Any decent salesperson should know never to judge, but they can do. I’ve had totally different responses when I’m dressed in a suit compared to shorts and t shirt. When I bought a new car last year I deliberately dressed very casually to test the response. They were really nice and I bought a car. I discussed this with the sales guy and he told me a story of a builder who popped in, covered in dust, and asked for a test drive of a £40,000 car. They did the test drive quite happily and he bought the car, paid in cash. He was very clear that if they had made a judgement based on first impressions they would not have got the sale.
I’ve been going to my local dealer for 28 years. They have treated me very well. The relationship needs to go both ways. The dealers need to treat the customers with respect, and vice versa. Some customers seem to want the Earth - good trade in, discount, home installation, the lot. Some can act really entitled and treat the staff like crap. No wonder the staff can sometimes be suspicious.
I should just say that all of the dealers which I have purchased equipment from over the years have been very helpful and likeable. I just dislike the process of having to decide, be it in the store or at home.
They turn up, they bring stuff in, they leave it, we listen, it’s fun. Then they take it away. It’s painless.
We don’t mind listening to stuff in the shop. It’s usually a social visit for a chat, a drink and to use the facilities. It’s nice to keep in touch. Anything we listen to is usually what happens to be playing at the time. If we want a serious audition the candidate comes home. If I can’t carry it under one arm, they come round and install it. We would never buy off an audition in a remote location.
Nowadays, it is more common for the dealer to make suggestions rather than for us to be looking for something. Such suggestions usually come from visits to the shop. Because our dealer knows us well, they will very occasionally contact us about something they think we might be interested in. When they had a Statement rig in the shop for a few weeks they contacted us. We couldn’t organise a trip to hear it in the window available. Maybe that was just as well?!
Where the fun sank a bit for us was the last pair of speakers we bought. We were auditioning candidates for a year. The dealer was very good about installing and leaving for a god long home audition, but we became frustrated that nothing seemed to click with the room. Then something did. Then the fun returned.
Similar story here HH.
I’d booked a test drive for an Audi S4 and turned up at the showroom in shorts and a football shirt as it was baking hot. My Dad was with me and we waited in the showroom and waited and waited even though not all the salesmen were busy, enduring the dirt under my shoes looks from the staff for 15 minutes before turning tail and walking out.
I’d been home for 15 minutes when the Audi dealership rang asking why I hadn’t shown up for the test drive. I told him I was the guy in the Leeds shirt they were all looking down their noses at. “Oh”.
He then asked “what do I have to do to get you behind the wheel of an Audi?”. I replied offer me an S4 and £10K in cash and I’ll consider it.
I had much the same experience with another German car dealer, I Booked a test drive travelled 40 miles and ‘Jonathan’ that’s his real name could barely be buggered to get up from behind his desk to get the keys. After my visit the idiot sent me aN online survey which I duly completed accurately and within 10 mins I got a call from the dealer manager who chose to defend the bone idle sales man! Odd behaviour by my book, perhaps they wanted to keep the cars so that they could drive them about.
I have been fortunate to have such a trusted dealer for over 30 years. His recommendations have always been faultless, and it is hard to express how much I appreciate his wise counsel and excellent service.
Same with me…I now live a 3+ hour drive from my dealer (in Hull - we now live in the Forest of Dean)…they have always made it so easy, with great advice and fabulous service…we would not dream of changing, despite there being a dealer 15 minutes away.
It’s mixed for me. I don’t mind the pickup up and setting up cos I’m normally looking forward to hearing the item. But if I don’t like it then the rest of the process is a pain, a bit like returning from an enjoyable overseas holiday - remember those?!
I don’t particularly like it. However, as I have been buying my hi fi equipment for many years from the same store, they know what I like and when I express an urge to swap cash for a box of some kind. Know what I like and present me with a short list of things they think I will like. I also pop in now and again for a chat as one of the staff is a very long time friend (I introduced him to his wife) and hear different systems that are on dem or being tested now and again. This means the actual sitting down and making a decision what to buy is normally fairly painless, so when I decided to downsize from a 32, hi-cap 140 Marantz CD10 to unitilite I knew what I was getting sonically with the convenience of one box and likewise when I upgraded to the star.
But, every double in price returns ever less improvement until you get to the exalted place where you pay everything for nothing. I am thinking you stopped when you got to that point where its good enough
