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Thread ID: 39376	2003-11-04 21:37:00	Off Topic - classic advice from salesman	Biggles (121)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
189225	2003-11-04 21:37:00	OK, so my parents go to Dick Smith to buy a cheapie DVD player. They're satisfied with what they got. And it plays all DVDs because its "5-channel". What? Ah no, I say, that means it does 5-channel audio. You need to make sure it is multi-zone or region if yoiu want it to play all DVDs. Well, they say, that's what the sales guy at DS told them. They actually paid $20 more for this model because it was "pre configured" to play "all 5 DVD channels" where as the other model only played "2 DVD channels". It's a bit quiet though, they say. Yes, I say, that's because it will be set up for 5-channel audio and is busy sending chunks of audio off to non-existant surround sound speakers. Where do they get these guys who hand out such rubbish advice to folks? Still, not as classic as the guy who once told Chris Keall that soon you wouldn't have to worry about processor speed because Intel was about to release a chip that "worked at the speed of light".	Biggles (121)
189226	2003-11-04 21:57:00	Reminds of when we bought our first PC from the same company. 6 months later we wanted to upgrade the ram & went into the local store. We were approached by a salesman & I asked to speak to the computer expert, He replied "You're speaking to him". I then went on to explain how we wanted to upgrade the ram on our HP computer & He said "Oh, I'm not sure ,I'm only the expert at selling them". So we went to Atech computers in Wellington where the guy in the store knew about computers & was able to help us out. (PS:That was not an advertising plug.) Cheers Steve PS: We bought one of those 5 channel dvd players TOO & Quite often when we insert a genuine DVD It comes up on the screen 'WRONG DISC'. Hmm I wonder what disc it wants? Eject & reinsert & it plays fine apart from skipping from time to time (disc is clean & scratch free). Might be time to take it back I think.	Steve Askew (119)
189227	2003-11-04 21:59:00	Very happy with the $129 Mizuda I got from Foodtown. Multizone, 5-channel, works a treat.	Biggles (121)
189228	2003-11-04 22:27:00	Wow a DVD with 5 channels, but why would that be better than my TV it's got 67 channels? :P Well you can't expect everyone at DSE to be clued up about Electronics, but you wish they knew what they were talking about. I mean making sales isn't about lying to a customer, I don't think the manager asks his employees to do their homework, find out about the products they sell. I know when I started out in Engineering, and since I had no prior history in it, I was made to read catalogues, spec sheets, etc till I had enough understanding of how these items could be used, what they are used for and also alternatives to the product. Chris Keall, You're just light years away from those processors. Light Years is a measurement of distance not time.	Kame (312)
189229	2003-11-04 22:34:00	>Chris Keall, You're just light years away from those processors. >Light Years is a measurement of distance not time. Hey, don't tell Chris, tell the tweeb at, I seem to recall it was Farmers (some years ago now) Part of being a salesperson shoud be knowing the very basics of the product you sell. After all, would you expect a car salesperson to recommend a car on the basis that being a 2 litre means it can fit more petrol in the gas tank than a 1600? Pretty much the same thing ....	Biggles (121)
189230	2003-11-04 23:16:00	Bruce this just goes to prove the old adage: "How can you tell if a salesman is lying?" "His lips move!" Cheers, Babe :D	Babe Ruth (416)
189231	2003-11-04 23:25:00	I agrees, the basics should have been known . I think sales people should not need to know the technical side of things, but it's nice to know that they have a few people working their with brains in case someone does ask you a brainer question . I've gone to a lot of computer places, and the computer people know too much about items that explaining it in simple terms is not them, they confuse the customers with all this megabytes and gigabits and megahertz and possibly nanoseconds, that the customer doesn't have a clue what they're on about . I've always thought, "talk jargon with your friends, talk levelled with your customers . " Now explaining what some terms mean is exceptional, if they asked you what it is, basically you sell the benefits, not the jargon to them . e . g . This computer is good value for your money, it can handle everyday computer tasks and . . . add your own benefits to it . If you said, This is the state of the art computer, a P4 3 . 6GHz with 1GB of DDR RAM and 180GB HDD, comes with a AGP 8x GF5 graphics card, etc, etc . You've just given your customer a lot of questions to ask you about, especially what it all means, some customers are too scared to ask because they don't want to feel dumb, so never put your customer in that situation . . . . Now if you're watching this on your 5 channel DVD player, stay tuned because I'll be back with more "Ideas to Improve Personal and Professional Positions in Life" . . . KK	Kame (312)
189232	2003-11-05 00:47:00	Well actually, I think there is a processor around now that works pretty much at the speed of light. But it's not made by Intel. Specifically, I can't remember where the heck I read this, but I know I did.	agent (30)
189233	2003-11-05 00:57:00	Just wondering ... If your parents knew about what to look for in a DVD player they may have not had this problem with the sales people. If the saleperson had done his homework, he may have not had to "think" he knew what he was talking about. If Chris Keall is still waiting for Intel to release a chip that "worked at the speed of light", the salesperson may have been confused with chips working while travelling at the speed of light? A simple mistake to make aye? ... I'm still wondering why I bought a TV with 67 channels when I can only get around 5 channels on it ... isn't this just overkill? If I decide to get a Sky Digital, the Decoder takes over all the channels and then I'd only need 1 channel with the decoder. I guess I could always tune in every channel over and over again until I've used full capacity of the channels on my tv, probably is, I can only watch 1 channel at a time.	Kame (312)
189234	2003-11-05 00:58:00	If only sales people would be honest with you and say, " Idon't know but I will try and find out for you." I am quite a camera buff and I have heard the most awful out and out tripe from salespeople who don't know what they are talking about but try and bluff their way through. Then there is the outright dishonest type who lies. Once heard a smart Alec salesman trying to sell a Fridge to a little old lady and kept telling her it was the only fridge on the market with sanforised wiring in it which would never catch fire, but all other fridges without sanforised wiring were prone to catching fire. Cheers all...............heaton	heaton (3697)
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