stupid shit people in record stores say
The_Hook_Up
8,182 Posts
Yesterday dude in his 20s comes in, looks at LPs for about a half hour...meandering between rcok and jazz racks. Comes up to me and asks if we "had any shellac". I said maybe, it would be in the alternative/indie section under "S". He says "ok" and goes over there. While he is looking I remember we bought some Shellac 7"s off a dude last week and they hadnt been put out yet, so I go find them, price them and go up to him and say "here these just came in" and hand them to him. He looks at them for a good 20 seconds or so and says "no man, I dont think you understand me, I mean really old records" 
Wouldnt he have known I didnt understand his question when I sent him to the "S" bin? I just pointed him to the 78s.Weirdos.
Wouldnt he have known I didnt understand his question when I sent him to the "S" bin? I just pointed him to the 78s.Weirdos.
Comments
reeee-tahd. He sounds like one of the guys at the party in Ghost World.
"do you have _____?" "yes" "oh, do you have __--__?" "yeh we have that too" walks out doesn't buy anything.
"I just wanted to see if YOU had it"
record stores are a place to shut the fuck up.
Yes.
A "non-stupid shit people in record stores say" thread would have been over by now.
The worst is when someone says " Whatcha got there?''
All the while standing next to you, shadowing you, huffing and puffing like an evil conscious. Trailing you to see when your going to put something back.
Or better yet, when the sales clerk attempts to ridden you with guilt by saying:
'' What the hell? Who priced this!? Goddammit, Your getting a good deal here" or " Looks like you found a lot of good stuff today huh?''
This one chain store up here is notorious for being inconsistant. It is not uncommon to find two of the same shitty 2 dollar records with a 5-10 dollar price difference in the new arrivals. I guess its because they so many people working there and my guess is they dont know or dont care. But when you get the dude at the counter who does care, your going to hear about it.
It certainly isnt limited to fellow diggers and collectors, some of the stupidest shit said comes from the mafioso's behind the counter. For the most part I think that is the bigger stores who tend to have a high turnover. But you cant escape it no matter what.
are you kidding? conversations with the customers are what make a record store bearable.
I loved the intimidation factor, that scene from High Fidelity where the guy comes in looking for "I Just Called To Say I Love You" represented my favorite type of customer, the one that presumes that you are there simply to insult him.
This site has that same presumed snide record shop attitude; I'd say soulstrut is made up of a mix of current/former record store employees and those that secretly dream of being one.
(pause)
"YO I'M IN THE RECORD STORE, DUKE"
(pause)
repeat ad nauseum.
with headphones on: "I'MMA FLIP THIS JOINT!"
I can see people sweating it if they're in high school/undergrad, actually want to own/run a shop, or whatever. Otherwise, my kneejerk response is that I'd hope people's secret dreams amount to more than aspiring to be a retail employee.
graemlin needed
YO THAT WAS ME ME AND MY BOY WAS IN THE STORE AND FOUND SOME MOODY LOOPS WIH HELLA BREAKS YO.
b/w
I got this on ebay for $7
either that or the dude's calling up the hip-hop department (me) and asking "what you got in new?"
this post kinda baffles me on both counts:
no one knows every record in every genre, and there is nothing wrong with getting excited about common records in a genre in which you don't have deep knowledge. that's just appreciating good music. little dudes shouldn't talk? how are they gonna learn without talking about records with people?
also, what's wrong with asking someone what records they got in recently?
you sound like the stereotype of the bitter record store employee/owner with that post
She very timidly said to the owner. "Sir I'd like to buy this record but could you explain to me why it's 50 dollars"??
Without hesitation the owner very politely said... "Ma'am, the LP is one dollar, but there's a $49.00 finders fee because you won't find it anywhere else in town"!!!
You took the words right out of my mouth.
i know everyone doesn't know everything, but there's no reason to be shouting it loudly across the store over the record that's playing (loudly) on the soundsystem. I'm all for getting one's learn on, especially by talking to employees, but that process can take place by using inside voices.
as for asking what is in that's new? It's annoying. There is a ton of new records, but I don't have the time to list them all. You could be specific, like "you got that new Young Jeezy?" That's OK. But after the tenth or so time i had to run down the hit parade over the phone it got a little tiresome. Have you ever worked at a record store?
because it's rarely two or three records, more like 30 - 100 depending on the week. and in my experience, these calls usually happen on saturdays, the busiest day. so, calling up a store and asking them to list off what's new is pretty annoying. if you want to know if specifc things have come in, that's one thing...but "what's new?" is another.
Yeah I have to concur. Folks who have been to my shop know I try to be as nice as possible... to a fault even. but one thing that kills me is the dudes who call in, every few days... "you got in some new stuff?"
No, I haven't bought a single record in MONTHS.
I mean, like most record stores, I put out new arrivals every day. I shift them into the bins after five or six days.
The same way I don't announce every time I buy some shit over the weekend (I mean hell, it's my job...) I don't send out a mass mailing like, "restocked on Taana Gardner! Two new Jackie Wilson LPs!" "just bought a collection of common disco titles in VG+ condition! $5 12"s for days!!!"
It is easier when the person is specific. "Any new psych or folk?" "Any big disco rap pieces?" "Any west indian stuff?" "drum breaks?" Usually that is manageable.
Back in college I worked at the NYC Port Authority "Bus Terminal Book Barn" store that sold mostly paperbacks to commuters.
Not a day went by when a customer didn't come up to me with a book and ask me if it was good, as if I had read every book in the store.
I asked the owner how to handle this and he gave me a great answer....he said "Just tell them that it's better than the author's last book".
This worked GREAT and sold a lot of books.
But one day I gave that answer and the customer shoved the book in my face and said "The back of the book says it's his first effort, that's why I'm asking".
With egg on my face I said the only thing I could think of....."Well then it's better than his next one's gonna be"!!
we just had a kid in here listening to jedi mind trick yelling shit over the headphones that he had on BLAST and pretending to shoot shit with his hand.
i cant wait for the day i get to use the bat (
i always try to be nice when talking to people and all that. its all a learning process for me too. ive got the hunger.
oh shit, there's been a bunch of times i've been aimlessly going through a bin of "soundtracks" and i'm halfway through before i realize they're laser discs. i try to play it off and casually drift away to another section.
i asked another dealer for a plastic bag... him: "no no no, not for those records. get out of here!"
I agree with this completely. If someone just asked "what new records do you have?" that's an impossibly broad request. but it doesn't seem completely unreasonable to me to ask what new hip hop has arrived, when you can in turn ask them other questions like "underground or commercial?" etc. and narrow it down. or alternately, if 30-100 hip hop records have come in (which seems like a lot for new releases to me, but i've never worked at a shop), just name a few from the last order that arrived and be done with it.
anyway, i've spent more time making this post than I actually care about this to begin with, and I would never ask that to begin with. dude's pet peeves just sounded awfully familiar to me
yes, that would be quite a week!...i was talking more than rap