some said that not only the bees are gone, even the trees are gone! so, let me put things in perspective...

if you want to get rich these days, doing hifi business is the last thing you would consider. so by that simplistic assumption, most of our dealers are passionate about hifi. having said that, there are certain things that we audiophiles would like the dealers to know:

[1] if we hang out in your shop once in a while does not necessary mean we are obligated to buy things from you. we can be interested in your company, your knowledge or simply we have nowhere to hang out when our missus do her shopping. of course, we would be nice not to disturb your customers or disrupt your business, or pass judgement about the gear that you are selling, or badmouth you behind your back.

[2] if we wear shorts and slipper doesn't give you the right to assume that we can't afford your stuff. in fact, most of us are rich enough to spend on hifi. it is a matter of which dealer we like to do business with. we only do business with people we like.

[3] if we support and worship brand "A" and if you happen not be a dealer for brand "A", doesn't mean you can criticize about it. there is this term we created in english and it is called "sour grapes".

[4] even if we can't afford your stuff now, it doesn't mean we can't afford it in another 5 years' time when we become manager, GM or director, or better still, a multi-millionaire. first impression counts, if you are hostile to us in the first meeting, chances are you are screwed and we will never buy from you in our lifetime.

[5] if we bought brand "A" from a previous dealer who has relinquished dealership and passed on to you, you have full obligation to repair my brand "A" should it be faulty or problematic. yes, we are willing to pay but stop being scornful, sarcastic, difficult and unfriendly and push all your responsibilities away

[6] sometimes, we know that we can get cheaper elsewhere and yet we buy from you because we expect good after-sale service so please don't frown on us when we bring back the gear for repair or check-up.

[7] and if you do come to our house, please stop picking on stuff we didn't buy from you and use psychological tactics to make us feel bad about our buying decisions. and if you don't like the sound you hear from our system, please refrain from criticizing it especially if that item was not bought from you. doing that will show that you have no respect and decency for your competitors. if you must comment, please give us constructive comments like how you can help to improve the sound without spending another RM5K on another upgrade.

[7] and lastly, if you can, invest on a decent showroom to showcase your stuff to the best of their ability.

if the audiophiles, the music lovers and the dealers and the media can all put their collectively efforts to promote, disseminate, share, exchange, discuss this hobby for the pure love of it, then the bees will come back and we would all expect a bountiful harvest on the hifi trees in the not-too-distant future ;-)

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

You take the words right out of my mouth Maggie,!!!!

I think what you wrote is exactly what all of uus feel..

It can only benefit all of us

Anonymous said...

Brave Honest piece..

If only our politians follow your examples...

CHEERS!!!

Anonymous said...

Maggielurva,
Great site.
I am actually an expat and also a hi-fi lover,and I cant help noticing the paucity of Hi- fi dealers in malaysia.

There is a canadian HI-Fi mag Call UHF{Ultra-high-fidelity}That a lot of us read about abroad but I am not sure whether whether you guys have it here

Anyway,If you go to their website there is a section call SELLING HI-FI[It would be under their HI-Fi course sec}

Together with your piece,it would be a wonderful read for everyone..

Anonymous said...

Maggie,
Thank u for your passion.

20 years ago ,when I was a student in MU I walked into a Hi Fi shop in Pertama Complex looking at a pair of MS speakers and marantz electronics..

I was chased out like a dog and left a very lasting impression on me[The dealer is long gone of course,I am sure I wasnt the only one that was treated like that)

fast forward 20 years,..I am living my dream..Doing OK for myself and enjoying my Music to the fullest...

My speakers?Kharma Grand Ceramique

My amp?Karan Acoustics

My digital front?Metronome Kallista

None of the above I bought in Malaysia.In fact 20 years ago was the last time I ever went to a Hi-Fi shop in Malaysia...Even My plugs I ordered from abroad..

Everytime I passes through a Hi-fi shop ,I still could remember my humiliation as a young ,poor man ..
Now I am the one that has the smile whenever I listene to Eva Cassidy induces gooosebums on my neck for the millionth time...

Anonymous said...

I think The dealers should form an associations Like they haqve in UK;

They {and Us consumers]can benefit from having better informed dealers and they could also do joint promotions effort.

I also feel that Amcorp Mall and ampang park should be the main centres for Hi-Fi activities,you know our own Adelphi

Anonymous said...

FULLY AGREED WITH YOU!!!!!

especially the part abt buying here when you know u can get it cheaper elsewhere..
I do it on regular basis becuse the few people that I know are doing it for the love of it

There a shop in Penang call What Hi-Fi that is run by 2 wonderful brothers.I wish all Hi-fi shops are run like them.Nice people,knowladgeable ,passionate..and reasonably priced

Anonymous said...

Malaysian Dealers should have more websites

We are in the digital age now yet very few of the Malaysian -Owned Dealers have their website

They should have also a second hand section/demo unit that should be updated regularly.this is wwhere most people would start,withou feeling that they are wasting theit money...Don't worry upgrading is a disease that afflict all of us..

Thirdly ,I feel they should spend more on advertisement,internet or otherwise.I can't believe the amount Of money M'sian spend on Bose[I know it isn'tr hi fi ]but I think the dealer has done wonderfully to bring the brand to attention

Fourth ly Has an easy paying scheme.Very common in UK.Unheard of in Malaysia

CHEERS!!!!

Anonymous said...

Maggielurva,

I personally knows a few dealers that are very rich in UK
Still a lot of money to be made in Hi-Fi,but not if you run it in the same way.

You cant go wrongb doing what you love ,,,,the money will just follow..bBUT you need to EVOLVE and have a WEBSITE!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Maggie,
@ years ago I was ecstatic to find out that bThe reverred Bitish company Exposure is actually Malaysian -owned..
I make a dash to all the Hi fi shop in KL after reading the rave review in Stereophile.Not a single shop Sells the 2010s amp.How come?

We should also promote malaysian owned Hi-Fi companies and create greater awareness for them

Anonymous said...

every computer owner is a potential audiophile,every ipod owner is a music lover ,hence a potential audiophile

How many though of our dealers are knowladgable enought to tackle the above problems?

Heck, you can't even find a place where u can get everything under one roof,from power suuuly to turntable to high quality stand etc

maggielurva 愛美姬 said...

hi dato,

nice system! once bitten twice shy eh? it is malaysian dealers' loss not to have you as a customer

sam,
we can never have an equivalent of adelphi here. things are scattered all over the place, that's malaysia.

hafiz,
most dealers have websites, just that they are static and after some time, they become dormant :-( generally the dealers here are too concerned about retail biz without having the time to look at what's happening in the net.

henry, miau
things in malaysia move at snail's pace, what's happening elsewhere will take us another 5-10 to follow. just look at our government :-(

lim,
i did a write-up on promitheus audio in av xpress isseu #2 and subsequently posted it in the blog.