A stupid incident - Page 3

chitz · #31 09-10-2009, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sordello

Hello:

Excuse me for being so blunt, but I am afraid you are getting some rather poor advice from some of our members here. First and foremost, you do NOT owe the manager of Store A any apology; you owe him nothing except maybe a good kick up the @ss - which is what he deserves although both store managers were rather poor to you.

Stores try to make profit; they want their owners to have the most dollars that they can achieve in the market place. As a customer, you must treat your household budget as a "business" and you must try to save as many dollars as you can. You have every right to find the best price; you have every right to negotiate a best price, but you need to be more assertive about it:

You need to go to Store A and get a good price, then go to Store B and offer the same price less $20 or so. If he accepts, then you can have a guitar at a good price. If he refuses, you go back to Store A and get the guitar for the first price. No quotes, no emails - you handle it all, and if a store gives you attitude, tell them where to stick their guitars. Period.

Definitely, don't apologize. You did nothing wrong and the store owner behaved like an idiot.

^^^WHAT HE SAID! ^^^

tadol · #32 09-10-2009, 10:10 AM

Some people understand that business is based on a relationship between people, and builds in value as time goes by. Some feel it is only the exchange of money, and ends there, and the next exchange is independent of all that came before.

The customer made it clear that their only interest was price. It sounds like shop A treats people right, and tries to add value to it's relationship with a customer and its relationship with their vendors - service and advice, and gave a good price - good enough that shop B had to see it in writing to match or beat it. If it wasn't a great price, why wouldn't they just immediately beat it?

Shop B will only be a value as long as shop A exists. If you don't want to go to shop A, ask shop B to MATCH the price, and buy the guitar. If they won't do it, THEN I hope you understand the value in supporting shop A. They gave you a good price when you asked, and you act as though that had no value in and of itself. I'd understand if they told you the price expired when you turned it down. If you go back to him (or her), I hope you do apologize - that will make it clear that you do value them on the other side of this deal, and establish a relationship that will be worth more than a couple of coins in your pocket -

Buying a new guitar is fun - buying a new guitar from someone you like and knowing your supporting a good business, that's the best.

Tad

missouri.picker · #33 09-10-2009, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonS

You forget, it can work two ways, and after that incident I never had a problem with this competitor trying to beat me up again.

So don't stand there all high and mighty judging me when you don't have a clue who I am or the type of businesses I run.

you are right and I am wrong, but I have my opinion and even if it is wrong as you so easily defend yourself, it is still my opinion. I don't care what business someone is in, when i hear them say 'it is great' to slam their compitition that way I all of a sudden get opinionated. No 'high and mighty' here at all, i don't own a business, and perhaps that is why.

go7 · #34 09-10-2009, 10:29 AM

Asking him to put it on paper so you can shop it around is tacky at best. You got his price do your due diligence and get on with it.

patticake · #35 09-10-2009, 10:55 AM

i see a lot of conflicting opinions here. here's mine:

i think that the guy from store A should have definitely been more diplomatic. if you're looking for the best price as opposed to the best service, he was never going to get your business, but he could have made sure that when you spoke of his customer service, you would speak well - and that when it was convenient, you would probably buy at least smaller things from his store.

on the other hand, i can't see why you would expect store A to help you get a better price from store B. there's no advantage to him to do so. you say he only helped with a call and several emails, but i can tell you first-hand that sometimes looking stuff up takes time - those emails could have taken more time and more effort than you think.

reading this makes me glad that i get good prices and excellent customer service locally.

RonS · #36 09-10-2009, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by missouri.picker

you are right and I am wrong, but I have my opinion and even if it is wrong as you so easily defend yourself, it is still my opinion. I don't care what business someone is in, when i hear them say 'it is great' to slam their compitition that way I all of a sudden get opinionated. No 'high and mighty' here at all, i don't own a business, and perhaps that is why.

The one thing I never mentioned is that I do not sell retail. All my customers are businesses.
It is a different atmosphere than dealing with the public.

Martin_Nut · #37 09-10-2009, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by go7

Asking him to put it on paper so you can shop it around is tacky at best. You got his price do your due diligence and get on with it.

Ditto - plenty of places to check prices and figure out what's fair.

