Peach Guitars - opinions wanted!

PeachGuitarsRyan

Hey guys,

My name is Ryan and I’m the Marketing Manager at Peach Guitars. I’d just like to say thanks for accepting both @PeachyJack ;and myself to the forum, I know there was some tension between a few people and the store a while back but it’s great to be involved in the forum again.

We’d actually really like to gauge your opinion on something, so I hope you’ll forgive the long post and humour us with a response!

2020 has been the most challenging year that many of us have ever had to face, individually and collectively it’s been pretty rough. It’s changed the face of retail and put an extra strain on a super competitive industry. With lockdowns and the tiering system, the rules seem to be constantly changing and it’s left shops having to re-evaluate how they do business. 

We’re one of the lucky ones, for the last few years our split of online and in store sales has been very firmly leaning towards online, we don’t rely on footfall to the shop and have been able to sustain ourselves solely through our website. Business has gone through the roof and we now find ourselves looking at what this might mean longer term.

With lockdown about to lift again, and the expectation that shops will in some capacity re-open their doors, we are considering making our appointment only system a permanent fixture.

With online sales going above and beyond what we imagined, our sales and warehouse teams have been doing their absolute best to ensure that our usual high standards aren’t compromised and that we continue to deliver the highest level of customer care we can. With no sign of this slowing down, we just can’t see how we can continue to cater for the casual in store customers. Aside from our incredible selection of guitars, our reputation is built on our quality of care, and it’s not really something we’d be willing to compromise on. The obvious solution might seem to be just recruiting more staff, but we also need to be very aware that although business is strong, we are still in the midst of a pandemic and the future is far from clear. New recruits bring with them training expenses, wages, commissions and pensions, all without the guarantee of increased turnover. 

The practicalities of displaying the 2000 guitars we stock is another consideration, as is the need for us to keep the guitars in the best possible condition. During lockdown we have been able to receive stock, pass it through quality control and then return it safely in the box to our warehouse ready for a dispatch set up upon sale. It’s a safer, swifter system that has almost eliminated accidental damage, which when we’re dealing with boutique gear, very often custom shop level, it’s a big concern. You guys want your purchase to be mint, fresh from the box, not a guitar that has sat on display for 6 months.

We are sufficiently staffed to continue to grow online, and this is an area we feel passionately about developing further. Over the last year we’ve been able to work with our contacts to secure some incredible deals and exclusives, push out more great content than ever before and subsequently get ourselves into the NAMM Top 100. We’d really love to continue to push forward in this direction but the decision to close the store to passing trade is something that we feel you guys, the customers, should have a say in.

So, how would you feel if we continued to limit in store purchasing to pre-arranged appointments but offset it with an improved and refined online store? In addition to responding on here, my email address is ryan@peachguitars.com should you want to discuss it in any more detail!

We would really appreciate some feedback, no decision has been made yet, and we’re exploring all the possible options and your ideas and opinions will help us ensure we make the right call!

We’ve got some incredible plans for next year, I wish I could tell you all now, but you are definitely going to want to keep following Peach Guitars!

Thanks for taking the time to read this mammoth post and we hope you guys all stay well and have a great Christmas and New Year!

S56035

How does the instore appointment thing work?  As a very average bedroom player I'm not a great fan of going into the shop and having to play my crappy chords and riffs while stood next to a sales guy who plays 20 hours a week!  Do you have booths where customers can review their potential purchases in private?

I'm no where near you so wouldn't ever be a walk in customer just having a browse but I'd certainly miss that option if my local store (Coda) went that way.  On the other hand even after the pandemic is over (it will be over at some point won't it????) I think my general shopping habits have probably been permanently changed now.

RandallFlagg

Works for me Ryan. I've purchased 3 guitars from you guys in last couple of years, a Martin HD28, Gibson Custom Shop SG and just a few weeks ago a PRS McCarty 594. All were perfectly turned out. Only the SG was purchased in store, in 2019, pre-covid lockdown, but I rang ahead to check before setting off so calling to make an appointment would have been just as easy. The other 2 were ordered online. When I came over I was greeted by the chap I spoke to on the phone, he got me a coffee and set me up in the Gibson Custom Shop room with an amp and left me to it and checked back occasionally to see if I needed anything or another coffee, it was a very relaxed and pleasant experience.

