Hi-Fi Shops/Outlets with Unpleasant Service

7810sam,

Did this happen at the CMY Sunway Pyramid branch?

At Alor Setar there was one home audio shop that will underestimate all hifi stuff that i mention to him although the stuff were Musical Fidelity etc. But he will always say that all his stuff are better though it was only Denn (malaysia made) and kaino ... huh.

7810sam wrote:Yes it happened to me too. My case is even worst. He don't even let me in into the shop and close the sliding door, giving excuse that audition is going on. Maybe I was pushing a pram with my wife.
He stand outside and asked me what do I want and budget. I just walk off and not wasting my time.

Ah yes, the customer with the pram, the worst kind of customer!!! You see, your pram might actually be empty and you might ask your wife/accomplice to distract the salesman while you load up the pram with a monoblock or two, some preamps, a Wadia CD transport, a Wadia DAC, some cables maybe... Still got room??? Ok, top it off with a small item, say a Dacmagic and how bouts a few CDs too???

Remember, everybody's a thief till you flash that platinum card and buy something expensive. Buying Rm12 items? Come back next week

Errr... Just in case anyone would take offence to my previous post regarding the pram... I was only kidding. I kid alot and it helps me calm my nerves after a hard work week. That's how I manage to look hardly a day over 25 for a 39 year old. Cheers y'all!!!

Bimmerman,

God's been good to you.I'm envious
I look every day of the 55 years I've lived and then some.
The hair's almost all gone now.
Getting to look more & more like the 'Hacks' man

Siiiiiiiiiiiigh!

Cheers & shalom.
teleman51

this particular cmy sg. wang sales representative is really a pain in the ass isn't?

azri wrote:this particular cmy sg. wang sales representative is really a pain in the ass isn't?

The owner of CMY needs to organize team building for all the staff n boss's too...

Im buying 2 units amplifier n few QED cables from CMY klang valley area (sunway,pj n sw plaza ) too sorry for penang branch....

the owner needs to sack this a** hole!!

WOW 7810Sam story is by far the most extreme so far.Rejected entry, holy sh*t! In such an economy, where unemployment is high, I guess some sales people really hold no regard to the fact that they actually have a job.

I did hear the guy telling me that his branch has one of the top sales of all the branches.

And that he has the world's best hifi brand, naim. Are you up to the world's best?

So he may not be just a salesperson on a salary. Could he be the owner of the branch ? With the power to choose his customers by merely looking at your appearance and the way you talk.

That's why NAIM's tagline is "World Class Hi Fi" !

bimmerman wrote:

Remember, everybody's a thief till you flash that platinum card and buy something expensive. Buying Rm12 items? Come back next week

hahahaha...you're a big time joker...

Yes, very piss off with this sales man in Sg. wang CMY. Maybe i give them the wrong impression by pushing the pram. What to do, is weekend and got to bring children out. Have to strike a balance betw hifi and child or else my wife will give that look.
Maybe my revenue to him is chicken feed.
I went to centre circle also with pram, the sales guy even open the door for me.



Bimmerman, it's no fun to offence someone in the first place and then said that he's kidding.

perhaps is better to boycott that particular hifi shop - cmy sg. wang. let him taste the power of consumer, let the word spread. what say you (guys)?

ya u banned desa kepong. i went there to buy SW150, i already called before to confirm the price. when arrived there, suddenly price went up and that fella say " saya takde kasi itu harga la bang" even when clearly mention his name during the teleconversation. Desa LY is good, i bought sub there from Ah Man. he demo me the SW150 and even show some comparison with other which is within my budget. yes azri i agree, we need to show the consumer power to the arrogant shops. let excercise that. " bersatu teguh bercerai jangan kahwin lagi"

IMHO, I think Simon of Audio Synthesis is NOT an angel as described by some in this post. You have not seen his other side yet. When he "switches" to his cynical mode, you wish you are not in front of him.

The sure fire way of setting him off is to tell him how expensive the equipment from the emerging market is! Then take cover!!

