patrick_y[PuristSPro Moderator]
28046
Staff training is perhaps the biggest problem in retail...
Mar 11, 2014,01:50 AM
When I visit any store; whether to buy a television, a camera, a watch, or an automobile, the majority of the time I find that I have done more thorough research than the sales person has ever done in his career. The gap of knowledge is not only mind boggling, but really gives a bad name to the industry, where most people in such sales industries don't focus on long-term careers, but focus on very short ones.
In the end, it's the industry that suffers. The auto-sales industry is well known to have a lackluster sales-force driven by commissions.
Sometimes, it's the company's fault. The company fails to invest in its human capital. Sometimes it's the employee's fault, the employee simply is an old dog that can't learn anything new. But most of the time, it's a combination of both. An excellent employee will learn the product regardless of what resources are available to him from the company; an excellent company will repurpose (or sack) the untrainable employee.
Overly informed customers can also be a handful, I'm sure. Overly entitled customers who think they know-it-all because they happened to read one article constantly seem to be difficult with sales staff. If the salesperson gives conflicting information, the customer is easily offended, and to restore their ego and to teach the sales person a lesson, they raise their voice to complain. I've observed these rude customers during my visits to watch boutiques myself. That said, the customer isn't always right either.
But when a thoughtfully inquisitive client, the one who takes pleasure in understanding what makes the watch tick, meets a salesperson who is knowledgeable about the product, the journey of information they can both go through is amazing. True sales individuals who understand the industry and the product and can convey/communicate their understanding are the gems of this industry. These individuals aren't mere "sales assistants" but true consultants who advise and give detailed information to help another individual make the correct decision in what is usually an important and expensive scenario.
It's just too bad, there's no way to tell if the store you're going into has someone who's knowledgeable or not knowledgeable about the product. A lot of time wasted. And instead of learning how this watch ticks, I find that I'm ticked off. No wonder so many people say "just looking."