I have complete confidence in buying from Peach online and know that the guitars will arrive in factory fresh, pristine condition, not with the complimentary scuffs and dings that I have experienced from some other sellers who have had guitars on display to the great unwashed general public! 

The less people passing through the store perusing and mauling top shelf guitars and handing them back to you guys dinged or marked is a good thing for me.

As for online, better detail in the specs would be good, pics of the shop floor traveller for Fender Custom Shop for example. I tend to browse online and shortlist from there and any desire to try in person can be pre-arranged via an appointment.

Keep up the good work but can you please stop buying in such lovely guitars? I have no will power. 

barnstorm

The most useful change to the website for me would be weights listed for all guitars, Sweetwater-style, in addition to a set of quality pics.

I've had stuff from you online and in-store, and I'd have no problem making an appointment to visit in the future. I live far enough away that stopping by already involves a bit of planning, anyhow. I'd want there to be a way of reserving a particular guitar or amp, though, so that I didn't arrive to find it had been sold online while I was on the motorway!

I do think appointment-only could be off-putting for new players, but maybe that's not much of your custom, and the upside is that in a much quieter store folks with lots of questions would always be able to find a member of staff for help. Individual demo rooms might be an idea, I guess, but obviously that's an investment and the space might not lend itself to that sort of change.

Nice that you're interested enough to ask, and I hope things continue to go well.

Jalapeno

I used to enjoy your paid-for workshops - got a great picture of me with Robben Ford as a momento !

Until a far stronger air of normality returns to us all I very much doubt your footfall will change much anyway, and appointments are far safer for all concerned if everyone's masked up ! So it works for me.

Ossyrocks

It’s ok by me. You’re too far away for me to travel and visit, but since 2014 I have bought five CS historic Les Pauls and a CS Telecaster from you based entirely on your online sales reputation and good communications. An even better online presentation of each guitar would be hard to do, but it can only improve confidence in the buying public.

Crack on.

Rob

relic245

I'll never be a walk in customer as I live too far away. 

Several years ago I wanted to try a Dr Z amp so made the trek. I called in advance to find out when was a good time that I could make my 3 hour drive be worthwhile without you guys being rushed off your feet. 

It was great. It felt like a personal appointment. You sell some high end gear and if I'm parting with that kind of money then I value that kind of personal service that you can't give with a shop full of people. 

Is there a way to keep serving walks ins for small items though? If I lived in the area and could pop in to buy strings and a lead when I need them it helps to keep the brand loyalty there. 

FelineGuitars

I think it is a real danger to turn all our businesses to online/mail order only . 

What we underestimate in the retail shopping experience is the "discovery" element, where a player has gone in to maybe look at a guitar by brand A, and in wandering into a well stocked shop spies a guitar by another brand (maybe unknown to them, but not necessarily) and gives it a try and has their world turned upside down by finding something that they never knew would be their cup of tea. 

Or in a large superbly stocked shop like yours gets to try a number of examples of a model of guitar they were interested in, and discovers that the one they liked the look or colour of isn't the one that they like the feel or vibe of best and important maybe long lived benefits of selecting the guitar with the right mojo is achieved.

I have only today placed an order with you for an amp, but that won't be as individual as say the feel of a guitar in my hands, so I value and take full advantage of your online sales service, but I would hate to see the option of calling in to try out some stuff slowly slip away

I know a big part of the question is the appointment only system, which I understand during the Covid period , but some players may feel that such appointments may be geared towards the expectation of the completion of a sale , and often players like to call in for a browse or be doing some "fact finding" or research into future purchases.

RaymondLin

If you are leaning more online, may I suggest an online chat operator option?  

Whitecat

Not bothered whether appointments are permanent or not - as I am not local, it would be extremely unlikely that I'd be a "walk in". But I do online ordering loooooaaaads.

