Ha… am I reading between the lines the customers like me are difficult?
As for reception, the type of salesman who just want a very easy and fast sale - quickly sell the customer on something - there could be some friction there. But I found that most retailers geared to audiophiles recognized that we are a quirky and often picky lot, and so we’re ready to accommodate that.
The best dealers for me were the ones who recognized I didn’t need any sales pitches, I knew when I was doing and when I’m looking for, and they could just sit in front of the system, let me operate things myself and just leave me be until I’m finished. And so long as the situation permitted it, I would often spend hours listening. (but always sensitive to the fact I’m dealing with somebody running a business and if there is another customer to deal with, I wasn’t going to suck up all the time of the dealer).
Often enough, I would have narrowed my speaker choice down to a couple of lab speakers and would go back-and-forth between two dealers deciding which to buy.
Since some dealers have been very accommodating to me, they have become my go to, and so I’ve taken my business to them over the years. And if I purchase this loudspeaker from one of them, I also try to take my business to the other as well if I need any peripherals.
I guess what I’m saying is that I know that I’m a picky bugger, and can take up some time auditioning gear, but I’m very sensitive that these people are trying to make a living and I don’t ever want to be wasting anybody’s time.
So I never misrepresent myself pretending that I’m interested in buying a certain loudspeaker just because I want to sit and listen to it. I’m going to take up that time it’s going to be because I’m ready to buy the speaker if I like it. On the other hand, a proprietor may allow me to listen to gear I could never afford, and I make sure he understands “ I’m not looking to buy this, but if you are fine, playing the system for me I’m up for listening.”
I know that some audio salesman don’t want to play systems for people who are not going to buy that system. They would be viewed as tire kickers, and a waste of time. On the other hand the proprietors who got my business tend to be the ones who also let me listen to any gear, understanding when it’s gear I’m not looking to purchase. I think that can be wise in building a relationship.
And frankly, my favourite high-end salesman’s “ up selling” worked on me.
I went there to listen to a pair of smaller Joseph audio Pulsar stand mounted speakers that were within my budget. I thought they were absolutely terrific. And he said I should take a listen to the next models up, which were a floor stander, the Joseph Perspectives. I saw the price and I told him those were out of my budget. But he said that’s OK, I’ll set them up for you anyway. And once he did I was blown away and absolutely smitten. They were just better.
And those became my new target speakers, with me telling him “ OK now you’ve got me stretching my budget. I’ll be back when I have the money…”
And I ended up buying those speakers from him, thought it took something like another year before I could comfortably pay for them. so playing the long game worked out for him. And I’ve been extremely happy with that purchase.