Bad attitude in dealers - what's that all about?

[Beobloke]

I booked some time at Richer Sounds to listen to some of their better quality speakers

Went in the listening room ( Eventually )

Constant interruptions , people in and out asking the guy who was doing the demo questions , He then went out of the room several times ( more interruptions )

While he was out of the demo room I was not very impressed with the sounds from the speakers so got up and went and had a look behind them only to find the speakers I was having a demo on were not even connected up

Needles to say I did not buy anything and have not been back since

Not impressed at all

Interesting - my experience was completely different (although about 15 years ago!)

I booked one of their listening rooms in the Southampton store to listen to an Arcam Alpha 7 and TDL RTL 2s. I bought along my Garrard 301 (which they were very complimentary about!) and was settled in, supplied with coffee and left to listen for half an hour or so. The chap then came back in to ask my opinions and asked if I had considered Gale 5i speakers and a Cambridge Audio amp. Now, at the time, I did not know that these were their 'house' brands but there was no hard sell, merely the suggestion of alternatives and they also showed me a magazine group test review where the Cambridge was rated higher than the Arcam - fair enough.

I duly listened to all combinations for another hour and a half and in the end decided I preferred the Alpha 7 to the Cambridge but that I liked the Gales better than the TDLs, so they made a sale of one of their 'own' items and I bought a system I liked - everyone was happy!

[DSJR]

Richer may not sell the brands generally favoured on here, but I have to agree with Adam above, since many people I've spoken to have had little but lavish praise for their sales staff, who seem to keep pretty abreast of what's going on and totally lack the "attitude" and sarcasm we Linn/Naim dealers could have when at our worst.

Adam, you may not be able to comment, but you did an excellent review on the "baby" C350A amp a couple of years ago. Are you able to give general comments on the range as a whole these days? They do seem to listen to their customers and the fussiest that post on fora do seem to have been listened to as well I think?

[isuckedmandelsonslemons]

On the very subject of poor customer service . . . I'm looking for some second hand speakers at the moment (see thread on private exhibitions) and this morning I rang a local dealer in 2ndhandhifi. Went to answer phone so I left a message telling them what I was after and asking them to ring me back. As they hadn't rang back by 2.30 I thought I may as well try again. Spoke to guy, told him what I was using at the
Moment (big Ushers) and asked if it would be possible to give him idea of what I was looking for so he could give me a call if anything came in.

The response was underwhelming to say the least. If I'd farted in his face down the phone, he couldn't have been more dismissive. Told me to keep an eye on the website. That was it. No chat, no questions, no asking about budget.

I don't have a budget in mind for the speakers but I'll be soending a significant amount and will probably go up to five or six grand. Maybe more for the right ones

You can guess where I won't be buying them from.

[Marco]

Hi Harry,

I know the chap who owns the dealership in question (one of our trade members), and whilst I don't doubt what you've written, your experience isn't representative of the standards of service he normally offers his customers, which others and I have found to be exemplary.

I shall therefore show him your post and ask him to respond accordingly. I feel sure that amends can be made. Leave it with me

Marco.

[isuckedmandelsonslemons]

No worries Marco. We all have bad days. I thought not returning the call was pretty poor but I was genuinely quite surprised at how offhand he was when I rang.

Guess we all have bad days

[Marco]

Indeed. However, it really doesn't sound like Simon, and *could* instead be the chap who helps him out at the shop.

Anyway, I've mailed Simon and alerted him to the situation, so we'll find out what's happened, in due course, and try to rectify the situation

Marco.

[hifisound.co.uk]

On the very subject of poor customer service . . . I'm looking for some second hand speakers at the moment (see thread on private exhibitions) and this morning I rang a local dealer in 2ndhandhifi. Went to answer phone so I left a message telling them what I was after and asking them to ring me back. As they hadn't rang back by 2.30 I thought I may as well try again. Spoke to guy, told him what I was using at the
Moment (big Ushers) and asked if it would be possible to give him idea of what I was looking for so he could give me a call if anything came in.

The response was underwhelming to say the least. If I'd farted in his face down the phone, he couldn't have been more dismissive. Told me to keep an eye on the website. That was it. No chat, no questions, no asking about budget.

I don't have a budget in mind for the speakers but I'll be soending a significant amount and will probably go up to five or six grand. Maybe more for the right ones

You can guess where I won't be buying them from.

Hi Harry,

Well it WAS me you spoke to...
No disrespect but sometimes it does take a while for me to get back to people on the phone/email because if we have people in the shop (as we did today) then they will obviously take priority.
I'm sorry you felt I was dismissive. My recollection of the discussion was a little different of course but suffice to say that in simple terms after you had told me you have 6381s and are very happy with them (we sell Ushers new so I l know that product well) I didnt think we had anything currently on the used front that would be suitable as an upgrade. That made any question of budget irrelevant. I have no interest in flogging you something just because its on my stocklist.
As far as future items go of course its pretty impossible for me to tell what's going to show up so it really is a case of pot luck.
As I said on the phone the best way to keep abreast of stock is to check the website and you can log a wanted request that way which is more reliable than my memory because we are very busy.

Apologies if you saw this as disinterest, but I see it as just being honest with you!

Regards

Simon

[isuckedmandelsonslemons]

I've always said credit where it's due so here we go . . .

Just had a call from Simon and we parted on the very best of terms. I have established that Simon is actually a very nice fella, that he was having a very busy day, probably mistook me for someone else (and I bet he gets bigger arseholes to deal with than I do, and that's saying something). I've also established that he has a shocking short term memory and I'm betting his long term memory is crap as well.

Anyway, I'm delighted to rebalance matters. I'm going to call in to see Simon at some point for a cuppa and a chat and would have no hesitation in buying a pair of speakers from him should the right ones come along. No doubt when I turn up he'll have forgotten who I am. That will of course give me an opportunity to say 'do you know who I am'. That isn't me being a clever dick it's just that I'm old and sometimes I don't remember who I am.

Anyway, Simon knows what I'm after now and has promised me a massive discount on a pair of big Ushers

OK I made that bit up but with his bad memory I may well get away with it.

I do love this forum with its collection of eccentrics, nutters and oddballs so apologies if I've put anyone's nose out of joint.

Harry

[Puffin]

No worries Marco. We all have bad days. I thought not returning the call was pretty poor but I was genuinely quite surprised at how offhand he was when I rang.

Guess we all have bad days

Doesn't surprise me at all. I went to great lengths to really well pack a pair of speakers he bought off me in the classifieds. He couldn't even be bothered to tell me that they had arrived safely, let alone that I had busted a gut to pack them so that they arrived undamaged.

I don't know to this day that he ever got them.

[Marco]

Dunno what happened there, Rob, but I'm sure that Simon will comment. However, the "tosser" remark I think is a bit OTT, mate... There's no need for that.

For me, the true character of a dealer is shown when attending to a problem or complaint, and as Simon has shown in resolving the situation with Harry, he's definitely one of the good guys

Harry, nice one. When you visit Simon I'm sure that you'll find him the most helpful and pleasant of chaps. His showroom (and music collection on vinyl) is also fantastic! Let us know how you get on

Marco.