Ever feel like a "low dollar" customer that your dealer doesn't think worth their time?
I'm a careful researcher for audio gear and I also understand the value of brick and mortar stores. I am not OCD and I am not an irascible haggler. Indeed, I have told my local stores that if they carry something I like, I will buy from them and not try to find it cheaper on the net. I have purchased major pieces of gear from them.
Nevertheless, one local shop is erratic in how it treats me. Emails can take a long time to get acknowledged, and often exchanges take several back-and-forths to get clear questions answered. This shop sells gear at my price point and up to 10x more (think Wilson speakers, $7k power cords). I often feel I'm more like a fly buzzing around their heads than a valued customer trying to establish a customer-dealer relationship. I am trying to be loyal, but it makes me want to shop online. I could be reading the situation wrong, but this is definitely a pattern.
Has anyone else had the sense that they were too much of a "low dollar" customer to be worth the dealer's time?
@denverfred Now you've triggered an Agon discussion about whether it's worth paying more for an expensive, boutique "brain fuse" from an American maker or whether Chinese brain fuses are good enough. Not to mention whether said brain fuses can be tested in a double-blind A/B way and whether measurement is even up to the challenge. Buckle in.
I look for many manufacturers to jump on the direct sales bandwagon. We should all pay attention to Paul Barton's interesting business model out here high in the Rocky Mountains. He's got no local shops, factory direct, and a generous trade-in policy linked to The Music Room--where, IMCE they make a really slick presentation and even a newly constructed SHOWROOM. In addition, PSAudio is nearby with more show-and-tell. Maybe I'm too old and idealistic but I think this plan will work really well if they can ever get a handle on realistic pricing for used gear. I'm really not sure we should expect to continue paying 1/2 off MSRP for stuff that's really getting kinda old--though working fine at sale. Admittedly, the market, and "late stage capitalism" will eventually impose its will but I'm afraid a lot of us old timers won't make it past the mountaintop. It will be a while before audiophiles will appreciate any price benefit from this process of "cancelling" a very large part of the audio industry. Sad to think of how many of we AGrs have depended on retail audio for much or all of our lives.
Believe me, the guidance you will get in well-managed stores has as much to do with what’s in stock and its gross margin as it does with satisfying your needs or desires. Oh, one other thing: audio salespeople are not there to entertainyou. They’re there to do business and you can hardly blame them if they ask you for an order before you split.
So true. It is a tough business to be in and probably only for those with a real passion for the hobby.
Give it up folks! Retail Hifi is dead as a doornail and now the virus has sealed the coffin. IMCE nothing affects a retail sales floor like lack of traffic/business. Once depression really catches hold, it can spread rapidly. When a salesperson realizes--no matter how diligent s/he is in doing the job--that s/he has little chance of making the rent this month, things change. Customers who don’t buy become thieves swiping your expertise and your demonstrations in order to buy elsewhere--especially online. We are stuck in a frustrating liminal era in which the unknown far outweighs the future knowns. We are the ones who will preserve our hobby/business by spearheading a new structure for the preservation of great sound. 1. Make evaluations based upon multiple inputs: youTube, Stereophile, Absolute Sound, Audiogon, etc., etc. 2. Gather in groups to share gear when possible. 3. Acquire the 2 or 3 likeliest choices for audition of 2 to 4 weeks. 4. Buy with much more assurance than if you had heard the equipment in some retail store with who knows what kind of help. Believe me, the guidance you will get in well-managed stores has as much to do with what’s in stock and its gross margin as it does with satisfying your needs or desires. Oh, one other thing: audio salespeople are not there to entertainyou. They’re there to do business and you can hardly blame them if they ask you for an order before you split.
It's not an audio gear story, but this happened to me a couple of cars ago when I was car shopping.
I had been driving a BMW 328i convertible for almost 4 years and had been saving up for my next new car. The 328i was ordered and my plan was to order another car.
Put it for sale on the posting board at work thinking it would take me a month or two to sell... oops... sold it in one day!
Had to have the new owner drop me off at Hertz after work and I ended up renting a Mazda 3. That weekend, I drove it up to the Mercedes dealer and asked to test drive a C63 AMG. They wouldn't even show me one - maybe I shouldn't have parked the Mazda by their front door, ha ha. Told them that I have cash ON HAND and was ready to buy, but I didn't get anywhere with them. Instead, they kept on showing me overpriced used cars that appeared to have been waxed using sand paper - swirl marks on black metallic paint galore.
