Why do dealers do this?


I'm an old fashioned guy. I like to make my audio purchases from a store and have a person I deal with, establish a relationship, and know that I have someone I can call when I need things. That is why I went into one of the larger stores in my area the other day, ready to audition a couple of things and buy my system. I had a very clear idea of what I wanted, asked to listen to a component with a view to buying it.
The dealer had a completely wrong approach from the start, and it is not a unique situation. I know many good folks in the business are on these forums, so I want to ask why this happens.
From the moment I set foot in the store he created an atmosphere of fairly intense pressure. He started with "you know, I only demo for buying customers". Throughout the visit, I felt continuously pressured to buy on the spot. I was forced to cut my visit short and I was unable to fully appreciate the component I was auditioning. I went from wanting to buy to wanting to run away - who feels comfortable buying something when pressured and rushed to do so right away? So I left the store unsure that I would want to do business with him. Had I had a good experience, and a knowledge that I can go to the store any time and have a good experience rather than have to find a way to "escape" the pressure I would not only have been happy to buy what I wanted, but would have been back often for other purchases. I cannot for the life of me understand where this comes from. One argument I heard is that store owners don't want to have people audition things and then buy online. Well, first off short of refusing to have a show room I don't see how you can make completely sure of that. So, wouldn't making the customer feel comfortable in your store be a better strategy? For me, I now want to shop online rather than go back. And here is one more twist. All online dealers for the product I was looking at make it clear they will not sell to anyone who has a dealer in their area. So I could not buy that online anyway!!
Can anyone enlighten me? Why can I not go to a local store and have that be a pleasant experience any more?
roc_doc

Showing 1 response by kennyt

Pacific Island Audio,

Good story, sorry about the Saab, my experience was equally as good buying a Saab, then when it spent 8 out of 30 months in the shop, the luster faded!

Polk432,

I suspect I know which dealer in Tampa this was, don't feel bad, the guy refused to call or return any communications from a good friend who told him he ahd $75,000 for new HT gear for his new house!

Danlib,

I ALWAYS go shopping looking like a bum, living in Florida by the beach, I don't even own dress clothes! I have never had trouble in ultra high end watch stores, or car dealers, the Porsche dealer couldn't have been more accommodating to me (unfortunately I don't fit in anything but the Cayenne) and I've had watch dealers pull $180,000+ watches out in a heartbeat for me (DeWitt Tourbillion BTW)

Despite this, I too have been snubbed at audio stores. The last one I went into was closing it's doors in 3 hours, done, over, no more retail. I wanted to buy a TT and had cash in hand (well, in wallet) They asked for 20% off a MMF Demo??? I was amazed, well, didn't buy the TT, and laughed to myself as I walked out, it was pretty easy to see why they went out of business!