Would you pay for a demo

[steve_1979]

Maybe a refundable demo fee if you actually buy something would be a good idea.

I already suggested this some posts ago....

Sorry I wasn't paying enough attention.

 

[SteveR750]

Maybe a refundable demo fee if you actually buy something would be a good idea.

I already suggested this some posts ago....

Sorry I wasn't paying enough attention.

Tut. There's always a naughty boy in class, and the same names keep cropping up

 

[steve_1979]

Maybe a refundable demo fee if you actually buy something would be a good idea.

I already suggested this some posts ago....

Sorry I wasn't paying enough attention.

Tut. There's always a naughty boy in class, and the same names keep cropping up

Funnily enough my school reports always said "easily distracted".

 

[Vladimir]

If tomorrow a large hi-fi retail store renovates facilities, gets some eye candy kit and puts a demo tarrif, I swear everyone will love to pay for the exclusive experience and even pay higher margins. Going for a demo will mean you have money in your pocket and it becomes an event. Regular ($$$) customers should get VIP cards, annual memberships to events held at the store available only to them (speaker designer guest presenter or new company lineup pre-preview etc.). Why not even special memebers catalog with special prices, home demos and installations etc.

If I'm buying a pair of speakers costing 1000 euros. I'd gladly pay 20 euros to get 60min of quality time spent at the store. And if you need more than 60 min. to decide what component you want, either you or the dealer guiding you through the buy is hopeless. If you are shopping for a full system then why not get 2 hours from the dealer. But even then I doubt you will need more than 60 min.

 

[davedotco]

We always found about 90 minutes to be about right. However these would be with the participation ofa salesman ful time, not someone popping in and out, but there pretty much all the time.

The degree of 'selling' would usually depend on the salesman involved and to a large degree the customer. Personally I would try to start with the system the customer has, or the system he thinks he wants.

I would then make changes, one component at a time to get to the 'right' system for that particular customer, explaining clearly and methodically what was being done and why.

I appreciate that this sounds rather arrogant, but we had a range of equipment that worked well together and gave consistenly good results, this was great for the non enthusiast as they could simply be taken through some options and chose what they liked. The system was set up in the customers home and the job was not complete until the customer was totally satisfied.

For the 'enthusiast' a slightly different tack was required, I would attempt to get them to listen to a good setup that came close to what they were looking for. make a couple of changes (speakers most often) and make a good impression. I would usually leave it at that and see what happened.

 

[Frank Harvey]

It's all very well for some to say that they'd feel better about things if the dealer charged for a demo, but that's only really to placate their own guilt in using up that dealer's time. After paying the dealer for their time auditioning, they would probably feel less guilty about buying somewhere else that will offer a cheaper price.

As I said earlier, charging for demos really isn't the way forward. A dealer can only do what he is there to do - it is down to customers/potential customers to start using dealers wisely, and ensure the future of quality dealers where they, and others (whether they're new to hi-fi or established audiophiles) can get first hand experience of their prospective purchases, as well as take part in open days and launch events, and enjoy a good relationship with their dealer that some of you may already be doing.

 

[SteveR750]

It's all very well for some to say that they'd feel better about things if the dealer charged for a demo, but that's only really to placate their own guilt in using up that dealer's time. After paying the dealer for their time auditioning, they would probably feel less guilty about buying somewhere else that will offer a cheaper price.

As I said earlier, charging for demos really isn't the way forward. A dealer can only do what he is there to do - it is down to customers/potential customers to start using dealers wisely, and ensure the future of quality dealers where they, and others (whether they're new to hi-fi or established audiophiles) can get first hand experience of their prospective purchases, as well as take part in open days and launch events, and enjoy a good relationship with their dealer that some of you may already be doing.

David, playing devils advocate here; why should the customer feel obliged to buy from someone who has just invested several hours if their time, when the same proiduct is available elsewhere at a lower price? Not necessarily my opinion, but it's obviously a strategy that many use, and is it wrong? If it's not, what can a bricks and mortar retailer do to mitigate it, on the basis that you don't want to cut your margins? One of the challenges for the customer is the cost and time of travelling to muliple outlets to listen to more than a couple of options at each price point.

 

[seasonsdownfall]

I've read the posts and whilst I sympathise with small business I think you don't want to scare customers off. I appreciate shops do come across time wasters, but you have to ask why they've come into the shop in the first place?

