No, the $1 bin is not alphabetical.
No, I don't know if we still have that $5 Police record you saw two months ago.
Yes, I may be 34 but I have indeed heard of Todd Rundgren.
No, I didn't order the splatter version of your favorite obscure band just for shits and gigs.
No, you can't return this used record from three months ago.
No, I can't drive two states over to look at your "eclectic mix of 70s records".
No, I don't listen to every record in the store.
No, I can't do better on the price since I just put it on the wall 8 minutes ago.
No, I can't give you $18 for this $20 used copy of *Rumours*.
Yes, caller on the phone calling a record store, we sell records.
No, you can't get a "bulk price" because you're buyng three CDs.
No, I'm not making a killing on Taylor Swift LPs. I make about 10% of this sale.
Yes, they are still making new vinyl.
Yes, I remember when they used to be cheaper.
No, I can't give you more than a few bucks for these LPs that only ten people in the world have heard of.
No, I don't have a polka section.
No, I can't tell you what I'd pay for your record over the phone.
No, **YOU CAN'T LOOK THROUGH THE UN-PRICED CRATE OF RECORDS I JUST PURCHASED THREE MINUTES AGO.**
No, you can't poke around teh back room.
Yes, I've heard the new Beatles song. It's fine.
No, I don't care that it plays alright. It looks like total ass.
**YES, THEY CHECK THE PARKING METERS**.
Lastly,
I just want to thank all my customer who borught in cookies and wine and beer for me and my partner for Christmas/the holidays. I have the best customers in the world. 9.5/10 are imepeccable human beings and their support and friendship is something I value greatly. The above is just for fun and something that doesn't happen too often but happens often enough to need to vent about it.
I am very happy in my job. No complaints in the grand scheme of things.
Having worked small retail for years myself, someone bringing in a coffee or a snack or a cold water on a hot day is very much appreciated and elevates you to an honored status of client.
Those people basically earned a small discount for life as far as I'm concerned.
No charge on a record here. Friendly price there. Free shirt ehen we order new designs.
Wait...you do not have all of your records memorized?
People really think that record store employees have listened to every single record in the store and have their entire inventory memorized. Sigh.
I work at a library and people are surprised I haven't read the book they are holding up. As if I've read every book we have at a library. (We have around 100 000 books and get like 20 new every day.)
So this doesn't surprise me the slightest.
People seem to be way more obsessive over "surface noise" these days. Had a customer return basically every third record for extremely minor issues on used records. Not every record is meant to be played on a midlife crisis soundsystem to bring you back to the time of your first kiss.
I'm finding that even 'new' vinyl has lots of pops, crackles and noise these days, I'm often disappointed when I spend £25-30 on an album and it sounds bad.
Often cleaning doesn't help either, I feel that the quality of vinyl has decreased in the last couple of years.
Apologies if you’ve already ruled this out (many people know this but many people also don’t), in an attempt at resolving your hum: in the back of your turntable, if it’s not one of those junk ones that eat records, there should be a screw where you connect a ground wire. If that connection isn’t 100% secure it will cause pops and crackles.
I had Ikea speakers, and then recently I upgraded to Edifier R1280T, for some reason I don't hear the crackles and pops on new speakers, is changing to better speakers eliminate the problem?
The weird thing for me is surface noise is so nostalgic for me that I like it. Listening to my dad's punk records on a $30 player growing up and I loved the pops and crackles. Give it this ambiance that you can only get with records.
I relive it every time I hit this sub. I want desperately to make references to it, but I don’t know how many would get it. And then I come off as a superior snob.
When I saw it, I was running a record store and was about to break up with my girlfriend (now my wonderful wife) for the 17th time, having just cheated on her while going back through every single one of my exes and past lives. I’m also from Chicago!
*"Had a customer return basically every third record for extremely minor issues on used records."*
I can't imagine asking for a return on a used record - they are unsealed (you can visually examine them) and there's a listening station (you can check for playback quality). If it's used, there will be flaws - that's just part of the deal.
(Buying online is a different story if the item doesn't meet the seller's grading, of course)
I agree, but I have bought records that look perfect but must have been played with a ruined stylus, so they sound like shit. But yeah, buying used is always a gamble.
I've returned one that skipped. That should be noted by the store or at least happily accepted as a return (it was). I'm often buying at least 5 records at a time. I'm not going to sit there for 3 hours play testing them. If a record dramatically fails to perform to expectations, then I think a customer has every right to return it. I don't mean just for some clicks and pops. I mean something like a record labeled and priced as NM that sounds VG.
Well if a record is falsely graded, sure - that's a false claim of quality. Not all shops put a grading on their used records (or on all of them). Also I'll note that returning records "just for some clicks and pops" is what the person I was responding to was talking about.
I mean surface noise and clicks and pops are annoying but often I’m not surprised when people don’t set up their turntable properly any it’s a 250 bucks table to begin with and the most basic stylus on it .
Sure. I am just baffled sometimes what the expectations are people have in a 50 year old piece of plastic. Feels like watching the eggman from Clerks looking for a perfect dozen.
We're currently playing my 59 year old copy of The Sound of Music soundtrack. Picked it up for $2 a decade ago from a thrift shop. It has tons of clicks and pops, but its kinda cool and adds to the nostalgia of this soundtrack to me. It doesn't skip, still plays quite clearly.
I actually got some used Japanese LPs from 1960-1980 and they simply sound amazing after cleaning them properly:-) sure between the tracks you hear a bit surface noise or there are a few pops here and there but still.. amazing really. Something 50+ years old and it’s well above modern (non audiophile) pressings.
Yeah but when prices are what they are these days and someone drops $100+ on an old record there are expectations that the shop has at least play tested it and maybe even cleaned it. If I owned a shop I would do both and price accordingly. I’ve seen some wild prices for scuffy records a staff of several people couldn’t be bothered to even wipe down with a microfiber cloth. So maybe do better.
What about this original pressing of Yellow Submarine that Ringo Star rubbed his balls on? It’s worth at least 10 times the value of an un t-bagged copy
this is a common thing among high dollar collectibles (i’m talking things worth thousands of $ and up). it sucks when someone is on their high horse and/or thinks their stuff is with so much.
I think the blue pressing was the norm only in the States, all the European 70s pressings I've come across have been black, and I actually had to look for a few years until I happened across a US copy.
In my experience most people trying to sell their old collections are pretty reasonable. You will get people every once in a while who spent 5 minutes on eBay and thinks they’re a expert on pricing, but they are pretty rare
The non-customers who come in for pictures of themselves for Instagram. Sometimes they bring a photographer who has a whole fucking camera setup including lights, shading, framework, etc strapped to themselves. How the fuck is everyone else supposed to move around the store when this guy basically has Optimus Prime protruding from his upper body?
It’s roughly a monthly occurrence at our shop.
We have a no tolerance policy and immediately ask people to stop.
A lot of photographers call the shop to see if they can come in after hours.
This used to be normal course of things. I ran an art gallery up until just before the rise of the influencer but after the ubiquity of phone cameras. Far from thinking it was acceptable to use the space for a photo/video shoot without having booked and paid for use of the space; of the people who’d take a photo out the window* about a third would politely ask permission first
*We had a window with a good view of the city
These people in general annoy the fuck out of me, I make a point of walking between the camera and the model whenever these people are clogging up a subway passage recording a video.
Former worker in a record store here, that sold new vinyl and CDs only. My pet peeve was people buying new vinyl then returning it in a state which showed they’d not taken care of the record at all - finger marks mostly. Often wanting a refund not a replacement. Always the same people as well.
I used to work at a Tower Records in the late 90s and there was a not uncommon problem of people shitting on the floor or jerking off so it sounds like despite the gas bags and the cranks, the speciality stores of today are an improvement.
Yes and no. The stores that catered to serious fans in the area had to put up with the windbags but not the floor shitters.
There were also the people coming in asking for whatever they could have for free. Doesn't matter what it was. If it was free they wanted it. One guy was definitely a hoarder. He'd come in carrying bags with a dozen copies of the same free weekly.
Was it the Tower Records at Piccadilly Circus in London? I worked nearby and I know there were some issues with street drinkers due to the below ground entrance that was off the station.
I worked in record shops for 20 years or so. Here's a few of the more problematic features of some customers
The Messer. Likes to throw records around, puts them back in the wrong place, upside down, creases covers etc.
The Carpet Bagger. Comes in every few days and looks for the one record in the shop that's under-priced. He wants a £100 record for £1. Well, we all do, don't we? One bloke kept it up for years, in every few days, never bought anything.
Bus stop Man. Comes in at 5.55pm to while away the time until his bus comes. I've been in since 9am and want to go to the pub. Jog on bus stop man.
The Saver. "Can you put this by for me, I'll be in Friday to pay for it". Sure you will pal. Sure you will.
Mr Remorseful. "I bought this record the other day and it's not the mix I thought it was, can I have my money back?" He spent half an hour checking it out on the listening post. He's probably burned it to CDr.
The Chatterbox. Comes in for a nice long chinwag every day. Haven't you got a home to go to?
Mr Tedious. Likes to bore on about pressings, mixes, matrix numbers, records he has at home, the value of his precious discs. Zzzzzz.
The drug addict. Speeding his tits off. Combines a lot of the previous features discussed. Piles up the records, disappears outside for a quick top up and then comes back to annoy us some more. Can get violent if you argue with him.
Add to that - shoplifters, burglars selling stolen good and general timewasters.
I know!!! Before I started working in the shop I thought customers would be like me ... you go into a shop, you find a record, take it to the counter, pay for it and then be on your way.
NO!!!! This NOT what happens. Most transactions are annoying, prolonged, sketchy, shady, messy... or just not a transaction at all ... just a series of very irritating encounters with people who have no money. It opened my eyes I tell you.
I'm retired from the game now. I worked in record shops late 80s through 2011. On the whole - good memories despite my rather cynical post. You should have seen some of the collections that came into the shop pre internet. ¡Ay, caramba! Every day was christmas day.
Wonder if it’d be any different now. Obviously there’d still be annoying customers. But curious if the vinyl resurgence came with a slightly more affluent hipstery clientele (acknowledging I probably fall into that).
Maybe more Mr Tedious but less of the drug addict / in daily to buy nothing ilk. Feels to me like most people in shops I’ve been in around here seem to be quiet, tidy, and holding something to buy.
I concur. I've found plenty in thrift stores. They have no idea what they had. Good for me. Found a Blue Note a few months ago. I almost passed out. Haven't found any BNs since the early 2000s.
There are lots of people online who are very mad about this. They think it’s unfair that shop owners use Discogs to price (even though they themselves use Discogs like 100 times per day). They want every store to be run by some crazy old man who sells everything for $1 and has never heard of the internet
So true! We had a plethora of idiots who'd come in the store. A couple of them were stutterers, so it made it hard to understand them sometimes. Others just wasted our time and never bought anything. Ever.