Agree that the biggest weakness at the moment is in the product descriptions. Specs are often not mentioned/missing or incomplete, and as a consequence, if you want more detailed information on a guitar the quickest way to get it is to go to a competitor's website which is the opposite of what you guys want. I agree that where build sheets are available they should just be posted, but where they are not, have a basic spec list that you can set out that includes every possible thing a reasonable person might want to know. As a niggling point about writing copy, I bet if you word searched your product descriptions for "crisp" and "rich" your computer would crash. Thesaurus = good.

Anyway, bring that all up to standard with the photography, videos and the actual customer service which is basically 100% brilliant and you'd have something next-level and you'd be future-proofing your e-commerce as best you can...

S56035

Website improvements:

• Change the background of some of the guitar pictures to highlight the guitar as the current one is similar to lots of the acoustics.
• Wider range of filters such as "T-Style", LP-Style etc for those looking for a particular shape with a different headstock name.  Same with amps i.e. good for Metal, blues etc
• I've always liked the videos you guys have done and would love to see a service were you produce a video for a specific guitar or amp I'm looking at (if you haven't already).  Would probably have to be at cost other wise you'll get inundated.

fretmeister

If the accessible number of guitars doesn't really change then I see no harm in an appointment system.
What I wouldn't like is an appointment to try X guitar but when there wanting to try a few other supposedly identical ones.

Some brands, at any price point, have a reputation of having very different guitars when they are the same model. If I was buying a strat I'd probably want to try quite a few of them.

5 years ago I would never have bought a new instrument online. Now it's the more common way.
Customers are no longer limited to the locals, it's the entire country and beyond so phoning for an appointment is the same as making sure something is still in stock before starting a long journey.

I suppose the locals might think a little differently if they just want to pop in for a set of strings for a gig that night. Gig emergencies do happen.


The PRS S2 I bought from Peach a couple of weeks ago was immaculate and perfectly set up (wimpy strings notwithstanding! ) 

guitars4you

As a fellow dealer - Not sure it is valid for me to add my 10 penneth or not - I'm a lot smaller store but for a few years now I've been appointment only - Many good smaller USA stores are now similar, like Mark's Guitar Loft - I believe it is quite common now in the 'boutique' hi-fi stores

I think there is a different criteria for a large city based store like GuitarGuitar ,whereby nature they will have a good daily foot flow of traffic - But when you have a more isolated location, there is a large element of customers calling you before they travel anyway - To check you have in stock what they wish to view and have seen on the web site 

Imagine just turning up, after a 2 hour drive, to view a specific guitar, only to find out it was sold last night - So IMO many customers travelling an hour or more, will probably have already called anyway - So even before it becomes official policy, there has been a semi form of checking, reserving and I'll be there tomorrow at mid day 

As for keeping stock clean, presentable etc etc etc - Yes customers will need to try and compare, which is fine when the goods are handle with care etc - IMO with such nice products, you can't have a policy whereby anyone can pick up any guitar, with a jacket with big zips on it, play it, accidently mark it, then just put it back on the wall, so a free for all policy - IMO nearly all guitars in a shop are marked by the consumer and not shop staff

As for customers having that 'fear of trying in a shop' with staff watching them - It is a case of putting the customer at ease and giving them time/space to try - As far as the customer is concerned it is not a competition, so remember you are the customer, so try at your own pace - Good  staff will accept and respect - Finally, a good customer of mine, who works at a Porsche showroom once said to me 'It is not our job to decide if they are a good driver or not - Lewis Hamilton or Mrs Daisy can both be our customers as long as they can afford to buy the car' - And I have always remembered that and never judge a customers playing ability 

I'm trying to pass the above comments to both potential customers and the store when I type the above - Some customers will have a negative towards it and I'm just trying to add my slant on a couple of points as to why I think it works

clarke_111

Works for me- though I am not local so wouldn’t visit in person anyway. I have bought from you guys before and have had absolutely great service... so Improved online service would be great-it’s already brill. 

