Brought it up to the counter to pay for it (under $20...I was impressed)
and the clerk ringing it through said to me "Oh...isn't he that violin
guy? Didn't he win some kind of award?"
Violin guy. Heh.
Ignorance of some new artist is one thing, but come on. To me that's the
same as a car salesman not knowing what "fuel injection" is.
Sigh....
--
Tim Meehan - Toronto +1 (416) 449-2369 | Never feed Cheetos
du...@interlog.com - http://www.interlog.com/~duke | to a hedgehog.
: Brought it up to the counter to pay for it (under $20...I was impressed)
: and the clerk ringing it through said to me "Oh...isn't he that violin
: guy? Didn't he win some kind of award?"
: Violin guy. Heh.
Perhaps he was interested in real music and not novelty shit, and
therefore paid no attention to Ashley whatsit. Maybe he likes jazz or
classical music, abstract noise or synth-pop. Because YOU think an
artist is important does not mean that the world should acknowledge your
opinion as truth. Go love Ashley and let everyone else make up their own
minds.
--
Michael
here in calgary we have fuckin freaks working at most music stores
(HMV). A&B sound doesn't employee freaks, had you had the opportunity to
go there then they would've known who the fuck ashley is....
out here i don't pay much more than 13 or 14 bucks for a cd (ashley was
11.99). i think you guys are getting fucked up the ass back east!!!
that's all i have to say, cheers
---------------------------------------------------------
i hate you.....you suck!!!
////\\\\rgca...@acs.ucalgary.ca////\\\\
******visit my home page @ http://dics.fuckin.smurfin.com******
=======================================================================
Well THAT was a little blast of eloquence. Perhaps your university
education will pay off in the ability to communicate, but it's too soon
to tell, I guess.
--
Michael
I don't think anybody would disagree with letting people make up there own
mind in what they either like or dislike...I just have a problem with people
calling a fiddler who plays tunes that are eons old a 'novelty' act. Then
again, I like WEEN.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Iain Kenneth MacLeod
imac...@upei.ca
...just remember: I'm A Cleod
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
It is quite likely I know the "freak" you referr to at HMV (SouthCentre
perhaps...?). FYI she happens to be a walking encyclopaedia of music
knowledge, and would not only know about Mr. MacIsaac, but likely a whole
slew of other musicians and bands she doesn't like, that you may just want
to know about.
Why not open your mind a little, and approach a "freak" every now and then
for some help. You will likely by suprised at how much information a
human can carry in their head, despite what their outside packaging tells
you they know about.
--
Should you choose to reply to this email, you are required to answer the following question:
How did mankind stumble upon Polypropalyne?
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>Ignorance of some new artist is one thing, but come on. To me that's the
>same as a car salesman not knowing what "fuel injection" is.
>
>Sigh....
The problem is twofold. People who work at music stores treat it as a
McJob as opposed to a career. Managers seem to hire people with coloured
hair and pierced noses. People who have a great knowledge of an
underground scene, but are way too cool to deal with the everyday
requests of the people who like mainstream music.
Oh well....
>Perhaps he was interested in real music and not novelty shit, and
>therefore paid no attention to Ashley whatsit. Maybe he likes jazz or
>classical music, abstract noise or synth-pop. Because YOU think an
>artist is important does not mean that the world should acknowledge your
>opinion as truth. Go love Ashley and let everyone else make up their own
>minds.
I never said that everone must like Ashley but I think that someone in a
music store should at least KNOW who he is. Whether the clerk likes
Ashley should not be at issue; hell, whether *I* like Ashley should not
be at issue (maybe it's for a friend?)...what is at issue is service from
a so-called professional music retailer.
Maybe my local grocer dosen't like potatos but he should at least know
about them if he wants to keep my business.
: >The problem is twofold. People who work at music stores treat it as a
: >McJob as opposed to a career. Managers seem to hire people with coloured
: >hair and pierced noses. People who have a great knowledge of an
: >underground scene, but are way too cool to deal with the everyday
: >requests of the people who like mainstream music.
