I am a happy customer at Commercial Electronics! I was shown an excellent hifi system for my budget. The staff is very supportive, and always takes the time to explain the products, especially if there is any troubleshooting to be done. I would highly recommend anyone to visit this great store! They deal with some very impressive hifi equipment, for the true fanatical music lover. Thanks so much for allowing me to really appreciate music at home, as if for the first time! read more

Gotta share something happy during this tough time for many out there so fortunate to experience an example of excellent customer service - my 7 years old #1stgen #bangandolufsen #A9 wifi module was broken entirely with a repair cost as much as half the cost of a brand new A9 #THANKYOU so much @bangolufsen through their IG team received offer to assist + HUGE SHOUTOUT #THANKYOU to both Johns @commercialelectronics + the repair tech for kindly helping working with B&O - to come up with a resolution I'm VERY happy with - at the end I get to replace the broken unit with a #brandnew #bronze #4thgen A9 at a VERY reasonable cost THANK YOU once again @bangolufsen @commercialelectronics read more

I have been a customer of Commercial Electronics for years and know that I am getting great quality and service whenever I go in there, especially from John Foster. I'm sure I can shop around and go on Ebay or other auction houses to get better pricing but I prefer to buy from a reputable dealer, one that sells quality products and stands behind them. Brad who services all the B&O products is excellent and very knowledgeable. I'm sure there may be issues in every retail store in town from time to time, I think if you don't get treated exactly like you want, go elsewhere, I don't think you need to bash a complete store because of ONE bad experience! If the pricing is not what you like, go elsewhere, stop complaining! Will be shopping there again to add to my system! read more

I can only speak for the Service Department. Last week the projector at work went on the fritz and needed to be fixed. Does anyone know how hard it is to find a place that does projector repairs? honestly you would think there would be more in the Financial District, but I digress lol. Anyway, when I called here I was completely satisfied with the way they explained everything to me about cost etc. I had called around to the few places I could find but they were very sketchy about cost, which put my price radar up. Even though I am spending company funds I don't want it to be outrageous. So I sent it via courier to the service department. When they received it, they called me to let me know and to ask for a deposit of $84.00, which isn't bad considering this could have been a big fix. At that time they also advised that they would call me if they thought the fix (as it had to be diagnosed first) would be over $250, otherwise they would just fix it and call me for the balance later. It only took a couple of days to fix it, I think 2, not sure because when they called on Tuesday the call wasn't directed to me, it was directed to the one person that wasn't in the office until today, at which time it was directed to me. Again I digress. I called them today and the balance was just under $100, which isn't too bad considering. So I sent the courier and had them pick it up. What I also learnt is they do not keep credit cards on file, which is nice. I just gave them the new card and they put me on hold to make sure it went through, without the pain in calling back if it didn't. I will definitely use them again for an office fix. read more

NOTE: I just downgraded Commercial Electronics from **** to ** not because they no longer sell Sonos (though that is a factor) but because when I went in to get another Sonos component one of the staff told me they got out of selling Sonos "...cuz it's such crap and we sell much better stuff." Not a good thing to say to a customer who a year before laid down some serious cash for a system they were raving about. The review below was written 3 years ago: I just purchased a Sonos wireless media system from Commercial Electronics for my new condo in Vancouver, and I was very happy with the service I got from Mackinzie Partington, a very knowledgeable young salesman, as well as extremely thorough back-up help from Hal and James. Their service was detailed, attentive, and authoritative. I couldn't ask for more. As an American visiting in Canada, I have become used to a high quality of retail service, something that is frequently (and sadly) lacking in my native Nevada. I read all three reviews on Yelp about Commercial Electronics, and the first two were very positive, just like the one I had decided to write. The third, by Kat D. (an elite Yelp reviewer) explains why she was so critical. It reminded me that on my initial visit, I too was ignored, until I was 'rescued' by Mackinzie. He was absolutely terrific. I love the system I bought. (As an aside, go to Amazon and look at the 129 reviews of customers who bought the Sonos System - pretty much straight A's). I recommend Commercial Electronics highly. But customer service, as Kat points out, requires constant attention to detail. "You never know who is going to walk into your store," she wrote, and I agree wholeheartedly. read more

