View Full Version : Name your least favourite independent record shop.
Stratmangler
12-01-2013, 19:31
I popped into Piccadilly Records in Manchester today.
Never again will I darken their doorstep.
I had a good browse through the vinyl they have for sale, eventually chose a couple of albums, and went to the counter to pay for them.
While I was stood there I noticed that their were more albums behind the counter that were not out in the racks, so I made a mental to ask about some further titles when someone was dealing with me.
After five minutes of standing there waiting to be served, and with at least three members of unoccupied staff knowing that I was stood at the counter, I had not been approached by any of them.
At this point I just left my intended purchases on the counter and walked out of the door.
There's just no excuse for shop staff to behave in such an ignorant fashion.
I hope the business owner reads this, because his staff lost him at least £40.00 of sales (I'd have bought more had they got some more titles I was after behing the counter).
Thing Fish
12-01-2013, 20:31
Good on you Chris. I'd have done exactly the same and indeed have done a few times.
It's my hard earned money and shop staff will have to at least show willing to get it off me.
Stratmangler
12-01-2013, 21:18
All that was needed was a "be with you in a minute" and I'd have been satisfied.
There's no excuse for plain ignorance.
Still, as I said before, they're not exactly 'switched on'! :rolleyes:
I've experienced similar in that shop Chris.
Always thought it to be one of those places where if you don't fit their perception of 'cool', you get treated with a certain amount of indifference. Not that I'm suggesting you're not cool for a second here...
For reference... Piccadilly Records: http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/shop/index.php
That's an unfortunate experience, Chris. Shame that happened. However, I bet that it's something the owner of the shop would like to know about - and attempt to rectify....
Indeed, just as I thought, if you read the bit here about complaints: http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/shop/contact.php
We are proud of our excellent customer service and we want you to shop with us again, so if you have a problem - please let us know straight away! Your problem will be dealt with promptly and it will also help us to improve our service.
As owner of this site, why don't I politely discuss your unfortnuate experience with the record shop's owner and attempt to obtain you some gift vouchers: http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/shop/feature.php?feature=692 in order to make up for your unfortunate experience, now highlighted to all and sundry on this rather popular and influential forum? :)
Marco
Stratmangler
12-01-2013, 21:51
I've experienced similar in that shop Chris.
Always thought it to be one of those places where if you don't fit their perception of 'cool', you get treated with a certain amount of indifference. Not that I'm suggesting you're not cool for a second here...
Me cool?
You gotta be kidding :D
The plebs "working" in the place need to have a good kick up the arse, 'cos in the current economic climate the last thing any business can afford is punters walking out the door.
Without punters walking in there's no money to pay these fuckwits with, although they don't seem to have a grasp of this simple economic fact.
Stratmangler
12-01-2013, 21:57
For reference... Piccadilly Records: http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/shop/index.php
That's an unfortunate experience, Chris. Shame that happened. However, I bet that it's something the owner of the shop would like to know about - and attempt to rectify....
Indeed, just as I thought, if you read the bit here about complaints: http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/shop/contact.php
As owner of this site, why don't I politely discuss your unfortnuate experience with the record shop's owner and attempt to obtain you some gift vouchers: http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/shop/feature.php?feature=692 in order to make up for your unfortunate experience, now highlighted to all and sundry on this rather popular and influential forum? :)
Marco
That's very decent of you Marco.
Thanks.
You might also let the owner know that I spent the money in Fopp instead, where the staff do not ignore anybody who walks through the door :eyebrows:
No worries, dude. We'll find out whether the owner is genuinely customer focussed or not! Leave it with me and let's see how I get on. I'll report the outcome here :)
Marco.
When a business folds it is always the laziest, most shiftless employees who do all the wailing and gnashing of teeth. The idea that it is down to them never occurs. Seen it happen.
JazzBones
13-01-2013, 14:50
When a business folds it is always the laziest, most shiftless employees who do all the wailing and gnashing of teeth. The idea that it is down to them never occurs. Seen it happen.
Martin, probably one of the reasons why people have switched their buying habits to the internet... but I also lay blame on management as they must keep a constant awareness of customer requirements and customer satisfaction and they won't do that if they are unaware of what their front line staff are doing or not doing?
Sorry to hi jack here: 'Where can I buy decent quality Jazz and classical records from... thank you muchly'?
Stratmangler
13-01-2013, 20:13
Sorry to hi jack here: 'Where can I buy decent quality Jazz and classical records from... thank you muchly'?
I have bought quite a few records from Diverse Vinyl over the years - they're genuinely nice folk too.
If you're after quality pressings then I'd suggest anything on the Speakers Corner label as a starting point.
Music On Vinyl seems to be a decent label too, as are some of the more usual suspects, such as MoFi / Audio Fidelity etc.
Audioman
14-01-2013, 10:44
I have bought quite a few records from Diverse Vinyl over the years - they're genuinely nice folk too.
