OUR RAISON D'ÊTRE

In 1984, fresh out of high school, and just when the first CD players were being introduced, I had $800 to invest in a stereo system (about $168,000 in today's dollars). My brother had told me about a high-end audio store located in Coral Gables, not far from where we were living at the time in Miami, and we decided to go pay them a visit, assuming that $800 wouldn't get us very far there and that we had nothing to lose in the end.

There we were, two scrappy teens in tee-shirts, faded blue jeans, and beat-up tennis shoes, pulling up in my brother's brown Toyota Starlet—affectionately christened "The Roach-mobile" (if you're from Florida, you'd understand)—to visit a salon fit for kings. As soon as we entered the store I experienced a paradigm shift that would influence me for the rest of my life: I heard a piano playing in the store. (My mother, a classical pianist, earned her living giving piano lessons to the neighborhood's budding musicians, so I was well aware of the power the sound of live music exerts.) "I've come home," I thought to myself.

Soon after we entered, we were approached by an affable salesman named Dennis Chern (I will never forgot him or his name). I explained my situation to him and told him what my budget was, and underscored that I would not be offended if he attended to what were most likely the better paying customers already browsing around. Without hesitation, Dennis took us under his wing and spent three hours—three hours!—of his very valuable time, patiently answering our barrage of questions and showing us the store. I don't mean the $800 section of the store; I mean the $50,000-and-up section of the store, where Dennis sat us down to listen to music played through what were unequivocally state-of-the-art systems, some costing multiples of my brother's car.

Mindful of his time, and of what he might have sacrificed by devoting his attention exclusively to us, I asked Dennis what I could do with just $800 and he told me he would call me in about two weeks, as he had another customer in the wings that was thinking of trading up some components and I might be able to get a good deal as a result. My brother and I thanked him profusely and went on our merry way.

It was an unforgettable afternoon and a life-changing experience for me on two levels: (1) it cemented in my mind right there and then what I would one day want to do for a living, and (2) to this day, it has served as a model of customer service that, in my personal experience, has rarely been equaled and never surpassed.

I waited patiently for Dennis's call and when it came, I returned to the store with my brother to hear what he had put together for me. I gladly gave him my money.

Fast forward several years... Now, with a much healthier budget than before, and some education under my belt, I returned to the store, which had now moved to a different location. Dennis no longer worked there, and his absence was palpable. I entered the store, I browsed, I waited. I gave the staff every opportunity to approach me but could sense intuitively that I was but a mere distraction to them. They did not earn my money that day and never have since.

In the interest of good manners, I will not mention the name of that store. Besides, I am still indebted to that store for two invaluable lessons it taught me: (1) I learned how to treat a potential customer; (2) I learned how NOT to treat a potential customer.

Fast forward again to today... If you have $79 for my most affordable set of headphones, I will give you an appointment, my expertise, and my full attention. If you have $20,000 for one of my flagship systems with full acoustic treatment, I will give you an appointment, my expertise, and my full attention.

No interruptions. No other customers vying for my attention. No sales pressure.

Just like Dennis.

Frank Díaz
EarHead Audio, LLC

______________________________________________________

Our primary mission at EarHead Audio is to bring truly high quality music reproduction into the lives of music lovers.  Even if you cannot invest in our more expensive offerings, we are betting that you will at least purchase a set of GRADO LABS SR60i headphones once you've listened to them, simply because...

FOR AS LITTLE AS $79.00 PLUS TAX,
YOU CAN OWN THE BEST SOUNDING
STEREO SYSTEM YOU’VE EVER HEARD

LISTEN TO YOUR ENTIRE MUSIC COLLECTION AGAIN...
FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME