Sony Retail Shop Laugh

[Wedge]

Out of interest rather than intent to buy (I am happy with my MZ-NH1), I popped into the Cardiff Sony shop yesterday to see if they had an MZ-RH10 on display.

No, they didn't.

What I laughed at (well, an inward chuckle), was their display of the "New" MZ-NH1, STILL retailing at £299.99.

What planet are they on?

[Christopher]

I went to my first Sony store yesterday, sorta..it was an authorized Sony Outlet store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and was quite interesting. I actually found myself bouncing up and down like a schoolgirl at the inital sight of the sign which indicated that it existed - very strange. Fevering temptation, I was able to lead myself to the store despite the myriad of directional signs (really confusing layout they had in that parking lot, I swear) and obtain a decent parking spot.

Upon entrance, the scent of Sony overwhelmed me with their various products, and my internal radar activated and I immediately guided myself to the MD section - sort of like a dowsing stick being used in the desert to find water. Ha! Success; I found it. Oddly enough, there was an elderly old man already there seemingly yearning for a MD unit of some sort, carefully concealed within the glass structure next to the hard-drive player units such as the multicolored HD3 and monolithic Vaio Pocket.

I admired the Pocket and HD3 for a while, noting their rather small stature and attractive facades..but my eyes kept darting to the right via my periphal vision, considering the old man and his motives and trying to determine if he was just an operative to produce interest in the MD units themselves as he did nothing but stare in wonder. After what seemed to be a mental duel of Sergio Leone caliber, he finally retreated and it was all mine..

Basic units at best, the lowest models from last generation NetMD (with a rogue NF610), a NH600, and a plethora of Hi-MD discs. I took a few moments to consider each, as they were drastically reduced but I got no pleasure out of it.

The old man returned and I knew that he had the fever as well. I decided to let him shop more as his interactions with the glass display would be more fruitful than I and decided to look for my friend which accompanied me that day. The charlatan was browsing PS2 games. A few minutes of jesting was in order and I forgot all about the old man.

When I returned to the glass display, I realized the man was done for. A salesman. I decided to lean back against stacked boxes of a slightly outdated DVD player about two yards away and oversee this interaction. He was obviously misinformed, spouting mp3 compatibility in regards to the NH600, and some slight specs on the other various NetMD units. I kept to myself, knowing the entire time I could easily nullify more than 75% percent of his words with the cold hard truth, but I know that if someone had come to my work and started to correct me it would be rather annoying.

So, I kept to myself with a smug grin and my arms crossed, watching the poor old man bite on the NH600 that would most likely confuse him steadfast upon bringing it home. I chimed for a few Hi-MD discs and the salesman, who had already acknowledged my presence by seemingly changing his tone with the old man prior, looked up at me and said - "Are you sure? Do you know what these are for?"

I laughed slightly, knowing the hundreds of hours I've spent discussing and helping others with this format in various outlets, and said, "Of course, I will use them in my Hi-MD player."

Shock ran about the two men - I could just see the thought balloon eminate from their heads in a cartoonish manner; "Someone actually uses this crap?", and he quickly got the discs and left the old man to wallow in his thoughts of the NH600, but it did seem my interest may have clinched the deal; an affirmation to the old man was not alone. Before I left the pair, I asked the salesman if he'd ever heard of minidisc.org, and his reply somewhat surprised me, as most Sony employees that deal with Minidisc know of the site.

"Never heard of it, do they have good information there or something?"

Heh. Ah well.

[skmetal07]

wow, great story Kurisu!!

[Christopher]

I suppose..I will note that the only real highlight of the visit was seeing the Vaio Pocket - it was so much more mature in presentation in comparison to the HD3 and any of the MD units. I really hope that the Vaio division expands on that product line.

I swear one day I'll visit a real Sony store, not a podunk outlet in Amish country.

[Ishiyoshi]

Heh... amusing. Ah... so you finally got to see the Pocket. Brilliant little thing right? In addition, did you get to see the elusive blue HiMD while in the mother-ship?

[MusicBringer]

...in a scene like that I could not stifle the urge to chime in and say my piece. After all, I would like Mr Old Fellah to get a good machine that suits his needs. It's happened in the past. I've said my bit and then wondered off, only to find the other customer approach me latter (sometimes outside the shop) and seek my opinion . (On one occasion it was about a pair of socks ). The wife just walks on...

Edited May 8, 2005 by MusicBringer

[Christopher]

Ishii: No blue discs. They didn't even have second generation units, considering it's an outlet store. Although now I wonder why the Hi-MD discs I purchased were at the place - hopefully not a bad batch.

haha @ Musicbringer.

[D-EJ915]

I chime in a lot in conversations like that and salespeople hate it. Anyway, I'm kinda glad that there aren't any sony stores near where I live.

[konrad]

i went into my local sonystore inquiring about a record player a while ago, as i had seen one in there a few weeks before that. i asked the 'assistant' did they have any and he told me, 'no, no, sony dont make record players anymore".

on the way out, i spotted the same record player as a few weeks ago, and another look to confirm it was a record player and not a bloody microwave or something. more recently i read in the paper that sony make one of the nicest record players in the business. idiot!

is stupidity a pre-requisite for a job with sony? they really dont want to sell their stuff.

[Silvadragon]

Meh! My 'local' sonystore is on the other side of the town in chapel street as some of u melbournians would noe. Newayz i heard that the place called 'Go AudioVisual' @ Melbourne Central Shopping Mall is a certified sony retailer also they're going on about being some Sony World store or something?

Sounds interesting, i picked up my Hi-MD at JB Hi-fi, not at the Sonystore. But fair enough!

Nice stories guys

Edited May 9, 2005 by Silvadragon

[atrain]

go audio visual is average, decent range, sale staff have some product knowledge [!] but the prices are RRP with little space for negotiation.

[Silvadragon]

yeah, b4 i ever got a MD back in 2002 i bargained my way to a CD player there hehehe. Some dudes there noe some stuff, but i can't say too much about the other guys.

Newayz, i picked up a pack of 5 Hi-MDs for $AUD25 durring their rennovation sale, could u do that?

I like it cos they're competitively priced against JB and u can bargain with them depending on the staff

Edited May 9, 2005 by Silvadragon

[hobgoblin]

i have yet to encounter a salesperson on the floor that knows anything about the product he is selling as long as its a sales only place. now if the place allso do repairs then you may encounter the techies from the backroom moonlighting as salespeople at times and they know a fair bit more about what goes on.

still, md equipment is a bit special. if you talked to the same people about general audio/visual car/home equipment then they may present you with a bit more info. they are people to after all, and all people care more about what interests them...