Hi guys.

Just wondering if any of you have any funny stories you would like to share about some sales people you had to deal with in a music shop at some point. Maybe even someone you felt like knocking out with a punch for their totally stupidity.

The closest I ever came to doing that was when I was playing a workstation I was interested in buying (had the money in my pocket) the sales guy walks over to me and says ....

I was expecting, Sir can I help you... but no, he said hey don't touch that, it's expensive.

Regards
James

Ohhh man where to start on this topic I can't even count the number of dumb sales people I've run into. Actually I take back the word dumb.., and to be more fair., would say "inexperienced" better suits it. Some of these music stores can't find keyboard sales reps and you often find a drummer or guitarist trying to sell you a keyboard. Store owners at times put these guys in a tough spot.

Ok..., let's see. Walked into a very nice store (mom and pop store). They actually had some decent keyboards on display. I went to test one out and was stopped in my tracks by the person working. They guy went on to say "these are very expensive and we ask that customers do not touch them". I laughed soooo hard at this guy. I said "You've got to be kidding me..., how in the heck do you expect to sell a keyboard if a customer can't walk in and play the bloody thing to see if they like it"? He told me "We have a keyboard guy that'll demo them for you". I said OK.., well can he show me a few of the boards. His response.., well our guy is only in once every two weeks..., and I'm not a keyboard player. I laughed at him again and just walked out the door.

I had a guy at Guitar Center trying to demo a Fantom X8 for me. Another classic example of a guitar player who wasn't where he ws supposed to be. This guy was so clueless. I had to show him where the power button was. Not only that he kept calling it an "arranger workstation" and thought the entire arp section was styles with auto accomp. To top it off..., (I'll call this guy an idiot in this case).., he was so clueless that he said "All this great sound is coming from the onboard speakers that project the sound out the rear of the keyboard". This nut had no idea the sound was coming from the really nice keyboard amp on the floor! Ahhhhh.., I had a good laugh with this clown.

I went into a music store out of town one time and asked it they had any arranger keyboards. First I had to explain to the 19-year old expert what an arranger was.
The guy says "oh those are for kids and beginners, WE pros use synthesizers."
I smiled and said "you mean you "pros" who work in music stores and have to wait on us beginners who play music full time for a living?
'Nuff time wasted with that guy, but that's the attitude a lot of them take.
It's not that they are dumb, it's that they are ignorant.
DonM

A year ago this coming Columbus Day Holiday weekend, my wife and I were in NYC and we decided to stop by Sam Ash's Manhattan location.
Tyros 3 had just been introduced,Frankieve had one in stock, but even though we about drove by the front door of his store we could not stop by until a couple of days later on the return trip.

Upon entering the Sam Ash store a sales guy asked me could I help you. I said yea I want to look at arrangers what do you have. He ushered us into the room with the arrangers. I took a quick look around and asked where's the Tyros3, He repsonded Yamaha doesn't make a Tyros3, but I do have latest Tyros2 and also the original Tyros. I replied sorry sir, but Tyros 3 has just been released. This guy insisted no Tyros 3, the more he insisted the more I said check your computer and inventory. By this time I'm pretty disgusted, my wife tells me she's embarassed because I'm in a litte contest about the availibity of T3. She walks out of the store, the sales rep comes back and says gee, they do make one. We have one in our Los Angeles store..............See ya and walked out of the store. BTW the store itself was disappointing, not what I expected from a giant like Sam Ash.



[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 09-30-2009).]

Oops triple post.

[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 09-30-2009).]

Double post

[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 09-30-2009).]

I stopped by a store owned by a friend; actually, I loaned him some money years ago to open the business.

I had gotten a bill for some charged items and wanted to drop off a check. The dumb-ass kid told me he needed an ID before he could accept a check. I tried to tell him that this check was not for a purchase, but to pay a bill (I even had the statement attached). Didn't matter.

I told the kid his dumb ass attitude was going to cost the store $10,000.00. I sent copies of my purchases from other stores to the owner, and he fired the kid on site.

Payback is SWEET!


Russ

Stupid like a fox! My friend who died 5 years ago was the owner of the most successful music store in the city. He was a big band trumpet player. He, his wife and the owners of the other two popular music stores all worked together for 10 years at a large local store. When they started their stores, they all agreed to divide up the business. My friend did not stock and sell horns; he specialized in guitars and PA. His one friend did horns and the other specialized in keyboards. Thing is, he never learned a thing about stringed instruments. He would take an instrument down, run a had across the strings without touching the neck and say....WONDERFUL!, and hand the instrument to the customer. In 40 years, he never learned more, but what a salesman!

I ordered a red Guild hollow body. He called and said the thing was in. When I went to pick it up, it was sunburst. When I called that to his attention, he said, "I don't think so. That's a new Guild red." Then, he took me and the guitar over to a window and turned it several times to let the sunlight bounce off of it. Damn if he didn't convince me that it was some kind of proprietary red.

Two days later, the red one came in. I kept the sunburst one, played it for 40 years, and at his funeral, his son told the tale of his dad, the GREAT SALESMAN and Russ's red guitar!

I took it back to the store, where, for a year, it hung on a hook in the most visible place there, with a sign saying "Russ's famous red guitar".

Dumn salesman or dumn customer? You decide!


Russ (colorblind) Lay

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 09-30-2009).]

While we continue to expect internet direct prices from brick and mortar stores, what right have we to expect knowledgeable and experienced salesmen? Where is the margin to pay them what they are worth...?

Personally, I NEVER go into a music store expecting any pertinent information from a pimply faced slacker doing the job to get guitar strings cheaper than retail

I educate myself online, and simply go to the store to listen to how it SOUNDS as I play it. That is the only information I can't get from the web. I can hear how it sounds when someone else plays it online, but that rarely covers all its' soundset or style library, or how the keys feel, or how quick the OS responds... And I sure don't need some kid to tell me that!

Were we willing to pay a little extra at a brick and mortar store for qualified sales staff, there would be a lot less of these stories. But hey, who needs that when you can save $20 or so...

Lets face it .."the way it was" is NO MORE regarding music retail stores.......it's every man for himself out here when you buy things....all I can suggest is "An Educated Consumer" is YOUR Best Weapon!!....Good luck.