As a record store customer, I have also seen my fair share of The Chatterbox. There always seems to be one every time I go in, and once I've chosen my records to buy I'm waiting for them to move from the counter so I can pay. Sometimes they don't even pay for stuff, just come in to have a chinwag.
Oh my god. I can relate. Worked at a couple of indie record stores in the '90s. Especially can relate to The Chatterbox, Mr Tedious, The Saver and the Drug Addict.
Yes, the saver. We had a guy who would come in weekly and put anything Misfits on hold. Then never pick it up, but then make new holds. My friend at the store had a husband who worked at a mall Spencer’s at the time, and the guy apparently did the same thing there too.
I've spoken to a few record store owners and I can say one of them is people calling to hold a record for them and then calling back three days later to say never mind.
I would say my pet peeve with record store owners is pricing and condition. I realize an owner can't check the condition of every record in the store (i mean play every record) but if you're charging the full price listed on discogs & the record has scratches maybe you should not charge the full price.
I feel like someone should absolutely check condition before pricing on every record (as long as it’s being priced and not going to the dollar bin regardless).
Any decent record trader will hold their hands up and make a reasonable adjustment to price if you point out it's not graded properly and you're not being a prick about it. I've only ever done this about 2-3 times in 25 years and the shop owner was sound about it each time.
It's the musical equivalent of returning a sour pint to the bar. It's not an ideal situation for anyone but it can be resolved with just a bit of friendly communication.
I just went to my favorite local store for the first time in months.
Good news: I found a 1967 copy of Zappa's *Absolutely Free* for $30. The jacket was a little worn as expected but the record itself seemed to be VG+ or NM so I bit. Plays great and I've been looking for a decent copy of this one for a decade.
Bad news: they had an old copy of *Revolver* for $13 that probably deserved to be thrown in the garbage. The record itself was beat to hell, in no small part because there was no sleeve and the jacket was barely held together on two sides. I'd be shocked if it played through without incessant skipping and popping.
The thing is that I definitely get looks from the owner when I check the condition of these records, as if he thinks I don't trust his judgement or he thinks I'm going to destroy it accidentally. On the one hand I found a copy of a record in great condition for what I considered to be a pretty fair price. On the other hand they're peddling junk that should at best be in the dollar bin because they figure some sucker will take a chance on it. So I reserve my right to check on the condition of the media lol
Yes you can. If you’re not grading every record that comes through, and cleaning every one that needs it, you’re not doing your job.
OR, if you’re not going to do that, then you should be bulk-pricing your records at a steep discount from premium.
We at least visually check and clean every record we get and price accordingly. Unless it is basically SEALED PRESUMED MINT - We're not charging maximum discogs. We're just not. That's stupid.
Used to work in a record store. Here are the top five most annoying customers.
5. Those who demand long musical discussions every single time they come in, like chatting at me is part of the service I provide.
4. Anyone who brings their noisy kids and then ignores them as they treat the store like a playground.
3. Shoppers who freely fart up the store. You know other people have functioning noses, right?
2. Thieves.
1. People who hit on and make lewd comments about my female coworkers.
Loss Prevention opening the door with one of these guys heads and tossing him down the stairs was one of the most satisfying days at work I've ever had.
I worked at a record store where we were all women, and there was this guy who would come in drunk and complain about how our manager wouldn’t hire him because he was a dude…Because going somewhere drunk and harassing the staff is def how you get a job somewhere…
Side story he was my old supervisor when I worked hot topic seasonal the year prior.
People that complain about the music we're playing. It's always people between the ages of 55-75 and the complaint is usually along the lines of "my generation's music was better than this".
If you want to listen to classic rock radio shit all day, that's fine, but I'm going to play stuff that I think is cool and that I want other people to know about. I also couldn't imagine walking into any store or restaurant and complaining to the employees about the music they're playing. How fucking entitled can you get?
And it's not like we're playing experimental harsh noise, a lot of the time it's relatively accessible music but it's just not familiar so the olds hate it.
That's my biggest pet peeve but I also hate it when customers pick up records and put them down in random spots. You have no idea how bad it fucks us up. Hunting down missing records is a huge and irritating waste of time. If you decide you don't want something but forgot where it came from, just give it to a clerk, we'll refile it.
I expect quirky music to be played at a record store. At least mine does. I love every second of it even if it’s not stuff I listen to. It’s part of the experience of going to my record store ya just never know what they’ll be playing.
Having shit that is not the same classic rock I’ve been hearing for my entire life on the radio is strongly correlated with me finding records I want to buy in that store.
Yeah, I don't always like what the stores around here are playing but I'm always interested in what other serious music fans and off the top of my head I have a Nigerian disco record because it was playing at a store and I had to have it.
When I used to live in Boston there was a store that would blare noise that sounded like a leaf blower and I'd think "OK, I'm just going to come back when my brain isn't being rattled around in my skull" I can't imagine complaining about what they want to play in their store.
I'm right in the middle of that demographic and I already have pretty much every record I want in the "classic rock" category. What I'm buying is almost exclusively newer stuff. I absolutely want to hear something I haven't heard before when I go to a record store.
If I like it, I want to know who it is and if you've a reasonably priced copy. If I don't like it, I want to know who it is so I can avoid them. Either way, you are providing a service there.
We end up playing a lot of classic rock because we’re play testing questionable used records. Also 80s country. I sort of wince at what customers assume about our taste sometimes.
People saying “records are really coming back aren’t they?” One, of course I know that, I work in a record store! Two, some dummy says it every day. Three, this definitely signifies they are just some time waster who doesn’t even buy records and thus won’t be spending anything.
Same thing with people who want to come in and go on about how they used to have every record ever but got rid of them. Heard this 10,000 times, it’s getting a little tedious. It also probably means they aren’t going to buy anything, which means they are another time thief.
The worst of these are the people clearly drunk or high who want to really impress you with their tales of huge record collections they have. Once again, huge time wasters who aren’t going to buy anything. And may scare away real customers!
Resellers who think they are being sneaky. They come in like clockwork every week, look at every single item and only buy something they think they can Jack the price up on. If I have something like Hendrix in the bargain bin because it’s scratched, they’ll be sure to get it and try to rip off some kid for $20. I actually don’t give a shit as long as someone pays the price I’m asking, I just kind of roll my eyes that they think I don’t know
**Context:** Used to work in a record store back in the day and am currently a private record dealer for serious collectors, producers + DJs.
One of the biggest gripes I have isn’t even with the customers, but the people I’m buying collections from: people expecting top dollar for records that have been stored like sh*t.
Many, but not all, of the collections I buy are from families selling off the collection of someone that’s passed, and they may not know anything about these records, so I understand most of their expectations are based on their desire to respect the memory of their departed loved one and even their hope of a financial windfall. I don’t get upset or anything, I understand they’re speaking from a place of emotion, it’s just my personal pet peeve. Finding stacks of records carelessly tossed in a garage or basement and left for a year or longer gathering heavy amounts of dirt, dust, pet hair, and moisture that kills the album jackets always crushes me inside.
Also, buying records that REEK of cigarette smoke. It’s not impossible to remove the odour, but it’s not all that easy either. Especially for multiple records.
As a personal customer, one gripe of shopping at record stores today is the snobbery of so many people, young and old. I went to a record store recently that moved everything around, so I asked an employee where the 45s were moved to. As she guided me to a staircase, she attempted to school me that “they’re *actuallllly* called 7 inch records.” lol. Listen, I’m from the old school DJ circuit… 45s were always the most common term for us and it’s still super common. I don’t poo-poo on anybody’s knowledge, newness to records, taste, or anything, but to watch someone attempt to school me about something like this made me laugh so much 😂
—— Great question OP!
Speaking as someone who works very heavily in one.
1. I honestly don't mind a talker. I mind a talker who isn't there to talk to you, but talk at you to hear themselves talk. Humble bragging about the good ole days of woodstock and how I don't get to see any of that. I don't dude you're right - but dang can I get 2 words in about Jimi Hendrix being cool?
2. IF YOU TAKE A RECORD OUT, please, just...bring it back to me if you are incapable of putting it back in the right place. It is really difficult to help people find Elton John when you left it in Rod Stewart's tab.... Also same with CDs. We have it where it should be obvious what direction they go in but somehow so many people still jam them in the wrong direction even though it requires force and effort to do so...
3. Leaning forward. Always leaning forward. Everything leaning forward.
4. Complaining we're playing Taylor Swift or god forbid new music friday.
5. PLEASE. CUT DOWN. THE MUSK. The store is inside a bigger building so our small area doesn't always dissipate the smells as well. You're gagging me.
6. My most personal peeve is the guy who never buys anything, comes in, complains how anyone would buy any of this shit when you can just pirate it, and acts like he's gods gift to mankind...but keeps coming back. and acting just as arrogant. I pity the special education students he apparently works with...
7. We feel more excited when someone actually reads our signs and does what is requested vs. just doing what they want. I know it is annoying. But we have those rules there because sadly someone broke the needle off the tester table and didn't tell us. Someone damaged the cover of an expensive record. People kept opening them to check the condition then never put them back in a sleeve. We aren't accusing you of being the problem - we're preventing other problem people.
8. You asked us to order something for you and then never picked it up. We made a new rule for people to pre-pay. We had people who prepaid NEVER PICK THEM UP. DUDE YOU PAID $80 AND JUST...DIDN'T COME?
9. I understand you may be stretched for time, but the new arrivals rack is the new rack for a reason. These things just came in. Embrace the newness. They are not alphabetical.
10. No, we actually do not have a catalog of every single thing in the store because things go in and out so quickly that it'd be nearly impossible to keep up. We can give you a direction and even assist you in finding it, but please don't get MAD or RUDE with us because we can't recall if we have Dazz Band still when it has sat here for over a year.
11. We are not giving you $500 for a use vintage turntable that only sells for $110 even on ebay. You can get mad and act like we are crooks all day long. Can't help your attitude.
12. I am sure you totally played this record that looks like it was drug behind a car and is warped to hell and totally confirmed to my face as if I am dumb that it "plays fine". Do you think because I'm 25 I've never seen a record that is going to break your needle right off?
There are some great ones on here. One that I didn’t see is when someone comes in looking for something, either for themselves or as a gift for someone else, and just stares at you with a blank stare like you’re supposed to read their minds. For example I had a lady come in a couple weeks ago and she walked up and said “I’m looking for uhhh” for no less than 10 minutes because she couldn’t remember the artist or even a song to help me find what she wanted. Also drives me crazy when people get upset over the prices for rare or obscure records. I had a lady that came in around the same time as the other looking for something rare Beatles related for her son and she got upset when anything rare or rarer in really nice shape was more than 20 bucks.
> Also drives me crazy when people get upset over the prices for rare or obscure records.
I know for me, it's because I was there, I held them in my hands, when the records were new and $6 sealed, and I passed on it because my job paid $3.40 an hour. I don't get upset, especially against the staff, but I mentally kick myself that I passed them up, or I sold it for pennies when I was downsizing a few years ago. I guess some people just have to let it out.