I mean, who in the right mind would want to pay RM 25,000 for a pair of cloned floorstander? You can get three pairs of SHL 5 lah.

teleman51 wrote:Bimmerman,

God's been good to you.I'm envious
I look every day of the 55 years I've lived and then some.
The hair's almost all gone now.
Getting to look more & more like the 'Hacks' man

Siiiiiiiiiiiigh!

Cheers & shalom.
teleman51

Teleman,

You've probably heard this one before but somebody once said: Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present. I envy you too because hair or no hair, every time you pick up that guitar of yours, the blessings come showering down upon you. You're a talented man and that's your divine gift and blessing.

Rocketman...

So far have not encountered that side of his character yet in all my dealings. Only accessories that i purchase.

Thanks for the heads up.

But nothing can match "Asia Sound's" customer service level, they are miles ahead of the competition.

The rest should keep them as a yardstick to improve their customer service level.

Worst case scenario get your desired gear from the WEB retailers, cheaper and you don't get insulted. Not forgetting the reliable sellers.

cheers

7810sam wrote:Yes, very piss off with this sales man in Sg. wang CMY. Maybe i give them the wrong impression by pushing the pram. What to do, is weekend and got to bring children out. Have to strike a balance betw hifi and child or else my wife will give that look.
Maybe my revenue to him is chicken feed.
I went to centre circle also with pram, the sales guy even open the door for me.



Bimmerman, it's no fun to offence someone in the first place and then said that he's kidding.

You're pissed off with CMY??? After hearing your story, well me too!!! That's why I'm using the pram story to ridicule that salesperson who shut you out. Surely it's impossible to stash 100 Kilos of Hifi into a pram right? It's called sarcasm and it was directed at the salesperson not you. Are you saying you're offended by that??? If you are then I'm really sorry for you not being able to tell your friends from your foes.

bimmerman wrote:

7810sam wrote:Yes, very piss off with this sales man in Sg. wang CMY. Maybe i give them the wrong impression by pushing the pram. What to do, is weekend and got to bring children out. Have to strike a balance betw hifi and child or else my wife will give that look.
Maybe my revenue to him is chicken feed.
I went to centre circle also with pram, the sales guy even open the door for me.



Bimmerman, it's no fun to offence someone in the first place and then said that he's kidding.

You're pissed off with CMY??? After hearing your story, well me too!!! That's why I'm using the pram story to ridicule that salesperson who shut you out. Surely it's impossible to stash 100 Kilos of Hifi into a pram right? It's called sarcasm and it was directed at the salesperson not you. Are you saying you're offended by that??? If you are then I'm really sorry for you not being able to tell your friends from your foes.

hey hey .. cheers to both 7810sam and beemerman.... its the CMY sales people thats screwed up in the a$$ for being pigeon-eyed especially in shopping malls. If they cannot handle the shopping crowd which means people are in shopping malls as a family outing and weekend activity, then CMY should not bother opening branches in shopping malls.

To the owner/senior-mgt of CMY here who's reading this, it is sorely needed that u hire people of higher calibre (customer PR-wise), or provide some kind of PR or Cust. relations training. Staff who are at least somewhat passionate about the hifi game and also KNOW that this is a retail business. Yes, retail means your team of public facing floor-staff should always SMILE and be ready to serve your VISITORS. And if they do it well enough, your visitors just MIGHT (MIGHT being the keyword here) be your customers then.

Of course there are demanding and also assholic visitors, but its then up to your sales people to "Politely defer (not so much decline) " these problematic visitors then.

OF all the CMY branches i have visited in the Klang Valley. My kudo's go out to Steve at the 1-Utama branch. Always nice and ready to serve/oblidge.

His elder brother at the D'sara Utama branch is more opinionated but can still carry a friendly conversation.

The guy at Sunway Pyramid branch, don't know his name, is the assholic one.

Not sure about the Sg. Wang place. Haven't been to Sg. Wang in eons.

Having done a bit of time in a Call Centre for a telco with a Millions++ subscriber base, the importance of customer interaction and cust relations cannot be over emphasised.

Good one Mugen! But watch your back as there are those who will take offence at anything.

