AV Shops that go the extra mile.

[Mickey G]

Last week I spent just under £1000 at an AV shop on Hatfield Road in St Albans which is a lot of money for me. I asked the shop if they would give me a discount for the speaker wire since I had bought the AV amp and speakers there and some guys at work had told me that they where given speaker wires when they bought their kit. The shop told me that they couldn't give me any discount what so ever.

I would like to here stories of shops that have gone the extra mile for their customers and shops that are extremely tight.

Regards

Mickey G.

[Lawrenzini]

Why didnt you say "ok I'll leave it then" and walk off. Especially if they were rude about it.

[Mickey G]

Well I bought the AV the previous day and by then I had the AV fever and just had to get the speakers. In hindsight I should have walked away. It has made be decide not to go back there though. It's hard to get customers easy to lose them.

Regards

Mickey G.

[Abbeygoo]

Got to mention Creative Audio in Shrewsbury who give tremendous service, ask anyone who has read their set up guides - brilliantly written with clear instructions and good humour.

I made my first real venture into home cinema and they really helped a lot.

A great price on Denon and Kef combination - they return emails at 9pm at night and weekends - first class and a definite recommendation from me!

www.creative-audio.co.uk

[woodywizz]

I always used "Sound and Vision" in Farnworth (Bolton). However I did have a rather unsavoury incident when I went to purchase a simple SVideo cable to connect an IPod dock to the LCD. I asked a couple of questions, they could not answer, I thanked the bloke and then had a mooch around the Plasmas and LCDs. Whilst I was in the home cinema room I heard the bloke chatting to one of his colleagues and s******ing whilst saying I must have thought that an SVideo cable was a major purchase and why should he be bothered with such a trivial matter. I then reappeared, his face dropped, and I told him that no it was not a major purchase but I expect the same level of service if I am purchasing either a plasma or a cable. I then told him, that if he were to key in my name and address on their computer system, then he would see - that just 2 months before - I had purchased 4k worth of equipment including lcd panel, dvd, amp, alphason stand, speakers, speaker cable.......and that - in future - I would not be spending that amount again in there, nor recommending anyone to them. Prior to this I had always received excellent service them and I was disheartened by one member of staff changing my view of them.......hopefully he no longer works there and has been headhunted by Dixons.

[shahedz]

sevenoaks in southgate high steet were fantastic, real good bunch of loads, always very helpful , once sold me a brand new tuner for almost half price because they had recieved it in a delivery in error! discount on speakers too which i still have!

[woodywizz]

On a similar note to my post above, a few years ago myself and Abbeygoo once visited a specialist shop on Bridge Street, Mcr - I think it was "Practical Hifi". Anyway, I think we were looking at amps / speaker systems. When we mentioned a budget the assistant lost all of his enthusiasm and interest and basically assumed a very condescending tone with the both of us...rather akin to "Oh dear, we do not do anything in that price range, if you want quality equipment then you need to pay for it, and you two obviously cannot afford it".....this p:censored: ed me off slightly.

So, when we got back to the office, the old Woodywizz telesales/blagging skills came to the fore. I rang the shop up and asked for the bloke who had spoken to us. He came on the phone, nice as pie, I explained that I was very embarrassed but I had recently come in to a substantial amount of money and that I always liked films; and I would be very interested in seeing one of these plasma tellys connected to a dvd player with one of these surroundsystems. He asked my budget - I asked him if 10-15k would buy a decent system as I only wanted the best. He nearly asked me to marry him and started explaining all about plasmas and Arcam this/Pioneer that etc. Anyway, I asked him - if he didn't mind - if he would set a system up so I could see and listen to this exceptional system. He hurriedly went off the phone, enquired what they had in stock and told me to give him 2 hours to set the system up. I was very grateful and said I would see him at 1600, gave him a blag name, and obviously never turned up. I like to think that those wasted 2 hours of his life were suitable recompense for being downright rude and condescending to potential customers - no matter what their budget.

Just noticed that this is my 666th post, does this make me evil???

[Mickey G]

Excellent story woodywizz. Your first story has reminded me of a couple of other incidents that happened in the same shop (hi-spek St Albans) that until now I didn't make much of.

The first when I asked for a coaxal cable, the pimply salesboys with squeaky looked at me like I was an idiot and said that it was only used for arials. I gave him puzzled look and tried to explain what I wanted it for. Finally he understood and found me the cable and walked off.