MikeTX · #38 09-10-2009, 11:42 AM

Wow - all this and no mention of the Guitar Center... :-)

susitna · #39 09-10-2009, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I never buy a guitar based simply on price. I have purchased from the same store for 30 years. They discount at close to Internet prices but also provide repair and warranty services and have provided excellent advice over the years. I want them to stay in business. The only time I buy from someone else is when they don't have or can't get what I want. I try not to beat them down on price too much below their normal discounted price because they have always treated me fairly and have been there when something breaks.

This economy has been hard on these kinds of music stores...

Regards, Glenn

This is where I go.

Just this past month, I decided that I wanted a cheap crappy guitar to pretty much leave in my car. I looked at prices online, and thought about buying from a big internet seller, but I just couldn't pull that trigger. The next day, I went to my local store and bought a guitar meeting my needs. I paid about twice what the "best deal" was, but that was for a different make/model guitar and the store didn't have any of those. Heck, I even found a lower price for the guitar that I bought.

It was more important to me to buy from my local dealer than to get the best deal. We only have one store here and if they go under, the only place to play before you buy would be a pawn shop. (Wade Hampton Miller might know a place I don't, so I could be wrong). This particular store matches the internet prices, but doesn't haggle. Even so, I didn't bring in the internet price. I'll give them those 25 dollars for not making me wait.

devellis · #40 09-10-2009, 11:54 AM

Well, the range of responses was pretty easy to predict from early on. There are those who believe that doing what it takes to get the lowest price is the duty of the consumer, and those who believe that an equitable transaction that both parties feel good about is the best outcome. I'm pretty sure that neither side is going to convince the other.

Monsoon1 · #41 09-10-2009, 12:27 PM

Trying to lay a guilt trip on a shopper who is trying to make his hard earned bucks last longer, is a mistake imo.

There is a ton of competition these days, and only the strong survive.

Aaron Smith · #42 09-10-2009, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonS

You forget, it can work two ways, and after that incident I never had a problem with this competitor trying to beat me up again.

So don't stand there all high and mighty judging me when you don't have a clue who I am or the type of businesses I run.

Hey Ron, I'm just curious- if the customer came back to you and took you up on your quote, did you plan to fill the order?

Aaron Smith · #43 09-10-2009, 12:54 PM

Back to the OP- I think only you can decide what you think is right. Your conscience has already gotten the best of you, so you probably already know the answer.
And I do think buying a guitar on price alone is incredibly foolish. They are all different, even from the best manufacturers. In the end you usually do get what you pay for.

RonS · #44 09-10-2009, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Smith

Hey Ron, I'm just curious- if the customer came back to you and took you up on your quote, did you plan to fill the order?

You need to re-read my first post

mmapags · #45 09-10-2009, 01:29 PM

As a small business owner, I can tell you that I have no use and a low opinion of anyone why tries to use me to get a lower price out of my competitors. If I find out this is happening, I'm done with that customer. What my competitor wants to do is up to them but I'm not in business to be a best price guide. I provide great products at a competitive price with great customer service. In other words: Value! Either you buy it or you don't.

Any customer can get my prices as well as determine what they may get from my company in terms of responsiveness and customer service and compare that to what they can find in the marketplace. I know the marketplace very well and use it to set my pricing strategy as probably any good business owner does. I can relate to Business A and his response. I would probably have been more diplomatic but pretty firm.

This customer is not a victim. If anything he is incredibly naive to think that Owner A would have any interest in helping him find a better price elsewhere! It's up to him to get everyone's best price and decide who he thinks provides the best value. Then make his own decision.

Just for the record, I won't quote a price that I would sell for but I certainly understand why RonS used that strategy. Those that think it's unethical seem to missing the point of what both the competitor and the customer were doing. Neither of them are anyone I would be interested in doing business with.

This applies in my business as well as in the business of running a music store. I haven't found a good music store that brings value locally. If I did, I would do my research on line, determine market value, and pay that plus a little (not a lot) for the value the local guy would bring. As a business owner, I would welcome and appreciate being dealt with in the same way! Business that can't turn a profit don't stay in business so I see it as being in my best interest to have those I do business with get a fair price for thier product.