I've also had a very good buying experience with Steve at the 1 Utama branch. He was entertaining a customer interested in a something expensive and I casually walked in to buy a RCA connector. Yup, no typo, just only one and not 1 pair as I was making a RCA to BNC cable. When i told him I was looking for 1 RCA plug, he showed no air and enthusiastically ushered (no pun intended) me over to the display case and patiently answered my questions on the various models available. He even told me those WBT RCA plugs were each individually serial numbered and asked me to chose my lucky number. He even offered to solder it for me if I needed help. And it was all for only 1 RCA plug. I'm definitely buying a Wadia 171 from Steve when it's available! Kudos to Steve for giving CMY 1U a good name.

wingman wrote:Rocketman...

So far have not encountered that side of his character yet in all my dealings. Only accessories that i purchase.

Thanks for the heads up.

You should thank your lucky star then. I bought a few stuff (cumulative >1K) from him before and have been treated cordially by him until that "fine day" he suddenly turned ugly and became confrontational and sarcastic. He can be worse than the a$$ hole in CMY!

When that happens, you make sure you have your 'wings' on and fly off!!

Just a joke. No offence.

Anyway, I shall exercise my consumer's rights and cross out Audio Synthesis from my list of hifi shops.

By the way, although I didnt buy any BIG item at CMY in Sunway Pyramid I have been treated well by the so called a$$ hole. In that sense, IMHO, he is better than Simon of Audio Synthesis.

YMMV.

looks like someone already re-activate his hi fidelity account & thinking to grab one wadia transport at 1utama

i strongly suggest to hifi shops to put some sought of 'no stroller' or 'no pram' allowed in store sign a.s.a.p. so that next time consumer are aware bringing a pram in the store might harm their assets or whatnot. its time for them to be more practical & think more for the sake of both parties instead of just thinking the best way to make money. its not that hard to customize one, here's an example :



kepish?? cheerss

I think those sales people are only human. Some customers might catch them at the wrong time and the treatment they get is bad.

I am not defending Richard of CMY in Sunway Pyramid as I must admot I do not know him that well but he has been quite polite to me all this while though I never buy anythign expensive from him. I buy most of my costlier stuff from Singapore as they are generally cheaper there. I only buy CDs from CMY and Richard has always been very quite patient with me. We even have some good chat whenever he is not busy. John from CMY Sungai Wang normally gives better CD prices compared to Richard.

I guess it needs chemistry too between sales persons and customers

123_rocketman wrote:Wingman...

When that happens, you make sure you have your 'wings' on and fly off!!

Just a joke. No offence.

Rocketman.....

No worries....... ......


At times its just a waste of time......their thinking ......"you don't buy there would be another person who would buy".....

cheers

Gents,

While on the subject of CMY, how was the 'showcase' at the new CMY Kota Damansara today.Anyone there I had to miss coz 'balik kampung' ... had to miss an hi fi event at my backyard... dang..

zb

bimmerman wrote:

7810sam wrote:Yes, very piss off with this sales man in Sg. wang CMY. Maybe i give them the wrong impression by pushing the pram. What to do, is weekend and got to bring children out. Have to strike a balance betw hifi and child or else my wife will give that look.
Maybe my revenue to him is chicken feed.
I went to centre circle also with pram, the sales guy even open the door for me.



Bimmerman, it's no fun to offence someone in the first place and then said that he's kidding.

You're pissed off with CMY??? After hearing your story, well me too!!! That's why I'm using the pram story to ridicule that salesperson who shut you out. Surely it's impossible to stash 100 Kilos of Hifi into a pram right? It's called sarcasm and it was directed at the salesperson not you. Are you saying you're offended by that??? If you are then I'm really sorry for you not being able to tell your friends from your foes.

Definately I'll feel offended if it's directed to me. Since you have explain,
I will accept it and apologise for my misunderstanding and go on.
cheers.

mugenfoo wrote:

bimmerman wrote:

7810sam wrote:Yes, very piss off with this sales man in Sg. wang CMY. Maybe i give them the wrong impression by pushing the pram. What to do, is weekend and got to bring children out. Have to strike a balance betw hifi and child or else my wife will give that look.
Maybe my revenue to him is chicken feed.
I went to centre circle also with pram, the sales guy even open the door for me.



Bimmerman, it's no fun to offence someone in the first place and then said that he's kidding.