: No wonder the record companies and CARAS are concerned about the baby
: boomers not coming in to record stores to buy product!!!
: Most record store personel know only the hip flavor of the month and of
: course it is important to know what is up and coming and popular, but
: there are belive it or not people who like Take That, Hootie and the
: Blowfish and Celine Dion and older hits from the 70's and 80's (Not to
: mention people who like other types of music)
: I used to work in a store that carried ALL kinds of music and we had a
: staff (a franchise of a major Canadian chain) with an age range between
: Mid-50's (the Owner) and late teens. We had our best sales years in the
: eighties with all kinds of ages groups coming in. I frankly don't see
: this same dedication in today's stores. When was the last time you got
: ASKED if you need help in a store. Maybe I'm just old and bitter
--
Katie email: jpe...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
EDMONTON
I agree. I was in HMV looking for Faure's "Requiem", and the girl
working there thought that Faure was a band, etc. She had no idea what I
was talking about and needless to say, I went to A & B Sound's excellent
classical section, and of course they were able to help me. And why do
people continue to shop at HMV when the prices are SO MUCH higher than A
& Bs?
: Maybe my local grocer dosen't like potatos but he should at least know
: about them if he wants to keep my business.
: --
: Tim Meehan - Toronto +1 (416) 449-2369 | Never feed Cheetos
: du...@interlog.com - http://www.interlog.com/~duke | to a hedgehog.
You ask a lot for minimum wage. Give the guy a break.
--
Michael
Speaking in defense of music store employees (being one without any weird
piercings or hair colouration) I can't imagine working at a music store
as a "career"...I mean, I've been working at STRM for 2 years and I'm
only making $7 an hour, not exactly what I would call a career. Why don't
I leave? Because of the fringe benefits. It's a kewl job to have (part
time only) and I get cheap cd's...
> Managers seem to hire people with coloured
> hair and pierced noses.
Perhaps in Edmonton...or maybe that's just the type of store you're
frequenting. I know that for the chains (HMV, STRM) an overall neat
appearance is required of the staff. My boss at sam's freaked out when I
told him I was going to shave my hair for charity... I notice that at the
independent stores, you'll find many more pierced people (not that you
should allow the coloured hair or piercing to make your personality
judgements for you...)
> People who have a great knowledge of an
>underground scene, but are way too cool to deal with the everyday
>requests of the people who like mainstream music.
It's really tough to work in a record store and *not* know the mainstream
crap... and just because I think it's crap doesn't mean that:
a) I won't sell crap to people
b) I don't know the songs on crappy cd's
I know more about Bon Jovi than I've ever wanted to know. Boyz II Men
and Hootie are also on this list of bands I dislike personally, but know
inside out and sell every shift.
> No wonder the record companies and CARAS are concerned about the baby
> boomers not coming in to record stores to buy product!!!
That isn't the problem of the staff, it's the problem of the boomers.
In my store at least (we're a mall store) we get a tonne of boomers in.
But all they buy is the beatles, or Kenny G, or the Forrest Gump ST. If
all they want is rehashed crap, whose fault is that?
> When was the last time you got
> ASKED if you need help in a store. Maybe I'm just old and bitter
Again, my store might be an exception, but staff is *required* to ask
customers if they need help. Often times you get the feeling from the
customer that they would rather just be left alone.
Hopefully we've cleared up the fact that:
a) not all record store personnel have weird hair colouration and piercings
b) weird hair colouration and piercings is not indicitive of IQ
c) it is really hard to know the underground stuff and not know the
mainstream stuff as well, especially if you work in a record store
d) not all stores have apathetic staff
Later,
Dave
--> hmv has a policy where they will match any price from a competitor as
long as the price isn't below their cost. for almost any regular cd this
is $12.99. if it a rarer cd (eg. not in billboard top 200 or so) then
you can get it for 15.79. it doesn't matter if another store has that cd
for a cheaper price, the clerks are going to go and
check. to get this offer ask a clerk in a nice manner if they match
A&B's prices, when they say yes you're in there.
i think that the best place for cd's in calgary is music baron on macleod
trail opposite chinook center. the cd's there are almost always cheaper
than those of hmv [if you don't feel like scamming]
the staff at music baron are pretty good too, they know where to find the
cd's i want. the main problem is that their selection isn't as good as
A&B, but it's much closer.
dic
Fringe benefits, thats exacly why I stayed in the store I worked in (a
Sam's) for 18 years! I got just slightly more thatn $7 an hour though.