Ended up going to BMW and got an order for an E92 M3 hammered out in an hour. Got to drive my rented "M3" until the real one arrived.
That was 2 cars ago... still miss the redline on that V8!
There is a local chain here in Northern CA that use to be one of "the" places to go 25 years ago. The owners i use to know well are no longer around, hiding in back warehouses somewhere replaced by 2-3 salesmen up front you don’t recognize and none recognize you or care to. All three salesman sitting behind the counter, looking at their computers with nobody else in the store. Big fancy showroom place with four different dedicated audio rooms - lots of overhead too! Lots of fancy lights on, systems powered on, - idling and playing for nobody, burning energy. Somebody gets to pay for all that, how nice.
So, as i walk in, all three guys are heads down behind the counter, I’m thinking... Hmm, what are they looking at, ugh.. maybe a pile of orders coming in - NOT! Something super important I guess, and it takes all THREE of them to figure it out, whatever it is, um, no. Surfing the internet, yes! Must be super interesting, whatever it is :)
Now with a pandemic, no more surfing at a fancy showroom - now the playing fields are equal, store closed - it’s all about "productivity" and results and who sells products online...can’t blame walk-in customers or lack thereof any more. Retail may be changed forever now. Only those who produce will survive as manufacturers and distributors venture more to online sales, more so every year now.
I was there to check out the newer McIntosh MA-252 tube hybrid den room amp for a friend who asked me what I thought.... As I’m walking in, dressed in work close on and all - got a quick look up and glance, told them what I was looking at, and not one of them got up out of their chair to even walk over and show anything. Lazy pr$%s! I browsed each room quickly having not been there for a while... headed for the door, one of them tried to say something as my hand was on the door handle and I just said no thanks - keep surfing and walked out.
Shared back to my buddy I’d never buy an amp or any gear there any more, customer service was crap and nimrod sales people can’t get their faces out of their phones and off their screens any more - rather order from a hungry sales person online or pay an eager BestBuy/Magnolia guy and tip him to just order it instead. They can order McIntosh, let ’em at it. Can’t imagine this other old store will last too many more years with high prices paying too much overhead for 3 sales people who rather surf the internet.
Must be nice to get paid to surf the internet not helping customers. Decided not to tell the owners, if they are so rich to pay people to surf the internet and not do spot checks on their new generation absolutely useless sales staff - wish them all the best of luck.
Sure appreciate the happy hungry hard working sales people of prior generations. Many I knew long ago all went on to do bigger and better things in life and they all earned it :)
I appreciate this thread very much. I've haunted stereo stores since around 1975, and I've certainly experienced my share of places that are unwelcoming. Luckily, I found a store owner in New Haven, CT, who was open and generous, I stuck with him for thirty years even though I moved five hours away.
What I find especially strange is that there's almost nothing to do in high-end stores unless you're being helped. It's not like a furniture store where you can try the different couches, or even Best Buy where you can fool around with the electronics. I don't feel comfortable moving speakers or cables, connecting speakers to different amplifiers, putting on my own music, or messing around with the gear without permission/encouragement. I had this experience at a New Hampshire store earlier this year; I spent at least half an hour wandering around, I even made a couple friendly remarks to the men working there, but no one welcomed me or offered to help, even though as far I could tell it was a very quiet weekday afternoon with no customers in the place. I would say that I was studiously ignored. After a while I left; needless to say, no one said a word as I walked out. It's a pity; I guess I take Harbeths off my list?? Or cut my ponytail? (I should say that the owner of the store wasn't there. He has a good reputation and I don't mean to impugn the store. And, yes, I had emailed with him before I drove down.)
As others have said, it's a weird experience to be ignored or slighted, especially when one is ready to spend $10k or more.
@rushfan21, apologies if you didn't appreciate my contribution, however, the subject was not audio, but how one was treated. So I added my contribution to let some know that for you it is rare, but sometimes (in the past) often at some audio stores, but for some of us on a daily basis, this is standard.
Also, my contribution was to discuss how I treated the rude person in order to continue on the path I was on when I walked into the store.
The last time I went to a Dealer was twelve years ago. I had just made an $8000 profit on the sale of some big office copiers and decided to drop it all on a new pair of speakers. I walked into the dealer all happy and a salesman with a thick eastern european accent asks me "How much you make per year ? " . Needless to say i walked out.
