buy cheaper online or buy local and save jobs ??

[admin_exported]

ive been thinking about this one . and before anyone says it , yes , online retailers provide jobs too , but not locally , and not as many , mainly people answering phones ( often abroad ) couriers , and some advertising , buying locally on your high st directly benefits your local economy , ok , maybe some of that money spent ends up swelling the coffers of shareholders that could be anywhere , if you buy from a large retailer , but it still benefits people working in store , and probably living in that area , so it makes sense in these tough times to keep the cash flowing in your own locality .. but if you can buy a similar tv ( or anything ) online , with the same warranty , for less money , then you have more money in your pocket to spend , and sometimes that can be the bottom line , so the high st stores are kind of up against it in that regard , given their obvious more costlier overheads , so what can they do ?? well , for starters they can contact their suppliers , and tell them that if they want to keep doing business , they need to recognise the need for swift repair , replacement , by them , for any products that customers return to the store , it is the ace up high st sellers sleeves that a person has somewhere , and someone to go back to if there is a problem , it is no benefit to a local store ( and local economy ) when a punter spends a few hours checking out tvs before telling them , ill think about it , and then going online to get the best deal for their chosen tv , i think it is the responsibility of local stores to make customer care a black and white situation , ie , if theres a problem they will not quibble , they will not involve you in a blame game between them and the manufacturer , they will not give you a 50p a minute number to ring where the person who answers is getting paid to fob you off , they will simply check out , and repair or replace any tv or product that has a problem , full stop.. i think then people wouldnt mind spending a little more for that peace of mind , im sure there are many stores that operate in that way , but i think at the moment , they all should , and that good old fashioned trust ( which is harder to come by ) might be good for everyone ..

 

[Alec]

Im on thin ice commenting on someones typin'/presentation/gramma and punktuation but...well...

You use the phrase "full stop" but as far as i could tell, you never actually used one. if you gave that a bash and broke up huge blocks of text with paagraphs, that would make posts an awful lot easier to read.

sorry, but its true. Now feel free to have at me.

On topic, this one can probably only end in tears. i do both. i prefer the idea of supporting local businesses, but there are only a couple of AV type places nearby and none of them are going to win any awards. This is partly because sometimes they just take so long to get hold of stuff. Some of them have also said things i know to be incorrect. Many of you will understand that if even I know them to be wrong, something really is, er, wrong.

To be frank, my decision is also based on whether i really feel the need to take up a shops time with demos and questions (many best asked elsewhere im afraid), and really how much cheaper the item is online. i would also have to consider how important the aftersales service is to me on the item - it varies; if it were important id be more likely to use a physical store for convenience of taking things back.

by and large i prefer physical stores for this reason - i dont have the backup of any loans or credit card companies, and im unlikley to ever have, sniff...

I must admit, many concerns are psychological at the end of the day.

Now, as ull c, the abuv is inpekablee wrtn and prezented, innit

 

[Anonymous]

lol , sorry about the presentation , i got a bit carried away there , its a long story , and probably shouldnt be told here , but i had my own business , and i was very good at it , but was often undercut , anyway , what im saying is that if local stores want local business they need an edge over online sellers , and given that the products are the same bought online or in a shop , and online retailers can sell cheaper , local traders need to get with it if they want business , make it easier for jo public to help them , as i said , some are totally on top of their game , but there should be no ambiguity regarding after sales service ... ps .. i hope i spelt that right ...

 

[basshead]

i like the thought of supporting local jobs, but in reality my 2 local hi-fi stores have been far from helpful. They have given me advice which i know to be wrong! either they were spinning me a line to try and get my money, or the sales staff did not know what they were talking about. Also, i requested auditions of products from both of these stores, to be told this is not possible as the demo rooms were being used as a stock room. i am happy to spend a little more localy if i think my local stores will be there to offer advice and the opportunity to audition products; But my local hi-fi stores have failed on both of these and have lost me as a customer as a result.

 

[Anonymous]

thats another aspect of the problem , salespeople trying to bluff their way through questions , i suppose its silly to think that when it comes to a.v. a seller will know more than a punter , but they should at least be on a par , heres an example , take mathewpiano , a forum member here , who i might add i dont personally know , he seems very knowledgable on sonys , and id say anyone who would go into his store would get great advice , and take the people you spoke to in your local a.v. store who you said were not too clued up , one obviously deserves to sell more , and probably would , does , i suppose given that money is tight , and people buying on a whym are harder to find , the shops need to make it their business to know their stuff and and advertise their benefits ..... er , dont watch this space ...

 

[matthewpiano]

I strongly believe that there is an important place for proper bricks and mortar stores, even in this internet savvy age, but I also agree entirely that the crux of it has to be the customer service on offer.

As far as I'm concerned it is my job to know about the products I sell and to be able to ask customers the right questions to tie their particular needs to the feature set of a particular product. I also need to be able to answer any questions asked and, where I don't know the answer to something, to be able to find out. Furthermore, giving the customer confidence in the business is essential. If a customer is paying a premium to purchase from a shop they need to know that they can rely on us to look after them properly in any event, including quick and effective response to any problems and the provision of a loan TV in the event of a set having to be sent to the authorised repair agent. There have been several occasions where customers have needed help and I have personally visited them after hours to provide that help. There have also been situations where a customer has purchased, for example, a 40" and then decided they should have gone for a larger or smaller set. We have always worked with the customer in these situations to ensure that they are satisfied with their purchase. Our customers also know that we are always happy to talk them through things over the phone or in store should they struggle with aspects of operating their equipment.

Providing high standards of customer service pays off because we have large numbers of customers who regularly return to us for further purchases. If they are happy with their TV purchase, we become the first port of call when they need to buy a laptop, camera or other item.

Bricks and mortar stores HAVE to be aware that the best path to success is looking after customers. Our ethos is that people buy from people and need to feel valued. Any store that doesn't take this approach deserves to struggle. Take your customers for granted at your peril.

Lastly, we are not owed a living, either by consumers or manufacturers. It is up to us as retailers and sales staff to earn a living by doing the best job we possibly can.

 

[Anonymous]

fair play , the service you have described is what im talking about , like i said , too many stores salespeople are just going through the motions with customers , and some dont provide the proper aftersales service , i feel some of them need to cop on if they want peoples business , people are not parting with 1 or 2 grand for a tv so easily anymore , without feeling they have bought into not just a quality product but a quality deal .. if they are not getting the latter , who would blame them for getting the cheapest ?