>> Managers seem to hire people with coloured
>> hair and pierced noses.
>
>Perhaps in Edmonton...or maybe that's just the type of store you're
>frequenting. I know that for the chains (HMV, STRM) an overall neat
>appearance is required of the staff.
Have you been to the majors in T.O. -- HMV & Towers ?? Sam's bless their
hearts seem to not hire 'people with coloured hair' -- not that there's
anything wrong with living your life the way you want.
>My boss at sam's freaked out when I told him I was going to shave my hair for charity
What Sam's do you work for?
>
>> People who have a great knowledge of an
>>underground scene, but are way too cool to deal with the everyday
>>requests of the people who like mainstream music.
>
>It's really tough to work in a record store and *not* know the mainstream crap... and just because I think it's crap doesn't mean t=
hat:
>
>a) I won't sell crap to people
>b) I don't know the songs on crappy cd's
Remember (as my boss always used to say) The 'CRAP' is paying your wages
as little as they are
>> No wonder the record companies and CARAS are concerned about the baby
>> boomers not coming in to record stores to buy product!!!
>That isn't the problem of the staff, it's the problem of the boomers.
>In my store at least (we're a mall store) we get a tonne of boomers in.
In the store I worked in all they were buying was Big Band stuff and
Sinatra and yes the Beatles. Also most of the top 40 too.And that was in
the '80's. My point above was taken from a newspaper article in Toronto
that said while the 15-25 year olds were were going in to and buying the
majority of music the quotation was lamenting the fact that the 'boomers'
were not.
>> When was the last time you got ASKED if you need help in a store.
>Again, my store might be an exception, but staff is *required* to ask
>customers if they need help. Often times you get the feeling from the
>customer that they would rather just be left alone.
Yeah I know. I got the same thing from my boss. I found that I had to
pick the people I asked 'cause 90% would say no. But when I was on the
counter I always tried to say at least 'HI' when people came in, That I
found was as good as a 'can I help you' or something to that effect.
But i've only have been asked once in the last 3 years at least -- and I
go into record stores every week and that was by a manager.
>Hopefully we've cleared up the fact that:
>a) not all record store personnel have weird hair colouration and piercings
>b) weird hair colouration and piercings is not indicitive of IQ
>c) it is really hard to know the underground stuff and not know the
mainstream stuff as well, especially if you work in a record store
>d) not all stores have apathetic staff
In closing, Dave you have made a good points about some record stores in
Ontario. Again I wish you did I.D. the store you worked in as it could be
great publicy for the store.
But I just wish that the next time I buy a Take That CD that the person
behind the counter doesn't have a giggle as asked me if the CD was for me
a guy who's in his late 30's and a huge collection of top 40 hits and all
the 700+ UK Chart Number 1's (That's why I bought the Take That) though I
don't think I have to defend why I buy!!!! Again IT IS HELPING TO PAY
YOUR PAYCHECK !!!!
: > When was the last time you got
: > ASKED if you need help in a store. Maybe I'm just old and bitter
: Again, my store might be an exception, but staff is *required* to ask
: customers if they need help. Often times you get the feeling from the
: customer that they would rather just be left alone.
EXACTLY! When I go to a music store, I can spen hours there just looking
for something that catches my eye, the rest of the time, I waste looking
at my personal favorites wishing that they carried that special item that
I saw on the internet (POGUES!!). The ones that noone seems to carry.
I personally hate sales people in general. I know they're just doing
their job, and trying to get a commision (I saw'em first!), but it's just
annoying. I'm lucky now that I'm recognized at my local Sam's stores, and
they just leave me alone.