When I opened my shop in 1974, I learned two things VERY QUICKLY:
1. NEVER ask a customer what he or she does for a living.
2. NEVER judge a customer by his or her appearance.
Made a LOT of money by following these two rules. In those days in South Florida, cash was flowing by the tens of millions--you can check out the history of the area to learn why--and I had LOTS of it flow through my shop. Suitcases brought in by young people wearing cut-offs and nothing else were normal.
(We were the "high-end" shop of the area--Audio Research, Magnepan, Sequerra, Mac, Tandberg, Stellavox, Nakamichi, Linn, B&O, etc. We made some stands and woofer cabs for the Levinson HQD system but his stuff sounded terrible, so we did not carry it.)
Quick story--one of my best-ever (wealthiest) customers lived in a double lower penthouse (only gauche people buy the actual penthouse as it has roof issues as well as plenty of social silliness associated with it), and he had WALLS of museum-level art and a wife who was the twin of Mary Tyler Moore. His business--he made lapel pins and paperweights. More wealth than many of my big-name Palm Beach and Miami Beach customers.
Most interesting--young man who bought a bunch of stuff lived on Hillsboro Mile--look it up--and his dad sold oil well derricks. Who goes to school to learn to sell oil well derricks?
OK you may think I'm a snob, and that's fine with me. I love music- all kinds just about. But I am a Gear-Head as well. I found the "snob-shop" in town which carried B&W and WILSON (and even some Goldmund). I wanted B&W 801 Matrix speakers ($5,000) so badly, but didn't have the nerve at first to spend that kind of money. But the more I thought about it and their crystal clarity (over what I had) and bass down to 20Hz with the bass-alignment filter, and took the plunge. Then of course (as predicted) nothing that fed them was any good, so piece by piece I started upgrading. The day I came home with a Goldmund DAC (over $3K) sweet music began pouring out of my speakers. But now I needed a good transport, and then instead of a Hafler Amp I bought a used Levinson 23.5. I was spending a whole bunch of money, but I got to audition everything and take my time between purchases. A Rowland demo preamp, better interconnects, a better turntable and cartridge, etc. and I was finally getting CD's (the evil culprit to all of the problems with the digital revolution) started to sound more like vinyl all the time. Fast forward many years later I was growing unhappy with the 801's when I heard Eggleston Andras that appeared at snob-central. I was blown away and got the floor demo. We're talking $14K for speakers and I matched them up with Levinson 33H mono blocks. But my point here is not to brag, but if "I" can hear a huge difference in what a component is able to do (especially with classical music), I take as much time as I need to get the money and then I just go out and get it. Lately I have not gotten anything new for some time, but I still collect new music just like always. But I am into gear, end of story. Performance counts, and some stores have amazing systems if you're polite and buy an album and talk like you know something about what they sell, it goes a long way. People that come over might ask me how many watts my speakers have, and I tell them that they're designed to let you hear more of what's in the recording. If that's not a sufficient answer, then it's just too bad- I'm a snob and that's all the answer they're going to get. But if they show they understand, then I will spend time to explain further about how my system is configured. I always end with the fact that I love Led Zeppelin, too (I really do!). But these days Vivaldi really brings a smile to my face.
Kurt put a lot of thought and money into the listening room at the new place and is justifiably proud of it. The downtown location was a little more convenient for me coming from out of town, but I really like what he's done with the new space.
@bomd, I too have found Echo to be cool. I had been at the old location, and recently accompanied a friend of mine to the new store in Beaverton when he went there to get a new belt for his Pro-Ject turntable. Though it was only a (iirc) $20 sale, they treated him as if he was a valued customer.
Their demo rooms were well treated acoustically, unlike the NW shop you mentioned. In that shop I heard the worst demo I've ever experienced, of the excellent Magnepan 30.7 (the first stop on Wendell Diller's North American tour), which should have sounded great but didn't in the shop's atrociously bad room. It was like a cement bunker, with no wall treatment.
When I worked High end audio or audio at all, I always fully entertained those who had not the cash. Even the teen kids. No problem.
They’ll be back, if you treat people right. One must always look good in their minds. They all eventually find themselves in the ’I know this guy, this great guy who knows some stuff’ mode, and they come to you.
This is the way it should be. Sadly, not often is.
I live in Portland, OR and we have a handful of terrific dealers. I did have a bad experience at one NW Portland location. This specific dealer sold the Rega Brio and Totem Rainmakers. I was interested in hearing that combination together as I was looking to spend around $1000 on an integrated amp. I could tell the shop owner thought I wasn’t worth their time.
