Do you ever help people in stores? - Page 2

exscentric · 02-01-2011, 03:14 PM

Usually if I think I can add something to the sales person after the sales person leaves I will say something, especially if the sales person hasn't a clue.

I was at a home store looking at a cabinet and someone stepped up and said the home store across the intersection had the same thing for 40 less - you bet I like it :-)

DreamWriter · 02-01-2011, 04:19 PM

If a customer was engaged in conversation with the salesperson, I certainly would not interrupt. But if I felt that the person's questions weren't adequately answered, I wouldn't hesitate to gently offer my assistance after the salesperson left -- if the customer seemed open to that.

It's important to pay attention to body language and whether the person is lingering at the display, trying to make their decision. You can usually tell right off if someone feels that you're interfering or if they welcome your help.

coinín · 02-01-2011, 07:58 PM

I hate people who do this where I work.
90% of the time, they think they know what they're talking about, but don't really.

To be fair, I know that the person is just trying to help, and a lot of people in other stores doing the same job don't know as much as I do... but still. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to do your sales job and some jerk who's convinced he's right starts spouting off false info and confusing your poor customer who just wants to read.

Poppaea · 02-02-2011, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coinín

I hate people who do this where I work.
90% of the time, they think they know what they're talking about, but don't really.

I did so only once regarding ereaders at my local bookshop. The customers wanted a gift for their 70yr old mother and were afraid if anyone of them would be able to handle the software to upload books.

Also I had noticed that the salesperson was not learned enought to explain the difference between the screen technology of an Aluratek Libre and a Sony PRS650...

A couple of days later when I revisited the store the salesperson expressed her gratitude for the piece of knowledge she had gathered as these things were never properly explained to the staff and the training they had for the readers was scarce. Most bookshops still regard ereaders as unwanted competiton for their booksells and do not train their staff to sell them. Which is a shame because this particular shop has its own ebookshop and a happy customer will very likely buy there.

coinín · 02-02-2011, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppaea

I did so only once regarding ereaders at my local bookshop. The customers wanted a gift for their 70yr old mother and were afraid if anyone of them would be able to handle the software to upload books.

Also I had noticed that the salesperson was not learned enought to explain the difference between the screen technology of an Aluratek Libre and a Sony PRS650...

A couple of days later when I revisited the store the salesperson expressed her gratitude for the piece of knowledge she had gathered as these things were never properly explained to the staff and the training they had for the readers was scarce. Most bookshops still regard ereaders as unwanted competiton for their booksells and do not train their staff to sell them. Which is a shame because this particular shop has its own ebookshop and a happy customer will very likely buy there.

Oh, I'm well aware that a lot of people in the bookstores just don't "get" the ereaders. I've seen a goodly percentage of staff that exhibit thinly veiled resentment or even hostility towards them. Silly, but there it is. You'd think that anything that got people reading more would make them happy, and that anything that made the book biz more sustainable for the future would inspire confidence.

I did say 90% of the time. You're the sort who's few & far between- you know what you're talking about and genuinely mean well. Most people who step in can only say half of that...

My favourite was the woman who was trying to dissuade a man with his 90 year old mom that she should not get one of our readers, and get a Kindle instead- because its incompatibility with the local library system was easy to "work around". Maybe for her- but what 90 year old gramma and her 70-something son wants to deal with working around that? The simpler the better.

Myself, I'm realistic enough to know the right reader isn't the same one for everyone. Last thing I'm going to do is pressure someone to get a reader that they're unsuited to. I do encourage people to go look up other readers and reviews if they're unsure. Most of the time, they come back to us. If they didn't, it wasn't meant to be and it's just as well.

jocampo · 02-02-2011, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppaea

A couple of days later when I revisited the store the salesperson expressed her gratitude for the piece of knowledge she had gathered as these things were never properly explained to the staff and the training they had for the readers was scarce.

I do agree with your statement. I wonder if that's because limited training budget or they just believe (the company or the managers) is not needed; even in some dedicated electronic stores I've found that it is true, they have not been trained for selling ereaders.

Poppaea · 02-02-2011, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jocampo

I do agree with your statement. I wonder if that's because limited training budget or they just believe (the company or the managers) is not needed; even in some dedicated electronic stores I've found that it is true, they have not been trained for selling ereaders.

I guess it's both. In my last company they thought it is ok to stop all training programms in 2009. For me this was no problem as I am used to gather information myself and was our training managers substitue anyway thus able to train everyone in my shop, but for all the others it was fatal.

Managers tend to think as long as you are able to sell something it will be ok and all you have to do is try harder. They do not realise that there are customers who are educated enough to listen to your stupid staff, turn around and shop elsewhere.

Concerning ereaders it is a kind of stupidity to hope customers will go on buying pbooks when you do not show that ereader properly and this way you are not going to loose business on your books.

SeaBookGuy · 02-02-2011, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coinín

My favourite was the woman who was trying to dissuade a man with his 90 year old mom that she should not get one of our readers, and get a Kindle instead- because its incompatibility with the local library system was easy to "work around". Maybe for her- but what 90 year old gramma and her 70-something son wants to deal with working around that? The simpler the better.

The idea of a clerk eagerly advocating breaking DRM is amazing!

laughingdragons · 02-02-2011, 03:16 PM

I have many times if it is something I own and can answer questions to. I appreciate it when others do the same for me.

Caltsar · 02-02-2011, 04:34 PM

I do like to give advice and help out when I'm browsing around a store, but I also do my best to be careful about only giving advice about products I'm familiar with and giving my best unbiased opinion about anything they ask about. I never interrupt the salespeople on staff though... that's just rude.

