Please note, the following blog entry has nothing to do with the chain of car stereo stores called Pacific Stereo. It is about another Pacific Stereo that existed a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
In October of 1972 I had been selling cars at Hayward Ford for two years, and it was getting to me. Even though I've told great stories about those days, working at that high-powered dealership was a high-stress, gut-wrenching experience. Combined with a deteriorating relationship with my long-time girlfriend, I was starting to freak out. I needed out.
I had always had a love affair with music and “hi-fi equipment” as it was called back in the day. One day I sold a car to a lady who worked for a chain of now defunct stereo stores called Pacific Stereo. She gave me an introduction to the company, and I quit Hayward Ford to pursue what I thought would be a dream job. As it turned out, nothing could be further from the truth!
You know, you don’t have to love cars or know a lot about their insides to sell them. The truth is that sometimes knowing too much can work against you. Now I’m not talking about product information and stuff like that; I’m talking about a “gear head” who decides in would be great to sell Mustangs for a living, but can’t bear the thought of selling a Taurus. It’s a recipe for disaster.
When you sell cars you should at least believe a little in your product—even if it’s a Dodge, but the doing the job requires a certain amount of detachment. If you just love, love, love new Toyotas, it shouldn’t deter you from trying to switch your customer to the used Kia out on the lot. Chances are you’ll make more money, and in the final result isn't money what it’s all about?
Back to Pacific Stereo. First of all it was an extremely weird place to work. Did you ever notice that record store clerks (remember them?) and stereo salesmen somehow think they’re in show business? They think that because their jobs are linked to music and music is linked to rock stars that somehow they’re rock stars too! For me, an insecure, slightly paranoid Portuguese kid from San Leandro, it was like being surrounded by those jocks who hated you in High School. Though I met a couple of decent guys working at Pacific Stereo, the majority of my fellow employees were, how should I put it,arrogant assholes! And if you don’t believe me, watch the movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”. There is a character in it that is a salesman for--Pacific Stereo!
I soon discovered that selling what you love for a living is a bad idea. The reality of survival at Pacific Stereo was pitching components that had the most profit in it even if that piece of equipment that was crap. Like the gear-head that finds he has to sell used Neons to survive, I flat-ass couldn’t do it!
Another problem I had was the pace of the sale. Selling a car, if done properly, is a relatively slow, methodical process. Selling stereo equipment was what I would call a stopwatch sale. It was all about how quickly you could do it, a pace to which I just couldn’t adjust.
All in all I was a lousy stereo salesman, a disgrace to Pacific Stereo. To make matters worse my relationship with my girlfriend ended ugly, and I was a mental mess. When the time came to fire me, the manager of the store brought me to his office and told me that the company was getting rid of what he called “dead wood”, and apparently that what was I was! Is that terrible way to fire someone or what?
The experiment had lasted about nine months. My stereo selling days were over and I was forced with concept of either moving back with my parents and going back to school or selling cars again.
I chose cars.
Talk to you later,
David
11 comments:
Life has a funny way of 'happening' and your touching story recounting your days at Pacific Stereo reminded me of just how fickle fate can be. One moment you're the windshield, the next you're the bug!
Who could forget Sean Penn's poignant remark to Mr. Hand (about being such a d--k)? We've all worked for some management types (can you say fast food franchisee management trainees) who were entirely too hyper for anyone's good, even their own!
My point, Vanessa, is that thank GOD you weren't wildly successful at Pacific Stereo... because then we wouldn't have this wonderful BLOG to read!!!!!
Cheers and best wishes,
Karma Chameleon
Interesting! My dad directed salesman training and wrote the manual for Pacific Stereo in 1972, after being promoted up from sales (I know because he bought his first new car, a 1972 Mazda RXII, to celebrate being made "an executive.") I wonder if your observations predate or postdate that training program of his. What I mostly remember him going on about (arrogantly, coincidentally) was how the sales people at other stores (and how the people arriving at Pacific Stereo with habits they picked up elsewhere) were all pressure or smarm and no product knowledge. He was such a salesman himself though that I wouldn't dare to guess what the style was there or anywhere else either before or after he did his sales training program. I've stayed as far away from selling as possible for my entire life. I still have a pair of Pacific Stereo's house brand of speakers--Quadraflex. They're as good as anything else that was being made at the time, my father told me--though I'll note he kept an extra two pairs of Bose around the house just in case he ever needed them, and he sent me off to college with the Quadraflex.
