Interesting visit to a store...

Sorry if this is in the wrong place...

I went into a store today, lookin at their prices for AV recievers, perhaps with the chance of getting a demo. Someone comes up to me "Can i help you sir?" and i ask about the marrantz.. first he goes over to the Hi-Fi section and then i mention its an A/V reciever, so he goes over to the A/V section. "Erm we dont seem to do that one, wait, do we? Err... yes..." quoted me a ridiculous price, mentioned "dolby" and "5.1". He then said about DVD players "We have this player on sale for..."

He blatantly didnt have a clue what he was talking about. As for a demo, there was someone else in the A/V room, demoing stuff and he seemed like he was going to take ages (Complaining it was too "full on" for him, it was a damn DTS demo, what did he expect??????)

So I left the store.. rather un-satisfied... and to say the least the prices were ridiculous!

Anyone else had many experiences like this?

 

wasnt curry's by any chance!?

There have been various examples of such treatment, but it tends not to be in specialist dealers.

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Nope... thats the funny thing, it was a proper hi-fi store, a chain store though... not RS...

 

Sounds like my experience at Currys and Comet.

 

If i went to currys/comet i would have expected it... I think i mite go and apply for a job at that place, if i dont get one, I'll wonder why!

 

Well go on, tell us who it was?

John.

 

sevenoaks by chance........they have the odd renegade store i think!

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Quite right to complain about this. Demos should only last for five minutes to give everyone a chance.

From your description it sounds like the equipment was badly setup deliberately to appeal to the type of customer that expects DTS to be "full on"

 

After my experience yesterday (check out my "Tag or lexicon" thread in this forum) I would'nt be suprised if it was Audio-T

 

Nope... superfi....

Btw, with the demo thing... you really had to be there to understad!

 

I think your question would be better asked, Anyone else NOT had an experience like this? .

 

Seems to be a problem with many chain 'hifi' stores, they stock everything that wins an award anywhere and hence know very little about each item. Places like Sevenoaks/Aydio-T are a little better in this respect because they try to know what they are talking about, but you still can't beat a good independant store.

 

There's another thread elsewhere from someone complaining about his treatment in one or more hifi shops in Newcastle and his complaints included them not stocking the three items that he wanted a side by side demonstration of and refusing to open an account with one or more new suppliers just so that they could buy the other two itmes for him to listen to.

He also complained that they had the cheek to tell him that one item of equipment he enquired about was only available direct to the public and not via retail outlets.

It's not all one way traffic.

 

Not sure if this is 'tounge in cheek' or not?

 

Not at all. These were complaints made by a forum member elsewhere in the forum in the last few days.

Not every hifi dealer stocks every make yet he expected them to get in the other two amps that he wanted to listen to bearing in mind that even if he bought one the shop would have been left with the other.

I presume that he also went to a Ford dealer and asked them to buy in a Vauxhall and Peugeot to test drive so that he could make comparisons.

This has nothing to do with gpender's complaint which is quite valid and must have been infuriating for him but is just to show that it isn't always the dealers who are the "bad guys"

 

A lot of dealers are not able to get in gear that they would not normally stock because of, usually, financial restrictions. A lot of larger/independants shops carry vast amounts of stock and demo items (you do the maths) and have to sell to get in newer bits.

On the dealership part many companies won't just give out accounts to dealers. Companies like Naim will only supply to one dealer in a certain area. The Audio-T across from where I used to work could not get a Naim account because we had one.

ED: For security reasons.

 

Market street Super Fi has been going down hill for years, best avoid as a bad lot.

 

Prittly much all high street Hifi/AV shops I have visited, I have been dissapointed with the service.

I am 22, dress smartly and look respectable.

All the staff I have met have put me off buying from buying anything from them after about 5 min, they seem so wooden, eliteist or completly ignorant.

I buy pritty much most of my stuff online now.

 

I'm 41, wear scruffy, Matalan, Primark and Peacock clothes and look a bit dodgy, but have never had a problem, even in " snooty " dealers.
Maybe it's what you say, not what you wear ?

 

I am 22, dress smartly and look respectable.

I shop in Jeans and T-Shirt - and if they don't take me serious I go somewhere else ... easy as that.

 

Im with you, do exactly the same thing, they take you very seriously when you pull a large wedge of cash out of your pocket.

 

Surly AV shops should treat you well without having to flash cash about to get decient service.

On a slightly off note I never carry much cash about it is to risky, wallets can be stolen and you can be robbed at knife point, I know it is fairly unlikly but I like to play it safe with somes of AV money between 150 to 1000+.

I actually keep a fake wallet in my glove compartment with a few receipts,old cards and coins so If I am ever in trouble the robbers get the naff wallet.