Appointments for Guitar Shops?

Parker

I guess I have been under a metaphorical rock for the past five years as have been living in Oz, but since Covid, it seems a new norm to have to make appointments to go to a guitar shop? Is that right? Namely Vintage and Rare in Bath and Peach? I get the smaller boutique stores like V&R and G4U (who I appreciate have been that way for a lot longer), but didn't Peach spend a small fortune on their shop less than 10 years ago? And you can no longer just walk in? Seems ridiculous. Part of my growing up was walking shop to shop in each town and just browsing. Occasionally I bought. But this new business model just seems to be another nail in the coffin of the high street. Why bother having a shop at all? Just sell online and ship it out of a soulless warehouse and be done with it.

I am pleased to report that Australia still has a thriving face to face business model and small stores seem to thrive overall (noone is entirely immune to the box shifters, but they have held out well here....for now!).

revsorg

I wonder if the theft they suffered in 2018 was part of Peach's decision?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/17/couple-engage-musical-instrument-stealing-spree-walk-shop-11000/

Bigsby

Parker said:

But this new business model just seems to be another nail in the coffin of the high street. 

Don't you mean another nail in the coffin of the Industrial Estate? Peach aren't on a high street, which pretty much means anyone going there is doing so intentionally, rather than popping in whilst out shopping. The appointment model seems to make reasonable sense for them, as they could be sure to give more attention to anyone visiting the shop. 

(FWIW, I've never been to Peach, and only ever bought small items from them online)

Dominic

I think it's strange for any kind of retailer ......I would feel pressurised and uncomfortable in that environment .
Many is the time I have gone 'browsing' with no intention of buying ......and many is the time I have been smitten by something and bought it there and then or ended up going back for it a few days later after wrestling with myself .
 Ultimately ,running a shop is how some people feed their kids .......if I was a shopkeeper I wouldn't want to lose a single opportunity to make a sale no matter how many time-wasters I had to swim through to get there.
Ultimately if you've got to be there to put the lights on why not open the door ?

ToneControl

https://pressreader.com/article/281732680015089

ToneControl

Pragmatic approach is to have a special room for the pricey stuff.
I think highly skilled international thieves wouldn't travel long distance to steal a £1k guitar hanging in the shop

actually, putting security tags inside control cavities might be an idea too

guitars4you

Retail, rightly or wrongly, has changed so much - More so in the last 20 years post WWW - When I started full time in 1978 all your business came/went thru' the front door , via customer visits - Today I know the larger dealers in our trade are talking about 70/80% of their business is now mail order - The shop has far less purpose - Off course most manufactures/suppliers insist on a retail bricks 'n' mortar format 

I was chatting with an old friend at the guitar show this weekend about in store clinics - ie Line 6 Helix and the days when you might run such promotional events on a Sat when there was more foot flow - We both recall the days when Sat might well make up 50% of your weekly takings - Not today 

Of course such foot flow will depend on the location - Be it a high street store and/or part of a larger town/city

guitars4you

I changed pre-covid to appointment only - Covid and post covid  made a few stores, who had thought about such an appointment only concept, turn an idea in to reality

I'm different for a few reasons - One man business - In the sticks - Semi retired and only focused on a small selection of products in the shop that many players need/want - So never been a 'browsing' type of shop anyway - In fact many customers who traveled a fair distance would ring up before traveling anyway to check item X was actually in stock and don'ts ell it whilst travelling over - So in a roundabout way they were making an appointment anyway by telling me they are on the way 

But as I said my business model is totally different to that of Peach etc - In due course I on't have a shop - A small lock-up or even the 'bedroom' will be my format coupled with the shows as semi retirement beckons 

But I changed to appointment only, probably over 5 years ago now - Mainly because I could go 2/3 days and not see anyone in the shop - But still sell mail order - In short the shop was having less of an importance/need, as far as the customer was concerned - As such it became less productive 'use of my time' stood behind the counter wondering if the door wold open  

guitars4you

As I said retail has changed so much - 4 years ago my dad died - Shortly after, a customer from the past (Ian Lovatt - now a teacher nearer Brighton) contacted me to say sorry about dad etc - He rang up as he recalls the days back in the 70's, when he was just a kid, and Saturdays were a musicians meeting place - Of all ages - Dad always liked this community spirit - Ian loved those days and stayed with him - He said such a spirit encouraged him to play - Dad would have loved to hear such a story - But sadly such days have long gone 

WWW has a lot to do with it - As does the demise of the high street for whatever reason is dictating that - And there are multi reasons driving this - In my town, Ashbourne, the high street is often empty mid day on Monday and/or Tuesday - So much so that many shops are now closed those days, especially 'out of season' and trying to 'force business into more productive opening hours/days - Ditto bars, cafes, pubs etc - I reckon only 2/3 pubs in town are now open 7 days a week in my town 

Snags

revsorg said:

I wonder if the theft they suffered in 2018 was part of Peach's decision?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/17/couple-engage-musical-instrument-stealing-spree-walk-shop-11000/

Representatives of Peach have repeatedly commented on here explaining why they took the decision, and the theft wasn't part of it.

It was something that they started during Covid, and that they subsequently decided worked well for them with their general customer base and the kinds of people that shop there, the location of the store, blah blah blah. What they 'lost' in one area they have more than made up for in others through doing it. Apparently.