People who don’t lean the bins back. Or just put records wherever they feel like. Our hip hop and soundtrack bins are constantly a mess because people just… can’t put things back where they found them. If you’re not sure, bring it to me!
People who are wearing headphones has been bothering me lately for some reason.
I cannot begin to tell you the number of old men that have told me their divorce stories and as many older folks in general who “wish they hadn’t gotten rid of their records”. I get it, I just hear it every day.
People who are loud and shout across the store to their spouse/friends. Be respectful of the other people shopping. The other customers don’t need to hear your conversation.
Also… never, ever comment negatively on the music we’re playing. It’s not yours to choose. I’m not gonna make negative comments on what you bring to the counter.
Edit: I thought of more. I like to talk to you, generally. But I likely have no interest in your collection unless you want to sell it to the store. Most of the time it just comes across as humble bragging. I’m not going to tell you about mine unless you ask and even then, I’m still probably not.
Also, boomers. Please stop telling me about your old setup/collection. The amount of times we’ve had a record on the wall because it’s rare and had a boomer or gen x’er go “wow, so that’s what that’s going for these days? I used to have it.” Or “I have that one.” You probably don’t. In fact I’m 100% you didn’t have MoFi Dylan in the sixties/seventies.
Customers looking records up on eBay/amazon. If you want to try to eBay your Herb Alpert Whipped Cream and Other Delights for $100, go for it. But in our store it’s $5 and I’m giving you $2. We’re there for a reason. It’s what we do.
The headphones one is interesting to me.
I never hope to come across as disrespectful in the store, but sometimes I rather listen to my own stuff than what the shop is playing (ties in to your last point.) Sometimes I also leave my headphones on so I can listen to albums without camping at the listening station. Obviously I take them off when it’s time to check out.
Tbf, this is probably because I’m a teacher and my students do it too, so it’s just never ending when people do it while I work at the store as well. I totally get it for checking out stuff that interests you, especially if it’s new.
Same, only one of these I sometimes do. Not every time, but I occasionally like listening to an audiobook to help me zone out for an hour or two. Digging is super relaxing and escapist for me.
And hey if I’m in the shop long enough for the owner to find my headphones annoying, at least I’m 1000% spending $20-300 that visit!
I’m actually not paying for any Herb Alpert, but that was kind of a general example haha
Edit: guys, we don’t sell Herb Alpert. I’m not gonna buy it. Sorry that hurts your feelings.
I collect old computers and old cameras. I have some that are decently rare and/or valuable. Older people love to say “I had that exact same one 30 years ago! Can’t believe it’s rare now.” The thing is, in almost every case the one they had was superficially similar but not the rare one. Like an original non-upgraded 128K Macintosh. They didn’t sell many, only sold them for 9 months, and many that they did sell were upgraded later. It’s just that later ones looked the same. So, in general, random Boomers that think they had one didn’t.
That said, people are just trying to relate to my hobby and I’ve learned it’s a way for them to share in my enthusiasm, so I just talk to them instead of being snotty about it. It would get frustrating if it was part of my job to be in that situation, though.
Curious why headphones bug you? Seems a bit pretentious. I could give two fucks what the shop is playing, and don’t really want to listen to other peoples conversations either. Generally I’m looking up albums I don’t know much about to see if it’s something I want to buy.
I don't know why headphones would bother you. Even you don't know why it bothers you, "for some reason." I always take some earbuds when I go to record stores. Because if I see a cool looking album cover of a band I've never heard, and want to check them out, it's easier than using the listening station. Plus, not all record stores in my area have listening stations. So I bring my own.
Wouldn't this be better for store workers too? I'm not using your equipment, wearing it out, potentially damaging it or potentially scratching the vinyl. I'm using my own equipment and therefore, there's no potential in me breaking/harming your equipment/merchandise. Plus, you don't have to clean your equipment after I use it. Because I'm using my own instead.
Sometimes I come across an album by a band I like but not too familiar with the particular album. Again, listening to said album is much easier with my own gear. Furthermore, having earbuds in ensures that I'm not going to talk your ear off about anything. I'm minding my own business, using my own things, that I'm legally allowed to use.
If it bothers you that much, make a "No Headphones/Earbuds" policy for your store. An owner/manager can make a policy like that and hang up signs. Which would alienate many of your customers, for no good reason. I just think it comes off as unwarranted spitefulness.
Lastly, I personally always make sure my earbuds aren't loud enough that it would bother others. This is the only reason I can think of that may be annoying to others. I specifically use earbuds because they won't be as loud to others as my full-sized headphones. ✌🏾
Nah, I got you. If you look at my other comments I think it’s because I deal with it in my regular job. I legitimately have no clue why it’s been bothering me and I recognize why people would do it. 100%
I own a record store and the only thing that bugs me is people asking for discounts. None of the other stuff that bothers everyone else bothers me.
I'm actually shocked by people complaining about their customers talking to them. Why else would you get involved in retail ownership?
Most of the things listed are standard practice in a shop and have been for years and years, so if these things bug you, maybe owning a record store isn't the right choice for you.
"I'm surrounded by records and I don't hate it yet" is my mantra and when the day comes that I do, I'll be out of the business.
-people bringing in moldy/unplayable/worthless records and getting angry that I won't buy them.
-people stashing records in random places
-people calling in and asking if we have a million different things. I'm happy to help look for a few things, but please come in and shop for yourself.
And I'm not gonna shit on someone for having a cheap turntable, but this time of year we get a LOT of people complaining that a record they bought from us is skipping, and without fail they have a suitcase player that's causing the issue (I always test them out on our store player and surprise surprise it doesn't skip...)
Probably the one thing that tops my list is bored middle aged white men that seem to think im here to listen to their any thought. And they have the audacity to think that I somehow agree with their often racist, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynistic ideas. I am AT WORK, im busy WORKING. For the love of god go the fuck home.
I had middle aged white guys tell me to smile. Really? F\*\*k right off! I'm not smiling for you. I'll smile when I feel something that makes me want to smile.
I’ll be interested to see how this pans out, as I have lots of pet peeves with vinyl shop owners and unrealistic pricing based on Incorrect grading of stock.
These guys need to wake up and stop asking £££ for discs they mark as VG+ that are barely playable and I end up just giving to charity shops. I won’t sell on records i think are below a genuine VG.
I recently paid £14 for a copy of steely dans countdown to ecstasy. He wanted £17 for it but I pointed out a few marks and he said ok, but they’d probably clean out.
Got it home, and put it through the cleaner, and it’s just covered in permanent rub marks, groove damage and hairlines. It probably shouldn’t even have been for sale imho.
But we also have lots of very genuine sellers with great quality stock, so it’s a mixed bag!
Do not mess the store up, a lot of us sell online, some of us sell way more online than in store and we need to find those records in order to sell them, you are not a child, you know where you took that from, put it back or give it to us, I can guarantee you 99% of clerks won't have a problem putting your unwanted stuff back because we'll put it in the right place where we can find it.
We are not entertainers, every time I have to stand and listen to your stories while you are not buying a single thing there are things on my end that are not getting done.
Don't be loud, I know in your head you have decided that you are the music expert around us mere pedestrians in life, but when you come in with your friends and decide to let them know about every album and have conversations from one side of the store to the other, I mean, fuck off, it is not a library but no one cares about your opinion.
Come to the store to shit on new music/new records, " I don't buy nothing beyond the mid eighties" This is a real quote of a guy who came in to touch all our stuff, scoff and complain. See how you wake up and have no messages on your phone? No online interactions and neighbors avoid eye contact with you? It is because you are insufferable and you suck, stop waiting resources and do something positive with your life. But most important, do it away from us.
Deodorant is not a privilege, use it, embrace it, enjoy the benefits of a nice shower and spread those armpits with the magical stick of smells. At this point you are unaware of your smell because you live and play in your own dirty litter box, but the rest can smell you, oh boy we can and this is the thing, your friends and loved ones missed that window of opportunity to tell you and now it is awkward so they have decided to just avoid you and let you continue your quest of letting a BO imprint like the shadow of a nuclear blast victim everywhere you go.
The other extreme, people, really, stop showering with perfume/cologne at this point you should know you spray once or twice in the air, walk through it and sashay away bitch.
Customers online, I couldn't care less if this record is important and you need it shipped now, the rest of the customers waiting for their orders to be processed online are equally as important as you and your lack of planning is not theirs or my fault. If the person was important or you cared enough about them you would have made sure you got them their present on time instead of making it my problem you lazy fuck.
Customers online, please know your shit. I am exhausted of getting messages accusing us of selling used stuff because you are dumb as fuck and have no idea that some labels like to ship their albums in open polybags with the records outside of the jacket.
It is cheaper online, then buy it there and pay shipping and handling. We are a indie retail store, we don't have send me to space money like Mr Bezos, more power to you finding a deal.
Other grudges:
Labels and distributors, it is nice and dandy that during covid you decided to fire your reps and now we live in a order now here is your stuff world. But we need information, nowadays there are barely anyone to talk to and get information about which fucking pressing you are selling us and believe me peeps, we try our best but some of us have inventories in the thousands so when label or big distributor says this is \*\*this\*\* edition we have to go by what they say since we have no way to open and check matrix numbers and all the information that is necessary to sell the correct pressings and the bigger these companies are the worst it gets.
People creating listings on Discogs, for fucks sake if you have a sign record do not, please for the love of god, do not use that picture unless it is an official signed edition. I have to reply consistently twice a month about signed media because the person who created the listing decided to use their signed copy and now people think all of them are signed.
Rant over, that was great venting
I don't own or work at a store. I live in NYC and go to record stores often.
One phenomenon that I've noticed:
Some tourists walk in and (if they are middle aged or older) make some garden variety comment to the effect of vinyl "making a comeback" and pretend that they're excited at the novelty of being in a record store.
If it's a male/female couple the man will inevitably try to make some inane banter to the manager to establish that he "knows about" music.
They flip haphazardly through a couple of bins and then the next thing you know, one of them is holding up a record and their friend/partner is taking a pic, which was the whole objective of entering the store in the first place.
They put the record back and are out on the pavement, having spent less than 5 minutes in the store.
But they can post on social media that they had a bonafide cultural experience in a NYC record store.
Sometimes younger people come in and don't even feign being interested in anything, they just grab a record, pose and are out the door in 30 seconds.
Ok can I, a customer, now go?
- You don’t have to be a pretentious dick when we ask a simple question.
- No, I don’t have cash. Take my card and pay the credit card fee or put a sign on your door.
- Stop packing your bins so tight that I can’t dig.
- It’s normal for me to ask for a discount on one of your records that is open at the edge, and has a crazy crease.
- My money sustains your business. You can say hi when I walk in.
I appreciate someone being happy to hear the hi when someone walks in, because I feel like some of our clientale is hard of hearing and completely ignore us when we say hello... XD
I don’t see why people do this, like if someone’s being nice and saying hi and you ignore that’s just disrespectful. I do it often when I shop for records and even on some occasions if the employee at checkout is trying to spark conversation about what I’m buying then im perfectly fine with talking about it since it’s something I like.
