This is something I’ve noticed lately. A lot of hifi shops and hifi manufacturers have helpful staff, but just as many are extremely rude and arrogant.
I’ve had people speak condescendingly about my amp when I’m demoing speakers. Same thing for my speakers. I’ve even had someone, and I kid you not, tell me my streamer has shit sound quality.
It seems like hifi shops are either extremely helpful or just downright awful. The same with manufacturers, they either recognise that there exists alternatives or everything sucks ass compared to their product.
Linn started this trend back in the seventies.
How? By making nice equipment?
Linn don’t sell retail, at least not where i live. Never have, and i was frequenting hifi shops back then. Ran into my first arsehole hi-fi salesman back then too, he ridiculed my choice of speakers. I didn’t but anything from him, and swore i never would if i ever ran into him again no matter where he worked.
Conversely, i recently visited a hifi showroom in my rough work clothes and was treated with respect and allowed to audition some very expensive equipment, even a $1mil system even though I’d made it clear i couldn’t afford it. Smart of them really, i went back and dropped $2.6 k on some very nice headphones later on.
I think this is really the best approach to hobby sales. Introduce your customer to what is aspirational sound like a 1 mil sound system then explain to them how something in their price range is similar but what that extra say $990,000 gets them.