Sales Assistants

What if the sales assistant didn't offer MS Office or anti-virus to a customer and 3 months later that customer was back shouting and screaming because there daughter couldn't do her coursework on powerpoint and the laptop was infected with a few trojans?

Why would a sales assistant offer Open Office or Avast Free edition? These products make no profit for the business?

If you were so dissatisfied with ther service/advice why did you continue to go ahead with your purchase there?

When I recently bought a new sofa in DFS the sales assistant was using text-book pressure tactics which are transparent to me since I know them from experience. I just told him straight to not offer XYZ anymore otherwise I wont be purchasing from him.
 
Tesla said:
What if the sales assistant didn't offer MS Office or anti-virus to a customer and 3 months later that customer was back shouting and screaming because there daughter couldn't do her coursework on powerpoint and the laptop was infected with a few trojans?
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We ARE talking about a situation in which the sales assistant didn't offer these products. The sales assistant in question (and all the other dishonest scumbags like him/her) tried to force it on them as an as essential instead of offering it as a recommended purchase.

Further, not everyone is savvy enough to recognise sales tactics for what they are. Other people, such as the elderly, can be very vulnerable to being pressured and will get confused and buy whatever they are told they need. These people need to be protected and should not be taken advantage of.
 
osc89er said:
Further, not everyone is savvy enough to recognise sales tactics for what they are. Other people, such as the elderly, can be very vulnerable to being pressured and will get confused and buy whatever they are told they need. These people need to be protected and should not be taken advantage of.
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Well maybe if they don't know what they're buying they should be asking the advice of someone they trust.

THis touches a nerv because I've had loads of hastle around my grandparents who are in their 80s deciding (quite sensibly) to buy a computer and then not asking any family members who know about these things for help. They bought a PC from the supermarket, which was 'office ready' which they managed to return, and then bought a machine from a local shop which is fine but cost them £200 more then is should have. They also paid BT to 'install' a router.
 
skippi90 said:
I also never approached customers unless I thought they needed help or asked me directly. How it should be.
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You wont beleive the amount of ppl that DONT like to be treated like this. They feel as if they are being ignored and that their business is "obviously not welcome cause no one has spoken to me yet"... This with them being in the door for all of 3 mins.

I agree with both sides here. There are good sales ppl and bad sales ppl. Upselling (as its called) is a great for the sales ppl to make extra cash and, depending on the sales role and the product, can make more money than the actual product by doing this.

Anyone that says it shouldnt be done is wrong. Anyone that says its should be forced upon ppl are also wrong IMHO. It shoud be presented to ppl in a way so that THEY can make an informed choice.

Quite rightly the sales person that the OP mentions attempted to upsale with AV and Office software. Any retailer that doesnt offer at least AV to someone buying a new PC is doing them a dis-service. They wont mention the free online stuff because, in the situation that it goes wrong and they go back to the shop saying "they recommended it" and the sales manager finds out, the sales person is in soapy bubble.


Upselling is normally for add-ons that CAN add value to both the product and the customer but its dependant on the product, the customer and the use that the product will be operated under.

Also, be careful. Some upselling products MUST be presented to the customer else they fall foul of FSA regulations e.g. Payment protection insurance, GAP insurance etc. Sure, you may think that they are just doing it to get more money out of you but the fact is, if they dont then they run the risk of a hefty fine.
 
K.C. Leblanc said:
Well maybe if they don't know what they're buying they should be asking the advice of someone they trust.

THis touches a nerv because I've had loads of hastle around my grandparents who are in their 80s deciding (quite sensibly) to buy a computer and then not asking any family members who know about these things for help. They bought a PC from the supermarket, which was 'office ready' which they managed to return, and then bought a machine from a local shop which is fine but cost them £200 more then is should have. They also paid BT to 'install' a router.
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The poor sods did ask someone they trusted. It was the salesman who ripped them off.

Further, I don't think I like your idea of acceptable salesman behaviour. My whole post was about salesmen who lie and rip off customers. You seem to think that is acceptable. Do you have anything to say in your defence?
 
