MARS music

S

shredfit

New member
Ok guys, here is my experience with this defunked store. I call the store (being i live about 100 miles away) and cannot get anyone to answer a simple question (ie Do you have any of this item still in stock?) After being put on hold (ignore) for about an hour, I decide to drive up and see for myself... Heck I might even find a sales person with a clue (it has happened before)

So I drive up there and they have an item I want...but is is the floor display and they have to take it apart... enter the clueless sales person with a screw driver... after some fiddling with the unit the sales person drops it right in front of me.... hmmm?

and if that wasn't enough, some other customers come in with questions about broadcast wave file compatabiltiy with PT and what it would be like to line up tracks in Pro Tools that were NOT time stamped... of course a different sales person could NOT answer their questions so I (mistakenly start to answer them) The guys totally blow off the sales person and start hitting me with software questions... I end up selling them some software HEHE and they thank me.... while my sales guy cannot disassemble the unit I want and starts to explain to me that I'm really a waste of his time because he isn't making much on my $1600 purchase...

At this point I'm so pissed i wanna punch him but i deceide to walk out... and the guy follows my out the door to tell me i just basically cost him money by being a waste of time

MARS is filing Chapter 11
HHHHMMMM? I wonder Why?

Shred
 
I saw this kind of thing when I went to MARS too. These guys are being VERY stupid. MARS, their current employer, may be closing, but they will still be living and working in the same town after it closes. And if I'm treated badly, I'll remember your face, and no matter where they work they will lose my business.

H2H
 
Although any salesperson who makes the type of statements Shred reports appears to be both a fool and a poor sales person, and while many of the salespeople at Mars (or any music "superstore") sometimes seem clueless about the gear they sell - and this is more apparent in the technology driven areas (where every piece of gear/software is different) - let us all consider the plight of the Mars employees (I know several people who work at Mars - it is not a good time for them).

Consider:

1. They are losing their jobs soon but they don't know how soon. But most likely right at Xmas time (in the middle of a bad economy)
2. A gig at a music store certainly does not pay top dollar and the commission rate under the liquidation ain't nothing to brag about (a $1600 item is a $16 commission - how much bullshit would any of us put up with for $16???)
3. The new employer (the liquidation company) is sharing very little information - to help them plan their lives
4. Product is moving out of the store at a frantic pace - they are faced with more customers than normal (all with questions about what, when, where)
5. They have numerous people calling to find out if they still have this or that - and how much and when will it be cheaper, and no time to answer all these dumb questions
6. They have customers asking "how much will this cost" when the price and the % off are clearly marked (simple math)
7. People are coming in late our not showing up at all (making for more of a work load for those who are still trying to put in an honest days work)

I have worked retail and delaing with the public on a good day is a pain in the ass - dealing with the public while your trying to figure out when your next paycheck is coming from must be pure joy.
 
mikeh said:
Consider:

1. They are losing their jobs soon but they don't know how soon. But most likely right at Xmas time (in the middle of a bad economy)

This is difficult, but why mot make the best of it while your still there? A knowlegable sales person will have customers follow them to another employer.

2. A gig at a music store certainly does not pay top dollar and the commission rate under the liquidation ain't nothing to brag about (a $1600 item is a $16 commission - how much bullshit would any of us put up with for $16???)

So their commission is at 1/10% for the blowout.... Still, considering it took me about 7 minutes to disasemble the gear in question (without droping it) and roughly 5 min to do the transaction (I had cash) and assuming they could do as well or perhaps better in the next 48 minutes that would come to be about $64.00 per hour... IS THAT REALLY SO BAD?

3. The new employer (the liquidation company) is sharing very little information - to help them plan their lives

This is too bad, but should that be put on the customer?

4. Product is moving out of the store at a frantic pace - they are faced with more customers than normal (all with questions about what, when, where)

So a hard working, competent, knowlegeable salesperson could make a killing (even at 1/10% commission) Correct?

5. They have numerous people calling to find out if they still have this or that - and how much and when will it be cheaper, and no time to answer all these dumb questions

I my case, a simple "YES" we have one or "NO" we don't would have been enough... I wasn't attempting a price grind on the phone (I don't have time for that as well)

6. They have customers asking "how much will this cost" when the price and the % off are clearly marked (simple math)

Not an issue in my case

7. People are coming in late our not showing up at all (making for more of a work load for those who are still trying to put in an honest days work)

LOL, how so? So you sell to someone else that comes... First some sirst serve in this case... certainly honest in these circumstances.

I have worked retail and delaing with the public on a good day is a pain in the ass - dealing with the public while your trying to figure out when your next paycheck is coming from must be pure joy.

Sounds to me like you should never work with the public again

Shred
Click to expand...
 
Nothing less than superior service at the Catonsville, MD store. Even during the liquidation. Sad to see it go. :(
 
Shred,

All of your responses are reasonable and I have no disagreement with them. As I stated in my original post, the scenario you detailed does make the person you dealt with sound like a fool.

The point of my original post was to try to suggest that any of us dealing with the people at Mars (or any retail store) should perhaps understand that there may be things that are reflected in the way they conduct themselves that we the customer may not consider.

Is it the customers problem of course not. However, I try to be understanding of my fellow human beings.

Should a professional sales person allow personal issues to affect their performance - of course not - however, I've never considered someone in a music store a professional salesperson - they are musicians (or wanna be musicians) working a day gig that doesn't require professionalism. In fact most of the musicians I know who work in music stores are ill fitted to work in a true business environment.

Regaring your statement about a Mars sales person cleaning up, for the sake of discussion, if someone sold $10,000 in one day (which while achievable it is not realistic) - they would make $100 in commisions. I don't consider that cleaning up - nor do I consider it enough to deal with people who get "so pissed I want to punch him".

Regarding your last comment, you are correct I should not (and have chossen not to) work with the public again - primarily because there are way too many people who think thier purchase is the most important thing in the world or who feel their time is too important to wait their turn, or who simply feel that retail people are obligated to kiss their asses.

While I'm not suggesting you personally reflect any of those traits, your original post did suggest someone with a degree of anger, directed at a poor (although foolish) sales person.
 
It's foolish to expect any kind of service from a large discount retailer. If you want service than pay higher prices and go to the pro shops.

I don't get upset when the clerk at wall mart doesn't know shit about anything and I pretty much expect that when I go to GC. Hell, the last time I bought XLR from them I realized later the guy gave me a bunch of DMX cable.

Do your research before hand, have cash or card ready and make time because you will probably wait. But hey, you save some bucks.
 
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