I can't be bothered to go dig all the other threads out, but this one is a candidate for a FAQ

Keefy

If I’m on the lookout for something then I absolutely don’t mind making an appointment. It’s always worth a call to make sure the things you’re interested in are in stock - even at Anderton’s, because it might be at the warehouse rather than the showroom.

What is disappointing is if I’ve gone somewhere for a day out with Mrs Keefy and take a swing round the music shops while she does her own thing - finding a notice at the door saying ‘appointment only’ is pretty annoying.

theatreanchor

This again?

prowla

theatreanchor said:

This again?

Maybe someone should've made an advance appointment to post the topic.

EricTheWeary

I've seen it on a few non guitar places, things like sportscar dealers to prevent (fairly literally) tyre kickers. If you are a potential customer and not just getting out of the rain you should have space and time to try your potential expensive purchase rather than trying to shout over everyone else. My only issue is as a customer it does feel like there is some pressure put on you, that it's harder to just walk away. But I appreciate that's more perception than reality most of the time. 

Roland

Snags said:

I can't be bothered to go dig all the other threads out, but this one is a candidate for a FAQ

Search “Peach appointment”, including the quotation marks, gets you: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/3741908

prowla

For me I rarely go out with the intention of going to a particular place and want to be able to stroll in and see what's available; by-appointment goes against that.

If it's a new item I know I want then I'll most likely check prices on the interweb and go for the cheapest or most convenient source; examples of specific new items include:

• A Behringer Toro.
• A Minitaur.
• A Behringer Model D.
• An MP-40 fx pedal.
  

I bought something from Andertons on the weekend (the Behringer Toro) - they had the best price and I could have a try and have it the same day; I did call in advance to make sure they had it.

But I've often wandered into a shop, seen something I thought was interesting, and bought it; examples of unplanned finds include:

• An Aria SB-600 bass.
• A Burns Flyte bass.
• A Warmoth/Status Graphite custom bass.
• An AMT SS-11B valve overdrive pedal.
• A Tokai Custom Edition Strat.
• A Dean Markley valve overdrive pedal.
• A Pete Longfellow aluminium Tele.
• An Ovation ukulele.
• A Hohner The Jack bass.

I'll also buy from eBay, personal ads on Facebook/BC/tFB, and things at shows/fairs.

Overall, I'm not sure by-appointment is my thing.

robgilmo

I am glad my local shops dont do this, its a lot of faff for a plectrum, especially considering I might not even buy it.

Tannin

It is just another way of doing business. It has advantages and disadvantages. If you don't like it, don't go to that shop. There are lots of other shops. 

I like appointment guitar shopping. Yes, I often just walk in, but where possible I phone ahead and arrange a good time, and even when I don't I try to come in on a rainy Wednesday morning rather than a busy Friday night. This indicates to the retailer that I'm a serious buyer - not just some random tyre-kicker - and worth spending time with, worth taking trouble for (bringing extra guitars down from the storeroom if they seem likely to be of interest, finding a quiet place for me to sit down with them and leaving me there to explore my options properly, stuff like that). I have had great experiences with many different retailers, and a lot of that I put down to respecting their time and working with them so that we can both get a good result. 

Haych

Swings and roundabouts, me thinks.

I would feel very on the spot under appointment conditions, not just pressured to buy but extremely self conscious about my playing while being watched, or at least in earshot.

Conversely, a while back as a spotty teenager I used to work in a busy music shop and it was at times pandemonium.  Guitars are surprisingly easy to steal and in a very busy shop keeping an eye on everyone to make sure they weren't walking out the door with guitar under their raincoat was hard work.

Then there was the battle of trying to help somebody on the phone while Yngwie J Barnpot tries out the new Marshall 100 watt stack 20 feet away at full chat.

Having an appointment system would have been a godsend in those days.

skunkwerx

Archery stores went the same way. Though they usually involve a few hour drive so not exactly the places you'd pop into for a browse. 

Its really great when I need new arrows or a bow. Because they will factor in set up time, tuning time and building time and you have the guys undivided attention. 

But its a real pain in the ass when you need an urgent fix for a tournament or something if something goes awry mid week.. these small things typically take less than an hour to remedy by an experienced person with the tools and gear to hand. 

It is annoying for small bits.. arrow vanes, points, nocks, or generally anything 'bolt on'.. as they still havent caught up to next day delivery when ordering online, and it could be anywhere from 3 to 7 working days.. and I'd really rather just make the drive on a day off to get it sorted in one morning so my gear is ready for the weekend shooting.

i'm so used to guitar stores and, well a lot of places offering next day haha. 

I ordered a new string for my longbow.. 5-6 week delivery time! Shop passes order to the bowyer who made the longbow in Wales, bowyer busy making custom Longbows for people.. 

Granted even strings are made to order but, it takes an hour or two for a bowyer to do this.. I keep meaning to buy my own jig and... attempt it myself.. 

Cols

Parker said:

Part of my growing up was walking shop to shop in each town and just browsing. Occasionally I bought. But this new business model just seems to be another nail in the coffin of the high street. 

Peach isn’t a high street store - it’s on an industrial estate.  It’s not exactly a place for popping into while you’re out for a stroll.

In any case, they’ve done the sums and the appointments model seems to work for them.