How much trust do you put in the knowledge of store staff?
By Koalemos
@Asylum (47893)
Manchester, England
April 4, 2016 10:44am CST
It is quite reasonable to assume that someone who works in a shop will have an understanding of the products on sale. They usually undergo some form of introductory training and also have the advantage of handling the products on a daily basis. It is quite natural for customers to seek advice from these people at times.
However, just how confident would you be about the advice or opinions of these people? Would you accept whatever you were told at face value, or would you have some reservations about it?
If I go to purchase net curtains I take the window measurements and accept the advice about what length I should buy, although I have experienced unreliable advice on occasions.
I often visit computer stores and mobile phone stores, simply to keep in touch with what is available these days. Over the years I have heard customers being given unrealistic advice, which I know is absolute nonsense.
I wonder how many people accept such advice as authoritative fact.
14 people like this
17 responses
@Dextoi (1845)
• Philippines
5 Apr 16
I don't always trust store staff as they are there to sell their stuff and gain profit. There are some who are honest about their products and some of them are most likely to over-rate their products. When I make a purchase on a guitar store, I would look at reviews of them on the internet and check out the actual guitar if it's true. I do my little research first before heading out to any store...
1 person likes this
@Dextoi (1845)
• Philippines
5 Apr 16
@Asylum yes, they do upgrade and downgrade fast... it's good to settle to something that really suits your needs and not much on the wants... a lot of people I know get to change their phones as soon as a new one comes out in the market... they sell their old phones a lot cheaper...
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136425)
• India
5 Apr 16
With so many avenues open to us thanks to the Internet there is no need to go by the recommendation of a shop keeper
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
5 Apr 16
@allknowing The majority probably do exactly what you suggested, but not all people will. In fact, many people still do not have internet access. In these cases they will no doubt visit the stores, just as we used to do many moons ago.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136425)
• India
5 Apr 16
@Asylum How does one go about then learning about a product?
1 person likes this
@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
5 Apr 16
It depends, most of the times I ask for their personal opinion and I listen to their advice but don't always follow it. We should have in mind that the store staff may get bonuses from certain products or they are advised by management to promote a specific brand. Most of the times the comments are very useful though.
My most recent experience was last week, when I went to purchase a pair of shoes and the guy who owned the store tried to sell me one size smaller than the one I am wearing because he didn't have my size available.
1 person likes this
@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
7 Apr 16
I would not trust it unless it was a highly specialized small shop you know like a piano and organ shop in the High St. I feel the bigger stores have come down with the knowledgeable staff factor.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
7 Apr 16
@TiarasOceanView Very true, those people are much less likely to move around. Even if they do it would be to another music store.
1 person likes this
@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
7 Apr 16
@Asylum And usually doing the same job for years.
1 person likes this
@kaka135 (14931)
• Malaysia
4 Apr 16
I am not sure about other countries, but here, we don't always trust the advice given from the staff in the shop, because many of them seem to be not professional. Of course, there are also some professional staff. We usually have done some researches before we go and buy something.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (112878)
• El Paso, Texas
5 Apr 16
The only reason I do not is that too often those store clerks are simply trying to get people to buy .... I haven't a clue if they got that attitude from management or if it's their own misguided idea that getting people to buy is a way to secure their jobs.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
5 Apr 16
When I am in a small specialty shop I do accept advice and trust it pretty much, however in a larger store not so much.
1 person likes this
@cmoneyspinner (9219)
• Austin, Texas
6 Apr 16
When it comes to electronics, I usually talk to a sales person who knows what they're talking about. I can tell because they not only answer my questions but they get really enthusiastic and start telling you about all the other terrific features, etc. etc., etc. For most other types of products I don't normally ask for assistance from a sales person.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
5 Apr 16
Despite not being an offensive person, I have managed to upset a few staff over the years. I remember going to PC World will a work colleague many years ago because he was looking for a computer.
This was back in the days of Windows 98 when 128 Mb RAM was very fast and we were looking at a model with that component specification. I asked the assistant if this model had one DIMM socket on the motherboard or two of them and whether the RAM was installed as a single 128 or two 64s.
He replied that it would not make any difference because 2 X 64 = 128. Despite agreeing I pointed out that upgrading the RAM later would depend on a spare socket, otherwise you would have to remove a 64 Mb DIMM to insert a 128 instead of just adding the two together.
He had to bring a screwdriver and open the case before we agreed to buy it.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (180703)
• United States
4 Apr 16
It depends on the store. A store like Walmart or Kmart not too much. A speciality store, yes, I think you can put a bit more trust in the store personnel.
1 person likes this
@pagetolv03 (131)
• Gladewater, Texas
4 Apr 16
Sales people do need to know about the products & items they are sales in order to give advice. Also if one sale person doesn't know then they can help by getting someone to assist you.
1 person likes this