Do you ever help people in stores?

ficbot · 01-31-2011, 10:34 PM

I was at Indigo today when an elderly gentleman was loudly trying to purchase a Kobo, and had to stop myself from going over to help him

I thought the sales clerk held his own pretty well, but this guy sounded like such a perfect candidate for an ebook reader that I just wanted to make sure he had all his questions answered so that he'd buy one. The guy was explaining how he is visiting the 'city' from a very small Northern town where he lives, and that he was interested in the Kobo because they do not have a bookstore in his town. He said his daughter told him that the Kobo would be easy for him to use. He had all sorts of questions about the mechanics of this (what cables were needed to attach it to the computer, what software he must run, what website he must visit to purchase the books, the availability of various common authors such as James Patterson). He kept on saying that they just don't have a bookstore where he lives and he wants to read the books.

Finally, he did pull out his credit card, so, happy ending. But I did have to stop myself from rushing over there and assuring him that the availability of James Patterson books would not be a problem and that he's going to be very happy with his decision

I remember the last time I was at Indigo and someone actually wanted to buy, I was with pholy and we did step in and help a lady who was looking, and the staff at that store still remember me and wave at me when I come in

SeaBookGuy · 02-01-2011, 12:09 AM

I hear you Loud and Clear. Had no clerk been around, I would've been happy to chat with him, but not if it seemed I was upstaging the staff - a definite no.

FizzyWater · 02-01-2011, 12:20 AM

Yep. Last year, I was looking into the $99 PRS300 at Best Buy and a man had the Reader, a gift card, and a Sony charger in his hand. I leaned over, explained that the PSP charger worked just as well for half the price...and off her went to check out the PSP chargers.

I've had a couple of co-workers (as well as strangers in the work cafeteria who saw me reading on my Sony) come to me for the "which one should I buy" spiel - and got an earful and a half!

lene1949 · 02-01-2011, 01:04 AM

Oh.. Yes! I do it all the time... I really should get some form of commission...

jhempel24 · 02-01-2011, 02:00 AM

I don't because I'm pretty passionate about eReaders, and the staff at most book-stores are just stupid.

I had to bite my tongue when the person trying to sell a Kobo to a person said that they could keep the eBooks indefinitely un-like the nook. HUH????

SolRaven · 02-01-2011, 02:23 AM

Almost always. You know why? Because when I'm in a store, say... looking for a new TV, I'd consider it helpful if someone who owned one of the TV's on display gave me valuable input that only an owner of the item would know. Once I open the door to helping them, they feel more comfortable asking questions, and then I'll know if they really want the 411 or they're just looking.

Poppaea · 02-01-2011, 05:05 AM

I do. First of all I am sales person and am likely to step in when I sense someone not being served properly and second I want them to have that wonderful ereader experience so badly I can't refrain from meddling.

astra · 02-01-2011, 06:23 AM

I never do.
Why? I don't shop in High street shops. Online only. For the last....10 years at the very least.

patrickt · 02-01-2011, 09:19 AM

I used to hang out in a large privately-owned bookstore and the clerks would bring customers over to chat with me. One of my favorites were a couple who wanted an unabridged dictionary. Someone had told them they were all the same and I launched into a discussion about the differences. Then the wife interrupted me and said, "We're getting a new house with a library and it has a built in little stand for a dictionary so we want a pretty one."

"Ah! In that case, yes, they're all pretty much the same."

ProfCrash · 02-01-2011, 09:29 AM

I do in tea stores. I have yet to be in a store when someone is asking questions about e-readers.

rhadin · 02-01-2011, 09:37 AM

Yes, regularly, if I think I can be of help. For example, not so long ago I was in my local B&N looking at opera CDs (yes, I'm an opera fan) when I overheard a father talking with his daughter (who appeared to be about 6 years old). The daughter had heard on the radio a song called Papageno, or at least remembered the word from the song, and wanted a CD with it on it. The man was perplexed.

I interrupted and said the song was from the Mozart opera, The Magic Flute. I then asked whether he wanted the whole opera for his daughter, excerpts, or a mix of opera that included the song. I took him around and explained the various choices, why some were better than others, and in the end he bought her both the complete opera and a CD of mixed opera that included the song. I suspect that if I hadn't interjected the girl would have ended up with nothing only because neither of them (nor the store clerks) had a clue about the song or its origins.

It's a good thing to help others when you can.

abookreader · 02-01-2011, 11:19 AM

I stopped a lady in Target once from buying a screen protector for her new Kindle.

Anthem · 02-01-2011, 02:19 PM

I have the temptation to help people occasionally but I never do it. *shrug*

jbcohen · 02-01-2011, 02:46 PM

It seems to me that most of us are great advocates for the book readers that we have bought, so I try very hard to be fair to all of the readers that are available. You will frequently see me saying that my own brand of reader is not right for the customer as I firmly belive that no one reader can be all things to all people no mater who you are or what you are doing.

