No dollars for the local yokels

[Standing Wolf]

My CD player died last week.

I went to Best Buy, which is the closed music place to my house. I looked at CD changers. There was only one brand, which I was unenthusiastic about: Sony has sold me two defective monitors in the past five years; the dead CD player was another Sony, and the company's so-called "customer service" for the defective monitors was from the far end of hell's furnace room.

The sales dummy said there was another alternative: a DVD player, which happened to be half as expensive, and would work just as well. I bought it. It worked, but whenever there was a smooth transition from one song to another, the player stopped abruptly, paused a second, and abruptly embarked upon the next.

I took it back this morning. The return process took about three times as long as the purchase process.

I went to Circuit City. The only sales person I could find in the entire store was a cellular telephone guy who said he couldn't leave his post. I found a cashier, who said she'd find someone to help me. After five minutes of waiting, I gave up and left.

I drove miles and miles to a stereo store I'd ventured into in search of cables several years ago; unfortunately, it's not still in business.

I tried Wal Mart, always my shopping destination of last choice, since I'm sick and tired of third-rate Chinese junk. Wal Mart had everything but what I wanted.

I tried Target, another shopping destination way down on the list. Nothing.

Home again, I tried http://www.crutchfield.com. I narrowed the choices down to three, then dialled the toll-free number. I had to navigate a telephone tree, but in about a minute, I was connected with a guy who a.) sounded as though he knew what he was talking about, and b.) tried to upsell me. I'm not sure I actually need special cables to connect the CD player to the receiver, but for the grand sum of $12.99, I figured I'd reward the lad for exercising some actual old-fashioned salesmanshipand anyway, he made it clear I might as well buy the $119.99 model as the $149.99 model, since the more expensive model didn't have any features or capabilities I actually need.

I'm tired of listening to business people whine and snivel about business not being very good. If they want my dollars, they can hire sales people who actually know what they're talking about, as well as put some sales people on the floor to answer questions. If you aren't willing to compete, kindly get the @#$%^&! out of the way!

[TarpleyG]

Yeah, Crutchfield is really good when it comes to customer service but you usually pay a premium for it.  The Onkyo receiver I am buying is $200 more from them than from everywhere else but if I didn't know what I wanted, they'd be the place to call.  Sometimes they have awesome sales though.

As for the big box stores, I only go to those to get stuff, never for help from anyone.  They are all idiots and could care less if you bought anything or not.  The work ethic in this country will be our undoing.  When I was younger and in the customer service sector, I busted my @$$ everyday to help folks out...I sold lumber, hardware, paint, tools, rented boats, you name it and all while working for peanuts.  It's sad to see what it's turned into.

Greg

[SADShooter]

In a sense, though, we have brought it on ourselves. What is the thing most customers want more than anything else? "Best price." There are no other values in a transaction for many people. Hence, impersonal warehouse stores with unmotivated personnel. I'm no business guru, but I know it costs money to hire quality people, maintain inventory which may or may not turn over, and keep the lights on. I won't bash Wal-Mart or Best Buy or Academy. I shop at all of them. But I don't go there for customer support or technical expertise. If I want those things, I'm prepared to go where they are and pay the premium. Until more people are willing to pay for quality, we'll see less of it.

[Sindawe]

Standing Wolf, IIRC you're in Colorado.  If you're still in the market for a new CD player, give these guys a look see http://www.listenup.com/.  I've never encountered any high pressure up-sell tactics and the sales people actually know what they are talking about.  Oddly enough, the Sony CD player I bought from them 14 years ago still functions flawlessly.

[Strings]

heh... I distinctly remember buying my minidisc player at Best Buy. The player wasn't a problem, but there was an issue of cables to run from the stereo to the MD, so I could record stuff to listen to. Boy INSISITED that my mid-80's CD player had an optical hook-up. I finally got him to stand down by offering to shove those cables somewhere if they didn't work: he went for management. I explained the problem to management, who IMMEDIATELY got me what I needed. Boy was getting some facts of life explainations as I walked out of the store...

[TarpleyG]

the Sony CD player I bought from them 14 years ago still functions flawlessly.

That was before Sony moved their manufacturing to Mexico...coincidence?  Dunno.

Greg

[zahc]

I'm often amazed at how difficult stores can make spending money.

[Modifiedbrowning]

I'm still using my Kenwood receiver that bought back in 1992 and a Pioneer CD player that I bought in 1995 after my Sony died.
Glad it worked out for you Standing Wolf. CS is a dying art.

[Otherguy Overby]

I'm still using my Kenwood receiver that bought back in 1992 and a Pioneer CD player that I bought in 1995 after my Sony died.
Glad it worked out for you Standing Wolf. CS is a dying art.

I'm still using a Crown amplifier (DC 300A) I bought at least 30 years ago...

[Standing Wolf]

The CD player was delivered today. Its box was packed in styrofoam peanuts in a larger box. Works just fine.