You know what I'd like to see?

[bennychico11]

I went to the local Guitar Center today and asked the salesman there if they had microphones set up to take a listen to. He said no they didn't, that they were behind this glass case and acted like it would be a huge inconveinence for him to set some up for me. It was as if I asked the most stupidest question ever. When I commented on how I thought it was weird that they should keep audio gear (especially something as important as microphones) behind a glass case, he replied "Well...they are expensive." Yeah they are...about the same price as each of those monitors/synths/rack gear and mixers you have sitting out in the room hooked up!! Then he said "If you want I can set one up, but are you for sure going to buy one?" Sam Ash is the same way.
I remember back when Mars Music was still around they had a room designated for just microphones. All of them set up with headphones so you could try out them individually and press a button to toggle between a few of them. Mics are such an important peice of gear that it would really be nice if some of the big stores allowed you to just walk up to one and try it out so you're not buying strictly on sight. Oh well.

 

[radzikk]

Man, where the hell do you live. Because it sounds just like here. I moved to Cincinnati about a year ago, and thats the same tude I get. Back home in NY, the music stores would do just about anything to sell you something, but out here...
I guess someone will buy it just for the hell of it
-k

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

While I agree it IS a stupid policy - especially that retarded "...too much trouble unless you're going to buy one for sure..." comment - the thing is, you're unlikley to be able to tell much from trying the mic out on a showroom floor.

There's really no other way than to take them back to your own environment and check out there. (Which is why it pays to become a regular at a good pro audio store, as most good places will lend out their gear for trials to their best customers!)

 

[boingoman]

While I agree it IS a stupid policy - especially that retarded "...too much trouble unless you're going to buy one for sure..." comment - the thing is, you're unlikley to be able to tell much from trying the mic out on a showroom floor.

There's really no other way than to take them back to your own environment and check out there. (Which is why it pays to become a regular at a good pro audio store, as most good places will lend out their gear for trials to their best customers!)

You hit it.

It is expensive to set a whole ton of mics up and keep them just for demos, also. 128 Guitar Centers, five mics each, say $60 apiece for convenience, that's $38,400 tied up. At a minimum. And no matter how many you have set up, the customer always wants to try the only one you don't have on display!
Headphones, mixers, a room, floor space, it ain't cheap, and margins get tighter all the time for retailers with actual floorspace and overhead not to mention that mics make good "pocket candy". And no one spits on mixers and monitors .

The store I used to work at, we knew all this and would go out of our way to set people up with stuff in store. And like Bear said, loyal customers ( not necessarily ones who had spent a lot even) were free to take stuff home and check it out. And like he also said, it doesn't matter which way it goes- it's the store's attitude that makes or breaks it.

Choose your time to go, also- Saturday afternoon for instance isn't a time when your gonna get really good service no matter what. As you can tell from looking here, people like to talk gear- salesmen aren't any different and actually will appreciate you picking your time so they can help- if they are good. I even used to make appointments with people to come in sometimes, even if all they were looking for was a cable. Relationships are important.

 

[c7sus]

C'mon. Have you ever walked into a GC that didn't have one of every fuckin Korg and Roland keyboard laying around??? They get all that stuff on consignment, they don't pay for it up front. Just like car dealerships.

If the salesman doesn't have time to demo something for me, then he doesn't have time to get a sale from me either.

 

[notbradsohner]

i have a job at GC for the summer. I was fairly knowledgable about recording when i went in, so i was assigned to that "sector." I realize that mics are an important part, so i . asked my boss the same question. why cant we have a mic setup room/testing room. I suggested that we cut our room entirely dedicated to symbols in half, leaving us with a room about 30' by 50'. He said, that not enough people buy mics to get a whole room. He showed me a email that was sent out to all the managers, clearly stating what to use floorspace for. it continued to explain that if somebody is going to come into GC where they need to buy an expensive mic, they obviously already know they will buy it.

so much BS................ill try to get that email to post here

 

[Marik]

Hmm,

Here in Salt Lake City when I got my pair of Oktavas 012 they let me go through all their stock. It was about 20 mics at least, IIRC.

 

[bennychico11]

I guess it really all depends on what day you go in and what kind of salesman you get. Some might be happy to hook some up for you. And I agree that usually people know already what they are going to buy...but it's the same thing with mixers, monitors, synths, etc. Everyone usually has an idea, but it's also to good to try it out one last time before buying to make sure that deciding on that pair of monitors or that one mic is what we really want to do. Therefore we don't walk out of the store going, "Ah, crap! Did I do the right thing?" But then again, what about those of us who don't have access to a recording studio where we can decide on the mic before going? It may sound good on paper, but I'd like to hear a mic before buying. And something like the Blue Ball mic....I don't really see that around a lot, and would be interested in hearing it. You're right in saying you never know until you take it home, but if trying it out in the store is the only thing I'm able to do, then you can bet that's what I want to do. Better safe than sorry.

 

[boingoman]

C'mon. Have you ever walked into a GC that didn't have one of every fuckin Korg and Roland keyboard laying around??? They get all that stuff on consignment, they don't pay for it up front. Just like car dealerships.

If the salesman doesn't have time to demo something for me, then he doesn't have time to get a sale from me either.

Retail consigning is called floor planning. It is administered by financing companies, not the manufacturers, except for huge companies like GMC. Even then, the finance section is set up separately. GMC has GMAC, it's finance branch.
Not every company works like Roland, and not all of their products are floor planned. It's generally reserved for items with serial numbers only, so the finance company can track sales. Korg doesn't floor plan.
Fender does, but again not across the board. Floor planning has only recently entered MI sales. By far the majority of MI companies still operate COD or standard 30-60-90 day billing terms. I imagine that will change as time passes.

And stop being so grumpy I try to see if the guy is at least making an effort, and if he's too busy I'd rather have him tell me than blow someone else off to make time for me. Cause I could be the one getting blown off next time. I was never sad to see customers with the now or never attitude leave. In my experience they never stopped being high maintenance complainers, no matter how much effort I made. Not worth it no matter how much cash they drop, cause they always come back, and always complain.