I do often end up chatting with the people selling nooks at Barnes & Nobel... the stores around here put pretty technically inclined people by the nooks, so it can be fun to pester them from time to time

kbrand · 02-03-2011, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

The idea of a clerk eagerly advocating breaking DRM is amazing!

I may have misunderstood, but I took it as the woman was not the clerk, but someone just offering help, saying the Kindle was better and you can always work around the library thing.

coinín · 02-06-2011, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbrand

I may have misunderstood, but I took it as the woman was not the clerk, but someone just offering help, saying the Kindle was better and you can always work around the library thing.

That's exactly what was going on.
It's one thing for someone tech-savvy who feels comfortable with file converting and such to choose a reader that requires workarounds in order to use the library, and quite another to encourage that for an older person who just wants to read and needs it to be as simple as possible. The poor old dear was so confused.

Roger Manley · 02-07-2011, 03:41 AM

When I started to research buying an Ereader here in France I could find no knowledgable staff in any shop. Indeed I could find few shops which sold a reader! However, on entering one shop I found a reader mounted in an elaborate display but unfortunately the staff knew nothing about it and were quite unprepared to allow me to handle the Ereader on display. What I absolutely wanted to do at that stage in my research was determine the "feel" of a reader.

So, when I did buy my PRS 650 I did so on line. Now I am the local source of enquiry about Ereaders and am frequently asked by sales assistants to help out!

In general I do try to help other customers particularly English speakers with little or no French. In my local DIY store I sometimes have to hide from the French staff who wish a difficult Englishman on to me!

RM

Laine · 02-07-2011, 04:11 AM

I was in Borders in Parramatta a couple of weeks ago when a customer was looking at the demo Sony Touch. Unfortunately the screen was frozen and nothing worked. So I whipped my Touch out of my bag and showed him how it worked. I don't think he bought one that day but he did say thank you.

coinín · 02-07-2011, 11:27 AM

So...
As someone who works in both books and electronics and actually knows a thing or two about ereaders, I am a rarity?

Damn.

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, 03:14 PM	#16
exscentric Addict Posts: 379 Karma: 1033424 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: WY Device: Kindle keyboard	Usually if I think I can add something to the sales person after the sales person leaves I will say something, especially if the sales person hasn't a clue. I was at a home store looking at a cabinet and someone stepped up and said the home store across the intersection had the same thing for 40 less - you bet I like it :-)

02-01-2011, 04:19 PM	#17
DreamWriter Books are brain food. Posts: 2,950 Karma: 4836916 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: U.S. Device: Paperwhite · Fire HD6/HD8/HD10 · Galaxy Tab A7	If a customer was engaged in conversation with the salesperson, I certainly would not interrupt. But if I felt that the person's questions weren't adequately answered, I wouldn't hesitate to gently offer my assistance after the salesperson left -- if the customer seemed open to that. It's important to pay attention to body language and whether the person is lingering at the display, trying to make their decision. You can usually tell right off if someone feels that you're interfering or if they welcome your help.

02-01-2011, 07:58 PM	#18
coinín dust bunny Posts: 158 Karma: 512427 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo WiFi, Sony PRS-650, BlackBerry PlayBook	I hate people who do this where I work. 90% of the time, they think they know what they're talking about, but don't really. To be fair, I know that the person is just trying to help, and a lot of people in other stores doing the same job don't know as much as I do... but still. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to do your sales job and some jerk who's convinced he's right starts spouting off false info and confusing your poor customer who just wants to read.

02-02-2011, 03:16 PM	#24
laughingdragons Groupie Posts: 189 Karma: 1125536 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: CA Device: Sony PRS-350 1 Pink 1 Silver Paperwhite Kindle	I have many times if it is something I own and can answer questions to. I appreciate it when others do the same for me.

02-02-2011, 04:34 PM	#25
Caltsar Zealot Posts: 135 Karma: 86951 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Minnesota Device: nook Touch, iPad, iPhone	I do like to give advice and help out when I'm browsing around a store, but I also do my best to be careful about only giving advice about products I'm familiar with and giving my best unbiased opinion about anything they ask about. I never interrupt the salespeople on staff though... that's just rude. I do often end up chatting with the people selling nooks at Barnes & Nobel... the stores around here put pretty technically inclined people by the nooks, so it can be fun to pester them from time to time

02-07-2011, 03:41 AM	#28
Roger Manley Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: La Vendee (Dept. 85), France Device: Sony PRS 650	When I started to research buying an Ereader here in France I could find no knowledgable staff in any shop. Indeed I could find few shops which sold a reader! However, on entering one shop I found a reader mounted in an elaborate display but unfortunately the staff knew nothing about it and were quite unprepared to allow me to handle the Ereader on display. What I absolutely wanted to do at that stage in my research was determine the "feel" of a reader. So, when I did buy my PRS 650 I did so on line. Now I am the local source of enquiry about Ereaders and am frequently asked by sales assistants to help out! In general I do try to help other customers particularly English speakers with little or no French. In my local DIY store I sometimes have to hide from the French staff who wish a difficult Englishman on to me! RM

02-07-2011, 04:11 AM	#29
Laine Addict Posts: 341 Karma: 1162396 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Cabramatta, Sydney, Australia Device: Aura H2O, Voyage	I was in Borders in Parramatta a couple of weeks ago when a customer was looking at the demo Sony Touch. Unfortunately the screen was frozen and nothing worked. So I whipped my Touch out of my bag and showed him how it worked. I don't think he bought one that day but he did say thank you.

02-07-2011, 11:27 AM	#30
coinín dust bunny Posts: 158 Karma: 512427 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo WiFi, Sony PRS-650, BlackBerry PlayBook	So... As someone who works in both books and electronics and actually knows a thing or two about ereaders, I am a rarity? Damn.

Advert

Advert