Maybe it's just because the majority of arrangers are manufactured in Italy, but people here are accustomed to them. It's very common to walk into a dancing hall or even a restaurant and see someone singing and playing an arranger or simply singing and using the arranger just to play midifiles. Musicians usually have nothing against them and are very competent (they can tell the difference in sounds and other features between -say- Roland and Ketron or Korg and Yamaha) and as far as the audience goes, every time I perform in public there is someone who comes to me and says "How much is that one? I wish I could buy one" or "Look at that screen: it's almost like a TV set!"