Salesman who hadn't a clue in what he was selling!

I went to a store yesterday to buy a top of the range model that is used to get what we call in the UK Freesat but has enabled on it YouTube plus a load of extras that UK residents would understand what I mean.
Salesman who was in his 50,s I guess didn't know what the model I wanted actually did, even though I have checked on the web what it could do and was the one I wanted.
One question I asked was does it have a 1tb hard drive and he looked at me as if I didn't know what I was talking about.
I asked him numerous questions about it regarding how does it perform etc and again he was in cloud cookoo land.
He went on to the web himself and I had to tell him what to do to find that model.
Eventually, it was me who said what it was capable of instead of him which is ridiculous as he was supposed to have the basic knowledge in how most things work.
He did,ask,me how,I,was,going to pay for it even though I had my credit card out and I felt like saying just let me pay it up and head for the door he he
Product works perfect and reason I bought it is because told Sky TV to stick it where the sun doesn't shine!
I can get BBC, ITV, Ch5 Ns 4OD plus all of Freesat channels on it so am chuffed as there is no bills in future to watch these. Plus it records directly from pen drive and,plays them as well.
Salesmen should know what they are selling and not just pass the day until they clock off.
Firm is called Curries and worst place I have been in. Only reason I got it is it is just out on the market and I did my research before buying it.
Rant over.....

scotsdavy1
Salesman who was in his 50,s I guess didn't know what the model I wanted actually did ...

At least your guy knew what it was.

I was in a specialist electronics store a few days ago and the sales guy didnt even have any idea about the field he was working in.
Fair enough, it was his first day, so I dont expect him to know the specifics of specific models, but one expects them to have half an idea of the general concept of the things they sell.

Like... a woodworking shop employing a salesguy who had never picked up a saw in his life, or a camping shop employing somebody who had never been camping ever, or a car yard employing somebody who had never driven a car, or a guitar shop employing somebody who had never tried to play, or a bookshop employing somebody who cant read.

Why?!???!

reply to post by scotsdavy1


In his 50's, working retail? Probably just trying to make a living, I'd say. You can't expect much from retail employees these days, paid hardly enough to cover (most) bills (in comparison to inflation). I wouldn't hold it against him, you got what you wanted at least, so all is well.

reply to post by kx12x


I could not agree. The problem is the boss who does not give a crap and then complains loudly when internet sales rip the butt out of the business. If there are many people looking for each job it is not that hard to find someone who knows what your store sells. It is all about profit. Goodbye customer service.

P

reply to post by pheonix358

He made a sale didn't he?

I guess I'm a softy for the older generations, I have a lot more respect for them, than my own generation. Even if he didn't know what he was doing, I'd rather deal with him than some kid that had no clue either (which is usually the case).

Where he knew what it was supposed to do,I would have still,bought it as it was a reasonable price anyway so was just going through the motions with him,at the end of the day.
Tried to sell me extended warranty and insurance etc but not interested at all.
Makes a change from the usual geeky school leaver who hasn't a brain cell to speak off that I usually get

This is fairly typical of retail salesman, they turn up, "assist" sales by waring the company uniform and being polite collect their check for their hours worked and go home.

Salesmen in my opinion, is a word reserved for someone who DOES know the products.

I do like going with a friend or relative when they are looking at a new computer, i get to ask all sorts of questions on their behalf to the people in PC world and watch them squirm, often having to borrow a tech from the repair shop to assist. You can tell they hate people who ask good questions, they just want someone to come in and hand over money and leave asap - So i have no problem in making them actually work for their pay check.

ohhh man I hear you!!! I had a similiar experience. I can't go into detail but yaaaaa.....the experience went really bad. When it comes to the net deal with anyone over say 35 tops. They'll be clueless

Something similar happened to me when i was buying cars.. what morons they are.

I only knew stuff "outside" of the car, never bother to learn the inside, but when it was time to purchase a new car, i spend months of research into everything, engine, parts, transmission, lights, fluids and coolants...

I went to the dealership, hoping what i learned was sufficient... i asked the sales guy a question,"about regular automatic transmission vs CVT transmission" he was so stupid... his answers was "it could be..." and that is it.. and few subsequent question did not give me satisfied answers, i just left the dealership...

These people never expect the buyer to know the stuff they buy, they just try to impress you with something so small and common..like "this car has "push button Start"... i guess people fall for these kinda tricks, that is why they used it..

reply to post by spartacus699


Just want to point out that that is a massive generalisation. I'm an ex computer programmer now in sales(got fed up of living on nothing but coffee and mars bars for weeks on end, though it was enjoyable being part of the IT team that interrogated Dr Harold Shipmans Database to prove him a bad bad man), 35 years of age, I would run rings round most everyday computer users with my knowledge and whilst I am still within your age limit, I won't suddenly be forgetting everything I know when I turn 36 next year.

Having said that, in a retail environment, you are probably right, spotty teenagers and 'past it' people looking to make ends meet are the general order of the day, cheap labour means high profits.

Just pointing that out... probably a little overly sensitive due to my accelerating journey towards 40