Shocking Service - Home A/V?

Alex3 · Post by **Alex3** » Thu, 18 Jun 2009 9:02 pm

I finally have a green light to purchase a state of the art home theater system after many years of being torpedoed by my better half. My budget for all components including plasma screen is about $12000. I keenly studied up on the latest kit and trotted off to Audio House Liang Court armed with model numbers, specs & market prices to see what sort of package they could put together. Foolishly I thought being in the middle of a recession that they would be welcoming & more than happy to put together, sound room tests, give specialist knowledge and create a decently priced package for me. How wrong I was. I went on a week day, not busy in store, staff everywhere. It was like I was an inconvenience, interrupting their chats with other staff members. Then when one of them decided to help me he tried to sell me an "in store" component set up that I didn't want. I showed him the models I wanted and he directed me to somebody behind a desk. I handed him the list and he said because the items included a camera (camera dept) tv (TV dept) and home A/V (audio dept) that I would need to go to each dept for individual quotes. I told him I didn't have the time or inclination to deal with 3 different departments for one sale. He offered to compile a quote and email me the price "by tomorrow" - that was 9 days ago. I have been in today and was told "he is still working on it" Never will these people get my 12k. I recommend anyone wanting to spend their hard earned cash on technology go elsewhere. But where?

Pripps · Post by **Pripps** » Thu, 18 Jun 2009 9:10 pm

I think you did the right thing in doing research before, that is something I also learned here to do a bit of homework before hitting any of the shops. I have experienced more often than not that the shop attendants here in SG don't have a clue what they are selling.

Alex3 · Post by **Alex3** » Thu, 18 Jun 2009 9:19 pm

I completly agree Pripps. The staff there seem completely disinterested. I have been in Singapore for 18 months now and I just don't understand what is going through the heads of sales/service staff here. I wonder are they arrogant, ignorant or just plain vacant?

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:31 pm

Alex3 wrote: or just plain vacant?

The term 'blur like sotong' came about for a reason...

Alex3 · Post by **Alex3** » Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:42 pm

I had to look that one up on the "Talking Cock" website. The perfect analogy.....also one might as well offer 12k to a squid. Maybe the squid would appreciate it more!

QRM · Post by **QRM** » Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:24 am

I have to admit we all had a bit of a shock when we arrived, which is odd because when you fly in on Singapore airlines the service is stunning, so it show the Singaporeans are capable.

We came here and bought our AV set up (a well known US brand,) after paying a small fortune for it they said delivery was extra, then they said they could not install it and suggested we try an independent installer at our cost, and he was busy so we had to work around his timings.

As a comparison we bought the exact same unit in HK, by the time we got home the installer was waiting at our door. They installed it all, a year later we moved house the same guys came and re-set it all up in the new place at no extra cost, now that is service for you. If we ever go back to HK I will buy from them again.

Alex3 · Post by **Alex3** » Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:57 am

QRM. If I ever get to HK I will surely seek out the name of your amigos! ....pay the money and let them worry about it. None of this "We will set it up, but then you need someone to do trunking, someone else to do calibration", buy this really, really expensive HDMI cable etc. For me its a big purchase. The 3rd biggest after house and car (don't tell the wife she will be looking at her ring finger) . There are flashes of great service around Singapore that make me feel good about deciding to settle here (have recently received PR) for example attentiveness of restaurant staff in my local Indian. I could name many more. I just think that some of the retail/sales staff are blase' to say the least. I have been on all the major (tech) shop floors recently and they are seriously quiet compared to 18 months ago. Maybe the end of the halcyon days will be a blessing in disguise for some of these sales people. In the meantime I am holding onto my money.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Fri, 19 Jun 2009 1:05 am

Alex3 wrote: There are flashes of great service around Singapore that make me feel good about deciding to settle here (have recently received PR)

Yeah, those flashes of service are so few and far between, that I'm ready to give up my PR and go back to the farm (4 more years). It wears thin after a while.

Post by **jpatokal** » Fri, 19 Jun 2009 3:34 pm

Instead of mass market electronics shops like Audio House (which, despite the name, seems to mostly sell washing machines and blenders), you'll probably have better luck dealing with the small, specialist hifi shops at The Adelphi (opposite Funan). Not cheap, but you did say "state of the art"...

sillingw · Post by **sillingw** » Mon, 22 Jun 2009 5:17 pm

If you already know the components you want, do it yourself, shop around for the prices of the components, buy them and put it together at home in your own time. Yes, some of it will be a struggle, yes some of it will take time to get working. But - you will then understand how it all works, what can be easily upgraded and which are the weak links - do not rely on a poorly trained incompetent av technician to do this for you - waste of money (not just in Singapore, but most places) - It's really not that hard.

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Shocking Service - Home A/V?

Shocking Service - Home A/V?

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