does sweetwater know when to give up?
does sweetwater know when to give up?
I emailed one of their reps asking for pricing on some stuff I was considering getting later in the year around february.
he emailed me back once, and I said I may consider it later. then he emails me back asking about the stuff, then I had two missed calls this morning from a number that wound up being sweetwater, and a voice message, where he didn't even get my full name right, asking about those potential purchases..
Seems a little sharkish to me. definitely never giving an audio vendor my real number again...
he emailed me back once, and I said I may consider it later. then he emails me back asking about the stuff, then I had two missed calls this morning from a number that wound up being sweetwater, and a voice message, where he didn't even get my full name right, asking about those potential purchases..
Seems a little sharkish to me. definitely never giving an audio vendor my real number again...
Real friends stab you in the front.
Oscar Wilde
Failed audio engineer & pro studio tech turned Component level motherboard repair store in New York
Oscar Wilde
Failed audio engineer & pro studio tech turned Component level motherboard repair store in New York
- ;ivlunsdystf
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My rep (I order there about once every 14 months) used to pester me after an order. I picked up one of the calls and politely told him to make a note never to call me again, with my future business as the reward. It's win/win: he knows I will keep ordering stuff now and then, and he doesn't have to waste any time on me. Much more effective than complaining here (which I have also done)
In a related note: Full Compass? WTF? I requested a catalog there (via their website) and started getting spam emails soon after. Then I started getting a sharp uptick in audio-related junk mail via US mail. However, they never sent me a catalog. Flakes?
In a related note: Full Compass? WTF? I requested a catalog there (via their website) and started getting spam emails soon after. Then I started getting a sharp uptick in audio-related junk mail via US mail. However, they never sent me a catalog. Flakes?
- scott macdonald
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Sweetwater order, a play in two acts:
ACT ONE:
Me: places order online ...
... two seconds pass, home phone rings
Sweetwater: HI, this is so-and-so with Sweetwater, i see you've ordered two rack trays and a six-foot xlr cable, is there anything else I can help you with today?!?
Me: (stifling giggle) No, thanks, that's it.
Sweetwater: OK, great, my name is so-and-so, be sure to call me for all your audio needs!
*curtain*
ACT TWO:
... one month has passed ... the phone rings
Me: Hello?
Sweetwater: HI, this is so-and-so with Sweetwater, how are those rack trays working out for you?
Me: (again stifling giggle) They're great, thanks.
Sweetwater: OK, great, my name is so-and-so, be sure to call me for all your audio needs!
*curtain*
*end*
ACT ONE:
Me: places order online ...
... two seconds pass, home phone rings
Sweetwater: HI, this is so-and-so with Sweetwater, i see you've ordered two rack trays and a six-foot xlr cable, is there anything else I can help you with today?!?
Me: (stifling giggle) No, thanks, that's it.
Sweetwater: OK, great, my name is so-and-so, be sure to call me for all your audio needs!
*curtain*
ACT TWO:
... one month has passed ... the phone rings
Me: Hello?
Sweetwater: HI, this is so-and-so with Sweetwater, how are those rack trays working out for you?
Me: (again stifling giggle) They're great, thanks.
Sweetwater: OK, great, my name is so-and-so, be sure to call me for all your audio needs!
*curtain*
*end*
- ;ivlunsdystf
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Hi-oooo!!!!!MoreSpaceEcho wrote:i coaxed a blistering solo outta your mom last night.
Matt Giles
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How much is a stamp? I'll buy the goddamn stamp.
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How much is a stamp? I'll buy the goddamn stamp.
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Ok. Yes, this does seem funny. But, when you consider some of the realities of being the the retail MI biz, it makes perfect sense:scott macdonald wrote:Sweetwater order, a play in two acts:
ACT ONE:
Me: places order online ...
... two seconds pass, home phone rings
Sweetwater: HI, this is so-and-so with Sweetwater, i see you've ordered two rack trays and a six-foot xlr cable, is there anything else I can help you with today?!?
Me: (stifling giggle) No, thanks, that's it.
Sweetwater: OK, great, my name is so-and-so, be sure to call me for all your audio needs!
*curtain*
ACT TWO:
... one month has passed ... the phone rings
Me: Hello?
Sweetwater: HI, this is so-and-so with Sweetwater, how are those rack trays working out for you?
Me: (again stifling giggle) They're great, thanks.
Sweetwater: OK, great, my name is so-and-so, be sure to call me for all your audio needs!
*curtain*
*end*
1-Not everyone is an experienced engineer. You don't have to pass some kind of test to order from SW. And its on the internet. So how does Sweetwater know who you are? How often do they call customer X to find out that the customer ordered the wrong item? Its a lose-lose if a person orders the wrong stuff and then wants to send it back for a refund. The customer has to wait for the right gear and SW is out the extra shipping and now has some more open-box inventory they they can't sell for full pop.
2-Its called add ons and its a fact of life in all retail. How do they know you didn't finalize your order while completely forgetting you needed wind screens too? Having worked for a MI retailer in a brick and mortar environment, this approach made me a lot of money. Every time, before I finalized the sale, I'd ask the customer if they needed anything else. One in five would add something to the ticket, either because they forgot, they though I didn't have it, or they thought I couldn't sell it to them because they wanted a snare head or a guitar stand or something outside my department.
3-The follow-up is a good thing, usually. I used to tell my guys to skip call-backs on accessories, unless they had a good relationship with the client or they knew from talking to the client that there maybe be issues with that particular transaction. But, Sweetwater doesn't have the luxury of that type of personal interaction with their clients. So, rather than giving their call center people the option, they just call everyone on every sale, every time. Me, I'd rather get the call than not.
4-Consider the alternative. Imagine if Sweetwater handled its business like Guitar Center, based more on volume than customer relationships.
This is where it gets weird for me, maybe. If they build a $1000 quote for you, a call/email makes sense. I'm also curious about the wording of the correspondence. There's a difference between "Are you ready to buy this stuff" and "I wanted to follow up with you and see how things are going". Really, this is where they suffer. i had the ability to read my customers and spend time learning about them. So I knew who I could call and who I couldn't. And I had better info for a pretext. If I knew someone was looking for a...say...Firewire to ADAT interface, I had people I was on the phone with when M-Audio released one. I had one guy who lived 90 minutes away who had a standing request for calls whenever we bought a used Akai MPC 2000xl.????? wrote:he emailed me back once, and I said I may consider it later. then he emails me back asking about the stuff, then I had two missed calls this morning from a number that wound up being sweetwater, and a voice message, where he didn't even get my full name right, asking about those potential purchases..
In business in general, there a two basic models. One is to try to close as many transactions as quickly as possible (transactional basis), the other is to try to understand your clients as thoroughly as possible and cater to their needs(consultational basis). SW started out in the first model and is trying to move to the second.
Prog out with your cog out.
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