Whenever I do get asked, and actually tell them what i'm looking for
(Mollies Revenge, Cheryl Linder), they either haven't heard of it, or
they don't have it, or both.
OK, I ranted, I feel better,
Coops'
My $0.02
Linda
Hum a Bass, Croon a Sax, Scat a Horn, Scream a Guitar, Rap some
Drums, Sing a Cello.
Become a Human Sequencer, Human Vocoder, Human Breath Controller.
AES "Best in Show." EM "Editors Choice." " MidiVox Roars."
Keyboard.
Someone who makes minimum wage isn't being paid enough to care about the
kind of job they're doing. Minimum wage isn't a job, it's an insult.
Just my opinion.
--
Peter F. Dubuque - dub...@laraby.tiac.net - Enemy of Reason(TM) O-
ObCivilDisobedience#1: Planned Parenthood of Greater Boston,
1031 Beacon St., Brookline, MA 02146 617-738-1370
ObCivilDisobedience#2: Fuck Sen. James Exon and the horse he rode in on.
> In todays society, knowledge of a subject is no requirement for
>working anywhere. Vegatarians cook hamburgers, people who cant even
>drive work at auto parts stores, and people who dont even know who the
>Beatles were, work at record stores.
Does anyone remember what the original complaint was? My copy
of it exprired about fifty articles ago. But I can think of one or two
invalid complaints (i.e. customer was being a smidge unreasonable) and a
handful of valid complaints that one could have in a service-industry
encounter, and I'd really rather know what was bothering the person
before I launch a counter-rant.
- Katie
--
*** Send meaningful responses, hugs and flames to seh...@willamette.edu ***
"...shared pain is lessened, shared joy increased. Thus do we
refute entropy." - Spider Robinson
--- Dole for Pineapple '96 ---
> In todays society, knowledge of a subject is no requirement for
>working anywhere.
Unfortunately, this is so true.
--
Tim Meehan - Toronto | "If (CFNY Music Director) Kneale Mann is reading
du...@interlog.com | this, stop playing the Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis
tim.m...@utoronto.ca | and Blur please. For the good of mankind. STOP."
http://www.interlog.com/~duke - +1(416)449-2369 | -- Andrew Prowse
No.
At least, not if they work for some humongo-mega-chain store - I expect
more from indies, though, or even smaller regional chains. Why should
the drone behind the counter bother to learn anything about music whe he
or she can just glance at the playlists for each of the top radio
stations and know immediately what the store's customers are being
instructed to like during that particular week?
Of course, in the future this won't be an issue. After the starbuctation
of the world, we'll all buy our CDs at Tower, our books at B. Dalton, our
coffee at Starbucks, our videos at Blockbuster, and everything else at
WalMart. Then, on every other Saturday, we'll venture outside the walls of
our planned, gated communities and board buses that'll take us to the
nearest Disney theme park for some good, wholesome family fun (unless you
live in one of the places ruled by Bill Gates, in which case you'll go to
MicrosoftLand, which hasn't opened yet but Master Gates says will be
really cool just as soon as his people get the rides to stop crashing).
--
D O U G L A S P. L A T H R O P
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
A.S.G-X Poster Child - Two words: Bon Vivant! - The NeuFreud of the USENET
Visit Stately PAPER CUT MANOR! http://www.primenet.com/~lathrop/index.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||| "Doug, when you go over to the Dark Side, could you let me know?" |||
(Peter's point about min wage deleted)
Let me see. You're asking someone what music they like and then you're
bitching about their taste?!?! I don't think many people here would say
that I know little about music, but if you asked me to recommend a cd,
I'd prob. say "Hundred Year Hall" or "Hejira". If you don't like long
jams or female singer-songwriters, you'd be annoyed by them
And what's wrong with Nirvana anyway. Selling a lot of cd's does not
make a band bad by definition.
-David "ZZYZX" Steinberg http://www.seanet.com/Staff/zzyzx
***********************************************************************
*"There comes a redeemer *"I can't believe I'm a junior and a *
* and he slowly too * film major, when all I really *
* fades away." -Robert Hunter * wanted in this life was to marry a *
*"very strange, raving egomaniac"* lobsterman and cook fish." *
* TIME FOR TIMER * -a letter from Christie Searing *
***********************************************************************
: And what's wrong with Nirvana anyway. Selling a lot of cd's does not
: make a band bad by definition.