The second incident was when I rang them ask to them about the problem of the yamaha amps finding the kef speakers out of phase ( well documented on this site). The guy reaction was that it must be my fault and they sell many of the speakers and have never had that problem.


Can someone recomend to me a Hifi shop in the St Albans area?

Regards

Mickey G.

[Abbeygoo]

Woodywizz did perform amazingly on that shop in Manchester - the guy was a top hat. It was Practical Hi-Fi by the way.

Over the road, I had a demo of the Denon 1906 and KEf KHT 1005s - the guy set it up for me and I had a good play around. I went back a couple of days later having researched prices and they quoted me around £800. I gave them the details of Creative Audio who had the same deal at £520.

They were then very dismissive of me, said they couldn't compete with 'on-line' only retailers and dissed the quality of the service and the cables that were on offer. Funnily enough, two days later, I visited the shop of the 'on-line only' retailer, spoke to the manager (a top man) and walked out with my superb purchase.

It seems that some shops are only interested if you want to spend ££££ss without realising that a lot of people are just starting out or are adding to their existing system.

Service is top of my shopping list every time.

[woodywizz]

Woodywizz did perform amazingly on that shop in Manchester - the guy was a top hat. It was Practical Hi-Fi by the way.

Over the road, I had a demo of the Denon 1906 and KEf KHT 1005s - the guy set it up for me and I had a good play around. I went back a couple of days later having researched prices and they quoted me around £800. I gave them the details of Creative Audio who had the same deal at £520.

They were then very dismissive of me, said they couldn't compete with 'on-line' only retailers and dissed the quality of the service and the cables that were on offer. Funnily enough, two days later, I visited the shop of the 'on-line only' retailer, spoke to the manager (a top man) and walked out with my superb purchase.

It seems that some shops are only interested if you want to spend ££££ss without realising that a lot of people are just starting out or are adding to their existing system.

Service is top of my shopping list every time.


Abbeygoo is being polite, the shop in this story is "Superfi".

[Jules]

Practical Hifi in Manchester used to be my shop of choice when I started out.
They were always really patient, friendly and knowledgeable.
They used to know my name and I felt really welcome whether I was buying a blank disc, a top flight AV amp or just looking around.

Eventually my entire AV system came from them (I'd say about £10,000's worth of stuff), and they earned it.

But more recently the staff that new me by name have moved on.
There's a different face in there every few weeks, and you're made to feel like you should turn around and walkout if you don't state your intended purchase and £££ budget on entry.

I'm hoping this is just a phase, but I suspect the golden era of friendly Hifi / AV shops has pretty much gone.
It's quite sad really.

[ian_c_uk]

I used to use practical hi-fi in Blackburn, and have bought quite a bit from PHF in Bolton also.

Woodywizz, anywhere else you recommend local?

Ian

[Lawrenzini]

I have always had a soft spot for Plumbs in Bury. I went to school in Bury and me and a friend used to go in and drool over the B&O stuff, despite the fact that we were in school uniforms and blaightantly coulnt afford anything in there the staff were pretty friendly and used to chat to us about it, which is always nice.

[ian_c_uk]

I've always wanted to walk into a B&O shop and say "tell me why B&O stuff is worth xx more than the competitors" - yes it's nice but to me is not *that* nice?

(oh and Eddie, they're packaged up on my desk, will drop in post box on way home)

Ian

[woodywizz]

I used to use practical hi-fi in Blackburn, and have bought quite a bit from PHF in Bolton also.

Woodywizz, anywhere else you recommend local?

Ian

Ian,

Over the last couple of years I've noticed a downturn in the level of service provided by many shops in the North West. I often wonder why this is, maybe because that the field is not as specialised as it was with more and more of the general public wanting a decent av system - this has undoubtedly increased demand and maybe the specialist shops are beginning to treat the sale of mid - high range equipment as a simple 'tick-and-turn' exercise. As I've said previously, I always received excellent service from "Sound and Vision" in Farnworth and - if they have got rid of that idiot described earlier - then I would use them again. "Sevenoaks" in Mcr City centre are fairly accomodating, not pushy, and knowledgeable. For a non-local shop, I would agree with "Abbeygoo" - Creative Audio, from what I have heard are exceptional with friendly staff, exceptional prices, and very good customer care. Replying to emails, at a weekend and in the evening, is certainly something which adheres me to them.