We have been customers of Commercial Electronics for years before the new owner took charge. We have always been impressed by their knowledge in very exclusive products. Recently, we were thinking of upgrading our 10 year old Bang & Olufsen speakers, TVs and CD players to include music streaming. We called Commercial, and Chris was able to get his technician, Brad, to come to our house within days to check out our system. Brad is the most knowledgable person we have met. Right away he was able to offer us solutions that were both economic and simple. I feel that they have their customer's needs in mind. Of course you do not go to Commercial for products that you can buy on line or at Best Buy. Their products are very high end (talking about $100,000 for a tv); but they will be able to take care of all your needs for years to come. read more

Really bad experience. The company was successful only in taking my (hefty) deposit. They failed to deliver the product. The salesman was very unpleasant. Details: I was purchasing stereo equipment, ~$1,000.00 worth. Paid almost 100% deposit (at least 70% deposit requested by the company, understandably). CEL salesman, John, promised the equipment will be ready in 2-3 weeks. It wasn't. I called John 4 weeks later. He read me a letter (a letter?) from supplier, stating that the equipment will be ready in another month. It wasn't. I called John again. He did not respond to my message. I called John again. He said the equipment will be ready within a few more weeks. At that point - 2 months into this ordeal - I have asked for a bit of a discount. John has refused. I have asked for a refund. John has refused. John did not apologize for any of the above. He was unpleasant. He was repeating that I do not understand the effects of COVID on business; note that he was not explaining his (low) level of understanding of such effects: after all, I was making the deposit - and he was making his (false) promises of 2-3 weeks for delivery - more than 2 months into the epidemics. Ultimately, the company did reimburse my deposit. So, I still have no equipment, but "gained" a bad purchasing experience. read more

By Far the worst company I have ever worked with. I first engaged them to come in Feb 2018, Its now June 2018. Over 6 times they have scheduled their technician Jessy to come and he stood me up and never showed up. They didn't even call me and told me that his technician is running late. For a simple speaker issue they had to go back and forth for over 4 months. AVOID THEM. read more

I went into Commercial Electronics on a recent Monday at around 5:40 pm. My friend had just moved to Vancouver and wanted to buy electronics for his newly purchased Yaletown condo. The rumpled man with what looked like dirty curly hair stared at us and then went back to talking to the woman sitting behind the desk near the door. He didn't even greet us. We circled the store as the so-called "salesman" continued his conversation with his female co-worker. Unfortunately my friend took all his money- and it was considerable since he was not concerned with shopping around- to The Sound Room on Broadway. We got good service from people who understand how to treat customers. You never know who is going to walk into your store. Stop talking, do your job and remember that. read more

Just stumbled across this place while looking to upgrade my home theatre system. Very impressive selection of brands and equipment, plus knowledgeable and down to earth staff. Mike and Ben walked me through every detail and now my system sounds better than ever. Definitely will be going back here. read more

there are not a lot of high end home audio stores. But any one of these - Pat's audio art on burrard and 10th), Sound Room (Broadway, between arbutus and burrard), and Hi Fi centre (Carrall street in gas town/chinatown) are better than commercial electronics. read more

DO NOT BUY FROM COMMERCIAL ELECTRONICS because they choose to have a crap return policy and their manager's attitude matches it. Seriously, what kind of retailer doesn't offer a refund or, at the very least, a credit??? The kind that doesn't want positive ratings or repeat business. Their return policy is not on par with today's world...maybe in 1950...maybe never. You cannot get a refund or a store credit regardless of what you purchased, which in my case was a simple piece of $200 a/v furniture that I never assembled or installed and was in perfect condition when I attempted to return it. The "Manager's" attitude was antagonistic and unfriendly, at best. After going in circles explaining my simple request (a refund or store credit) I was forced to exchange it for something else, then and there, that I did not need or be stuck with the item even though I did not need anything else at the time. After telling me he "didn't want to hear my story the first time" the manager told me to talk to the salesman, who then told me to go back and talk to the manager. What a pathetically run organization. I asked the manager if he was willing to risk me telling of my experience and writing negative feedback online over a simple request for either a $200 refund or credit as he persisted with his arrogant and dismissive "it's not his problem" type response. But no, he opted for his crap attitude and crap return policy in exchange for a negative story about his business, combined with a negative rating, that could last years. Meanwhile, the salesman was profusely apologizing for his manager's behaviour. Poor salesman. He seemed a reasonable type and it must suck to be stuck with this manager causing you a loss of repeat business. Buddy, get a job somewhere else as I'm sure you'd do well. Better yet, ask for your managers job! So, don't risk your time and money at Commercial Electronics. Try the Sound Room, HiFi Centre or any other options available in this city. read more