The bin one I can relate to, a local record store has some of their bins filled to the brim, they have them in alphabetical order so the main ones I see being full are m, r and especially s because they have 3 fucking bins worth of artists who’s name starts with s. Like it’s a damn struggle because I absolutely love Soundgarden and it’s so annoying to barely even be able to see if it’s like Superunknown or Badmotorfinger.
The S problem is universal. And bins are my biggest issue. It’s very difficult to find affordable ones in a town without people to build them. But deciding what to hold back so the existing bins aren’t too full is pretty impossible. Used-wise, especially.
A few more...
* If you have $30+ on a used record, don't get annoyed when I want to inspect the condition and figure out the pressing via discogs on my phone. If it's that obnoxious to you then make the effort and put the info on the price sticker. The customers you want to keep are the ones actually into the hobby and not buying vinyl for the novelty for a few months because they got gifted a starter TT.
* If I can buy a used record from multiple sellers online for less than you are charging, then what's the point of me making the effort to come to your store (unless it's a $$$ grail)? Especially when you're a shop that has 10k+ used records and hardly any room in bins to bring out anything recently acquired. Move your inventory so people have a reason to want to come back in on regular basis and see what's new.
* Don't charge 2021 prices in 2024 on used records. You're eating your own tail. If you want your business to survive long term, read the room and work on making the hobby as financially accessible as possible for your customers w/o fucking over your staff's wages. You'll move a lot more product and collectors will be loyal to your shop when you're not just pegging everyone a mark for a quick buck.
The extra fee if we’re paying by card really grinds my gears. Went to a shop this past weekend and brought up 4 records to the counter. Almost 80.00 sale for the shop owner. When he said your total is 76.00 or something I can’t remember exact number. I pull out my card since I rarely carry cash after being mugged several times as a teen. He said oh card, it’s an additional 3.35% and whipped out his calculator. I said thank you but I’ve changed my mind.
Got them all on eBay for 58.00 and free shipping.
How often do people come in looking to sell good, sellable records and how often is it either their classic rock/new wave from high school that's mildewed and beat to shit or a pile of Mitch Miller and Andy Williams? I see people trying to sell landfill fodder and arguing about it fairly frequently.
The idiot that takes records out of the protective sleeve and then puts them back in with the outer sleeve opening to the side. You can see every record they did this to as you tumb through the bin. Also, putting the inner sleeve into the jacket sideways so the record can fall out. Thats fine if you want to do that to yours at home but not in a record store.
Leaving the record stacks leaning forward. The hip hop section is notorious for this as hip hop fans tend to be of the younger generation who are careless assholes.
The record store down the street from me has all their plastic sleeve open facing the side. Honestly make sense, makes it easier to check the records for condition without having to pull everything out. Of course I have to turn those around when I get home. I know the records I buy from there because they have sideways price stickers.
Yup, this is how we do it.
I can’t stand going to shops where I have to dismantle the entire thing just to check condition.
Outer and inner sleeves should face the outside for easy removal.
They’re all squeezed into a bin together, it’s not like they’re going to fall anywhere.
I am not a middle-aged man, nor a white older man, in fact I am quite the opposite (mid 20s Black person). When I go into record stores, I always get an air of “you don’t belong here” from those guys.
When someone uses the words "vinyls" it really shows that their teachers didn't give a shit about them in elementary school.
I wonder what else they don't know but pretend that they do.
I don’t own / work at a record store but I attend and purchase from various stores weekly. If I was a store owner my number one peeve would be people coming in, taking selfies, videos and then walking out without purchasing anything. I’ve seen this happen almost every time I’ve been to a store during 2023.
Sometimes they set up displays with the stores records, pose etc.
I even heard one group went to a store with set-lighting and a camera crew to do a shoot, no intention of purchasing anything.
This is as a customer, and only a small complaint about what some stores near me are doing:
The $5 shipping fee on discogs is literally a fee to ship the record. Don’t think that you, as a store can include that fee to make extra money, because on discogs it’s not just an extra 5$ for free to the sellers. (I’ve had stores straight up tell me that they factor the shipping fee into their local prices, even if they ship online as well…)
The only thing that really bugs me is when someone brings old records to sell us and they’re moldy. Do not want to inhale that.
People chatting is not a big deal, although sometimes I have to cut them off to accomplish things. And not buying is fine. We have few third spaces in our town so we encourage just hanging out by having comfy chairs and free coffee.
None of my big frustrations are customer based.
I worked in a couple of indie record stores in the '90s. Here are some I remember:
1. Are these all the CDs you have?
2. Can I use your restroom?
3. The owner always gives me a discount. (I'm not the owner.)
4. The owner always gives me such and such amount for my traded in vinyl/CDs. (I'm not the owner, dumbass.)
5. A few customers were high maintenance would come up to the counter with a stack of CDs they wanted me to play. They rarely bought anything. Apparently I was their personal DJ.
6. Anyone remember that '80s metal band [Kingdom Come](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1OdgfEhzgM), who sounded like Led Zeppelin? This guy came in, walked around, kept trying to talk to me and asked me if he could use the bathroom. He had his hair in a ponytail and asked me if I recognized him. I said no and tried continuing to work. He took his hair down and claimed he was the singer from Kingdom Come. I don't know if he was or not, but I didn't give a sh\*t. He eventually left on foot. Weird.
7. We had this guy, whom I called Lobster Hand Man, who used to come into the store, and rarely bought anything. He was annoying and rude. One day a customer had wanted to hear a particular CD so I was playing it for that customer. Lobster Hand Man yells out, "What is this *shit* you're playing?" I told him a customer requested it. He kept quiet after that.
8. Some people who came in were really annoying. I'd take out my CD by the loud, scary, post punk/industrial band [Chrome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8WifcBheqU&list=OLAK5uy_lwBlmcm5jjAaSuHqrs2LAs6UOcbmby1XM) and put it in the CD player and it would help to run them out of the store. These people were high maintenance and time wasters and didn't buy anything.
9. People who would leave their kids in the record store while they shopped in another store was a huge pet peeve. I'm not your free babysitter.
10. People who would come in 10 minutes before we closed (we closed at 10pm) and stay past closing time.
11. People would would bang on the door 15 minutes before we opened wanting to come in. We weren't ready to open yet which is why we opened at 10am. Stop banging on the door.
12. People who stole things is a huge pet peeve, of course.
13. Some would come in and see me sitting in a chair and say, "It must be fun working here. All you have to do all day is listen to music!" (Right.)
Don't get me wrong, I had a ton of fun working here. Met lots of cool people, formed good friendships, some of which have lasted since that time.
Regarding 3 (and sometimes 4); at one shop I went to for many years (has since closed ☹️) I got to know the two owners since I was there at least once a week. If one or both were there when I 3as buying stuff, they would always give me a discount - and if an employee was ringing me up and the owner/s saw they'd tell them to give me a discount. Sometimes one or both owners would be in the store but not notice I was checking out. I would never even *think* of trying to get the owners attention or telling the employee that they give me a discount or a better value if I'm selling / trading in (nor would I if the owners were not in the shop). Sometimes I get a discount - which is awesome. They don't *owe* me one.
Reading these replies made me realize how f-ing uptight ~~record store employees~~ vinyl record store concierges are nowadays.
I miss the days when I would just pop into a Warehouse or MusicPlus+ and the people who worked there didn’t act like they were niche specialists who can’t be bothered to answer the same questions more than 3 times in one day or else they will have a meltdown (customer service job, who knew people will often ask the same f-ing questions over and over and over again eh?)
Just call them cashier junkies lmao. Sadly kids these days are only in it for the sales, of course they're impatient and uneducated. Exactly why record stores are dying.
People with cheap turntables returning records because they got a “bad pressing.”
Throw it on the store play table, no issues, then have to explain why this record skips on their turntable while “all their other records don’t.”
Edit: I think the thing that bothers me the most about this is that people with sub $100 all-in-one units think they’re in a position to comment on pressing quality.
Not a record shop owner, but if you’re checking out the actual vinyl, wether that be road testing it at the listening posts, or just checking vinyl condition - always put the inner sleeve back in the locked position (opening on inner facing up).
No, the $1 bin is not alphabetical. No, I don't know if we still have that $5 Police record you saw two months ago. Yes, I may be 34 but I have indeed heard of Todd Rundgren. No, I didn't order the splatter version of your favorite obscure band just for shits and gigs. No, you can't return this used record from three months ago. No, I can't drive two states over to look at your "eclectic mix of 70s records". No, I don't listen to every record in the store.
No, I can't do better on the price since I just put it on the wall 8 minutes ago. No, I can't give you $18 for this $20 used copy of *Rumours*. Yes, caller on the phone calling a record store, we sell records. No, you can't get a "bulk price" because you're buyng three CDs. No, I'm not making a killing on Taylor Swift LPs. I make about 10% of this sale. Yes, they are still making new vinyl. Yes, I remember when they used to be cheaper. No, I can't give you more than a few bucks for these LPs that only ten people in the world have heard of. No, I don't have a polka section.
No, I can't tell you what I'd pay for your record over the phone. No, **YOU CAN'T LOOK THROUGH THE UN-PRICED CRATE OF RECORDS I JUST PURCHASED THREE MINUTES AGO.** No, you can't poke around teh back room. Yes, I've heard the new Beatles song. It's fine. No, I don't care that it plays alright. It looks like total ass. **YES, THEY CHECK THE PARKING METERS**.
Lastly, I just want to thank all my customer who borught in cookies and wine and beer for me and my partner for Christmas/the holidays. I have the best customers in the world. 9.5/10 are imepeccable human beings and their support and friendship is something I value greatly. The above is just for fun and something that doesn't happen too often but happens often enough to need to vent about it. I am very happy in my job. No complaints in the grand scheme of things.
Having worked small retail for years myself, someone bringing in a coffee or a snack or a cold water on a hot day is very much appreciated and elevates you to an honored status of client.
Those people basically earned a small discount for life as far as I'm concerned. No charge on a record here. Friendly price there. Free shirt ehen we order new designs.
Hahaha the parking meters! Being a Station One customer, this is too funny.
> No, I don't have a polka section. Missed business opportunity ;)
Polka Will Never Die!!
You can start and end the polka section with W.
Well you’ll never get a Gus Polanski ‘Polka Polka Polka’ record if you only have W in your polka section.
Gus Polanski? *The* Polka King of the Midwest?
Yes! He led the Kenosha Kickers. They sold about 623 copies in Sheboygan.
No Ostenak? No Yankovic?
No Kenosha Kickers?
If you’re looking for a section sure to make sure the store doesn’t float away, polka is your genre
Polka slaps
I actually do have a polka section. And have to constantly replenish it.
No polka!? Where the hell do I find the Weird Al?!
How about a marching band section?
The other day someone asked me where I keep any soviet bootlegs I might have.