[Abbeygoo]

Agree with Woodywizz on both shops mentioned.

Creative Audio are superb as per my earlier post. I also strongly recommend Sound & Vision as a great retailer with very competitive prices and good service - I hope that Woody's experience was a one-off.

My brother and a couple of mates have purchased through Sound & Vision and have always received top notch service - and being only in Farnworth makes them easily accessible too. When I purchased my TV, they delivered on Xmas Eve (the wife went mental!) and when I added a Pioneer 575 DVD player to my system they directed me to their nearby warehouse and I walked away with one that day - I love 'em.

Hope this helps!:smashin:

[Lawrenzini]

I've always wanted to walk into a B&O shop and say "tell me why B&O stuff is worth xx more than the competitors" - yes it's nice but to me is not *that* nice?

(oh and Eddie, they're packaged up on my desk, will drop in post box on way home)

Ian

I did ask why it's so much more exspensive, he said that it's about design and build quiality. I think they accept that B&O are a lifestyle brand. Although I do think they have some top notch stuff (if you have the cash). Although B&O do alot of rebadging they do try their best to source the best stuff..

Coool... should get them by next tuesday then (bloody bank holidays) :)

p.s. I warned you about giving away my secret identity :rotfl:

[Knyght_byte]

7oaks in Swiss Cottage get my vote for a deffo thumbs up store......

i'd been thinking of getting a sub but also some new front speakers, Richer sounds proved disappointing in not stocking anything over £300 anymore speaker wise, i had no true knowledge of subs at that point, but the fact i couldnt demo led me to wander in to 7oaks, anyhow it was a saturday and they were fairly packed out, but whilst a woman was pondering something the younger saturday shop guy asked me if i was ok and was i after anything in particular so i said more just browsing....anyhow, taking note of a few things i went home, then in the week phoned up the same branch and said i was interested in some floorstanders around £400-500 and a subwoofer around a few hundred or so.....nice guy called Dori said no problem, we have this and that etc, mentioning the MA Bronze and Silver series among stuff, and as i'd always seen MA speakers in mags and adverts i thought i like the look certainly and the ethos, so sure......turned up after work, around 5pm, he happily let me sit and listen for a good hour, or in other words till after close, i had made it clear i wasnt sure if i would even buy, but i'd like to see what i thought......anyhow, i decided to buy the S6's and REL Quake......so he happily hung around till pretty much 7pm doing the interest free payment plan paperwork for me......i think that was pretty good of him....anyhow, i've been back a lot over the last 2.5 years and got everything in my sig from them, most times getting some form of discount without even asking.....but the two nicest things that they've done was when the manager, very nice guy called Farooq, let me buy their ex-demo mismatched colour Monitor Audio GR10's for just over a couple hundred quid......and then when Richard, their main music man, happily let me take 8 hours in the demo room of an evening to listen to various amps to decide which i wanted to run my GR10's on......now that is what i call dedication to the business as well as the customer, and also to the hobby!.....they definitely deserve respect :-)

companies on my downside, Sony shop in Harrow suck, you go in there asking for a cable they say no we dont stock what you asking for, without even looking (um, lets see, anyone reckon a Sony shop would be without optical toslink cables?...hahaha).......Richer Sounds i know find too cheap and tacky, especially since you cant demo, but also since apart from Cambridge Audio and Gale, most of their products have nothing like the quality they did a few years back for the same price.....really disappointing.....i used to swear by them as well....
and finally Harrow Audio......i needed an optical cable for my X-Box360....wanted to pick one up before a weekend so i didnt have to go out (just after i bought the 360)....so i didnt need an expensive one, but i did need a long one, 5m, could i get one? like hell i could, but then i found Harrow Audio's website and they had one, tech+link or something, only £20 too which made me happy.......so phoned up, asked if they could save me one, he said sure....turned up, said hey hello etc, he seemed decent and cheerful......swiped the scanner over the barcode on the pack, i was just about to hand my c/card over as he said 'that'll be £40 please'......wooooooah...i stopped.......£40?..um, its £20 on the website, not on offer...
so he said nope, its £40.....then his colleague (possibly the manager) comes down, so i get some vaguely mumbled story about new stock and new systems and possibly mixups, so they boot up the computer (they had been about to close, but i was there before the actual close time just about so i definitely aint paying a premium for no reason, wouldnt mind paying a fiver more if he had to wait and stay open for me) and then say,'ok, that'll be £20 then'........wouldnt mind, but the box and its label had more trace dust on it than a box thats only just been marked up.....makes ya wonder.......competitive on website, pricey in shop in the hope someone buying something expensive doesnt realise the cable they buy is overpriced........anyhow, mebbe it was an accident but i dont think so......so not too happy with them.....oh, mebbe i should explain while they were booting up i did make reference to my owning some reasonably high price gear and then asked about the recent more audiophile price SACD players hitting the market.......wonder if that had anything to do with the sudden backdown to the website price....hmm...heh