Stay away from these guys...OMG what a waste of time....This place has changed a lot since Burrard St. I think its under new ownership....very poor customer service, the sales staff was not helpful and everything seemed overpriced I was treated much better at HiFi Centre, I found what I was looking for at a great price. Don't waste your time a CE! read more

About fifteen years ago I bought my first, very entry level, system from Dennis at Commercial Electronics. It was a small sale for him, but big for my wife and me. We did all the A-B listening stuff as if we were buying a system to fill the Albert Hall. Dennis was patient as we kept trying to decide what to do. Since then I have bought from them a system that I love for probably ten times the cost of that first system. And I am about to drop another five figure amount on improving it. Great service gets rewarded by customer loyalty, and they have mine. read more

Went twice in two weeks. Stephen was sales person on the bottom floor w/ 2-channel audio gear for sale. First experience there was positive. I had asked about turntables/phono stage and he suggested that Project had the best turntables in the $1000ish price range. He answered questions and was helpful. I purchased a Grado cable component that day. When I got home I found a similar if not identical item on ebay but Sennheiser branded at exactly half of the price including shipping. So I went back for a refund a few days later. I don't mind paying a bit more because I recognize fixed and variable costs need to be paid on a brick and mortar biz but DOUBLE isn't acceptable. I'd fathom to guess not many people would be happy to pay double either. I explained situation to Steven and he immediately said,"You're an aware consumer.Coming back and trying to get a refund on a great product I sold you after the fact is not how it works.If you came in advance and asked for a price match I would have done that". He flatly refused to refund. I was willing to accept a price match bcuz he said that but it was a Sennheiser product which is of comparable quality but not Grado. He refused to price match because it was a different brand which is ok but he absolutely refused to give a refund and swore that no high end audio company issued refunds if customer changed his/her mind. In his words ,"If a company did this they could not stay in business". Strangely almost all retail companies issue refunds,many without hassle. Stephen said he was the manager there. As a manager myself, I've always encouraged sales personnel & managers to send a customer away wanting to come back simply bcuz a customer in a fiscal yr can spend on average $2000+ with a retail company. In my case, $1400 would have been almost a certainty as I was pretty much sold on a Project turntable and possibly a phono stage as well. If anyone brings back a $25 item and it's in same cond. as when it left the store why not simply just say"YES!!!". The reason it was returned is inconsequential. I will buy a turntable and phono stage within the next few weeks and plan to spend about $1400-1500 somewhere for sure but def not CE. Before buying be sure to read Commercial Electronics' return policy as stated on their receipt. Their return policy has no specifics re:refund,exchanges. The pertinent section of CE's return policy states,"Prior approval must be received before returning goods for credit. Goods returned are subject to a restocking charge of 15%" . Reading a policy this vague makes me glad I didn't spend more there. Most companies will state a return by date,specifics re:conditions under which they issue refunds or exchanges etc... The interaction w/Stephen was not even conducive to exchanging for something else as he was confrontational from the word go. He absolutely does not understand the bigger picture in regards to the customer service aspect of retailing. If he hasn't turned off others to shopping at CE I'd be surprised. I wouldn't be nearly as upset if he had said,"sorry but I cannot issue refund but I CAN exchange it for something else or give you a credit note with a restocking charge of 15%". Granted given the knowledge of CE's return policy I wouldn't have taken a chance on an exchange anyways bcuz I could easily overpay with no recourse. As Stephen made abundantly clear it's up to me to research prices before buying bcuz it's simply tough luck once I've handed over my cash. His demeanour throughout the interaction was not only negative but very confrontational. He took the refund request personally,maybe because he is commissioned but for $25 and change!! I didn't get personal or confrontational aside from stating that most every company will issue a refund. I did ask for a manager and he said he is the manager so I left it at that bcuz it was a $25 item. I also did say that his pricing should be more competitive only after he complained about me wanting to return the item. Item wasn't a "final sale" or the item has been damaged/not in same condition as when purchased most companies will issue a refund. In a global marketplace there are countless alternatives. I don't care if you are brick and mortar shop or online. It is a necessity to compete by providing impeccable customer service. I'm not saying give a customer the store. I'm saying a $25 refund is a small price to pay for potential business. On a final note,I called HiFi Centre to ask if a specific Grado Headphone was in stock yesterday and the person said verbatim," retail for SR-80i is $160 but we can sell for less because they're advertised everywhere else for less". I was impressed with his honesty. I'd say that is a stark contrast to the service I got at CE. I have been pleased w/service at Hi Fi Centre since Sound Plus and Sound Plus Mobile had closed. I also went to listen to a turntable at Sound Room and Lorenzo Sever was very helpful. read more