For me one of the biggest things around online buying - esp blind buying expensive gear - is a easy and reliable returns service. I know that is a hassle for retailers, and I don’t endorse people buying things like this that they think they will in all likelihood return; however, for me knowing I have say 30 days to carefully evaluate something, and if it isn’t working send it back is a real bonus for me as it gives the security around buying unseen/untried. If the retailer is able to arrange a courier label easily as well etc so all I need to do is repackage it and drop it off somewhere then all the better. A big box pusher no doubt but Gear4Music have returns nailed for example so for some gear (not so much guitars) I’d go there even at a slightly higher price, just for the reassurance that policy gives me. Generally end up keeping whatever it is anyway! 

Majorscale

I bought a CS Telecaster from yourselves, although I'd originally gone into the store with the intent of buying a totally different CS guitar. If the appointments approach enable access to a good range of other stock just in case something else speaks to you then it'd be fine. Of course if you do move to more of a warehouse / box shifter model then keener prices would be welcome!

FelineGuitars

For the online side some stores need to make it much more obvious which items are in stock . I do get frustrated to search the very full inventory of a large shop only to discover that most stuff is pre-order or not in stock. All stores want to make their stores look well stocked but it gets frustrating to find too much stuff out of stock .

Vibetronic

For what it's worth, I ordered a pricy guitar from you guys about a month or so ago....really good service, kept me up to date with stuff and it arrived perfectly set up from your workshop as promised. There's a general dearth of decent guitar shops where I live offering the kind of instruments I like, and your online system and service seems to work very well indeed  I'm not a massive one for going into shops and trying loads of stuff out - tend to know exactly what I want and that's it - so works for me. 

joeyowen

Could it as simple as:

How many people/sales would gain from going appt only?
How many people/sales would you lose from being walk in?

(or vice versa)

Can you outline some clear improvements to your online if you progressed it further? You don't do a bad job at all so far, so what needs to be better at the expense of walk in?  (I've ordered guitars and lots of pedals! online from you, always been happy)

I'm far away from you, so no chance of me walking in.  I have previously considered driving down to buy some pedals, but honestly, the fuel cost (It's a 9 hours round trip) meant it wasn't cost effective.

Roland

FelineGuitars said:

I think it is a real danger to turn all our businesses to online/mail order only . 

What we underestimate in the retail shopping experience is the "discovery" element, ...

Years ago I was talking to Phil in Sounds Great in the middle of the afternoon when schools came out. He and his staff had just spent 20 to 30 minutes talking to groups of pupils whilst I tried a couple of acoustics. I asked him why he spent so much time with them. His reply was that one in ten would turn into a long term customer. Their parents might spend £100 to £120 that Christmas (this was 20 years ago) but over the next five years they’d spend up to £2,000. So his time was an investment.

Forum members are likely to be online browsers who would be comfortable booking an appointment and travelling to the store. We’d know that the guitars we wanted to try would be there, not in the warehouse, and that there would be a room to try them in. 

However 100% appointments, or only having the agreed guitars available, misses out on sales opportunities. How many have gone into a shop to look at a specific guitar, and come out with something different which was on the wall? It also doesn’t encourage those who are starting out, and would feel pressured by an appointment when what they need to do is get comfortable with handling a guitar. 

It’s this latter group which worries me particularly. I’ve seen so many businesses who focus on the most profitable customers. The benefit is easily measured. For a few years their figures look good. However what they’ve done in pursuing profit is stopped building a front end funnel for potential new customers. They’ve also focused their stock around what the profitable customers buy, and their sales process about servicing them. A few years later they’re finding it hard because they’ve focused too hard on a particular market segment, or method of doing business, and not noticed that the world has moved on. Arcadia is a prime example.

LPManic

RaymondLin said:

If you are leaning more online, may I suggest an online chat operator option?  

I second this.

monquixote

Personally I only go to shops when I want to buy something and I find it very annoying if I can't get access to a sales assistant because they are all being taken up by tyre kickers widdling as fast as they can on a Jackson they clearly can't afford. So an appointment only system works for me.

That said I do think the big showroom is an important part of actually wanting to go to the shop.

I remember years ago travelling a long way to go to Peter Cooks assuming because of the huge adverts in all the magazines it would be a huge shop. When I got there is was quite small and you had to ask for each thing that you wanted to look at and they would go and get it from the warehouse and bring it back. They were very helpful, but it felt a bit like shopping for shoes and I didn't like it at all.