Marco,
I can't agree with you enough. I've shopped at dance vinyl stores from LA,
SF, to Seattle, Boston and NYC, and the attitude at most of these shops can
be so degrading at times. That's one reason I like GrooveDis- no attitude
online ;)
Stores with "bad staff attitude" in my opinion (and I'm not gonna pull any
punches) include Wax Records in LA, Breakbeat Science in NYC, Higher Source
in LA, etc. I shop at these stores, don't get me wrong, it's just the
staff cops serious attitude much of the time. Stuff like hiding limited
releases for the staff & their friends, being rude when your tastes don't
match the staff's, just isn't "good business" but the market for dance
vinyl is small enough that they can get away with that kind of stuff. Dub
Spot/NYC is a great store but they cop attitude at times that they don't
need to. It's hard to say exactly what I mean but it's kinda like you have
to be a regular to get respect or something. I suppose that's only human
nature but it ain't the basis for a sound business.
Stores with little/no attitude, in my experience, would be Beatnonstop in
LA, Clear Music in SF (very friendly!), Throb in NYC, etc. It doesn't seem
to matter if you're big or small, it's about management and setting
expectations for their staff. In my experience, all it takes is one
friendly and knowledgeable staff person to really change the feel of a
store. There's one lady at Beatnonstop (I forget her name) who's so
friendly and helps anyone who walks in with a smile and a laugh. She's
also a veritable encyclopedia of information which makes her that much more
respectable. I've shopped at Clear Music/SF exactly once. It was such a
positive experience, and they were so friendly and helpful that I want the
whole world to know that it's a great dance vinyl store. That's the
difference- when you get customers as advocates, as "advertising" even,
then you know you're doing it right.
Amoeba/SF and Satellite/NYC are too big and too busy to have "attitude" but
you'll be ignored at either of those two larger retailers unless you ask
questions and pester staff. One funny thing about Satellite NYC is that if
you hang around for more than 30 minutes (which most people do over the
course of sampling the new releases) you're bound to overhear "yet another
staff argument" wherein Satellite staffers get chewed out in front of their
customers (not a good idea!) for doing something wrong. That's just tacky
and unprofessional, and we customers notice and it's uncomfortable for
everyone in earshot.
Dance music is such a small community overall (in comparison to other music
genres), and so dispersed all over the world, participants should be
working to expand the positives of dance music instead of being judgmental
or snotty about what you look like or what sub-genre you like.
I've gotten the least attitude in Tokyo, for what that's worth (maybe
'cause I look and speak the part.)
I'll go shopping for vinyl sometimes after work still wearing a suit and
tie. The looks I get from staff or even the other customers is priceless
as I wade through the bins and tuck my tie in my shirt. Then the next time
I'll go in with my fleece vest and my JNCO baggies and no one even notices
me. It's hilarious until you stop to think why people treat you
differently when you're dressed one way vs. another. Or maybe it's just
sad that even the dance music community, a classic "underground" community,
is home to all the same prejudices of people "aboveground." One would hope
for better...
Gen
At 11:26 AM 3/16/01 -0800, Marco Pringle wrote:
SNIP
>The other problem is that dance music stores
>always sport waayy too much attitude. Because i'm not
>wearing the latest in loose fitting synthetic fabrics and
>overbuilt sneakers, the guys look at me funny and don't
>give me the time of day. I hate spending time in, and
>supporting these shops. I suspect if I lived in a town with
SNIP
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat Mar 17 2001 - 00:01:11 CET