If I got such a chance my main thrust would be - what important to you as a customer determines which reader you buy. The first part of the conversation would be what's important to the perspective customer, then I try to fit the reader to the individual not the other way around. I think that I have gotten a rather clear picture of what is better for what through the questions on this forum.

One of my friends did ask "which is best for him" and he was a book worm like me but tended to be somewhat of a packrat that spent half his time looking through his dead wood book library to find the appropriate book. I recommended a kindle since it has a search function. Another pal wants simplicity, Kobo. Another friend's native tounge was Romanian - Sony PRS, since it has foreign languege dictionaries.

jocampo · 02-01-2011, 03:04 PM

Like 1 month ago, my wife was playing with the NC. Another woman start doing the same and she was confused while using the device, asking questions or looking for help but the customer sales representative was not there. If I recalled well, she asked simple stuff like how to buy books, price, etc. Min later, the B&N guy showed up

... he sees me there frequently, and started all the marketing verbosity with me. I told him I did not want one (actually, did not mention I returned one days before that) but he keep insisting. Then I finally show my Kindle 3 and all people around made a circle, it was kind of funny. I showed the landscape mode, ability to enlarge embedded images and he even asked for the device to compare weight and sizes. In a few words he said: "I like it". Then he called his B&N partner and start doing the same showing some books and playing a bit.

Bottom line, I do not recommend it, even if that's the same device or not. You can end in a very embarrassing situation or answering questions to a lot of people when you just want to relax and drink some coffee ;-) ...

Going back the B&N one more time, I've found that, at least on my area, the B&N guys know nothing about their device and the technical skills are poor. This has been my own personal experience and can't confirm is the same or not in other B&N stores.

01-31-2011, 10:34 PM	#1
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Do you ever help people in stores? I was at Indigo today when an elderly gentleman was loudly trying to purchase a Kobo, and had to stop myself from going over to help him I thought the sales clerk held his own pretty well, but this guy sounded like such a perfect candidate for an ebook reader that I just wanted to make sure he had all his questions answered so that he'd buy one. The guy was explaining how he is visiting the 'city' from a very small Northern town where he lives, and that he was interested in the Kobo because they do not have a bookstore in his town. He said his daughter told him that the Kobo would be easy for him to use. He had all sorts of questions about the mechanics of this (what cables were needed to attach it to the computer, what software he must run, what website he must visit to purchase the books, the availability of various common authors such as James Patterson). He kept on saying that they just don't have a bookstore where he lives and he wants to read the books. Finally, he did pull out his credit card, so, happy ending. But I did have to stop myself from rushing over there and assuring him that the availability of James Patterson books would not be a problem and that he's going to be very happy with his decision I remember the last time I was at Indigo and someone actually wanted to buy, I was with pholy and we did step in and help a lady who was looking, and the staff at that store still remember me and wave at me when I come in

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
eBook Stores	Maggie-Me	General Discussions	12	12-24-2010 08:56 AM
Kindle in stores?	porksoda	Amazon Kindle	2	11-21-2010 03:36 PM
Pocketbook stores in the US!	MmavisO	PocketBook	5	11-05-2010 10:03 PM
Free (Kindle) Reaching people under 40 while keeping people over 60 (Christian)	arcadata	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	0	10-17-2010 07:58 AM
Classic Any Nooks in stores yet?	ampsonic	Barnes & Noble NOOK	6	12-29-2009 02:46 PM

02-01-2011, 12:09 AM	#2
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,029 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	I hear you Loud and Clear. Had no clerk been around, I would've been happy to chat with him, but not if it seemed I was upstaging the staff - a definite no.

02-01-2011, 12:20 AM	#3
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	Yep. Last year, I was looking into the $99 PRS300 at Best Buy and a man had the Reader, a gift card, and a Sony charger in his hand. I leaned over, explained that the PSP charger worked just as well for half the price...and off her went to check out the PSP chargers. I've had a couple of co-workers (as well as strangers in the work cafeteria who saw me reading on my Sony) come to me for the "which one should I buy" spiel - and got an earful and a half!

02-01-2011, 01:04 AM	#4
lene1949 Wizard Posts: 1,952 Karma: 213930 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Middelfart, Denmark Device: Kindle paper white	Oh.. Yes! I do it all the time... I really should get some form of commission...

02-01-2011, 02:00 AM	#5
jhempel24 Wizard Posts: 2,157 Karma: 7068605 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, B&N Nook Colro	I don't because I'm pretty passionate about eReaders, and the staff at most book-stores are just stupid. I had to bite my tongue when the person trying to sell a Kobo to a person said that they could keep the eBooks indefinitely un-like the nook. HUH????

02-01-2011, 02:23 AM	#6
SolRaven Wizard Posts: 2,214 Karma: 12796976 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The Sunshine State Device: Clara, Voyage, Oasis, Paperwhite & PRS-650	Almost always. You know why? Because when I'm in a store, say... looking for a new TV, I'd consider it helpful if someone who owned one of the TV's on display gave me valuable input that only an owner of the item would know. Once I open the door to helping them, they feel more comfortable asking questions, and then I'll know if they really want the 411 or they're just looking.

