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Old 01-31-2011, 10:34 PM   #1
ficbot
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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
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Old 02-01-2011, 12:09 AM   #2
SeaBookGuy
Can one read too much?
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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.
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Old 02-01-2011, 12:20 AM   #3
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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!
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Old 02-01-2011, 01:04 AM   #4
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Oh.. Yes! I do it all the time... I really should get some form of commission...
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Old 02-01-2011, 02:00 AM   #5
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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????
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Old 02-01-2011, 02:23 AM   #6
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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.
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Old 02-01-2011, 05:05 AM   #7
Poppaea
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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.
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Old 02-01-2011, 06:23 AM   #8
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I never do.
Why? I don't shop in High street shops. Online only. For the last....10 years at the very least.
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Old 02-01-2011, 09:19 AM   #9
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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."
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Old 02-01-2011, 09:29 AM   #10
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I do in tea stores. I have yet to be in a store when someone is asking questions about e-readers.
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Old 02-01-2011, 09:37 AM   #11
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Literacy = Understanding
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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.
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Old 02-01-2011, 11:19 AM   #12
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I stopped a lady in Target once from buying a screen protector for her new Kindle.
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Old 02-01-2011, 02:19 PM   #13
Anthem
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I have the temptation to help people occasionally but I never do it. *shrug*
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Old 02-01-2011, 02:46 PM   #14
jbcohen
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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.
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Old 02-01-2011, 03:04 PM   #15
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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.
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