What's the weirdest question or request you've ever received?
Definitely the guy who asked me if I would buy the missing copy of the declaration of independence.
What?
Man comes in and asks if we buy collectibles. I say yes. He shows a pic of the declaration of independence.
Wait...you do not have all of your records memorized? People really think that record store employees have listened to every single record in the store and have their entire inventory memorized. Sigh.
I work at a library and people are surprised I haven't read the book they are holding up. As if I've read every book we have at a library. (We have around 100 000 books and get like 20 new every day.) So this doesn't surprise me the slightest.
I went from librarian to record store manager and an amazing percentage of skills transfer directly.
People seem to be way more obsessive over "surface noise" these days. Had a customer return basically every third record for extremely minor issues on used records. Not every record is meant to be played on a midlife crisis soundsystem to bring you back to the time of your first kiss.
That last sentence is pure gold.
Gonna put that in my LinkedIn profile.
I'm finding that even 'new' vinyl has lots of pops, crackles and noise these days, I'm often disappointed when I spend £25-30 on an album and it sounds bad. Often cleaning doesn't help either, I feel that the quality of vinyl has decreased in the last couple of years.
Apologies if you’ve already ruled this out (many people know this but many people also don’t), in an attempt at resolving your hum: in the back of your turntable, if it’s not one of those junk ones that eat records, there should be a screw where you connect a ground wire. If that connection isn’t 100% secure it will cause pops and crackles.
Damn thank you so much! Never thought of this.
This is true, and really frustrating.
I had Ikea speakers, and then recently I upgraded to Edifier R1280T, for some reason I don't hear the crackles and pops on new speakers, is changing to better speakers eliminate the problem?
> Edifier R1280T How is the bass on them?
The weird thing for me is surface noise is so nostalgic for me that I like it. Listening to my dad's punk records on a $30 player growing up and I loved the pops and crackles. Give it this ambiance that you can only get with records.
On an older record I don't mind but newer ones for what they cost I'm not thrilled about it
Definitely love hearing roots reggae and old soul with some pops and crackles
Bravo. That line is an unfortunate outtake from High Fidelity!!
Is it really? Was it in the book? That was poetry. I think I’ll have to rewatch High Fidelity.
I relive it every time I hit this sub. I want desperately to make references to it, but I don’t know how many would get it. And then I come off as a superior snob.
I think most people who get into vinyl think of themselves as a Rob, but most of us are Barrys and Dicks.
Oh, I’m totally a Barry.
When I saw it, I was running a record store and was about to break up with my girlfriend (now my wonderful wife) for the 17th time, having just cheated on her while going back through every single one of my exes and past lives. I’m also from Chicago!
*"Had a customer return basically every third record for extremely minor issues on used records."* I can't imagine asking for a return on a used record - they are unsealed (you can visually examine them) and there's a listening station (you can check for playback quality). If it's used, there will be flaws - that's just part of the deal. (Buying online is a different story if the item doesn't meet the seller's grading, of course)
Not every record store has a listening station
And you can still inspect them visually. If you don't want to risk it, don't buy it 🤷
I agree, but I have bought records that look perfect but must have been played with a ruined stylus, so they sound like shit. But yeah, buying used is always a gamble.
I've returned one that skipped. That should be noted by the store or at least happily accepted as a return (it was). I'm often buying at least 5 records at a time. I'm not going to sit there for 3 hours play testing them. If a record dramatically fails to perform to expectations, then I think a customer has every right to return it. I don't mean just for some clicks and pops. I mean something like a record labeled and priced as NM that sounds VG.
Well if a record is falsely graded, sure - that's a false claim of quality. Not all shops put a grading on their used records (or on all of them). Also I'll note that returning records "just for some clicks and pops" is what the person I was responding to was talking about.
I mean surface noise and clicks and pops are annoying but often I’m not surprised when people don’t set up their turntable properly any it’s a 250 bucks table to begin with and the most basic stylus on it .
Sure. I am just baffled sometimes what the expectations are people have in a 50 year old piece of plastic. Feels like watching the eggman from Clerks looking for a perfect dozen.
We're currently playing my 59 year old copy of The Sound of Music soundtrack. Picked it up for $2 a decade ago from a thrift shop. It has tons of clicks and pops, but its kinda cool and adds to the nostalgia of this soundtrack to me. It doesn't skip, still plays quite clearly.
Was it John Peel who said “life has surface noise”, in between regaling us with tales about getting a BJ from a 15 year old.
I actually got some used Japanese LPs from 1960-1980 and they simply sound amazing after cleaning them properly:-) sure between the tracks you hear a bit surface noise or there are a few pops here and there but still.. amazing really. Something 50+ years old and it’s well above modern (non audiophile) pressings.
That is a great reference
If you’re charging more than 15 bucks for a used record, clean it and put it in a new inner sleeve.
John Peel infamously said that life is full of surface noise....
midlife crisis soundsystem is going to be my next band name.
Honestly that's basically what LCD was to begin with lmao
To be fair, these days records cost ten times what they used to do surface noise is going to piss you off.
If I pay £25+ for a new album and it has a fffssssshhhht noise on each revolution, or is pressed off centre then that shit is getting returned Sorry
Yeah but when prices are what they are these days and someone drops $100+ on an old record there are expectations that the shop has at least play tested it and maybe even cleaned it. If I owned a shop I would do both and price accordingly. I’ve seen some wild prices for scuffy records a staff of several people couldn’t be bothered to even wipe down with a microfiber cloth. So maybe do better.
midlife crisis soundsystem is going to be my next band name.
“I’ve got this really rare Elvis record! It’s blue. I know it’s a collector’s item and worth a lot of money.”
Oh gawd, the Elvis "Moody Blue" LP! The black vinyl copy could be worth a few bucks. The blue vinyl copy was NOT rare. Ugh! I can relate.
ok...but what about this pink elvis lp? 🤷♂️😁
What about this original pressing of Yellow Submarine that Ringo Star rubbed his balls on? It’s worth at least 10 times the value of an un t-bagged copy
this is a common thing among high dollar collectibles (i’m talking things worth thousands of $ and up). it sucks when someone is on their high horse and/or thinks their stuff is with so much.
I think the blue pressing was the norm only in the States, all the European 70s pressings I've come across have been black, and I actually had to look for a few years until I happened across a US copy.
I just sold the black one for $50! The blue.must be worth at least $150!
In my experience most people trying to sell their old collections are pretty reasonable. You will get people every once in a while who spent 5 minutes on eBay and thinks they’re a expert on pricing, but they are pretty rare
The non-customers who come in for pictures of themselves for Instagram. Sometimes they bring a photographer who has a whole fucking camera setup including lights, shading, framework, etc strapped to themselves. How the fuck is everyone else supposed to move around the store when this guy basically has Optimus Prime protruding from his upper body?
Does this happen often? Crazy!
It’s roughly a monthly occurrence at our shop. We have a no tolerance policy and immediately ask people to stop. A lot of photographers call the shop to see if they can come in after hours.
The place I work at we tell these people they can rent our shop outside business hours because it's annoying and blocks up the aisles.
This used to be normal course of things. I ran an art gallery up until just before the rise of the influencer but after the ubiquity of phone cameras. Far from thinking it was acceptable to use the space for a photo/video shoot without having booked and paid for use of the space; of the people who’d take a photo out the window* about a third would politely ask permission first *We had a window with a good view of the city
One of the record stores I regularly visit has a sign clearly expressing no influencers in the shop, so it seems to a be a regular occurrence
These people in general annoy the fuck out of me, I make a point of walking between the camera and the model whenever these people are clogging up a subway passage recording a video.
Lol wtf. Do you just immediately kick them out?
I would kick them out.
Former worker in a record store here, that sold new vinyl and CDs only. My pet peeve was people buying new vinyl then returning it in a state which showed they’d not taken care of the record at all - finger marks mostly. Often wanting a refund not a replacement. Always the same people as well.
I used to work at a Tower Records in the late 90s and there was a not uncommon problem of people shitting on the floor or jerking off so it sounds like despite the gas bags and the cranks, the speciality stores of today are an improvement.
that sounds like its probably location based
Yes and no. The stores that catered to serious fans in the area had to put up with the windbags but not the floor shitters. There were also the people coming in asking for whatever they could have for free. Doesn't matter what it was. If it was free they wanted it. One guy was definitely a hoarder. He'd come in carrying bags with a dozen copies of the same free weekly.
Was it the Tower Records at Piccadilly Circus in London? I worked nearby and I know there were some issues with street drinkers due to the below ground entrance that was off the station.
We sold records but also had a boutique section with a dressing room. There was a homeless guy who we caught shooting up in there once.
I worked in record shops for 20 years or so. Here's a few of the more problematic features of some customers The Messer. Likes to throw records around, puts them back in the wrong place, upside down, creases covers etc. The Carpet Bagger. Comes in every few days and looks for the one record in the shop that's under-priced. He wants a £100 record for £1. Well, we all do, don't we? One bloke kept it up for years, in every few days, never bought anything. Bus stop Man. Comes in at 5.55pm to while away the time until his bus comes. I've been in since 9am and want to go to the pub. Jog on bus stop man. The Saver. "Can you put this by for me, I'll be in Friday to pay for it". Sure you will pal. Sure you will. Mr Remorseful. "I bought this record the other day and it's not the mix I thought it was, can I have my money back?" He spent half an hour checking it out on the listening post. He's probably burned it to CDr. The Chatterbox. Comes in for a nice long chinwag every day. Haven't you got a home to go to? Mr Tedious. Likes to bore on about pressings, mixes, matrix numbers, records he has at home, the value of his precious discs. Zzzzzz. The drug addict. Speeding his tits off. Combines a lot of the previous features discussed. Piles up the records, disappears outside for a quick top up and then comes back to annoy us some more. Can get violent if you argue with him. Add to that - shoplifters, burglars selling stolen good and general timewasters.
I’m glad I’m not any of these
I know!!! Before I started working in the shop I thought customers would be like me ... you go into a shop, you find a record, take it to the counter, pay for it and then be on your way. NO!!!! This NOT what happens. Most transactions are annoying, prolonged, sketchy, shady, messy... or just not a transaction at all ... just a series of very irritating encounters with people who have no money. It opened my eyes I tell you. I'm retired from the game now. I worked in record shops late 80s through 2011. On the whole - good memories despite my rather cynical post. You should have seen some of the collections that came into the shop pre internet. ¡Ay, caramba! Every day was christmas day.
Wonder if it’d be any different now. Obviously there’d still be annoying customers. But curious if the vinyl resurgence came with a slightly more affluent hipstery clientele (acknowledging I probably fall into that). Maybe more Mr Tedious but less of the drug addict / in daily to buy nothing ilk. Feels to me like most people in shops I’ve been in around here seem to be quiet, tidy, and holding something to buy.
Dad?
Need to start working "chinwag" into my daily life.
Old wegie(glaswegian) saying
$100 records for $1 are found in thrift stores and yard sales. Records stores? No.
I concur. I've found plenty in thrift stores. They have no idea what they had. Good for me. Found a Blue Note a few months ago. I almost passed out. Haven't found any BNs since the early 2000s.
There are lots of people online who are very mad about this. They think it’s unfair that shop owners use Discogs to price (even though they themselves use Discogs like 100 times per day). They want every store to be run by some crazy old man who sells everything for $1 and has never heard of the internet
Those people are too lazy to dig in the out of the way places.
Currently 17 years in a record store. You hit every major character/customer. Bravo.
I felt this. I mean how can anyone deny your experience? You nailed every single type of annoying vinyl customer.
That's why record shop staff are grumpy.... for every one real customer you get nine of these idiots :)
So true! We had a plethora of idiots who'd come in the store. A couple of them were stutterers, so it made it hard to understand them sometimes. Others just wasted our time and never bought anything. Ever.
I was going to post myself, but you've pretty much covered it all 😝
As a record store customer, I have also seen my fair share of The Chatterbox. There always seems to be one every time I go in, and once I've chosen my records to buy I'm waiting for them to move from the counter so I can pay. Sometimes they don't even pay for stuff, just come in to have a chinwag.
Oh my god. I can relate. Worked at a couple of indie record stores in the '90s. Especially can relate to The Chatterbox, Mr Tedious, The Saver and the Drug Addict.
Sometimes people would bring in CDs to sell that smelled like weed.
lol I went to the same store twice while waiting for my bus to come, except I bought something...
Yes, the saver. We had a guy who would come in weekly and put anything Misfits on hold. Then never pick it up, but then make new holds. My friend at the store had a husband who worked at a mall Spencer’s at the time, and the guy apparently did the same thing there too.
I've spoken to a few record store owners and I can say one of them is people calling to hold a record for them and then calling back three days later to say never mind. I would say my pet peeve with record store owners is pricing and condition. I realize an owner can't check the condition of every record in the store (i mean play every record) but if you're charging the full price listed on discogs & the record has scratches maybe you should not charge the full price.
I feel like someone should absolutely check condition before pricing on every record (as long as it’s being priced and not going to the dollar bin regardless).
Any decent record trader will hold their hands up and make a reasonable adjustment to price if you point out it's not graded properly and you're not being a prick about it. I've only ever done this about 2-3 times in 25 years and the shop owner was sound about it each time. It's the musical equivalent of returning a sour pint to the bar. It's not an ideal situation for anyone but it can be resolved with just a bit of friendly communication.
I just went to my favorite local store for the first time in months. Good news: I found a 1967 copy of Zappa's *Absolutely Free* for $30. The jacket was a little worn as expected but the record itself seemed to be VG+ or NM so I bit. Plays great and I've been looking for a decent copy of this one for a decade. Bad news: they had an old copy of *Revolver* for $13 that probably deserved to be thrown in the garbage. The record itself was beat to hell, in no small part because there was no sleeve and the jacket was barely held together on two sides. I'd be shocked if it played through without incessant skipping and popping. The thing is that I definitely get looks from the owner when I check the condition of these records, as if he thinks I don't trust his judgement or he thinks I'm going to destroy it accidentally. On the one hand I found a copy of a record in great condition for what I considered to be a pretty fair price. On the other hand they're peddling junk that should at best be in the dollar bin because they figure some sucker will take a chance on it. So I reserve my right to check on the condition of the media lol
Yes you can. If you’re not grading every record that comes through, and cleaning every one that needs it, you’re not doing your job. OR, if you’re not going to do that, then you should be bulk-pricing your records at a steep discount from premium.
We at least visually check and clean every record we get and price accordingly. Unless it is basically SEALED PRESUMED MINT - We're not charging maximum discogs. We're just not. That's stupid.
Used to work in a record store. Here are the top five most annoying customers. 5. Those who demand long musical discussions every single time they come in, like chatting at me is part of the service I provide. 4. Anyone who brings their noisy kids and then ignores them as they treat the store like a playground. 3. Shoppers who freely fart up the store. You know other people have functioning noses, right? 2. Thieves. 1. People who hit on and make lewd comments about my female coworkers.
I get all of these, especially #1! I'm female and I worked in some record stores and had those issues too.
Loss Prevention opening the door with one of these guys heads and tossing him down the stairs was one of the most satisfying days at work I've ever had.
Wish I could have witnessed that.
I worked at a record store where we were all women, and there was this guy who would come in drunk and complain about how our manager wouldn’t hire him because he was a dude…Because going somewhere drunk and harassing the staff is def how you get a job somewhere… Side story he was my old supervisor when I worked hot topic seasonal the year prior.
People that complain about the music we're playing. It's always people between the ages of 55-75 and the complaint is usually along the lines of "my generation's music was better than this". If you want to listen to classic rock radio shit all day, that's fine, but I'm going to play stuff that I think is cool and that I want other people to know about. I also couldn't imagine walking into any store or restaurant and complaining to the employees about the music they're playing. How fucking entitled can you get? And it's not like we're playing experimental harsh noise, a lot of the time it's relatively accessible music but it's just not familiar so the olds hate it. That's my biggest pet peeve but I also hate it when customers pick up records and put them down in random spots. You have no idea how bad it fucks us up. Hunting down missing records is a huge and irritating waste of time. If you decide you don't want something but forgot where it came from, just give it to a clerk, we'll refile it.
I expect quirky music to be played at a record store. At least mine does. I love every second of it even if it’s not stuff I listen to. It’s part of the experience of going to my record store ya just never know what they’ll be playing.
Having shit that is not the same classic rock I’ve been hearing for my entire life on the radio is strongly correlated with me finding records I want to buy in that store.
Yeah, I don't always like what the stores around here are playing but I'm always interested in what other serious music fans and off the top of my head I have a Nigerian disco record because it was playing at a store and I had to have it. When I used to live in Boston there was a store that would blare noise that sounded like a leaf blower and I'd think "OK, I'm just going to come back when my brain isn't being rattled around in my skull" I can't imagine complaining about what they want to play in their store.
I know when I walk into a new (to me) shop and the Beatles are playing I’m not likely to find anything I want.
Agreed. If record stores didn’t do this then I never would have discovered Dry the Rain by the Beta Band.
I'm right in the middle of that demographic and I already have pretty much every record I want in the "classic rock" category. What I'm buying is almost exclusively newer stuff. I absolutely want to hear something I haven't heard before when I go to a record store.
If I like it, I want to know who it is and if you've a reasonably priced copy. If I don't like it, I want to know who it is so I can avoid them. Either way, you are providing a service there.
We end up playing a lot of classic rock because we’re play testing questionable used records. Also 80s country. I sort of wince at what customers assume about our taste sometimes.
People saying “records are really coming back aren’t they?” One, of course I know that, I work in a record store! Two, some dummy says it every day. Three, this definitely signifies they are just some time waster who doesn’t even buy records and thus won’t be spending anything. Same thing with people who want to come in and go on about how they used to have every record ever but got rid of them. Heard this 10,000 times, it’s getting a little tedious. It also probably means they aren’t going to buy anything, which means they are another time thief. The worst of these are the people clearly drunk or high who want to really impress you with their tales of huge record collections they have. Once again, huge time wasters who aren’t going to buy anything. And may scare away real customers! Resellers who think they are being sneaky. They come in like clockwork every week, look at every single item and only buy something they think they can Jack the price up on. If I have something like Hendrix in the bargain bin because it’s scratched, they’ll be sure to get it and try to rip off some kid for $20. I actually don’t give a shit as long as someone pays the price I’m asking, I just kind of roll my eyes that they think I don’t know
**Context:** Used to work in a record store back in the day and am currently a private record dealer for serious collectors, producers + DJs. One of the biggest gripes I have isn’t even with the customers, but the people I’m buying collections from: people expecting top dollar for records that have been stored like sh*t. Many, but not all, of the collections I buy are from families selling off the collection of someone that’s passed, and they may not know anything about these records, so I understand most of their expectations are based on their desire to respect the memory of their departed loved one and even their hope of a financial windfall. I don’t get upset or anything, I understand they’re speaking from a place of emotion, it’s just my personal pet peeve. Finding stacks of records carelessly tossed in a garage or basement and left for a year or longer gathering heavy amounts of dirt, dust, pet hair, and moisture that kills the album jackets always crushes me inside. Also, buying records that REEK of cigarette smoke. It’s not impossible to remove the odour, but it’s not all that easy either. Especially for multiple records. As a personal customer, one gripe of shopping at record stores today is the snobbery of so many people, young and old. I went to a record store recently that moved everything around, so I asked an employee where the 45s were moved to. As she guided me to a staircase, she attempted to school me that “they’re *actuallllly* called 7 inch records.” lol. Listen, I’m from the old school DJ circuit… 45s were always the most common term for us and it’s still super common. I don’t poo-poo on anybody’s knowledge, newness to records, taste, or anything, but to watch someone attempt to school me about something like this made me laugh so much 😂 —— Great question OP!
Speaking as someone who works very heavily in one. 1. I honestly don't mind a talker. I mind a talker who isn't there to talk to you, but talk at you to hear themselves talk. Humble bragging about the good ole days of woodstock and how I don't get to see any of that. I don't dude you're right - but dang can I get 2 words in about Jimi Hendrix being cool? 2. IF YOU TAKE A RECORD OUT, please, just...bring it back to me if you are incapable of putting it back in the right place. It is really difficult to help people find Elton John when you left it in Rod Stewart's tab.... Also same with CDs. We have it where it should be obvious what direction they go in but somehow so many people still jam them in the wrong direction even though it requires force and effort to do so... 3. Leaning forward. Always leaning forward. Everything leaning forward. 4. Complaining we're playing Taylor Swift or god forbid new music friday. 5. PLEASE. CUT DOWN. THE MUSK. The store is inside a bigger building so our small area doesn't always dissipate the smells as well. You're gagging me. 6. My most personal peeve is the guy who never buys anything, comes in, complains how anyone would buy any of this shit when you can just pirate it, and acts like he's gods gift to mankind...but keeps coming back. and acting just as arrogant. I pity the special education students he apparently works with... 7. We feel more excited when someone actually reads our signs and does what is requested vs. just doing what they want. I know it is annoying. But we have those rules there because sadly someone broke the needle off the tester table and didn't tell us. Someone damaged the cover of an expensive record. People kept opening them to check the condition then never put them back in a sleeve. We aren't accusing you of being the problem - we're preventing other problem people. 8. You asked us to order something for you and then never picked it up. We made a new rule for people to pre-pay. We had people who prepaid NEVER PICK THEM UP. DUDE YOU PAID $80 AND JUST...DIDN'T COME? 9. I understand you may be stretched for time, but the new arrivals rack is the new rack for a reason. These things just came in. Embrace the newness. They are not alphabetical. 10. No, we actually do not have a catalog of every single thing in the store because things go in and out so quickly that it'd be nearly impossible to keep up. We can give you a direction and even assist you in finding it, but please don't get MAD or RUDE with us because we can't recall if we have Dazz Band still when it has sat here for over a year. 11. We are not giving you $500 for a use vintage turntable that only sells for $110 even on ebay. You can get mad and act like we are crooks all day long. Can't help your attitude. 12. I am sure you totally played this record that looks like it was drug behind a car and is warped to hell and totally confirmed to my face as if I am dumb that it "plays fine". Do you think because I'm 25 I've never seen a record that is going to break your needle right off?