02-01-2011, 05:05 AM	#7
Poppaea Lucifer's Bat Posts: 2,577 Karma: 20638583 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Earth/Berlin Device: Kobo Libra Colour	I do. First of all I am sales person and am likely to step in when I sense someone not being served properly and second I want them to have that wonderful ereader experience so badly I can't refrain from meddling.

02-01-2011, 06:23 AM	#8
astra The Introvert Posts: 8,307 Karma: 1000077497 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: United Kingdom Device: Sony Reader PRS-650 & 505 & 500	I never do. Why? I don't shop in High street shops. Online only. For the last....10 years at the very least.

02-01-2011, 09:19 AM	#9
patrickt Wizard Posts: 1,221 Karma: 8381518 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Device: Paperwhite 4 X 2	I used to hang out in a large privately-owned bookstore and the clerks would bring customers over to chat with me. One of my favorites were a couple who wanted an unabridged dictionary. Someone had told them they were all the same and I launched into a discussion about the differences. Then the wife interrupted me and said, "We're getting a new house with a library and it has a built in little stand for a dictionary so we want a pretty one." "Ah! In that case, yes, they're all pretty much the same."

02-01-2011, 09:29 AM	#10
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	I do in tea stores. I have yet to be in a store when someone is asking questions about e-readers.

02-01-2011, 09:37 AM	#11
rhadin Literacy = Understanding Posts: 4,833 Karma: 59674358 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The World of Books Device: Nook, Nook Tablet	Yes, regularly, if I think I can be of help. For example, not so long ago I was in my local B&N looking at opera CDs (yes, I'm an opera fan) when I overheard a father talking with his daughter (who appeared to be about 6 years old). The daughter had heard on the radio a song called Papageno, or at least remembered the word from the song, and wanted a CD with it on it. The man was perplexed. I interrupted and said the song was from the Mozart opera, The Magic Flute. I then asked whether he wanted the whole opera for his daughter, excerpts, or a mix of opera that included the song. I took him around and explained the various choices, why some were better than others, and in the end he bought her both the complete opera and a CD of mixed opera that included the song. I suspect that if I hadn't interjected the girl would have ended up with nothing only because neither of them (nor the store clerks) had a clue about the song or its origins. It's a good thing to help others when you can.

Advert

Advert

02-01-2011, 11:19 AM	#12
abookreader Wizard Posts: 1,516 Karma: 2567610 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindles - Keyboard, Fire, 2-US, iPhone, iPAD	I stopped a lady in Target once from buying a screen protector for her new Kindle.

02-01-2011, 02:19 PM	#13
Anthem Guru Posts: 704 Karma: 1622328 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle Oasis, OnePlus Nord	I have the temptation to help people occasionally but I never do it. shrug

02-01-2011, 02:46 PM	#14
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,032 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Where am I? Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition and a Samsung S24 Ultra	It seems to me that most of us are great advocates for the book readers that we have bought, so I try very hard to be fair to all of the readers that are available. You will frequently see me saying that my own brand of reader is not right for the customer as I firmly belive that no one reader can be all things to all people no mater who you are or what you are doing. If I got such a chance my main thrust would be - what important to you as a customer determines which reader you buy. The first part of the conversation would be what's important to the perspective customer, then I try to fit the reader to the individual not the other way around. I think that I have gotten a rather clear picture of what is better for what through the questions on this forum. One of my friends did ask "which is best for him" and he was a book worm like me but tended to be somewhat of a packrat that spent half his time looking through his dead wood book library to find the appropriate book. I recommended a kindle since it has a search function. Another pal wants simplicity, Kobo. Another friend's native tounge was Romanian - Sony PRS, since it has foreign languege dictionaries.

02-01-2011, 03:04 PM	#15
jocampo Layback feline Posts: 3,034 Karma: 6980745 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: USA Device: Oasis 2nd gen, Sony DPTS1, iPad Pro 10.5"	Like 1 month ago, my wife was playing with the NC. Another woman start doing the same and she was confused while using the device, asking questions or looking for help but the customer sales representative was not there. If I recalled well, she asked simple stuff like how to buy books, price, etc. Min later, the B&N guy showed up ... he sees me there frequently, and started all the marketing verbosity with me. I told him I did not want one (actually, did not mention I returned one days before that) but he keep insisting. Then I finally show my Kindle 3 and all people around made a circle, it was kind of funny. I showed the landscape mode, ability to enlarge embedded images and he even asked for the device to compare weight and sizes. In a few words he said: "I like it". Then he called his B&N partner and start doing the same showing some books and playing a bit. Bottom line, I do not recommend it, even if that's the same device or not. You can end in a very embarrassing situation or answering questions to a lot of people when you just want to relax and drink some coffee ;-) ... Going back the B&N one more time, I've found that, at least on my area, the B&N guys know nothing about their device and the technical skills are poor. This has been my own personal experience and can't confirm is the same or not in other B&N stores.