When I asked to demo the combo I received a sigh from them since they had to hook the speakers up to the Rega Brio. And half way through only the second track they asked if I heard enough and then cut off the music. I was the only customer in the store so not sure what their hurry was. Haven‘t returned since. I understand I was looking at one of their least expensive products, but why carry this item if they have no interest in selling one to a customer.
After hearing the Rega Brio, and other comparably priced integrated amps (at other dealers), I realized I was making a side grade rather than an upgraded. Ended up increasing my budget to $2500 and made a purchase from a different dealer.
________
...to add to what others are saying about Echo Audio, they really are that amazing. There’s been times when Kurt has handed me his iPhone and told me to go nuts streaming on any of their systems. He even encouraged me to disconnect speakers myself and hook anything up I wanted to. Very trusting and welcoming of him. Just one example of the many great experiences I’ve had at Echo. I have also been talked out of purchases at Echo too, and suggested I check other local dealers that may have products that better suited my needs. Pure high class from the folks at Echo Audio.
When I worked High end audio or audio at all, I always fully entertained those who had not the cash. Even the teen kids. No problem.
They’ll be back, if you treat people right. One must always look good in their minds. They all eventually find themselves in the ’I know this guy, this great guy who knows some stuff’ mode, and they come to you.
The ways in which dealers and salesmen turn people off aren’t limited to monetary issues.
I’ve gone into serious stores and pretty much without me asking anything, a salesman has decided that I wanted to hear his theories of audio purity to the point where I had to ask the owner if he could find me a different salesman who was interested in more than the opportunity to spew his theories without listening to see what I was in the market for or if I had any questions.
Assuming that you are a sheep without having any opinions yourself is just as annoying as assuming from your appearance that you don't meet their monetary standards to be a customer.
Have to wonder how people like that can stay in business.
@danvignau Appreciate your point and perspective. It's very important that we all consider one another's position; I always remember that the salesperson is, well, a person who needs to make a living. I try to be up front about my intentions, and I always assure them I am not just using their store so I can go buy online. That helps, sometimes, but not always. @tomic601 Thanks for the kind words. @firebird66 Love that story. The way we deal with the next generation is so crucial to who they turn out to be. After all, those "young kids" will soon enough be our doctors, nurses, business owners, teachers, etc. We will be in their hands (as a generation) soon enough. Mere self interest argues that they're treated with patience and kindness, now.
@danvignau - good reminder that B&M businesses are just that, businesses, and that the owner and sales people who work there need to make sales to earn their living. I had two friends that sold stereo equipment and when I started purchasing direct from manufacturers and used on-line, I quit going to their stores. We are still friends but I didn't want to waste their time.
I have experienced both sides of the coin. One as a middle school kid. A life long friend of mine and I would ride our bikes to the local Hi-Fi store, Alma's. There was a salesman in the store that could have easily ran us off. There was little to no chance of us being able to buy anything in that store. Instead he was very gracious and allowed us to experience high end audio that was well past our means. We were unabashed Rush fans and he would pop in the "Moving Pictures" CD for us in the "big" room. All the highest cost gear was in this room. He would turn up the volume reasonably high and as he was closing the big glass sliding door, grin and say "enjoy!" This actually fostered our appreciation for the technology that is Audiophile. This was not a one off event, we would go in there weekly during the summer. Again, he could have easily tired of this and told is to srcamm, but he never did. The other Audiophile retailer, The Gramaphone, has absolutely no tolerance for us and shoo us away promptly. Thanks to the dude at Alma's my friend and I developed an appreciation for high end audio and still love it to this day. Flash forward to adulthood. Living in St Louis area and I happened into one of the high end retailers and was summarily ignored in spite of having much deeper pockets now. So I left. I visited the other store " Music for Pleasure" and was greeted immediately and with respect and a real desire to establish my needs and budget. They did an excellent job of assessing both and they helped me load up the $10k I just spent in their store.
Hilde - I forgot to add I love your thread and the even handed tone you set :-)
In my Poverty bay system pics there is a picture of our Labrador listening to power amps during an all day demo at Audio Alternative ( now hi Fi buys in Atlanta ) talk about welcomed in !!!!
also for those wanting to bookmark used gear pages try Gig Harbor Audio and Hawthorne in Seattle. Eric at GHA is expanding !!!!!