If you're after quality pressings then I'd suggest anything on the Speakers Corner label as a starting point.
Music On Vinyl seems to be a decent label too, as are some of the more usual suspects, such as MoFi / Audio Fidelity etc.
Second that. The owners will spend ages chatting on the phone about vinyl related issues and know their stock inside out including sound quality. They carry a wide range of Jazz and Classical as well as the usual pop/rock releases. Will order anything they don't have. Also it's actualy a proper record shop as well unlike the other 'audiophile' suppliers which tend to be online only and invariably more expensive.
JazzBones
14-01-2013, 10:57
Thanks Chris and Paul for pointing me in the direction of Jazz & classical vinyl providers. Do they package well because Post Office deliveries aren't into vinyl or good music I would imagine?
Stratmangler
14-01-2013, 11:58
They pack them well.
To date I've not had any damaged in the post.
Wakefield Turntables
14-01-2013, 21:06
i cant believe that a independent record company would want to loose £40 of sales. This comes when I just hear that HMV are considering calling in the administrators. :(
I've just chatted to someone called David, about the situation, who informs me that either he or someone else will register and deal with the matter, hopefully to the benefit of Chris, who had this unfortunate experience.
Let's see if they're true to their word! :)
Marco.
Stratmangler
17-01-2013, 17:41
I've just chatted to someone called David, about the situation, who informs me that either he or someone else will register and deal with the matter...
Thanks Marco :cool:
With HMV going down the tubes I hope that Independent Shops see this as a sign of how fragile the sector they operate in is.
Some are superb (Diverse Vinyl being a prime example).
Piccadilly Records have a chance to redeem themselves, but they won't get a second chance should my previous experience be repeated, and next time I'll join every audio forum that I can and advertise the fact.
Hi Chris,
Just had this in, via the forum's 'Contact Us' page:
Hello
I am one of the owners of Piccadilly Records and would like to apologise to Stratmangler for his poor experience as a customer on his visit to us.
We have always taken great pride in our customer service and constantly strive to give people who shop with us our individual attention and a personal experience lacking in the larger shops on the high street.
Saturday is by far our busiest day of the week, so staff are often dealing with several customers at the same time which can be time consuming, and in this case might have been construed as 'unocuppied'. It's obviously hard, with the incident happening a few days ago, to know what exactly has gone on in this particular case. However, it seems that in this instance, we were unable to provide the quality of service we would have liked. Please accept our apology, we have since reminded our staff of our commitment to customer service.
If you have problems with the service we provide it is always best to ask to speak to one of the owners at the time, so it can be dealt with immediately. One of us is almost always in the shop, if not actually on the counter.
I would like to say though, describing the staff as 'plebs' or 'fuckwits' probably isn't going to do Stratmangler any favours in terms of a complaint, we all deserve to be treated with respect.
Piccadilly Records
Pity the chap didn't have the courtesy to supply his name... Yes, some of your remarks were a bit OTT, but they were clearly borne out of significant frustration. Furthermore, pity you weren't "treated with respect" when you were standing there, being ignored by his staff, waiting to hand over your hard-earned cash!!
Regardless, as the original situation was THEIR fault, I thought they'd have had the nous to at least offer you a £10 record voucher, as a small gesture of goodwill, instead of allowing the 'bad taste in the mouth', this has left you, to remain, and no doubt next to no chance of getting your business in future, not to mention the bad publicity a thread like this will generate for their shop on a site with high Google rankings that gets around 3500 hits a day...
It's certainly not how I would've dealt with the situation (as a business owner), had it been my record shop! :doh:
I'll comment more later.
Marco.
I would say that is a 'measured' apology, and that is being polite :rolleyes:
Latest just in from the shop:
Hi Marco
Sorry, I didn't mean to appear 'anonymous' but was replying on behalf of the staff and owners of the shop not just myself.
I didn't post on the site, cos i'm not a member and didn't want to sign up to it.
It seems with regard to your forum we are in a no win situation now, you don't appear to want to accept our apology unless money is offered.
We are happy to deal with customer complaints, as I said, Stratmangler could have asked to speak to an owner when he was in the shop and cleared the issue up at the time.
If he would like to come back into the shop I will be happy to discuss his grievance with him in person, but not via your forum, no matter how many bad postings this gets us.
Thanks
Laura
My response:
Hi Laura,
Thanks for including your name - it makes our dialogue rather more human! :)
IMO, as business owner myself, nothing is ever a "no win" situation. It's simply a matter of resolving this unfortunate incident to the mutual satisfaction of the parties concerned. Clearly, the initial fault lies with your staff for the poor service they gave Chris on Saturday. I accept that this was most likely an isolated incident, but nevertheless in these hard times on the high street, especially with what's happened to HMV, your staff should be alert at all times to deal promptly with sales.
