C’mon Allan’s, c’mon
As a long time amateur musician, I have often had cause to notice the lousy levels of service found in musical equipment stores. When I was a young ‘stratling’ these places were plain intimidating; populated as they were by rock star look-a-likes who seemed to feel customers were simply there to practise sneering at.Things have improved over the past 30 years or so, but music gear, especially when combined with one of the maddening things about Australia – the extent to which retailers routinely ‘dis’ their customers with high prices and sloppy service – still attracts those who carry more than a whiff of superiority in their dealings with the customer.So, it is with great pleasure that I am now able to walk out of an unresponsive store that is charging at least $150 over the odds for an item, confident in the knowledge that I can buy it with a few clicks from overseas and save significantly even after adding postage and duty.
However, I would be happier still if retailers realised the extent of the revolution that is happening all about them and worked a little harder to keep my shopping real rather than virtual. I can’t help thinking that Australian retailers (and Allan’s Music in particular) are in for a rude awakening. So c’mon guys, how about a little less greed and bit more recognition that the world is not as far away as it used to be?
