My visit to the local shop

[Spr0ket 10+ year member]

I know they **** and of course there employees are all complete dips! But thats okay. They still carry fairly decent equipment and especially the Type-R everyone on this forum is in love with. Not many people know better then to step outside of CC and BB and if they end up gettin' the Type R etc. they've gotten themselves some fairly good equipment. Yes the guys there have no idea what there talkin 'about but who cares. They can get there company sued then. I mean before I knew anything, I was looking around at CC and BB. Then I finally stepped out of those two and now I'm looking into high end audio.

Okay, you've got that... it's a perfect place for a noob to look into car stereo, but one of the worst places to get ideas from or even ask questions. If you ask to speak with an installer, you are shoved away and told the sales reps will answer your questions (more often than not). The problem is, if you don't have a great install shop like the one local in my area, you can't really recomend an audio noob to go anywhere but bb/cc or the internet (if they have the time/means to research online). Even then, you're going to get the mixed bag of cr ap with the shovels of sh it thrown in with a sprinkle of good information. The local shop will sell what they carry, but they will also recommend stuff they don't if your needs differ from what they offer. That's fantastic service if you ask me.

I personally think the best places to learn about car audio equipment and setups are from the audio competitions where you can speak with many people who know their stuff. This is especially true if you can't find a good local professional install shop.

 

[Cris 10+ year member]

So long as we're sharing somewhat "stupid people blabbing about stuff they don't know about" i'll share this.

my friend's bro-in-law asked me the other day what I had in my car. I went on to describe my subs, my 2 amps, head unit, components, location of components, etc etc.

he responds and he tells me about his old system, with "mtx speakers up front that were 900 watts" and "jvc speakers in the back that were 800 watts". Also, he went onto explain that he couldn't turn the system up beyond "10" because it was too loud at that point.

Needless to say, I ended that conversation asap.

 

[fancynapkin 10+ year member]

Every shop has different people working in them. Do you know how hard their job can be? They have to deal with douche bags like us who think we're know-it-all's, and yet their the ones who deal with this stuff for a living.

As for them trying to rip you off, Ive gotten my HU installed at circuit city before, and they've passed up opportunities to rip me off, like when they suggested I rip out some harnesses from my old car instead of having to buy new ones from them. They've also taken time to look over my install. But like I said, thats just where I am.

If a rep. tells you not to by sub X because he has seen lots of them break, you should probally take his word for it, and not some kid on a BB.

/end rant

 

[turnstylez18 10+ year member]

hey i dont mind bb stuff...as long as its good enough for me...here's the thing..best buy in canada doesnt carry alpine...they rf pioneer jbl jvc etc...yea canada is kinda crappy compared to us...but its not bad here

 

[Mr. Opportunist 10+ year member]

I will take the expertise of my local shop over 99.99999999999999% of what I have read on the forums. The other .000000000000001% is reserved for a select few.
To the orginal poster, do you think it is possible that the installer didn't understand the reference of "the big three." Maybe he knows the wiring, but just isn't familiar with that term. I am not saying that the big 3 is a waste of time, just that just because he didn't know that reference doesn't mean he doesn't know something.

He is right though, much of what is on the forums is bad information. You said, " he's start bad mouthing about bestbuy n all that..so im thinking he mite know a lot bout car audio"

That line is priceless for a few reasons. Anybody can badmouth BB or CC or whoever. Does that mean they "mite" know something about car audio?

I wouldn't let the local BB or CC change a fuse in my car, but there are BBs/CCs out there that do good work.

and i wouldnt listen to a **** thing that you say...

 

[B@SSAN8OR 10+ year member]

ok so this is funny... i used to work at a custom shop. gatelyaudio. i now work at best buy because i get paid better. i still use all of the things that bobby showed me and that i learned on my own.... also i went to mobile dynamics... most local shops do have stupid people working there i dont care how many years they have been working if they have been doing shitty work the entire time then someone on a forum or someone that went to school for it is going to know more about it. they just have car knowledge, and thats how to take the **** thing apart...

and since working at best buy i have an entire network that i can view of installs that people have come accross to help me out like our own forum were i can search for cars and see what wires i need to do an amp bypass in a bmw for example or how to take apart a brand new 2005 or 2006 vehicle.. something that a local shop would not know.

also most local shop installers are paid on a commision scale so if they do sell you something they still get a peice of it where as BB and CC are non commision so they could really care less if you buy it or not.

for me when a customer comes in and asks a technical question i will answer it and most the time they just get confused... when i do a system for them with a pioneer head unit i tune it up and make it sound way better then they or another one of my installers ever would. it could have to do with me going to school and learning about what sounds good. or going through the iasca training to become a judge or just from the years of listening to systems to see what sounds good. but i can make it sound great for a $1000 BB system. and the customer is really happy about... after i do it i tell them not to mess with the sound setup and if they do to write down what i did before hand or for them to just come back and i will tune it up for them...

so for the first poster with that guy he is an idiot...