You're pissed off with CMY??? After hearing your story, well me too!!! That's why I'm using the pram story to ridicule that salesperson who shut you out. Surely it's impossible to stash 100 Kilos of Hifi into a pram right? It's called sarcasm and it was directed at the salesperson not you. Are you saying you're offended by that??? If you are then I'm really sorry for you not being able to tell your friends from your foes.

hey hey .. cheers to both 7810sam and beemerman.... its the CMY sales people thats screwed up in the a$$ for being pigeon-eyed especially in shopping malls. If they cannot handle the shopping crowd which means people are in shopping malls as a family outing and weekend activity, then CMY should not bother opening branches in shopping malls.

To the owner/senior-mgt of CMY here who's reading this, it is sorely needed that u hire people of higher calibre (customer PR-wise), or provide some kind of PR or Cust. relations training. Staff who are at least somewhat passionate about the hifi game and also KNOW that this is a retail business. Yes, retail means your team of public facing floor-staff should always SMILE and be ready to serve your VISITORS. And if they do it well enough, your visitors just MIGHT (MIGHT being the keyword here) be your customers then.

Of course there are demanding and also assholic visitors, but its then up to your sales people to "Politely defer (not so much decline) " these problematic visitors then.

OF all the CMY branches i have visited in the Klang Valley. My kudo's go out to Steve at the 1-Utama branch. Always nice and ready to serve/oblidge.

His elder brother at the D'sara Utama branch is more opinionated but can still carry a friendly conversation.

The guy at Sunway Pyramid branch, don't know his name, is the assholic one.

Not sure about the Sg. Wang place. Haven't been to Sg. Wang in eons.

Having done a bit of time in a Call Centre for a telco with a Millions++ subscriber base, the importance of customer interaction and cust relations cannot be over emphasised.

Mugen,

It's my misunderstanding. No problem. Cheers.

wingman wrote:

123_rocketman wrote:Wingman...

When that happens, you make sure you have your 'wings' on and fly off!!

Just a joke. No offence.

Rocketman.....

No worries....... ......


At times its just a waste of time......their thinking ......"you don't buy there would be another person who would buy".....

cheers

Cant agree more. There is a sucker born everyday.

Why pay RM 100k for the original when you can buy the EXACT COPY for RM 25K from the emerging market? Some more ah, this company makes all the items for the original one. So, you actually get the same thing for 25% of the price!! Cheap man. Sound familiar?

Went to CMY new outlet in Sunway Giza, Kota Dsara this afternoon to pay a visit to Michael Ong. Chat there for abt an hour before leaving. The other CMY that I like to go is 1U branch.

Will bring my CDs along on my next visit to test out some equipments there.

Errrr...I could think part of the price is for that Goldring cartridge, but then again..its a free market, willing seller, willing buyer. Their Goldring cartridges are not exactly budget cartridge prices that anyone may smile at. (IIRC, they're also distributors for that make)

P.S. I'm not speaking as if I'm partial to them in this case, I don't have any association with them or their sales.

htkaki wrote:Went to CMY new outlet in Sunway Giza, Kota Dsara this afternoon to pay a visit to Michael Ong. Chat there for abt an hour before leaving.

Oh, Michael Ong is now with CMY? I heard CMY just acquired the agency for Clearaudio, and they need an expert on turntables. Michael is the man.

Where in the world is Sunway Giza? I guess I am too comfortable in my pigeon hole these days:(

Yes, CMY just got Clearaudio. I admire their courage ....

Wow, everyone is an expert in turntables nowadays.

WongKN wrote:Wow, everyone is an expert in turntables nowadays.

Open forum = Comments galore and just as many willing readers.