Clean and gave a lot of item to choose. Price is mostly msrp base. I have been there to get headphone. The guy from headphone area was makes me uncomfortable. He stand near you and constantly say what is good about this, price of the products blah blah... He keep makes me take headphone on and off...I visited week latter and that was time I decided to leave and not coming back. I was try to compare few headphone and buy it at that day. And the same guy came up to me as usual and instead of helping and give a good advice, he was trying to persuade me to buy it....I felt I was forced to make my decision by that guy...they really need to know how to deal with customer. Instead of forcing and try to persuade costumer they should let costumer do and decide how every they want. read more

I purchased high end sound equipment two years ago and had trouble with one of the components from the start. This component is now in for service for the second time, and after three months, it is still not ready. The service department has no adequate explanation other than a lack of available parts, which seems odd since the component is so new. I live an hour from the store, so it's a big deal to drag components back and forth. I find the service department to be antiquated and understaffed. I would never purchase equipment from Commercial Electronics again, and wish I had not done so in the first place. Think twice before you buy from them, unless you happen to live only a few blocks from the store. read more

Good products, but...most of the sales people at this store are like used car salesman. They stopped loving the medium in which they deal years ago. This is now a job for most of them, and neither the audio or the music it makes brings any sense of joy with it. Sales staff are inclined to only deal with customers that have, or pretend to have money. They will refute a well advised opinion if there products can't satisfy it, and are just as likely to walk away from you for having become closed minded audio bullies, and snobs who long ago lost their ears and the heart for audio; even to the point of walking away from a sale. They are closed minded in a way that has contributed to the death of audio and a retail mainstay; which of course is one of the reasons they have become so miserable in the first place. They have made their beds, and now... read more

Waited 6 months for info on a Denon 5 disc player I took in July '09. Never ever ever heard from them, despite phoning. If I got someone, they would 'get back to me' and never did. I went in to the store December '09 and was told it was on the 'technician's desk'. Oh...but he's not here right now. I took it to BBB in February '10 after never hearing back. The 'manager' (because obviously this placed is not well managed) said I should have contacted him directly. How am I supposed to know this. They don't even have communication channels within their own company. They wanted to charge me for the piece they ordered, which was faulty and then the next piece, and the labour...totalling well over $300! The machine cost $450 in Oct '07 (let's not even go into Denon's lack of response for this). It never got settled and I am not impressed with them or the BBB for their lack of forcing a settlement. I wouldn't give them even one star. read more

Getting someone to help you in this shop is nearly impossible. I finally got one clerk's attention and instead of answering my question he muttered something and wandered off. Once you do get what you want, you'll spend the next 15 minutes waiting at the till while they do who-knows-what on the computer. I was not impressed. read more

I am a past customer with CE when they were on Burrard Street, however they have moved to a Bang & Olufsen front, and new facilities on 7th. With the sophistication of the product and showroom and facility I would have thought the customer service would come along with it. No so. I had negotiated a $5000 tv system with accessories, installed, and was in the process of paying a down payment with my debit card. It could only do $400 a day, so I came back the next day with a $2600 money order. In discussion with my self titled "salesman" Kelly, he mentioned that the install may be more than 3 weeks from now, and I said I think a current Samsung tv could be accessed in North America by that time. With this he got very aggressive, and said emphatically that he wouldn't lie, and stared at me in silence to ask what "I" was going to do. With this attitude and $2600 in my hand, I asked for my $400 back. Other employees at the service desk witnessed this behaviour, but ignored me. It took about 1/2 hour to determine they did not have the technology to refund a debit card, and finally issued me a cheque. The last word from Kelly was "you wasted my time." Don't waste your time here, until they get some customer service training. If you have fools standing in front of high ticket items, high ticket items will not sell. There are other suppliers in Vancouver. read more