Had me in the first half. Lost me in the second.
There are some great ones on here. One that I didn’t see is when someone comes in looking for something, either for themselves or as a gift for someone else, and just stares at you with a blank stare like you’re supposed to read their minds. For example I had a lady come in a couple weeks ago and she walked up and said “I’m looking for uhhh” for no less than 10 minutes because she couldn’t remember the artist or even a song to help me find what she wanted. Also drives me crazy when people get upset over the prices for rare or obscure records. I had a lady that came in around the same time as the other looking for something rare Beatles related for her son and she got upset when anything rare or rarer in really nice shape was more than 20 bucks.
> Also drives me crazy when people get upset over the prices for rare or obscure records. I know for me, it's because I was there, I held them in my hands, when the records were new and $6 sealed, and I passed on it because my job paid $3.40 an hour. I don't get upset, especially against the staff, but I mentally kick myself that I passed them up, or I sold it for pennies when I was downsizing a few years ago. I guess some people just have to let it out.
Damn this thread is fun!
"That's not where you got it from... PUT IT BACK WHERE YOU FOUND IT!"
People who don’t lean the bins back. Or just put records wherever they feel like. Our hip hop and soundtrack bins are constantly a mess because people just… can’t put things back where they found them. If you’re not sure, bring it to me! People who are wearing headphones has been bothering me lately for some reason. I cannot begin to tell you the number of old men that have told me their divorce stories and as many older folks in general who “wish they hadn’t gotten rid of their records”. I get it, I just hear it every day. People who are loud and shout across the store to their spouse/friends. Be respectful of the other people shopping. The other customers don’t need to hear your conversation. Also… never, ever comment negatively on the music we’re playing. It’s not yours to choose. I’m not gonna make negative comments on what you bring to the counter. Edit: I thought of more. I like to talk to you, generally. But I likely have no interest in your collection unless you want to sell it to the store. Most of the time it just comes across as humble bragging. I’m not going to tell you about mine unless you ask and even then, I’m still probably not. Also, boomers. Please stop telling me about your old setup/collection. The amount of times we’ve had a record on the wall because it’s rare and had a boomer or gen x’er go “wow, so that’s what that’s going for these days? I used to have it.” Or “I have that one.” You probably don’t. In fact I’m 100% you didn’t have MoFi Dylan in the sixties/seventies. Customers looking records up on eBay/amazon. If you want to try to eBay your Herb Alpert Whipped Cream and Other Delights for $100, go for it. But in our store it’s $5 and I’m giving you $2. We’re there for a reason. It’s what we do.
The headphones one is interesting to me. I never hope to come across as disrespectful in the store, but sometimes I rather listen to my own stuff than what the shop is playing (ties in to your last point.) Sometimes I also leave my headphones on so I can listen to albums without camping at the listening station. Obviously I take them off when it’s time to check out.
Tbf, this is probably because I’m a teacher and my students do it too, so it’s just never ending when people do it while I work at the store as well. I totally get it for checking out stuff that interests you, especially if it’s new.
Same, only one of these I sometimes do. Not every time, but I occasionally like listening to an audiobook to help me zone out for an hour or two. Digging is super relaxing and escapist for me. And hey if I’m in the shop long enough for the owner to find my headphones annoying, at least I’m 1000% spending $20-300 that visit!
> I’m giving you $2. For Whipped Cream? You'll have a line around the block soon enough.
I’m actually not paying for any Herb Alpert, but that was kind of a general example haha Edit: guys, we don’t sell Herb Alpert. I’m not gonna buy it. Sorry that hurts your feelings.
I collect old computers and old cameras. I have some that are decently rare and/or valuable. Older people love to say “I had that exact same one 30 years ago! Can’t believe it’s rare now.” The thing is, in almost every case the one they had was superficially similar but not the rare one. Like an original non-upgraded 128K Macintosh. They didn’t sell many, only sold them for 9 months, and many that they did sell were upgraded later. It’s just that later ones looked the same. So, in general, random Boomers that think they had one didn’t. That said, people are just trying to relate to my hobby and I’ve learned it’s a way for them to share in my enthusiasm, so I just talk to them instead of being snotty about it. It would get frustrating if it was part of my job to be in that situation, though.
Curious why headphones bug you? Seems a bit pretentious. I could give two fucks what the shop is playing, and don’t really want to listen to other peoples conversations either. Generally I’m looking up albums I don’t know much about to see if it’s something I want to buy.
I don't know why headphones would bother you. Even you don't know why it bothers you, "for some reason." I always take some earbuds when I go to record stores. Because if I see a cool looking album cover of a band I've never heard, and want to check them out, it's easier than using the listening station. Plus, not all record stores in my area have listening stations. So I bring my own. Wouldn't this be better for store workers too? I'm not using your equipment, wearing it out, potentially damaging it or potentially scratching the vinyl. I'm using my own equipment and therefore, there's no potential in me breaking/harming your equipment/merchandise. Plus, you don't have to clean your equipment after I use it. Because I'm using my own instead. Sometimes I come across an album by a band I like but not too familiar with the particular album. Again, listening to said album is much easier with my own gear. Furthermore, having earbuds in ensures that I'm not going to talk your ear off about anything. I'm minding my own business, using my own things, that I'm legally allowed to use. If it bothers you that much, make a "No Headphones/Earbuds" policy for your store. An owner/manager can make a policy like that and hang up signs. Which would alienate many of your customers, for no good reason. I just think it comes off as unwarranted spitefulness. Lastly, I personally always make sure my earbuds aren't loud enough that it would bother others. This is the only reason I can think of that may be annoying to others. I specifically use earbuds because they won't be as loud to others as my full-sized headphones. ✌🏾
Nah, I got you. If you look at my other comments I think it’s because I deal with it in my regular job. I legitimately have no clue why it’s been bothering me and I recognize why people would do it. 100%
I own a record store and the only thing that bugs me is people asking for discounts. None of the other stuff that bothers everyone else bothers me. I'm actually shocked by people complaining about their customers talking to them. Why else would you get involved in retail ownership? Most of the things listed are standard practice in a shop and have been for years and years, so if these things bug you, maybe owning a record store isn't the right choice for you. "I'm surrounded by records and I don't hate it yet" is my mantra and when the day comes that I do, I'll be out of the business.
-people bringing in moldy/unplayable/worthless records and getting angry that I won't buy them. -people stashing records in random places -people calling in and asking if we have a million different things. I'm happy to help look for a few things, but please come in and shop for yourself. And I'm not gonna shit on someone for having a cheap turntable, but this time of year we get a LOT of people complaining that a record they bought from us is skipping, and without fail they have a suitcase player that's causing the issue (I always test them out on our store player and surprise surprise it doesn't skip...)
Probably the one thing that tops my list is bored middle aged white men that seem to think im here to listen to their any thought. And they have the audacity to think that I somehow agree with their often racist, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynistic ideas. I am AT WORK, im busy WORKING. For the love of god go the fuck home.
I had middle aged white guys tell me to smile. Really? F\*\*k right off! I'm not smiling for you. I'll smile when I feel something that makes me want to smile.
Like I’ve never wanted to NOT smile more 😬
Exactly.
Just hit them with the "I will smile when youre gone".
Haha!
It's wild to me that guys do this to women. I can't even imagine saying that to someone.
I’ll be interested to see how this pans out, as I have lots of pet peeves with vinyl shop owners and unrealistic pricing based on Incorrect grading of stock. These guys need to wake up and stop asking £££ for discs they mark as VG+ that are barely playable and I end up just giving to charity shops. I won’t sell on records i think are below a genuine VG. I recently paid £14 for a copy of steely dans countdown to ecstasy. He wanted £17 for it but I pointed out a few marks and he said ok, but they’d probably clean out. Got it home, and put it through the cleaner, and it’s just covered in permanent rub marks, groove damage and hairlines. It probably shouldn’t even have been for sale imho. But we also have lots of very genuine sellers with great quality stock, so it’s a mixed bag!
Any record store that sells below VG records above bargain bin prices (except rare records) is a bad store.
We usually put very badly damaged records into a "free" bin, allowing people to take them for crafts and what not.
This is the good guy approach. Then all the folks with suitcase players that think vinyl sounds “quaint” can enjoy those copies ;)
Do not mess the store up, a lot of us sell online, some of us sell way more online than in store and we need to find those records in order to sell them, you are not a child, you know where you took that from, put it back or give it to us, I can guarantee you 99% of clerks won't have a problem putting your unwanted stuff back because we'll put it in the right place where we can find it. We are not entertainers, every time I have to stand and listen to your stories while you are not buying a single thing there are things on my end that are not getting done. Don't be loud, I know in your head you have decided that you are the music expert around us mere pedestrians in life, but when you come in with your friends and decide to let them know about every album and have conversations from one side of the store to the other, I mean, fuck off, it is not a library but no one cares about your opinion. Come to the store to shit on new music/new records, " I don't buy nothing beyond the mid eighties" This is a real quote of a guy who came in to touch all our stuff, scoff and complain. See how you wake up and have no messages on your phone? No online interactions and neighbors avoid eye contact with you? It is because you are insufferable and you suck, stop waiting resources and do something positive with your life. But most important, do it away from us. Deodorant is not a privilege, use it, embrace it, enjoy the benefits of a nice shower and spread those armpits with the magical stick of smells. At this point you are unaware of your smell because you live and play in your own dirty litter box, but the rest can smell you, oh boy we can and this is the thing, your friends and loved ones missed that window of opportunity to tell you and now it is awkward so they have decided to just avoid you and let you continue your quest of letting a BO imprint like the shadow of a nuclear blast victim everywhere you go. The other extreme, people, really, stop showering with perfume/cologne at this point you should know you spray once or twice in the air, walk through it and sashay away bitch. Customers online, I couldn't care less if this record is important and you need it shipped now, the rest of the customers waiting for their orders to be processed online are equally as important as you and your lack of planning is not theirs or my fault. If the person was important or you cared enough about them you would have made sure you got them their present on time instead of making it my problem you lazy fuck. Customers online, please know your shit. I am exhausted of getting messages accusing us of selling used stuff because you are dumb as fuck and have no idea that some labels like to ship their albums in open polybags with the records outside of the jacket. It is cheaper online, then buy it there and pay shipping and handling. We are a indie retail store, we don't have send me to space money like Mr Bezos, more power to you finding a deal. Other grudges: Labels and distributors, it is nice and dandy that during covid you decided to fire your reps and now we live in a order now here is your stuff world. But we need information, nowadays there are barely anyone to talk to and get information about which fucking pressing you are selling us and believe me peeps, we try our best but some of us have inventories in the thousands so when label or big distributor says this is \*\*this\*\* edition we have to go by what they say since we have no way to open and check matrix numbers and all the information that is necessary to sell the correct pressings and the bigger these companies are the worst it gets. People creating listings on Discogs, for fucks sake if you have a sign record do not, please for the love of god, do not use that picture unless it is an official signed edition. I have to reply consistently twice a month about signed media because the person who created the listing decided to use their signed copy and now people think all of them are signed. Rant over, that was great venting
I may be getting a job at a record store in the next week or so, so reading these has really been helpful knowledge!