Ah, Quadraflex speakers. I had
Q3s. Never could afford Q4s. When I got the job I remember having to read some sort of manuel with clever drawings in it and having to take a test. I also remember having to clean up demo and returned equipment and putting them back into their boxes to be sold again as new! David
Pacific Stereo used to sell tickets for BASS/Ticketmaster which in the Bay Area was Bill Graham events. The group of young & hip (at the time) people who worked at Pacific Stereo headquarters and it's advertising agency, Halb, got (sometimes free) tickets to great bands. The Tubes was one of my faves. Gayle
Wow, this is so funny to run across after all these years. I worked the PACIFIC STEREO for 2 years doing the backroom. Reboxed equipement was definetely the norm. Then I worked SALES for 3. Selling the highest profit margin items was rewarded with "spiffs" which was cash money at the end of the day. The concert tickets were the best. I sat in many of the best seats for some huge name bands. Cocaine flowed huge in the service department. Memorable times!
Having a Bass ticket outlet was before my time at Pacific Stereo. So unlike some of you, I never got to go see any killer concerts.
I have a memory of attending a Pacific Stereo affair in Burlingame, California to introduce a new Bose power amp. It had 500 watts per channel which for then was a tremedous amount of power. Dr. Bose himself was there.
After an engineer from Bose talked for about 15 minutes he asked if there were any questions. A company exec at Pacific Stereo whose name I can not recollect (for some reason the name Sandy sticks in my brain)stood up in the conference room filled with a couple of hundred people.
He had a full beard and hair cascading on his shoulders. He had a joint in his hand, and he said, "Yeah, I have a question," at this point he paused, took a hit, and with his breath still held in said, "How does the sucker sound?"
David
David - I believe you are thinking of Sandy Boccara. You can find him on the web now as Dr. Quad -- he's an expert on electrostatic speakers. I worked at PS in the stores and in the E'ville office from early to mid-70s.
Yes, almost certainly Sandy Boccara!
John F.
While we certainly did have our share of car salesmen, we also had our share of genuinely concerned, very knowledgeable people who were interested in not only making money, but also in getting customers exactly what they needed.
I was one of those people, and in my stores, we did not have, nor did we tolerate used car salesmen. In my stores, if someone else's customer came in on their salesperson's day off (or lunch break), that salesperson got the deal. No splits, no snakes. Because it was guaranteed that your customer would come in someday on your day off, too. Me, I was interested in making customers for life, not for just one "killer" sale, and I worked very hard to accomplish that (and did, even after Pacific went out of business). While we certainly had shenanigans going on just like any retailer, to paint everyone so broadly is truly a disservice and is wildly inaccurate. While it may have been your experience, it certainly was not mine, nor was it the experience of my customers.
Pacific was awesome. I made lifelong friends with both coworkers and customers and cherish the experience. If we were still in business, I would still be there.
Pacific Liquidator - I agree whole heatedly. My first job out of college w/ an Economics Degree from University of Texas Austin TX was a fledgling sales person at Pacific Stereo. Was quickly promoted up through the ranks from salesperson to third key to assistant manager to general manager. Lots of wonderful memories and met my wife who was the head cashier at the first store i worked at. Worked from 1982 - 1986 round about when they shut down Texas and the company. Cut my teeth as a salesperson and took great pride in the process of selling. There was also lots of fun in parody of the process. Not sure if all the other Pacific alumni that worked in California in the early years but we had Xmas parties where we would produce a funny video and play it at the Xmas party with all managers/employees in the Houston region and they would pick a winner. Check out this video from the Humble TX store who was the winner for that year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKfYHg-jMXw
PS: lots of cocaine, sex and rock roll but that is what it was all about back then :)
Did any of you work at the North Hollywood store? I did, and have many great stories to share.
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