an attempt to demo better sound that was either the same price or very close.

Often this involved two competitors products alternately hooked up to the same speakers and turntable with a few minutes music on a familiar LP.

The look of shock on the customers face was priceless. Many who had no expectation of hearing any difference were shocked at how different products sounded. I made a lot of friends this way, I actually helped people get better sound and not by screwing them or digging for more money.

Some would spend the bucks for B&W, Audio Research or other premium brands we carried but many were just young people who wanted something great to listen to music.