Sure it does. ;-) But only if you subscribe to the "anything popular is by
definition bad" philosophy, which I don't.
Stan
--
Stan Wonn------------http://www.primenet.com/~wonn---------Tucson, AZ USA----
-----------------wo...@u.arizona.edu or wo...@primenet.com---------------------
"Stepford is as Stepford does." -- Doug Lathrop
No, but how else does one explain Barry Manilow?
--Anne-Marie MacDonald, of the clan MacDonald
I was not saying that Nirvana was bad because they are/were
incredibly popular and sell/sold a lot of records but that there
are other genres of music out there and other lesser known bands
that should be acknowledged by record store staff. I was not
insulting Nircana or it's fans but just wish that bands who
haven't caught their big break would get a little notice too. And
how are people going to know about these bands if the people who
work in the music store itself don't even know them?
Linda
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
schlesin __ __ ____ ___ ___ ____
schl...@primenet.com /__)/__) / / / / /_ /\ / /_ /
/ / \ / / / / /__ / \/ /___ /-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
O.K. HOLD IT! this is my third posting on the subject (Why bother!)
Points that I want to make. I'll shut up after this and let everybody
else rave on
1. Record/Music/CD stores should have a friendly staff to at least have
eye contact with the customer in a small mall store or a strip mall
store. If you go to a larger store people ASK THE STAFF!
2. Staff should go out of their way to LOOK AN ARTIST UP even if they do
not know anything about the artist/composer . There are many options to
do this out there including the Internet (Are you listening Jason S.)
3. Customers should find a store that they like (I know this may be
difficult but if you love music YOU WILL FIND IT.)
4.Staff no matter how much they know any type of music should be willing
to find about the customers request, no matter if it's Elvis (Costello or
Presley) Journey, Patsy Gallant, Our Lady Peace, Les Paul or Ms. Twain.
That's it for me.
Let's celebrate Canadian music in this newsgroup rather than slam the way
we buy it. (That could be another newsgroup. How about
'alt.canada.retail.slam'
Craig
: >I was not saying that Nirvana was bad because they are/were
: >incredibly popular and sell/sold a lot of records but that there
: >are other genres of music out there and other lesser known bands
: >that should be acknowledged by record store staff. I was not
: >insulting Nircana or it's fans but just wish that bands who
: >haven't caught their big break would get a little notice too. And
: >how are people going to know about these bands if the people who
: >work in the music store itself don't even know them?
: >
: And how are people working in music stores going to know about these
: bands unless people tell them about it?
The same way the rest of us do. Read! I know stuff about bands I don't
like, much like many of us. No one is saying that these min. wage
employees are supposed to research every band that they sell, on their
own time. But when things come into the store, they should at least look
at the CD, open it, play it in the store, and learn something about them.
I have a bad habbit of paying too much for CDs of bands I know nothing
about, because I find something about it interesting. The staff can't
tell me anything about these CDs, but I learn something about a band I
never heard of. LUCKILY, i've yet to be dissapointed. (dEUS, The Cranes,
and some others).
It doesn't take a lot to learn about bands, just a little patience, and
genuine attention.
Just a question, who here thinks that they could do a great job in a
music store? Regardless what colour your hair is.
Coops'
Peter,
I unfortunately have the token teenage job...I work at
McDonalds. Does this mean that just because I am getting minimum
wage....I don't have to know what a Big Mac is? hmmm, makes you
think......
Also, Many teenagers cannot get better jobs than minimum wage
paying ones....this doesn't mean that we should be ostricized for
this...how bout attacking the people who can't be bothered to get
jobs and mooch off the system...huh?
Linda
Live Shows for one. Ok so that only gets you the local stuff, but it might cause you to listen
with an open ear and mind to items beyond your horizon. We all have our personal preferences. I
hate opera for example. But I am willing to attend every now and then with friends who do enjoy it.