[russ123]

Yes RS have definitely gone off big time. I walk past one twice a day and they now sell things like hoovers, razors and other odd items. They used to make a point of saying how they only stocked hifi as they wanted to be specialists. Anyway back in something like '95 when I first put together a surround sound system I placed an order for well over a grands worth of kit with their Holborn branch. I knew they had to order it but they never kept in touch and when I phoned up to see if it had come in they never sounded interested.
In the end I found the five speakers and sub in another branch and bought the amp from a different retailer altogether. On the feedback card I got with the speakers I recounted the whole tale. Couple of weeks later I got a response from Julian himself! He said he was appalled at the way I had been treated and very pleased to hear he had still got some of the business and another store had helped me and through in some vouchers. Would have hated to have been in the shoes of the Holborn employee:devil:

[OBee1]

Sevenoaks Solihull/Shirley get a big :smashin: from me.

I was very new to the AV game and had a modest budget. Went in explained my situation and the guy told me it would be difficult but acheivable. He spent about 2-3hrs with me and at the end i asked about installation. This is where things got interesting i was quoted £800 for a full instalation which blew my budget out of the water. Being a newbie i was very dishartened at this stage and i think it showed. the guy from seven oaks offered to help me out if i wanted to have a go at installing myself. What an absolute star!!! he came to my house over the next 3 nights for about 4hrs each nightvery pleased with the system and for a few quid in hand i got the use of his expertise and learn't alot at the same time.

I have and will continue to recomend them to anybody who is prepared to listen to my newbie ramblings

[woodywizz]

Sevenoaks Solihull/Shirley get a big :smashin: from me.

I was very new to the AV game and had a modest budget. Went in explained my situation and the guy told me it would be difficult but acheivable. He spent about 2-3hrs with me and at the end i asked about installation. This is where things got interesting i was quoted £800 for a full instalation which blew my budget out of the water. Being a newbie i was very dishartened at this stage and i think it showed. the guy from seven oaks offered to help me out if i wanted to have a go at installing myself. What an absolute star!!! he came to my house over the next 3 nights for about 4hrs each nightvery pleased with the system and for a few quid in hand i got the use of his expertise and learn't alot at the same time.

I have and will continue to recomend them to anybody who is prepared to listen to my newbie ramblings


That is brilliant service, yes the bloke got some cash in hand, but he did not need to do that for you. That really is beyond the call of duty and - as you have - should be commended. :smashin: to Sevenoaks in Shirley - how's "The Red Lion"??

[Dankeech]

Mickey G,
I live 2 mins drive from hispek. I'd really suggest Sevenoaks in Watford just past Asda's and the oval roundabout.
Ok, parking's sometimes a bit tight, but I've always found the shop staff to be excellent, glad to talk, ever so eager to help. I was last in Saturday before last and they were even looking info on AV stands for me online.
Top thumbs up for the guys there in my opinion. I used to shop at Richer Sounds a bit further along near watford junction station but although staff were friendly and helpful, it's always very busy and kind of a box-shifting shop and almost no chance of demos etc.
Let me know if you want any more info. Sevenoaks is now my main port of call.
Oh, and the place near woodhall in WGC I was flabergasted with when I made the mistake of calling them to buy some hifi etc.


Dan.

[alexs2]

My local Sevenoaks and AudioT have always been very helpful when I've visited them,down to endless patience loaning me phono pre-amps when I was looking a while back.

Another that gets my vote is Audiofile.

I think that any dealer worth visting will at least try to be helpful,even if their franchises dont allow discounting,there are always other ways to close a deal,before the customer displays obvious signs of being fed-up.