my storie is when i was not an installer i bought a new car and wanted to have my system installed in it and i didnt want to do it so i took it to a local shop i had a 4ch pyramid amp (yea i know) powering my audiobahn dual 4ohm sub. and i had a 2 ch fosgate amp powering my 4 speakers at 2ohms.. the installer of 15years said why dont you use the fosgate to power your sub, so i said why dont you tell me how to make my fosgate 2ch amp got 2ohm stable bridged??? he said oh yea you cant do that...

so thats my story on how years of work doesnt always meen you know what your talking about

 

[DiamondFanatic 10+ year member]

I work at a local shop. I've only been with the company for 10 months, but then again I'm also 17. I also looked at going to a trade school, but then realized that I could get the same experience working at a knowledgeable local shop, and not have to pay for it. I looked around at all of em before setting my sights on getting a job at the one I work at. All of the employees are friendly, and the business has been local for over 13 years. It's outlasted Future Shop, Good Guys, and countless other local shops came and went over the years. The one thing that seperates it from the rest of the competition are the install manager who has been in the industry now for over 20 years and worked with the company since it opened, and the store manager who has been with the company for over 11 years now as well. They both have tons of knowledge and hands on experience, which is why I chose to work there as opposed to any other shop, because they are the best around.

If you guys haven't found a local shop that you like, try a couple more out because I find it hard to believe that none of them near you know anything. And to Bassanator, I'm surprised that you didn't know what sounded good until you went to Mobile Dynamics. A local shop might not immediately know what the "big 3" is, but they should know the benefits of increasing your ground potential. They might not be psychic enough to know that your audiobahn sub is a dual 4 ohm sub rather then dual 2 ohm, but keep in mind that they are working on this stuff all day for 5 days a week so don't expect them to always be 100% into what you've brought them to install in your car that day (he's probably also wondering why you bought an audiobahn sub and are trying to power it with a 4ch amp if he's been in the buisness for a decent period of time).

Try just being respectful when you deal with them and see what they have to say, granted there are some morons who work at local shops but give em a shot before you get agressive. I've dealt with some people who read about things online, have no grasp on the basics at all, but still think that they are god's gift to car audio, and they are no fun to deal with from an employees perspecitve either. And no, I'm not saying that the people on this forum are not knowledgeable, I've learned a lot of new things since I became a member (had never heard of RE or Sound Splinter before), but there are some people on here who have no idea what is going on that you have to just filter out.

 

[BassAddictJ 5,000+ posts]

Well a local store up in shreveport (Near my home town) Hooked up 2 JL amps a 250/1, and a 2150e off of 8 gauge wire, and they also applied some dynamat 1/2 of which fell off. And the best part is that they left a huge chunk of styrofoam inside the door pannel...so the window wouldnt roll down. All of this was in my girlfriends car...So the next day I take the car to the shop that did the install, and I tell them the problems. So an Hour later they come out, and say "Who touched the Gains on that amp?" I said that it was me, and that they (the shop) had them turned all the way up, so i went back and set them with a DMM. After I said that he replied "thats why it didnt sound right...Dont you know that the gains have to be maxed for the amp to reach its full potential". At that point I got the Keys took the car home, and re wired it myself (the way i should of done it in the first place).

i would have rose hell if that happened to me........holy crap...ignorance.....complete ignorance.....

 

[Spkrman]

My friend which owns his owns his own shop is great. He actually uses Car audio forums to learn. He even said he's checked this one out a few times. He knows about everything I've talked about with him, which my knowledge is limited but still pretty broad. He has some great installs!!! He also held the record for ICCA or w/e it is for loudest setup SPL wise or somethin' with his car a few years back. He has 4 15" Kove Armagedons in the back of a PT cruiser. It's frickin' loud as hell. You can't think when your sitting inside of the thing. Props to him at his shop!
But I don't understand why people dis BB and CC so much. They carry great equipment the people who sell it just don't know what there talking about. I mean for all those Type-R lovers BB is one of the biggest distributors of Type-R's on the market!? CC sells Kicker audio and Kicker amps which are both amazing etc. I personally am not a fan because if somethin' goes wrong I can't just talk to thme and they could help me but for the equipment it's pretty good.

custom audio... was in m4 last year - knew i remembered that install!

151.4.. I remember they did a bunch of runs and couldnt get it any louder... it was "supposed" to be alot louder.

141.7 at the headrest, not sure whats with that //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I was there with one of my early comp setups... the 2 stroker 15's in the halfwall. First show I broke a 50 at //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif. Did a 149.9 first run... then came back and did something to get those last .2 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

Event results page: http://events.mecacaraudio.com/eventresults.php?eventid=123

 

[JLCivic 10+ year member]

and i wouldnt listen to a **** thing that you say...

and that is your choice.

