Brand Loyalty

[DaveyF]

we had dueling high-end stores where I once lived each with their own loyal following. I stuck with the bohemian/laid back store, they embraced tubes and almost exclusively demoed with vinyl (still has 35,000 LPs on display for sale). the other shop played the same audiophile drek over and over and the clientele was more uptight/constipated. I ended up owning more Conrad Johnson and krell than I wanted (the other store had ARC and levinson) I did flirt with buying from the 'other place' but I remained loyal. to this day we remain great friends, whenever I stop in we talk about everything under the sun except audio (a good thing)

Rob, of course I know which stores you are talking about. I actually had an affinity for the store that had the more uptight/constipated clientele, LOL. That was until one day about 20 years ago, I went into the store and one of the salesmen confronted me with verbal abuse. He was unhappy because I had been in the store for about ten minutes and had not bought anything! Said to me that I was always loitering and a waste of his time!! ( Even though I had spent many thousands of $$'s there in the past).
I was pretty incensed by his behavior/ accusations and demanded to speak to the owner...whom I always assumed was a friend as well as 'good guy'. Owner comes out and immediately starts to berate me with similar drivel. I have never set foot in that establishment again, and I never will. OTOH, the more laid back establishment has now benefited from my business on several occasions. ( Even though the owner can be a little....).

 

[scouter]

For me, the OP's list of reasons for brand loyalty to Wilson aren't very important. I don't care if someone claims to know how to setup speakers and sends me invitations to parties. To me, brand loyalty is like when you have to move and you call your friend and ask him for a hand moving your the refrigerator. Does he take your call? Will he come over and bust his ass for you WHEN YOUR REALLY NEED IT? That's what brand loyalty is all about, IMO.

I'll give you guys a YG example. I blew my tweeter in my left speaker about six months ago because of user error. Prior to that, I had dropped my left speaker onto an amplifier. Of course, the amp took the majority of the damage. But, there were some marks on the inside panel of my YG speaker.

I had to send my speaker back to Colorado to get the tweeter replaced. While it was there, I asked Yoav Geva about the panel and how much it would cost to replace it. He said he would look into it. Next thing I knew the speaker was shipped back to me within one week via FEDEX freight. I called my dealer. When I got the speaker, I discovered that Yoav had replaced the scratched panel with a new one and tweeter was replaced with a new one as well. Yoav Geva never sent me a bill and never charged me a cent for return shipping. All of the replacement parts and labor were free of charge even though all of the damage to the speaker was 100% my fault and technically not covered under the YG warranty. To this day, I never got a bill from YG.

That's what makes brand loyalty for me.

Michael.

Dallas,
You are very fortunate. I was not so lucky. I had a 1 1/2 scratch on my Carmel, in the back spine area. YG had stopped the original method of applying black to the metal since I had purchased my speakers. My options: Pay $3000. to get both spines replaced with the new method, pay $1800 to get the one repaired the new way, which wouldn't have matched, or leave as is, and take a loss on any sale. Not saying that this was poor customer service, but certainly not what you received. It will be interesting to see where YG falls in future customer experiences.

 

[puroagave]

OTOH, the more laid back establishment has now benefited from my business on several occasions. ( Even though the owner can be a little....).

at least he doesn't hold you in contempt and has better rapport with his customers than the other guy. this a people business at the end of the day, he that under-promises and over-delivers will likely have the most loyalty.

another thing: duck dynasty has forever changed our perception of how we judge a person's wherewithal. back in the day I cant tell you how many times I've seen people ignored b/c of stereotypes or like me, didn't fit the mold (too young).

 

[thedudeabides]

Comparing Jobs to Wilson is utterly ridiculous within the context of what Mr. Jobs did to make this world a much better place to be via technology created by Apple and used by the masses.

What has Mr. Wilson done that is evenly remotely close to Mr. Jobs from this "collective" perspective?

And making speakers for the mid-upper to upper income level folks doesn't count.

Please gentlemen, get a grip on reality.

GG

 

[rockitman]

This thread is not about comparing Jobs and Wilson. In tech, Jobs was the man. In audio speaker production Wilson has been at the forefront for many years. I am not saying there aren't other great speakers. Wilson changed what was possible back in the early 90's with Watt/Puppy. They were far ahead of most speaker makers back then.