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skippi90 said:
I also never approached customers unless I thought they needed help or asked me directly. How it should be.
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There is a downside to that though, I've been in the 'Nationwide Electronics Stores that we all hate' and not been able to find what I want, but haven't gone up and asked a sales assistant because I can guarantee they'll then see me as a n00b who wants Insurance on his Finance etc, when it's just that I can't find what I want because of their crappy store layout.
 
Westyfield2 said:
There is a downside to that though, I've been in the 'Nationwide Electronics Stores that we all hate' and not been able to find what I want, but haven't gone up and asked a sales assistant because I can guarantee they'll then see me as a n00b who wants Insurance on his Finance etc, when it's just that I can't find what I want because of their crappy store layout.
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I always found that the majority (90%) of people I offered help to whilst they were browsing didn't need it so left all the hassling to the rest of the staff.

To be fair, I got quite a lot of thanks through the manager from customers so it's definitely a style that some seem to prefer.

Quite enjoyed that job too but left to concentrate on GCSEs.
 
I'd rather be left alone personally... If I want something, I'll come to them and ask, I don't want to be hounded by twenty people all the way round the store.
 
we don't push sales in our shop. if someone doesn't wanna buy office, we just reccomend open office as an alternative, same with anti virus and AVG.
 
Westyfield2 said:
There is a downside to that though, I've been in the 'Nationwide Electronics Stores that we all hate' and not been able to find what I want, but haven't gone up and asked a sales assistant because I can guarantee they'll then see me as a n00b who wants Insurance on his Finance etc, when it's just that I can't find what I want because of their crappy store layout.
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All of those stores are alright near me. I bought a TV for my girlfriend a few weeks ago, asked a few questions, they weren't sure so they found out, one of the guys fetched his iPod so I could see that the new ones worked, they got me one from stock, asked once if I wanted the warranty, I said no, they sold me it and I went home.. whole thing took ten minutes.

Bought a camera in the one in Chelmsford, knew roughly what I wanted, the guy did lurk about a bit and talk about megapixels, but I think he could see I knew roughly what I was talking about so mostly left me to it. Again, got me one out, sold me it, asked once about warranty and listened when I said no.

I think they can see if you know vaguely what you're after and tend to leave you to it, it's a different story when my mum goes in obviously - but in fairness, my mum might actually want a warranty, might not want to buy a memory card cheaper online because to be honest she wouldn't really know how (she's better lately) and so on. They're a convenience store.

People DO need antivirus, and most people aren't savvy enough to set up their own free AV, so Norton IS a good buy for them. People DO need Office. I don't see the problem to an extent, but yes, trying to push surge protectors, overpriced HDMI cables and so on is a no-no in my book.

I sell Macs (well, sold, and it's looking like I will be again soon), and with some of the stuff we sell I will gladly tell them to go somewhere else as the Monster stuff in particular we sell is horrendously priced. If our stuff's reasonable I'll sell them that, but I'm always honest. I make them aware of Open Office and tell them the truth - it's rough around the edges and if you're not savvy you're probably better off with Office. I also tell them that if someone else they know has Office for Mac, you can use it on more than one Mac, so when people come in with family to buy their second Mac, they'll never walk out with another copy of Office, ever.
 
At the end of the day a good sales assistant will treat each customer on a case-by-case basis depending on whether they're browsing / know what they want / clueless / whatever. Also some might be able to tell without even speaking to the customer.

Whereas a bad sales assistant will just try and flog them whatever has the best profit margin, regardless of whether it's what the customer wants or not, and not take no for an answer about the insurance on the finance on the extended warranty of the £100 super duper HDMI cable.
 
Saundie said:
I'm glad I'm not a sales assistant, I'd lose my temper if I had to deal with people like robskinner on a daily basis. They're sales people, trying to sell you stuff is their job.
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Why? The sales assistant is trying to sell extra stuff to gain commission for himself. Robskinner was trying to get some money off the product for himself. Why is one in the right and one not? As far as I'm concerned, any haggling or debating with a salesman is perfectly justified if it can get you a better deal.
 
[TW]Fox;14648431 said:
Surely this is against the terms of the EULA?
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On my normal copy of MS Office 2004 for Mac (not a family pack or anything) it came with three license keys for use on three Macs. :)

EDIT: Actually it's a "Student and Teacher Edition" if that makes any difference.
 
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