Mission statements. Company credos. Management trends come and go, but one axiom has been written in stone since the first shopkeeper opened his doors: “The customer is always right.”
John Andorka, president of Audio Corner Inc. in Belden Village, has been dealing with the public for almost three decades. He’s seen his company grow from a modest hi-fi shop to a flourishing audio specialty business that last year did $1.2 million in sales (70 percent in custom installing and 30 percent in retail). He’s also seen a shift in how customers prefer to do business. Andorka shares his perspective about how “the customer is always right” maxim applies to today’s typical consumer.
In the 27 years you’ve been dealing with the public, how has your customer profile changed?
Back when I got started, a lot of my young customers are now my older customers. They’ve been very loyal. Now, they’ve got kids, they’ve got wives, they come in the store and it’s interesting how much the wife plays a role in making the decision today for home theater and home entertainment equipment.
What is your take on today’s typical customer?
They’re more educated, primarily because of the Internet. Customers can surf and find a lot of answers out there. And you really don’t have anybody coming in today that says, ‘I want to buy a stereo.’ It’s ‘I want to buy a home theater system.’ The days of the $600 to $900 stereo systems are gone. It’s now the $6,000, $10,000 to $30,000 home entertainment systems.
With such a big investment, do you think today’s consumer still wants to be treated as if he or she is always right?
I don’t see that here. I see a customer who’s coming in with lots of questions and is looking for answers. We tell them to take their time and ask the questions. They’re coming in spending their hard-earned bucks at your store and you want to bend over backwards to treat them right.
So, to treat them right and make sure they get their money’s worth, what do you do when you know the customer is wrong?
We would try to educate him.
How do you help educate customers so their transactions with you will be wise purchases, in their best interests?
Give a demonstration, give them correct, honest answers, encourage them to take their time and go from there. If that customer will go out and do his own research as well — which a lot of people do today — that customer is going to make his own buying decision. If he’s got the right information, I think he’s going to make a correct decision.
What would you do if a customer insisted you custom-install an expensive system the way they want it, but you know that if you do, it simply won’t work the way it should?
We could only inform the customer that’s not the right way to do it. We might say emphatically, ‘This is your home and if this is how you want the cabinetry and the speaker positioning, that’s certainly your call, but this is not going to work.’ Of course, it’s going to be his decision, since it is his money. But if the situation was really drastic … I would say, in a very nice way, ‘I think you’d be better off if you picked a vendor that you were more comfortable with.’
Considering today’s customer profile and the investment involved in a purchase, do you conduct every transaction as if the customer is always right?
I still subscribe to that fact that 90 percent of the time, he is.
How to reach: Audio Corner (330) 493-5770