 

[thedudeabides]

Dave Wilson is our Steve Jobs.

Sorry I misunderstood.

 

[thedudeabides]

This is preposterous. As a Steve Jobs admirer, it's just preposterous. There's absolutely no parallel between the life and work of David Wilson that matches Steve's.

Seems like someone else was also confused.

GG

 

[Bruce B]

Sorry I misunderstood.

I guess the same could be said about Dr. Bose and Noel Lee.... they were leaders in advertising and bringing the audio lifestyle to the forefront (as much as they're disliked!).

 

[mep]

Rob, of course I know which stores you are talking about. I actually had an affinity for the store that had the more uptight/constipated clientele, LOL. That was until one day about 20 years ago, I went into the store and one of the salesmen confronted me with verbal abuse. He was unhappy because I had been in the store for about ten minutes and had not bought anything! Said to me that I was always loitering and a waste of his time!! ( Even though I had spent many thousands of $$'s there in the past).
I was pretty incensed by his behavior/ accusations and demanded to speak to the owner...whom I always assumed was a friend as well as 'good guy'. Owner comes out and immediately starts to berate me with similar drivel. I have never set foot in that establishment again, and I never will. OTOH, the more laid back establishment has now benefited from my business on several occasions. ( Even though the owner can be a little....).

I think it was more the "always loitering and a waste of his time" that got you shown the door. And then you thought the owner was your friend and he tells you that you are a time waster too. Sounds like they had no use for your 'business' and were glad to see you gone. If I got treated like that, I would never step a foot in their business again either, even if they would let me. Talk about receiving the "Bum's Rush!"

 

[PeterA]

For me, brand loyalty depends on three things:

1. Sound of the product in the context of my system.
2. Relative value compared to competing products.
3. Excellent customer service/quality of product.

If those three things continue to be met and are superior relative to the competition, I will continue to upgrade within a respective brand. I do try to listen to other systems and components as often as possible, but have found that I tend to hold on to equipment for a while and stay within the same brands.

I try not to let advertising effect my decisions.

 

[microstrip]

For me, brand loyalty depends on three things:

1. Sound of the product in the context of my system.
2. Relative value compared to competing products.
3. Excellent customer service/quality of product.

If those three things continue to be met and are superior relative to the competition, I will continue to upgrade within a respective brand. I do try to listen to other systems and components as often as possible, but have found that I tend to hold on to equipment for a while and stay within the same brands.

I try not to let advertising effect my decisions.

IMHO this is not brand loyalty any more - it is just a set of conditions needed for a very rational choice. Brand loyalty would be:

1. Making small changes in your system to tune it to accept the product
2. Considering that the product is so much better than it is worth a small over cost compared to competing products.
3. Forgiving small service/quality problems.

 

[Bruce B]

1. Making small changes in your system to tune it to accept the product
2. Considering that the product is so much better than it is worth a small over cost compared to competing products.
3. Forgiving small service/quality problems.

That sounds like an Apple!

 

[Lee]

For me, brand loyalty depends on three things:

1. Sound of the product in the context of my system.
2. Relative value compared to competing products.
3. Excellent customer service/quality of product.

If those three things continue to be met and are superior relative to the competition, I will continue to upgrade within a respective brand. I do try to listen to other systems and components as often as possible, but have found that I tend to hold on to equipment for a while and stay within the same brands.

I try not to let advertising effect my decisions.

This is similar to the list I posted earlier.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

What part did I lie about?

You didn't lie, nor did I intimate you did. There is however a distinction as some have pointed out.

Brand loyalty is fleeting at best, although it could last for decades with some. Those however are the exceptions. There is no brand loyalty today . You're only as good as your last attempt and the world is a much bigger place today with many more options.

 

[DaveyF]

I think it was more the "always loitering and a waste of his time" that got you shown the door. And then you thought the owner was your friend and he tells you that you are a time waster too. Sounds like they had no use for your 'business' and were glad to see you gone. If I got treated like that, I would never step a foot in their business again either, even if they would let me. Talk about receiving the "Bum's Rush!"

Well Mark IF I had in fact ever loitered or wasted anyone's time in this establishment then maybe you could say that. However, since I had spent many thousands of $$'s with these guys...and this salesman and the owner knew that, plus I never spent any more time there than I thought was necessary to make a purchase decision---then perhaps you can see my displeasure with their behavior and accusations. Looking back on the situation, they actually did me a favor...I stopped giving these guys my money and instead directed it to people who were/are IMO FAR more deserving.