 

[JLCivic 10+ year member]

I work at a local shop. I've only been with the company for 10 months, but then again I'm also 17. I also looked at going to a trade school, but then realized that I could get the same experience working at a knowledgeable local shop, and not have to pay for it. I looked around at all of em before setting my sights on getting a job at the one I work at. All of the employees are friendly, and the business has been local for over 13 years. It's outlasted Future Shop, Good Guys, and countless other local shops came and went over the years. The one thing that seperates it from the rest of the competition are the install manager who has been in the industry now for over 20 years and worked with the company since it opened, and the store manager who has been with the company for over 11 years now as well. They both have tons of knowledge and hands on experience, which is why I chose to work there as opposed to any other shop, because they are the best around. If you guys haven't found a local shop that you like, try a couple more out because I find it hard to believe that none of them near you know anything. And to Bassanator, I'm surprised that you didn't know what sounded good until you went to Mobile Dynamics. A local shop might not immediately know what the "big 3" is, but they should know the benefits of increasing your ground potential. They might not be psychic enough to know that your audiobahn sub is a dual 4 ohm sub rather then dual 2 ohm, but keep in mind that they are working on this stuff all day for 5 days a week so don't expect them to always be 100% into what you've brought them to install in your car that day (he's probably also wondering why you bought an audiobahn sub and are trying to power it with a 4ch amp if he's been in the buisness for a decent period of time).

Try just being respectful when you deal with them and see what they have to say, granted there are some morons who work at local shops but give em a shot before you get agressive. I've dealt with some people who read about things online, have no grasp on the basics at all, but still think that they are god's gift to car audio, and they are no fun to deal with from an employees perspecitve either. And no, I'm not saying that the people on this forum are not knowledgeable, I've learned a lot of new things since I became a member (had never heard of RE or Sound Splinter before), but there are some people on here who have no idea what is going on that you have to just filter out.

Good post. Another thing that baffles me is this. People who go into a shop seemingly just to argue or see how many small name internet brands the shop knows. Many shop owners do this 5-7 days per week so when they leave work, they aren't home on the car audio forums. They have lives outside of car audio. One of the former owners of the local shop is the best installer I have ever seen and I would trust him to do anything with my car. He was never on the forums so he wouldn't know (ED, RE, Soundsplinter, etc) unless somebody brought one of those subs in. He is married with 2 kids. He has no interest in hanging out on the forums after working in the shop 6 days a week.

 

[Spkrman]

Good post. Another thing that baffles me is this. People who go into a shop seemingly just to argue or see how many small name internet brands the shop knows. Many shop owners do this 5-7 days per week so when they leave work, they aren't home on the car audio forums. They have lives outside of car audio. One of the former owners of the local shop is the best installer I have ever seen and I would trust him to do anything with my car. He was never on the forums so he wouldn't know (ED, RE, Soundsplinter, etc) unless somebody brought one of those subs in. He is married with 2 kids. He has no interest in hanging out on the forums after working in the shop 6 days a week.

this is very true.

The guys that go into a shop to hastle about random internet brands rarely are interested in doing more than wasting time anyway.

So long as the guy knows how to handle what the shop offers... thats all that really matters.

Or is it expected for someone who owns a shop to tell that everything they sell is garbage, so go buy yourself a (insert random internet company)...?

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

I rarely have use for shops as I bought most of my gear online and installed it myself but I've spent a fair bit of time in one joint...and that shop has more than knowledgeable staff and installers.

Will they try to sell you on the brands they carry? Sure they will! As they have contractual obligations to the manufacturers whose gear they retail of course they would. I would realistically expect no less from them or anyone else whether it be a smaller, local type of affair or the nearest branch of a national "big box" chain store.

It's the service you receive at any given store that, IMO, will make or break the possibility of continued and/or recommended patronage.

The only place close to where I live that deals DAT gear treats people with respect and that I have witnessed doesn't try and flatly screw you if you're the inevitable n00b walking in the door with a bit of change in your pocket. I've personally seen them steer a customer away from a more expensive item if something that would save them some scratch would do the job as good or better.

Would he be happy to sell you a pair of D9 15" subs and a 1500.1 (or two) to drive 'em with if you were so inclined? Yup. He sure would and why not? Selling is what puts food on his plate. But I know from experience he's not going to try and **** you just 'cause he sensed an opportunity appear. If he can tell there's something that someone just plain doesn't understand what it does/why they would want~need it/end result that they'll glean from it, he doesn't mind taking the extra time to explain exactly (*fill in random ? from above*).

Someone that knows exactly less than nothing about aftermarket car audio could go in there, get hooked up with whatever, and leave with (A) Decent gear and (B) A sense that they'd gotten good value for however much $$ they spent.

But in the past I have been around sales and install staff both from national chains and smaller shops alike that knew their stuff and some that didn't.

I don't think that the quality of service you would receive at any given place depends so much on the type of establishment in which an individual works so much as it would the individual themselves. Either a person knows their stuff and has positive customer service skills or they don't - regardless of whether they work at any of the countless BB/CC stores or Smitty's Super Stereo in Poughkeepsie.

Just my $0.02.

 

[turnstylez18 10+ year member]

yeah i think its the service too...i try to respect most guys at local places cuz i dont wanna be an ***...so i keep my mouth shut at local places and see what they have to say...i respect what they're doing and i do know they have a job to do even though they may not know about some things...i dont even know a lot..just got into this months ago...

but i am actually getting my components install at this place since i dont know how to take out the door...dont wanna mess it up...and ill see how they are

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

the big 3 in real life applaction at a shop, is a wast of time.