Reading about bad experience in HiFi shop reminds me of this guy Alex from Amcorp Mall, I was looking for a Meridien system not very long time ago and I was told their dealer is in Amcorp mall.
Finally on a Saturday I decided to go and audition the 8000. I was dressed in my Bermuda's,t-shirt and a pair of slippers I dont look like a guy who can fork out that amount of money for that system. Upon my arrival in the shop this guy Alex scrutinize me like I was a pheasant...I asked for this particular system and knowing for a fact he has one for audition he rudely ask him if I can afford it and he asked me if I know how much the system cost. I Stupidly answer him that I dont know how much it cost, this suddenly gave him the right to start blabbering about how people like me like to waste his time, well I looked at him and walked off....he was stunned that I did not even said a word to him. Upon walking out from there I called the distributor in Singapore who happens to be a family friend and told him about what happen... in the next few hour s I received a call from this Alex apologising about what had happen and he was more then willing to do a home audition for me I politely told him to Fu** off. I instead got the system from singapore even though I had to pay more for freight, but I was more then willing to do so because at that point of my life money is not a concern to me.

Now if there is any Hi Fi shop owners here I would like to give you a piece of advice "Do Not Judge a Book by Its Cover".

Thank you for reading.

I salute you @silver2c!

Perhaps the hifi industry should employ fellas like those who sell carpets and Indian import furniture, most I come across are naturally enthusiastic of serving you and convince you towards a purchase. I don't think they size you up or make assumptions on your purchasing power based on your outlook. I just think there's just too many sales fellas that are LCLY in those shops who size you up at first sight like automatic. Of course I've met many good and seasoned hifi sales people who're really nice and patient folks.
My 1 half sen opinion here.

Hi Silver2c,

I salute you too, great move to f xx k that Alex off.

cmboy wrote:

WongKN wrote:Wow, everyone is an expert in turntables nowadays.

Open forum = Comments galore and just as many willing readers.

My bad!!

Will the true experts please stand up?

ecoli123 wrote:

cmboy wrote:

WongKN wrote:Wow, everyone is an expert in turntables nowadays.

Open forum = Comments galore and just as many willing readers.

My bad!!

Will the true experts please stand up?

DJ Sara & DJ Ryushi !!

We should request Eminem to modify his lyrics!!

Actually my comment was meant to be just a joke, not a sarcastic one aimed at any person in particular. Just in case.

WongKN wrote:Actually my comment was meant to be just a joke, not a sarcastic one aimed at any person in particular. Just in case.

But for the record (pun intended):
Actually anyone can be an expert in turntables. No single person need to be selfish or a self-appointed guru about it.

Suggestions on what's needed to get started:
1. Download & read up on the article by Graeme Dennes, available from vinyl engine website. Might wanna brush up on some basic maths as well. And get that excel sheet calculator as well. And some other web article like Turntable setup for beginners etc etc.

2. Buy a good Universal aligner/protractor (e.g. Pro-Ject, Clearaudio, Wallytractor, etc).
The one with more geometries, the better. U get to experiment with different alignments and hear the merits or each different setups. Or d/l free from vinyl engine, provided u can print them out to exacting scale on stiff material and cut the spindle hole as accurately as possible.

3. Get a trackforce gauge. (Shure SFG-2 is good for starters).

4. Bubble Leveller, if one didn't come with the turntable already.

5. LP test disc. The Ultimate Analogue Test LP is the best so far IMO, provided you've got an audioband spectrum analyser and oscilloscope as well. Otherwise the HFNRR Test disc is also very popular out there.

6. A turntable with an arm thats fully adjustable. This means adjustable cartridge position (zenith), VTA, Azimuth, and anti-skate.

Most importantly: sharp eyes, good ears and a steady hand. Not too much to ask for right ?

And lastly, down to earth honesty in your hifi system's abilities. There's no point adjusting to that final hairline precision if such an adjustment doesn't show up in your playback system. In this case, just sit back and enjoy the music.

mugen....

Well said.....the basis for beginners to enjoy vinyl.....

cheers

talking about vinyl engine - the website. here's my previous TD124mk2 picture.

http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/album_showpage.php?pic_id=1865

[quote="mugenfooMost importantly: sharp eyes, good ears and a steady hand. Not too much to ask for right ?[/quote]

MF, at my age, thats a lot to ask for .

mugenfoo wrote:6. A turntable with an arm thats fully adjustable. This means adjustable cartridge position (zenith), VTA, Azimuth, and anti-skate.

I am pathetic when it comes to turntables. That is one reason I ended with a turntable that doesn't have a fully adjustable arm. Cuts down the intricacies. :-)

Oh, the horror ...

love these emoticons ....