As a successful commissioned salesperson for a couple of decades, I can tell you this: I went to work to make money, not friends. Of course, I made some friends from the hobby that became my source of income, but when a customer was looking at a Ducati or Harley with a near-thousand dollar commission,and one was looking at a BMW that sold for cost to just get these people out of our way, and get their service business, which one did I talk to? Better still, when we sold SeaDoos at cost and paid $25 per unit, I, who owned a very successful race team, would say, "Let me get you a watercraft salesperson". When Sound Advice started doing in home A/V systems with thousand dollar plus commissions, it was impossible to get help on anything else. Salesmen need to eat, too! I also needed B&W's and Audire's, and sports cars, etc.
I go back to the days of the old Audio Lab in Harvard Square when a salesperson was as likely to share a puff or two and sell you whatever he had or whatever you liked. The existing Audio Lab, now in a different location is very hit or miss but generally a worthless pursuit. I used them for yearly service on my old Mac gear for years until I just didn't have faith in their work anymore.
If others here are referring to Natural Sound as that Framingham, Ma. store, I regrettably second their experiences. When looking to upgrade my Mac gear a few years back I paid a visit or three and found them to be aloof and mostly uninterested. Even worse at Goodwins High End in Watertown for non Mac gear. So much for even trying to support the brick & mortar places near me.
Eventually I too found Audio Classics in Vestal, NY and never looked back. Bought a mess of Mac gear from them at fair prices, peerless shipping and continuing advise and tech support.
yeah thats a great story. Unfortunately rare. The story with the Ferrari and similar happens all the time. I was once shopping for Shindo gear and got a nice 4 hour listening session which I appreciate until this day. But even that was closed a bit as the guy in the store kept asking "well how much do you think you will spend on audio in the next few months"? Sounds like a used car salesman- the annoying kind. I eventually bought some gear (not Shindo) from him, but the service was OK not great (some demo headphones - still waiting of rtes factory box to be sent to me after years...)
@tomic601 Appreciate your points. There's no way I put up with abuse; what I've experienced is erratic and disinterested conduct which shows they don't care about my patronage. You and others have pointed me toward other really good dealers -- and I have noted them and will consult them if I need to.
If I was far away from these dealers, I'd not give a second thought in forgetting them forever. There are two things which motivated me to discuss the issue -- the desire to support *local* businesses and the desire to *audition* gear before paying shipping, etc. Otherwise, there would be nothing here to discuss!
Minorl... So after hearing several people here complain about rude dismissive sales people because as many pointed out they think we can’t afford the gear in the store (see the guy in the suit when they found out it wasn’t his Ferrari) you are telling us, you were dismissed by sales people not because they didn’t think you had the money to buy the gear in their store but because of your race? God help us. I really hope this is not where this forum is going. I really like the discussions here and hope the conversation stays on Audio. After all for any business to survive the only color they need to focus on is GREEN.
A third world problem...there are no Hi-Fi stores in the country I live in. I buy and ship. That has interesting ramifications for developing relationships too. Misunderstanding is easily come buy. Frustration and delay is normal. Then we can talk about shipping...no.
Instead of projecting or guessing how they feel ... best move is to make an appointment with a manager, or ask for the mgr in store on a slow day. Let them know your ethical compass and your feelings and see how they respond.
@minorl yes, sadly race can matter. I also enjoyed Stereo Design and was also treated fairly and well. I get the run of Stereo Unlimited, much as you did - I enjoy that level of relationship, IF we get thru this COVID junk and you get to Carlsbad stop by for some music and fellowship
Johnny R and I got off the phone earlier, we talked music, time alignment, a jazz instructor at Julluard, a trade he took in long ago, and got around to retube of my ARC - he recommends a path where he makes ZERO $$$$$$$
wow
and you know what ? There’s a rare D2D headed his way
Hilde- I travel the world, wine, shotguns, cars, audio, guitars.. boats... it is all the same. spend your $ only at places of mutual respect. Never judge a book by its cover, but also don’t put up w abusive a holes. You have been pointed to two very excellent dealers about as far apart as you can get in the conus: Johnny R in NJ and Bob and Victor at Advanced ( by the way the owner is Definitive now... funny how it’s the people, or in this case perhaps Definitive in Seattle suffer no egotistical fools ? )... check them both out !!! Many other great dealers out there 2
and to the dude rebuilding the MC275 and the Delphi - good on ya, those are legendary building block esoteric components that can mix it up way way above the weight class !!!!
finally, of course Andy at Vintage tube is awesome
This isn’t true at every store. When I worked in the business everyone mattered. Yes it is not as fun to sell HT or multi room audio but the high school kid or college kid getting their 1st pair of Atoms and a Yamaha receiver was just as fun for me as the guy who just spent 60k. And I know it was the people that bought the lower priced gear that allowed us to stock the better stuff. If the dealer has the passion and wants to make everyone feel welcomed the pieces on the floor will cater to every budget.
