So, story time. I've been going to some car audio stores in town these past few days cause a few of my speakers are shot and the others are on their way out. Two of the stores were really helpful, one especially so, and one of them was only sorta helpful. They were friendly and were happy to sell stuff as the same low prices as the other locations in order to get my sale. The guy asked what he could do for me to sell me some TODAY. Seemed off, but I didn't think much of it. Trying to cut a huge deal for a quick sale has been rather commonplace in some stores I've been in. But there was one thing kinda off.
I listened to my own music on the demo unit with some Hertz Energy series speakers. They sounded pretty good, rather bass-y to the point it felt like it was muffling things slightly, but I liked them enough. I told him I needed to go to the other stores to hear their offerings. He gave a cocky remark of "Sounds good! Hope to see you in... 30 minutes?" as if he knew the sale was guaranteed based on my reaction to the sound of the speakers.
Fast forward to some talks with one of the other stores. One of them told me that the sounds of the Focal speakers I was demoing with are flat EQ, no adjustments, and no fancy equipment added. He made sure to make every detail very clear to ensure I knew what I was hearing. I realized the guy at the previous store told me none of this. Me and the guys at the shop I was at suspected something. So, I went back and checked their deck. Sure enough, the bass was maxed, the mid range was maxed, loudness was buffed by a bit, an amp was added, and I didn't check but I assume a preset EQ was also in place, rather than just a neutral EQ.
I was rather surprised. These guys were selling these speakers on their sound, but made no point to mention that they adjusted the audio. If I didn't check and I bought them, my expectations for their sound would've been completely different. Of course, my aftermarket deck could easily have made them sound the same as the store demo. But the fact the guys there adjusted the speakers, and not just the ones I looked at but ALL OF THEM and didn't tell me... I felt rather off put by the whole thing. It was a total lack of transparency with their system because they uttered not a word. They wanted to sell the speakers on the sound I heard, not what was representative of their sound out of the box.
The third store's Alpine speakers were kinda crap, so I went with the Focals at the other store. They sounded great, but the fact these guys went to extremely extensive detail to ensure I knew every single last bit of what I was getting into to make sure I got exactly what I wanted... I found it hard to deny them. Plus they were experienced, and cut me the best deal I got out of the 3 stores. So, they got my business in the end.
That was a bit of a long winded story, but one I wanted to tell. Of course, as is typical for discussion, I wanna know who else has any sort of experience of an off putting lack of transparency as a customer. Do tell, and give all of the details!
I listened to my own music on the demo unit with some Hertz Energy series speakers. They sounded pretty good, rather bass-y to the point it felt like it was muffling things slightly, but I liked them enough. I told him I needed to go to the other stores to hear their offerings. He gave a cocky remark of "Sounds good! Hope to see you in... 30 minutes?" as if he knew the sale was guaranteed based on my reaction to the sound of the speakers.
Fast forward to some talks with one of the other stores. One of them told me that the sounds of the Focal speakers I was demoing with are flat EQ, no adjustments, and no fancy equipment added. He made sure to make every detail very clear to ensure I knew what I was hearing. I realized the guy at the previous store told me none of this. Me and the guys at the shop I was at suspected something. So, I went back and checked their deck. Sure enough, the bass was maxed, the mid range was maxed, loudness was buffed by a bit, an amp was added, and I didn't check but I assume a preset EQ was also in place, rather than just a neutral EQ.
I was rather surprised. These guys were selling these speakers on their sound, but made no point to mention that they adjusted the audio. If I didn't check and I bought them, my expectations for their sound would've been completely different. Of course, my aftermarket deck could easily have made them sound the same as the store demo. But the fact the guys there adjusted the speakers, and not just the ones I looked at but ALL OF THEM and didn't tell me... I felt rather off put by the whole thing. It was a total lack of transparency with their system because they uttered not a word. They wanted to sell the speakers on the sound I heard, not what was representative of their sound out of the box.
The third store's Alpine speakers were kinda crap, so I went with the Focals at the other store. They sounded great, but the fact these guys went to extremely extensive detail to ensure I knew every single last bit of what I was getting into to make sure I got exactly what I wanted... I found it hard to deny them. Plus they were experienced, and cut me the best deal I got out of the 3 stores. So, they got my business in the end.
That was a bit of a long winded story, but one I wanted to tell. Of course, as is typical for discussion, I wanna know who else has any sort of experience of an off putting lack of transparency as a customer. Do tell, and give all of the details!