[uktrailmonster]

Ian,

Over the last couple of years I've noticed a downturn in the level of service provided by many shops in the North West. I often wonder why this is, maybe because that the field is not as specialised as it was with more and more of the general public wanting a decent av system - this has undoubtedly increased demand and maybe the specialist shops are beginning to treat the sale of mid - high range equipment as a simple 'tick-and-turn' exercise. As I've said previously, I always received excellent service from "Sound and Vision" in Farnworth and - if they have got rid of that idiot described earlier - then I would use them again. "Sevenoaks" in Mcr City centre are fairly accomodating, not pushy, and knowledgeable. For a non-local shop, I would agree with "Abbeygoo" - Creative Audio, from what I have heard are exceptional with friendly staff, exceptional prices, and very good customer care. Replying to emails, at a weekend and in the evening, is certainly something which adheres me to them.

I'd say this downturn in customer service is due largely to direct internet sales. Prices are dropping rapidly and the high street retailers are coming under increasing pressure to compete. It's not surprising that level of service is falling. On the other hand, a retailer's main weapon against etailers IS providing superior service. Hard to win though when customers want online prices AND the highest quality service. You simply can't have both.

I'm not a retailer BTW and often buy products directly on the internet :)

[corrado kid]

I have brought a few bits from audio t in tunbridge wells and the guys there have always been fantastic. Great place to shop :thumbsup:

[dts_boy]

just out of interest - if you were looking at new plasma screen and you could find it online for £2k. the high street 7oaks/audio t/retailer price was closer to £2.3k would you pay £300 more? its so easy nowadays to just buy it online but being in reatil myself i feel for the high street sotres. my above example was my experience a few months ago, i really wanted to buy it from my lcal shop but they just couldn't compete on price. they told me to buy it online and i bought all my cables and other bits from them instead.
i would also reccomend 7oaks in macnhester, although the staff are not as good as the people who used to work there

[uktrailmonster]

I certainly wouldn't spend £2K directly over the internet without a proper demo of the screen first and several alternative £2K screens. Oh wait a minute, I could go down to my local shop for a full demo first and then buy on the net. This might work fine for me, but sooner or later the local shop would start going down the pan.

In reality, I would be very wary of splashing out £2K over the internet anyway, so I'd try to negotiate a deal at the local shop. I'd gladly pay a little extra to get the full support of a quality local shop on an item this expensive.

just out of interest - if you were looking at new plasma screen and you could find it online for £2k. the high street 7oaks/audio t/retailer price was closer to £2.3k would you pay £300 more? its so easy nowadays to just buy it online but being in reatil myself i feel for the high street sotres. my above example was my experience a few months ago, i really wanted to buy it from my lcal shop but they just couldn't compete on price. they told me to buy it online and i bought all my cables and other bits from them instead.
i would also reccomend 7oaks in macnhester, although the staff are not as good as the people who used to work there

[Knyght_byte]

aye, it's one thing parting with £300 or £400 for a screen for your PC on the internet......ok it could still all go wrong in some way, but its not as bad a £2,000.....lol

i'm surprised in your case dts_boy, they didnt say buy it from us at £2.3 and we'll chuck in a £100 worth of cables......or was the £2.3 an already discounted price from their usual charge for the screen?

i could have got my 7205 from an online place for £2,250 refurb, instead i got it from my local 7oaks for £2,700 refurb......it did come with a 3 year onsite gold warranty tho, but thats still not £500 to make up the difference.....however they also said if i saw any dead pixels to bring it back and they'd swap it over straight away........also got a discount on the cabling and screen :-)

but then i've spent a fair bit with them.....once you've spent a chunk with a shop, you'll find the discounts can get quite good.....virtually as good as what a online shop would charge (if they could sell the gear i buy online....lol)

[stuart2]

The frustration for many customers nowadays is the insistance that you have to visit the dealer even though you are fully aware of what you want to buy. Often it is not worth while making a long trip even if the price is right. You may also have to return goods at your own expense for any repair under warranty. There are a few exceptions to this as, for example, Peter Tyson will cover the cost of transport for a valid warranty claim.

Even though Abbeygoo is positively orgasmic about Creative Audio if you are any distance from them you could end up spending a lot of time (and money) travelling, especially if you have a warranty claim. Even if the claim is a valid one you have to cover the courier cost yourself.

My recent personal experience of dealers is that they often do not hold sufficient stock to give a prospective customer a decent choice to demo. I feel the directive of having to visit your dealer before purchasing is allowing the dealers to be lazy with their customer service. Maybe they need some competition from the internet!