Quote:
Originally Posted by taustin
I find a recommendation from a live salesman to be far, far, infinitely more useful than a statistical analysis from a computer.
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This is probably correct, although I find neither of them to be very useful. Typically, I can find the best answers to my questions on the internet generally, which means that the 1% accuracy of Amazon's recommendations or the 5% accuracy of live salesman recommendations aren't very useful in general. And it's a lot easier to find information on the internet while browsing Amazon than it is while in a B&M store, at least with respect to books, electronics, and typical consumer goods.
However, in more specialized areas, I do prefer live salespeople in certain instances. I've dealt with some very knowledgeable salespeople in outdoor/outfitting shops, for example, and (a few years ago, now), in camera shops. Particularly those salespeople who are able to provide the rarest, but most useful information: "You don't need that."