Mike at Audio Classics has been great to me. Bought a MC 275 and a MC 123 for excellent prices. After I had inquired about the 8k 123 and decided to hold off. He called a week later. Customer had bought it and returned 3 days later upping to new 160. He offered to at nearly 2k off. 15 seconds later I owned it. He almost certainly could have sold it more locally but called me. Class act upon Birmhamton
I WAS often a low dollar customer that was not worth the dealer's time. But for the most part I was treated well just because of my enthusiasm for hifi. One shop would encourage me to bring my CDs and listen at length to megabuck systems in the afternoons when their potentially paying clients weren't around. And when they were around, I was politely asked to yield the good seat, but never told to leave.
minorl, I'll pass on the invite...but admire your approach... It's beyond reproach that you need to apply it daily at all, especially in CA. (CA native, grew up next to Compton....'nuff said....) Hopefully, The Lesson will stick better this time around, but hoping some will finally be 'woke' is still a dream unrealized...but I'm still one happy to be surprised...
My experiences mimic'd many of the ones presented here. My philosophy is that I refuse to pay for bad service. Anywhere. I've nurtured relationships with certain dealers to the point where they (two) actually let me go to the extremely high end rooms with no escorts and listen to whatever I want.
That is because they learned that although I may not purchase (read: will not) their extremely high end stuff, If I like something within my price range, I will buy it. Sooner or later.
In the past when I walked into a store, I didn't expect or desire anyone to come over (sharks on commission) to try to sell me something. I just wanted to look around. However, when I had a question or desired to hear something, if I was ignored, i walked out (but not before I told them how I was treated). If you don't voice your concerns (better in writing), they will not know.
I was in Stockholm a few years back with my ladyfriend. When I visit places (I've been there nine times), I try to find high end stores to visit. We walked into the store (high end). The salesperson on the floor looked us up and down and made a determination that we (read I) wasn't worth his time. This was completely based on race. However, I went into one of their many listening rooms and heard a particular singer on the system.
The salesperson followed us into the room. not because he may have had a potential sale, but because of the other thing. I acted as if it wasn't an issue and directly asked him who that singer was we were listening to. It actually struck him that I addressed him at all. He answered, then quite snobbishly asked my what my system consisted of. When I told him, all of a sudden, I was his newest best friend.
I deal with the issues you all presented on a daily basis. Not because of dress, car driven, or imagined financial status, but because of race. So, I've learned to take the time to figure out if the person is an ignorant ass or if they require a little patience.
Stereo Design in San Diego California was a perfect example. I'm sad that Steve retired some years ago and his son didn't want to take over the business and had to close the doors. I would walk in the door and have discussions with some seriously rich people there about equipment, cars, etc. They knew me and I could and often did listen to the very top of the line stuff. Steve would let me take equipment home for in-home listening (all the way to Los Angeles) for a week or two. He knew that if I liked it (most times I did) I would buy it.
Now a days in Southern California, the scenario from Pretty Woman really doesn't happen much anymore. People don't know who you are, how much you have, etc. So, they can't afford to assume you are a nobody.
I've learned years (decades) ago to not make assumptions about people. They may have had a bad morning, divorce, etc. I don't assume race is an issue at first. If it is, it presents itself pretty quickly without my help.
But if a person is rude, well, I don't let that first act of rudeness (ignore me, treat me like a hobo that walked into their facility, or worse, race) stop me from doing what I came into the facility to do. I've found that even the very worst, come around when I don't respond to their ignorance or vile nature and talk to them as if it isn't happening.
Some of us deal with this on a daily basis, we have had to adapt and learn to try to get through the icy rude nature of some people.
If the store isn't an appointment only type of store, I am going in and do what I came to do. The more I inquire and speak with the ignorant salesperson, the more I can see that ice melting.
It's the summer of 1978 and I'm working the sales floor at Shrader Sound in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC and all the other salesmen on the floor were avoiding a seemingly homeless man, with several days growth of beard, smelly, wrinkled and "fragrant" clothes, so I approached him and found that he was a neurosurgeon at a local hospital, had been working for several days without a break, hence his appearance. Long-story-short, I sold him a system that day, over $38k (in 1978 prices).
I'm no "fashionista" by any means, and have been treated badly at some audio shops...I just take my money elsewhere.
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