A Customer-Driven Family Business

Brian, Tom and Dad Dewar. Not Tom Dewar Audio...but DEWAR AUDIO

"In the beginning I had a dream of a family business that was customer driven. The dream is alive and well 39 years later."

With clients in all of the provinces and territories of Canada and 17 different states in the U.S.A., we know we are proceeding on the right track.

The Dewar Family began planning the store in 1982 and took possession of the empty space at 1400 Clyde Ave. in the Bleeker Mall, in August 1983. "It was such a shock" says Tom as he recalled how he could see right past the dirt floor and single light bulb to the modern, efficient finished store it became by October 1983 when it opened.

When you first enter our store, you do not see piles of boxes or hordes of sales people. What you do see is the finest audio equipment available today, from our most popular pair of speakers at $349 and everything right up to our ultimate speakers at $53,000 a pair.

The home-like surroundings are complemented by our sound rooms. Our first home theatre room demonstrates several examples, including our Home THX® system from Harman Kardon and B&W speakers. Our next room, "The University of Dewar Audio" is dedicated to the home theatre enthusiast and even includes theatre seats.

Having said all this, our most important assets are our clients and our staff. Our hiring criteria, whether it be for sales, service or installation, are based on one fact: we only hire our clients. Who really knows better than our clients what other clients need and want. None of our staff is on commission.

Another important aspect of our business is the delivery and set-up. We ensure the merchandise will sound as good at home as it did in our store.

The final impression of Dewar's must be our best. On the advice of a client, many years ago, none of our delivery vehicles has our name on it. This provides greater security, so that only you know you have the finest sound available.

Our attention to detail includes a literate and caring sales staff. We continually re-invest in their formal education, to the tune of 3% of our total sales. This training includes the legendary Lucasfilm THX® Certification program. We are the only Ottawa retailer this committed to home theatre. We are also an active member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.®

One unique element of Dewar's is our "trade-up" program. Start with our most popular entry-point speaker, we have sold over 2,000 pairs and then within a year's time bring them back and get exactly what you paid when you "trade-up" to the $589 pair. And within a year's time be able to "trade-up" again... and again ... and again, possibly all the way up to the ultimate pair of speakers at $53,000.

We service only what we sell. Our service department is available only to our customers. This way our clients have first priority. After your purchase, even before we deliver, we optimize and test-drive all our cassette decks, compact disc players and turntables. Should a problem develop,we are well-equipped with the latest test equipment and techniques. Should a delay occur, we will supply a loaner.

As well as treating our customers with care, we treat our staff in the same fashion. Our good friend, Colin, pointed out the significance of the WHMIS warnings that now appear on many servicing supplies. We immediately installed a forced-air evac system so our staff would not breathe in the noxious, toxic fumes from the soldering iron. Further to this, another customer, David advised us to wear the proper Nitrile N-DEX gloves to prevent skin absorption of lead from solder. Again, on the advice of Tim, we now require full facial protection during most service applications.

As our business evolves and becomes better day after day, we have tried to stem the tide of regression within the Home Entertainment industry itself. We do not like the impersonal warehouse type stores with staff that have little or no interest in listening to music. To this end, we have become involved with the radio and television media to educate and broaden interest in the home entertainment industry.

How do we select the products that we represent? Research and development.