If on a Saturday your shop is exceptionally busy, which I accept, then you must ensure that you have enough staff on duty to deal efficiently with the increased footfall. It's really as simple as that. However, we're all human, and mistakes happen. It's how we rectify those mistakes that matters!
With that in mind, I would ask that you offer Chris a small gesture of goodwill, in order to ensure his future business and the continued good reputation of your record shop. Trust me, it doesn't take long for news of bad service like this to travel, and if this incident reaches all the other UK music and hi-fi forums, you could find yourself in a rather awkward situation...
No disrespect, but the problem with mere apologies is that they're rather easily given and even more easily forgotten, whereas offering Chris a £10 record voucher will help ensure that the incident won't happen again to anyone else, but most importantly it will provide Chris with an opportunity to give your shop a second chance to show that you *really* do mean you're sorry for the bad service he received, and it will also ensure his future business.
I can assure you that this is not some petty attempt to receive a free record voucher (heaven forbid). I don't think that anyone on our forum, least of all Chris, is that desperate! No, it's simply about you doing the right thing and removing the bad taste in the mouth that's been left with Chris, as a result of his trip to your shop last Saturday. I'm sure he'll even apologise for the unsavoury remarks he made!
If you examine our forum, particularly the music section, called 'Musical Compositions', you'll see that we love to promote the use of independent record shops (see this thread here: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9282), therefore it would be a shame if this unfortunate incident sours the impression we have of traditional shops like yours, as our forum is full of serious music lovers, some of whom are no doubt already your customers.
If you honour my request, next time I'm in Manchester, I'll pop in and thank you personally, and no doubt buy a few things while I'm there!! :cool:
Best regards,
Marco.
Having managed a shop myself there is a fine line one has to walk between doing the right thing for the customer and protecting the business from unscrupulous types who are out to take advantage (not meaning you here Chris ;)). Regardless of the old adage, the customer is not always right and there are people out there who almost make a living from complimentary offers generated by bogus complaints. Now, seeing as this business is located in a major city I'm sure they get their share of these unpleasant people through the door from time to time and perhaps Laura has grasped the wrong end of the stick in this instance. My advice to Chris would be to give the shop a bell and speak to Laura so they can thrash this out in private rather than on a public forum.
Seems fair to me! :)
Marco.
Chris, you've gone rather quiet! Have you heard anything from Laura? :)
Marco.
Stratmangler
18-01-2013, 23:24
Chris, you've gone rather quiet! Have you heard anything from Laura? :)
Marco.
Been catching up on some ZZZZZs - I've had a tough week this week with work commitments.
I've had no approach from Laura - that said, I've not made contact myself, because of the above.
No worries, dude. Could you do me a favour and make contact? I think you'd find the outcome favourable :)
I hate 'loose ends', if you get me? ;)
Marco.
Stratmangler
19-01-2013, 01:04
I'll call 'em manyana.
I won't prevent myself from calling a spade a shovel :eyebrows:
No worries, dude. I'd just like to know the outcome, as it'll influence whether I, or anyone I know, will be giving them any business in future.
Marco.
Any further developments, Chris? :)
Marco.
Stratmangler
22-01-2013, 12:23
I've just been having a chat with Laura, and my problem is now sorted, apologies accepted, and we have come to an amenable agreement next time I'm in the shop.
I go into Manchester for work on occasion, and a least once a month on a Saturday, so I'll pop in then.
Thanks for your help Marco :cool:
No worries, dude. Glad it ended well.
I've always been a great believer in complaining when poor service has been received and reporting the incident(s) to the relevant people - and most importantly, giving the guilty party/parties a chance to redeem themself/themselves!! :)
Doing that usually sorts the wheat out from the chaff... ;)
One should always complain, when it is justified and warranted to do so. Simply moaning to others and then not returning again to wherever the incident occurred is NOT the answer! :nono:
Stand your ground and fight for what is right - and hopefully those guilty of giving poor service will use the experience as a learning curve, and in future, others will benefit from your actions!! :exactly:
Marco.
I have been reading through different threads on the forum and found this one fascinating.
As I am an IT Manager I experience the good and bad of customer service on a daily basis. Some people just seem to struggle the concept of good customer service. In our business for instance, some of the techies, would much prefer to play with their 'toys' and completely forget that there are customers waiting for the service they look after which results in poor service delivery, poor customer experience and for us finally poor opinion and reputation of the IT function and it could so easily have been rectified!
In contrast to the above, we get some customers who push their luck in more than one way, especially in their dealings with the IT Service Desk. I have had a number customer's account locked out until such time they apologise for their ignorant or rude behaviour in person to the Service Desk agent.
With respect to this thread, I was mighty impressed with the offering you got from Marco (http://theartofsound.net/forum/member.php?3-Marco) to assist with this and for the forum to get so involved. It also shows how influential a Hifi forum can be. After reading the first post I was set never to go anywhere near this record store. That has obviously changed now i've seen that Chris is happy with the final outcome.
Paul.
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