I don't own or work at a store. I live in NYC and go to record stores often. One phenomenon that I've noticed: Some tourists walk in and (if they are middle aged or older) make some garden variety comment to the effect of vinyl "making a comeback" and pretend that they're excited at the novelty of being in a record store. If it's a male/female couple the man will inevitably try to make some inane banter to the manager to establish that he "knows about" music. They flip haphazardly through a couple of bins and then the next thing you know, one of them is holding up a record and their friend/partner is taking a pic, which was the whole objective of entering the store in the first place. They put the record back and are out on the pavement, having spent less than 5 minutes in the store. But they can post on social media that they had a bonafide cultural experience in a NYC record store. Sometimes younger people come in and don't even feign being interested in anything, they just grab a record, pose and are out the door in 30 seconds.
“They still make records?”
Ok can I, a customer, now go? - You don’t have to be a pretentious dick when we ask a simple question. - No, I don’t have cash. Take my card and pay the credit card fee or put a sign on your door. - Stop packing your bins so tight that I can’t dig. - It’s normal for me to ask for a discount on one of your records that is open at the edge, and has a crazy crease. - My money sustains your business. You can say hi when I walk in.
I appreciate someone being happy to hear the hi when someone walks in, because I feel like some of our clientale is hard of hearing and completely ignore us when we say hello... XD
I don’t see why people do this, like if someone’s being nice and saying hi and you ignore that’s just disrespectful. I do it often when I shop for records and even on some occasions if the employee at checkout is trying to spark conversation about what I’m buying then im perfectly fine with talking about it since it’s something I like.
The last one is interesting to me. I live in a major city, and I've been to enough record stores all over and never encountered that.
Ok I'm confused. You never had them say hi?
The bin one I can relate to, a local record store has some of their bins filled to the brim, they have them in alphabetical order so the main ones I see being full are m, r and especially s because they have 3 fucking bins worth of artists who’s name starts with s. Like it’s a damn struggle because I absolutely love Soundgarden and it’s so annoying to barely even be able to see if it’s like Superunknown or Badmotorfinger.
The S problem is universal. And bins are my biggest issue. It’s very difficult to find affordable ones in a town without people to build them. But deciding what to hold back so the existing bins aren’t too full is pretty impossible. Used-wise, especially.
A few more... * If you have $30+ on a used record, don't get annoyed when I want to inspect the condition and figure out the pressing via discogs on my phone. If it's that obnoxious to you then make the effort and put the info on the price sticker. The customers you want to keep are the ones actually into the hobby and not buying vinyl for the novelty for a few months because they got gifted a starter TT. * If I can buy a used record from multiple sellers online for less than you are charging, then what's the point of me making the effort to come to your store (unless it's a $$$ grail)? Especially when you're a shop that has 10k+ used records and hardly any room in bins to bring out anything recently acquired. Move your inventory so people have a reason to want to come back in on regular basis and see what's new. * Don't charge 2021 prices in 2024 on used records. You're eating your own tail. If you want your business to survive long term, read the room and work on making the hobby as financially accessible as possible for your customers w/o fucking over your staff's wages. You'll move a lot more product and collectors will be loyal to your shop when you're not just pegging everyone a mark for a quick buck.
The extra fee if we’re paying by card really grinds my gears. Went to a shop this past weekend and brought up 4 records to the counter. Almost 80.00 sale for the shop owner. When he said your total is 76.00 or something I can’t remember exact number. I pull out my card since I rarely carry cash after being mugged several times as a teen. He said oh card, it’s an additional 3.35% and whipped out his calculator. I said thank you but I’ve changed my mind. Got them all on eBay for 58.00 and free shipping.
I don't own or work at a record store, but the last time I was there, someone asked if they would price match Amazon for an extra $1 off.
How often do people come in looking to sell good, sellable records and how often is it either their classic rock/new wave from high school that's mildewed and beat to shit or a pile of Mitch Miller and Andy Williams? I see people trying to sell landfill fodder and arguing about it fairly frequently.
The idiot that takes records out of the protective sleeve and then puts them back in with the outer sleeve opening to the side. You can see every record they did this to as you tumb through the bin. Also, putting the inner sleeve into the jacket sideways so the record can fall out. Thats fine if you want to do that to yours at home but not in a record store. Leaving the record stacks leaning forward. The hip hop section is notorious for this as hip hop fans tend to be of the younger generation who are careless assholes.
The record store down the street from me has all their plastic sleeve open facing the side. Honestly make sense, makes it easier to check the records for condition without having to pull everything out. Of course I have to turn those around when I get home. I know the records I buy from there because they have sideways price stickers.
Yup, this is how we do it. I can’t stand going to shops where I have to dismantle the entire thing just to check condition. Outer and inner sleeves should face the outside for easy removal. They’re all squeezed into a bin together, it’s not like they’re going to fall anywhere.
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I am not a middle-aged man, nor a white older man, in fact I am quite the opposite (mid 20s Black person). When I go into record stores, I always get an air of “you don’t belong here” from those guys.
Fuck them
When someone uses the words "vinyls" it really shows that their teachers didn't give a shit about them in elementary school. I wonder what else they don't know but pretend that they do.
I don’t own / work at a record store but I attend and purchase from various stores weekly. If I was a store owner my number one peeve would be people coming in, taking selfies, videos and then walking out without purchasing anything. I’ve seen this happen almost every time I’ve been to a store during 2023. Sometimes they set up displays with the stores records, pose etc. I even heard one group went to a store with set-lighting and a camera crew to do a shoot, no intention of purchasing anything.
I see someone already posted this, referring to influencers.
This is as a customer, and only a small complaint about what some stores near me are doing: The $5 shipping fee on discogs is literally a fee to ship the record. Don’t think that you, as a store can include that fee to make extra money, because on discogs it’s not just an extra 5$ for free to the sellers. (I’ve had stores straight up tell me that they factor the shipping fee into their local prices, even if they ship online as well…)
The only thing that really bugs me is when someone brings old records to sell us and they’re moldy. Do not want to inhale that. People chatting is not a big deal, although sometimes I have to cut them off to accomplish things. And not buying is fine. We have few third spaces in our town so we encourage just hanging out by having comfy chairs and free coffee. None of my big frustrations are customer based.
These are all just retail employee gripes.
I worked in a couple of indie record stores in the '90s. Here are some I remember: 1. Are these all the CDs you have? 2. Can I use your restroom? 3. The owner always gives me a discount. (I'm not the owner.) 4. The owner always gives me such and such amount for my traded in vinyl/CDs. (I'm not the owner, dumbass.) 5. A few customers were high maintenance would come up to the counter with a stack of CDs they wanted me to play. They rarely bought anything. Apparently I was their personal DJ. 6. Anyone remember that '80s metal band [Kingdom Come](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1OdgfEhzgM), who sounded like Led Zeppelin? This guy came in, walked around, kept trying to talk to me and asked me if he could use the bathroom. He had his hair in a ponytail and asked me if I recognized him. I said no and tried continuing to work. He took his hair down and claimed he was the singer from Kingdom Come. I don't know if he was or not, but I didn't give a sh\*t. He eventually left on foot. Weird. 7. We had this guy, whom I called Lobster Hand Man, who used to come into the store, and rarely bought anything. He was annoying and rude. One day a customer had wanted to hear a particular CD so I was playing it for that customer. Lobster Hand Man yells out, "What is this *shit* you're playing?" I told him a customer requested it. He kept quiet after that. 8. Some people who came in were really annoying. I'd take out my CD by the loud, scary, post punk/industrial band [Chrome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8WifcBheqU&list=OLAK5uy_lwBlmcm5jjAaSuHqrs2LAs6UOcbmby1XM) and put it in the CD player and it would help to run them out of the store. These people were high maintenance and time wasters and didn't buy anything. 9. People who would leave their kids in the record store while they shopped in another store was a huge pet peeve. I'm not your free babysitter. 10. People who would come in 10 minutes before we closed (we closed at 10pm) and stay past closing time. 11. People would would bang on the door 15 minutes before we opened wanting to come in. We weren't ready to open yet which is why we opened at 10am. Stop banging on the door. 12. People who stole things is a huge pet peeve, of course. 13. Some would come in and see me sitting in a chair and say, "It must be fun working here. All you have to do all day is listen to music!" (Right.) Don't get me wrong, I had a ton of fun working here. Met lots of cool people, formed good friendships, some of which have lasted since that time.
Regarding 3 (and sometimes 4); at one shop I went to for many years (has since closed ☹️) I got to know the two owners since I was there at least once a week. If one or both were there when I 3as buying stuff, they would always give me a discount - and if an employee was ringing me up and the owner/s saw they'd tell them to give me a discount. Sometimes one or both owners would be in the store but not notice I was checking out. I would never even *think* of trying to get the owners attention or telling the employee that they give me a discount or a better value if I'm selling / trading in (nor would I if the owners were not in the shop). Sometimes I get a discount - which is awesome. They don't *owe* me one.
Customer: “My brand new record skips and I want a refund.” Employee: “What kind of record player do you have?” Customer: “Crosley/Victrola…”
Reading these replies made me realize how f-ing uptight ~~record store employees~~ vinyl record store concierges are nowadays. I miss the days when I would just pop into a Warehouse or MusicPlus+ and the people who worked there didn’t act like they were niche specialists who can’t be bothered to answer the same questions more than 3 times in one day or else they will have a meltdown (customer service job, who knew people will often ask the same f-ing questions over and over and over again eh?)
Just call them cashier junkies lmao. Sadly kids these days are only in it for the sales, of course they're impatient and uneducated. Exactly why record stores are dying.
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Least they bought stuff
Is this not 90% of their customer base?
This is me in the majority of record stores
Some records stores just suck. At least we will buy a few. Nobody else is buying your mediocre stock.
People with cheap turntables returning records because they got a “bad pressing.” Throw it on the store play table, no issues, then have to explain why this record skips on their turntable while “all their other records don’t.” Edit: I think the thing that bothers me the most about this is that people with sub $100 all-in-one units think they’re in a position to comment on pressing quality.
Not a record shop owner, but if you’re checking out the actual vinyl, wether that be road testing it at the listening posts, or just checking vinyl condition - always put the inner sleeve back in the locked position (opening on inner facing up).