l've been a passionate B&O customer for many years, and have filled our house, summer house and sailing yacht with fantastic, timeless B&O products; 2 x Beovisions, BS9000, BL8000, BL5, Beolit, A1, A2, H8, H9 etc. We've been very happy with our local B&O store at Sandnes in Norway; the sales staff there are dedicated, skilled, service-minded, trustworthy and very helpful! However, due to the economic downturn in this part of Norway recently, they haven't been able to take in a pair of the new BL90 speakers to the Sandnes store. I have for the last year really wanted to have the opportunity to listen to the sound of the BL90s, to try to compare these with our own BL5s.
Last weekend my wife, our second eldest daughter and I went to Aarhus in Denmark. During a ½ day shopping round in Aarhus Centrum on Friday 3rd of March, I observed that the B&O store at Klostergade at Aarhus C had the BL90 setup in the store - Great ! So while my wife and our daughter went to the Envii store at the other side of the road, I went into the B&O store at Klostergade.
In the store I contacted one of the two B&O sales staff (call him "A"). The BL90s were set up together with a large Beovision Avant set. Impressive demo constellation! I explained for him ("A") that we have a lot of B&O products back home, incl 2 Beovisions and BL5s. And that I plan to purchase the new OLED B&O (LG-based) Beovision when it is released, hopefully later this year. I also said to him that since our local B&O store in Norway don't have the BL90s, I would really enjoy to listen to these. He then said: "You cannot listen to the BL90s, since they are not connected. We are doing rebuilding/moving in the store". I then asked: "When will you be finished?" He said: "Maybe tomorrow". I then left the store, a bit disappointed.
When rejoining my wife and daughter in the Envii store at the other side of the road, I thought that my wife at least should get a look at the BL90s. Being an architect, she enjoys good Danish product design. Therefore, all 3 of us went back to the B&O store at Klostergade. We went straight to the BL90/Avant showroom, and there we started talking to another B&O customer. I explained the whole story for him as well - our wish to listen to the BL90s. He said that the BL90 sounded amazing! The other B&O customer and my wife then got the attention of the other B&O sales person (call him "B" - not the "A" person that said that the BL90s were not connected), and "B" said: "Of course you can listen to the BL90s !". In the sweet spot mode, the BL90s sounded remarkable! Just amazing!
When leaving the store, we thanked "B" for the service. I looked for the "A" sales person, but he had left into the backroom of the store.
Walking in the streets in Aarhus afterwards, I got increasingly upset and sad. Sad on behalf of B&O, upset for how "A" have treated me. Why would a B&O sales person ("A") lie directly to a customer - claim that the BL90s were not connected and therefore not available for a demo? I would of course have understood if he had said that I needed to book a time-slot for a demo, or that their policy was not to give demos to customers that most likely would not buy a set from that specific store. I would have accepted that of course. But when "A" confronted me with the "Not connect - rebuilding - not able to give a demo" story, and then 10 minutes later - with the untouched BL90/Avant-setup standing exactly as 10 minutes before (identical power and signal cables - nothing moved) - the other sales person "B" just pulled up the BeoRemote One and fired the BL90 up for us....
Being a dedicated B&O customer who cares for B&O's future, I always reply to "Bang & Olufsen Customer feedback" surveys after buying a B&O product. But how could I give constructive feedback to them when NOT buying a product from a store?
I therefore sat down at a local café in Aarhus and wrote an email to Bang&Olufsen customer service (BeoCare), explaining my recent experience in that store. Since I haven't heard back from BeoCare regarding this request since last Friday, I therefore write this post to this forum.
This is the first time I've had such a bad experience with a B&O sales representative. I've visited a number of stores worldwide - never experienced similar behavior. But maybe B&O have changed policy for how customer should be treated in their physical stores, in particular when handling customers asking for a demo?? In my opinion, the B&O staff should still be trained to be open and honest. Never, ever, should they be untruthful to a customer. And I think that they should treat every B&O customer with respect, regardless if they understand that the customer is a tourist and therefore most likely will not pull the credit card for an Avant or a set of BL90s...
Anyone experienced something similar?