If you compared it to a cake shop for example that always had samples to try it's a bit different. Most people I imagine would sample all sorts of cakes and maybe buy one of them ?

Bit different with hi fi, but the point is this: it is all about service. Yes a high street retailer isn't always going to stock every single brand of hi fi out there, but if they have the time for you, you will remember that. Because at the end of the day I feel there's nothing worse than going into a hi fi shop, a staff member demos something for you with no other alternatives. Treat the customers well, listen to them, and they will remember and come back.

 

[Native_bon]

It's all very well for some to say that they'd feel better about things if the dealer charged for a demo, but that's only really to placate their own guilt in using up that dealer's time. After paying the dealer for their time auditioning, they would probably feel less guilty about buying somewhere else that will offer a cheaper price.

As I said earlier, charging for demos really isn't the way forward. A dealer can only do what he is there to do - it is down to customers/potential customers to start using dealers wisely, and ensure the future of quality dealers where they, and others (whether they're new to hi-fi or established audiophiles) can get first hand experience of their prospective purchases, as well as take part in open days and launch events, and enjoy a good relationship with their dealer that some of you may already be doing.

It works both ways regardless if the customer pays for demos or not. The retailer has to be welcoming & professional. This will go a long way to determine whether the customer comes back to the retailer again.

 

[fr0g]

It's all very well for some to say that they'd feel better about things if the dealer charged for a demo, but that's only really to placate their own guilt in using up that dealer's time. After paying the dealer for their time auditioning, they would probably feel less guilty about buying somewhere else that will offer a cheaper price.

Extremely good point IMO. I would NEVER go for a demo (one with a hands on dealer) and then buy cheaper elsewhere because it just feels wrong, but if I was charged for a demo, I would then order online using Pricerunner or similar... with no moral unease.

 

[SteveR750]

It would be interesting to learn if that's the majority behaviour or not. If it was then charging for a demo could be counter-productive, otherwise at least there is some compensation for wasted time.

Meantime, I'd really appreciate a retailer who brought a selection fo components into my house, demo'd them all in an afternoon. I'd definitely not buy from anyone else, and chances are I'd buy one of the selections the same day, assuming a good denough selection. I've listened to several pairs now in different demo rooms, and the more I try to analyse things, the more I realise this process is only slightly more useful than using the opinions of internet forums and expert reviews to make a decision.

 

[Frank Harvey]

David, playing devils advocate here; why should the customer feel obliged to buy from someone who has just invested several hours if their time, when the same proiduct is available elsewhere at a lower price? Not necessarily my opinion, but it's obviously a strategy that many use, and is it wrong? If it's not, what can a bricks and mortar retailer do to mitigate it, on the basis that you don't want to cut your margins? One of the challenges for the customer is the cost and time of travelling to muliple outlets to listen to more than a couple of options at each price point.

I feel I've answered much of this already.

It would be courteous of the customer to make it clear to the retailer that he has no intention of buying from him, despite the amount of time he is about to spend with him. As I have said before, if this becomes a common enough practice, there will eventually be no dealers left for the unscrupulous to take advantage of.

Although, allowing the retailer a chance to match the price, or at least get close to, would also be the right thing to do, particularly as he is making the effort and doing all the work, unlike the other dealer who is sat on his fattening rear end doing naff all except posting up cheap prices on the internet. We can all do that, and if we did, most dealers would shut down their demo facilities due to not willing to do any work based on the next to nothing profit margin.

All a retailer can do is to continue to do as he does, and hope the customer has enough morals to appreciate the dealer's effort/time. Offering as much choice as possible (as some of us do already) allows customers to hear more than is normal under one roof, and compare in the same facilities, saving customers time, travelling, effort, and in turn, monetary outlay. Surely that qualifies as some sort of "discount" or added value for the customer.

Again, I am an advocate of free demos, and not charging customers for facilities and time.

 

[Ajani]

A major problem with charging for demos (that I don't think has been mentioned before - apologies if I'm wrong) is that:

Many (if not most) dealers lack the kind of variety to make charging for demos appealing. I'm not sure about the UK, but a few years ago when I was hunting for speakers, I had to go to multiple different dealers to test out brands I was interested in. Simply because each dealer only had one or two speaker brands I was interested in.

So just imagine if you want to audition 6 different brands; that could mean paying for demos at 6 different dealers. That's not very appealing to me.