 

[c1ferrari]

Post 33 --> Phenomenal

 

[mep]

Well Mark IF I had in fact ever loitered or wasted anyone's time in this establishment then maybe you could say that. However, since I had spent many thousands of $$'s with these guys...and this salesman and the owner knew that, plus I never spent any more time there than I thought was necessary to make a purchase decision---then perhaps you can see my displeasure with their behavior and accusations. Looking back on the situation, they actually did me a favor...I stopped giving these guys my money and instead directed it to people who were/are IMO FAR more deserving.

Davey-If this happened to me, I would have kept this story to myself out of embarrassment. Apparently your idea of spending lots of money there and being a great customer didn't jive with their idea of what a good customer is. Based on the fact the store is still in business, they obviously haven't run off all of their customers. What there is no doubt about is that they didn't care for your business and they did run you off. The only clues we have to go on for why this happened is what you told us they said which was you were "always loitering and wasting their time." Whether that was true or not, it was quite obvious they had seen all of you they ever wanted to see and were glad to show you the door.

 

[puroagave]

Davey-If this happened to me, I would have kept this story to myself out of embarrassment. Apparently your idea of spending lots of money there and being a great customer didn't jive with their idea of what a good customer is. Based on the fact the store is still in business, they obviously haven't run off all of their customers. What there is no doubt about is that they didn't care for your business and they did run you off. The only clues we have to go on for why this happened is what you told us they said which was you were "always loitering and wasting their time." Whether that was true or not, it was quite obvious they had seen all of you they ever wanted to see and were glad to show you the door.

Mark, in Davey's defense you got to know something about the store. they size you up immediately as you walk in, it was not uncommon to see other 'philes wondering the halls like zombies b/c no one offered assistance. their idea of eye contact is the 'stink eye' as in get-outta-my-listening-room-i've-got-a-demo-to-give stare. they've been known to write letters to mfrs warning them of specific persons they spent time with that bought or are trying to buy somewhere else (hmmm...you wonder why they couldn't close the sale to begin with).

 

[mep]

Mark, in Davey's defense you got to know something about the store. they size you up immediately as you walk in, it was not uncommon to see other 'philes wondering the halls like zombies b/c no one offered assistance. their idea of eye contact is the 'stink eye' as in get-outta-my-listening-room-i've-got-a-demo-to-give stare. they've been known to write letters to mfrs warning them of specific persons they spent time with that bought or are trying to buy somewhere else (hmmm...you wonder why they couldn't close the sale to begin with).

I hear you Rob. Davey wasn't a new customer that wandered in there for the first time though. According to Davey, he had been there many times and spent "thousands of dollars" and thought the store owner was his friend. So this shouldn't have been a case of the new guy wandering in and getting the hairy eyeball and being sized up for how much cash they had to spend and then being shown the door. There are always two sides to every story and we only know one side. The one side we were told I personally wouldn't have shared because the only thing that is certain is they didn't want Davey's business.

 

[DaveyF]

I hear you Rob. Davey wasn't a new customer that wandered in there for the first time though. According to Davey, he had been there many times and spent "thousands of dollars" and thought the store owner was his friend. So this shouldn't have been a case of the new guy wandering in and getting the hairy eyeball and being sized up for how much cash they had to spend and then being shown the door. There are always two sides to every story and we only know one side. The one side we were told I personally wouldn't have shared because the only thing that is certain is they didn't want Davey's business.

You're right Mark, I wasn't by any means a new customer. Like Rob stated, their treatment of new customers is appalling and makes one wonder how they get any new customer's. However, since you know this store so well and the owner too, I can be assured that your comments speak to the situation. Sure they have their opinion of the situation, which I couldn't give a hoot about....my reason for posting this experience has to do with the following: we are talking about brand loyalty ...and to extrapolate to dealer loyalty. Trust me, I was VERY loyal to this dealer, however, like my point in my prior post, my loyalty quickly changed with this insult. I would suspect that anyone would do exactly the same thing given the circumstances...IF they were treated this way by a dealer OR by a manufacturer! Perhaps NOW you are understanding my point.