That is actually how I got into the Dead for example.
I think that people like this are a little more open minded, and they
bring a lot of the harder to find stuff to the attenbtion of the
store/employees, and costomers.
Just a thought,
Coops'
Actually, the person you are referring to is Andy MacDaniel, the name of
his band is Leonard Conan. :) :) They have a Cinnamon Toast 7'' out
called _pub slop_ and at least one independent cassette called _bringin
home the bacon bits_. Easy to get confused, I guess...lots of people
assume Allison Outhit's band name, Rebecca West, is *her* name. :)
Speaking of employees at Sam's, doesn't Al Tuck also work at the Sam's on
Barrington's? Another person involved with the local music scene and is
quite knowledgeable about music in general....
well anyway.
tara
--
Joe Chan is the big boss of alternative music.
Linda
> Also, Many teenagers cannot get better jobs than minimum wage
>paying ones....this doesn't mean that we should be ostricized for
>this...how bout attacking the people who can't be bothered to get
>jobs and mooch off the system...huh?
How about attacking the sytstem that pays them to sit home on their fat
asses, bearing more and more children for us to take care of?
--Ken
---------------------------------<*>------------------------------------
SMUG INTELLECTUAL. Formerly rampant human-coded AI with a sense of humor
seeks bipedal oxygen-breathing cyborg for serious relationship in the
galactic core. I've got cool guns if you like to break stuff. No yuppies.
Bored? Go hit Akbar & Jeff's Web-o-Matic at http://web.syr.edu/~ksalper
cari
car...@minerva.cis.yale.edu
ah, a problem that is near and dear to my heart. known in the various
music stores in burlington, ont., as "the girl who asks for stuff that we
never have and have never heard of", i've usually found the people who
work at such stores to be rather nice. but maybe that's because i spend
more than a suitable amount of time in record stores.
so thats how you inform the clueless...create some sort of mutual
relationship with them, i guess. they're going to want to listen to
what you have to say and eventually prove to you that they _do_ finally
know what you're talking about...
"hey, we finally got in that band you were talking about..." and
similar comments usually follow.
melissa
I understood the subject of this thread to be a rant about clueless
music store staff. Instead, it has turned into a clueless rant about
politics. Isnt it amazing, whenever we talk about someone having to work
for minimum wage, we automatically get someone arguing that society owes
them more.
Hell, if we are arguing that the government owes us more, lets push for a
program that will give us music made by canadians so the conversation will
fit in the alt.music.canada newsgroup! (oh wait, we have one... Can Con)
Jay
(im on someone else's account. Mine is all...@server.uwindsor.ca )
why does everyone want the government to take care of them?? if you
don't have the skills for today's work environment go out and get them,
don't expect society to take care of you for ever. quit feeling sorry for
yourself because your stuck with a shitty job. no one forced you to take
that job and if you really hate it, you'll work to find a new job.
dic
-------------------------------------------
i'm sorry, i guess i'm the one who sucks...
richard campbell
university of calgary rgca...@acs.ucalgary.ca
============================================================
: why does everyone want the government to take care of them?? if you
: don't have the skills for today's work environment go out and get them,
: don't expect society to take care of you for ever. quit feeling sorry for
: yourself because your stuck with a shitty job. no one forced you to take
: that job and if you really hate it, you'll work to find a new job.
Oh gawd, you must be one of those Canadian Reform Party geeks! Run for
your lives, everyone....aaaah!
Stan
: -------------------------------------------
: i'm sorry, i guess i'm the one who sucks...
Well, *you* said it, not me...
--
Stan Wonn------------http://www.primenet.com/~wonn---------Tucson, AZ USA----
-----------------wo...@u.arizona.edu or wo...@primenet.com---------------------
"It is a wondrous human characteristic to be able to slip in and out of
idiocy many times a day without noticing the change or accidentally killing
innocent bystanders in the process." --Scott Adams
Well, *duh*. But that's the *hard* way to do it. Having the government
take care of you is *way* preferable.
Michael Morse
Carla