Today I went shopping for a new color printer. I found one, but not before I was approached by several "knowledgeable" employees of a locally-based, national electronics retailer. Lets call them Yub Tseb for convenience.
I have friends who work for this company, and are some of the most proficient and trustworthy computer experts around. I would absolutely leave my PC with these friends, with the knowledge that when it came back, it'd be working better than ever. But I was not talking to these friends today. I was at another store location dealing with a sixteen year old who tried to convince me that,
"Certainly this printer is exactly what you need. It's the best printer on the market. Well, except for this one over here. But I can tell you are looking for value. Value is important. This is our best, THE best "value" printer in the store. If you really want to get the BEST printer we've got, you'll need to look past "value" to "quality" [he even made the little quotation marks with his fingers while he said this]. If you want a "quality" printer this one's what you want. If you need me, I'll be just around the corner."
He never asked me what I was planning to use the printer for. He never asked why I was looking for a printer, let alone a color printer. He pretty much directed me to the exact printer that I was in the store to REPLACE. A good sales tactic is to talk with the customer, people, not just to them. Don't assume you know what I want, and even if you think you do, please don't slap me in the face with supposition.
I hate that. And it makes you look like an idiot.
Needless to say, there was more than one of them. I felt like I had to fight them off, as they kept coming back, like a bad waiter, asking if they could help, get me anything, answer any questions, etc. One even tried to get me signed up for Internet access without asking if I needed it. I should have told that one that I had a T1 running into the house, but I've got a lowly 56k connection because broadband and DSL are not available in my area yet.
Needless to say, I purchased a great printer without the help of the sales staff, mainly because I'd done my homework before getting to the store. I love it. It's a good business tool, and a nice addition to the other printers in the office.
Next time, ask me what I want. Ask me if I 'm interested in your recommendations. Treat me like I'm there to buy a product from your store, enabling you to get paid next week, and not treating me like an uneducated swamp rat.
I'm a good, loyal customer. Don't give me reasons to shop somewhere else.
Posted by MEK at May 9, 2002 04:00 PM