1. Bye Berry's Avatar
    I just wanted to comment on some of the posts I see in various threads about salesman when it comes to the Playbook. I have worked in sales for 10 years, although in a much different industry (fewer sales, much bigger cost).

    If a customer comes up to a salesman in a store and asks for an iPad. The salesman would be a complete moron not to grab the iPad and take the customers money. Especially the salesman's on commision. Its an easy sale. If the salesman try's to explain the benefits of all the tablets and trys to find the tablet that best suits the customers needs. (Which I have noticed some posters think would be the best approach). It will take up a bunch of time and maybe put doubt into the customers mind. The customer tells the salesman he needs to think about it and leaves. The salesman just waisted a bunch of time and has nothing to show for it.

    On the flip side, I have read posts where people have gone into a store specifically to buy a Playbook and the salesman trys to talk him out of it. Again, why would a salesman blow a guaranteed sale where all he has to do is hand the product to the customer and take his money? Doesn't make any sense, unless the salesman is not on commision and has time to kill.

    Obviously there are good salesman and bad salesman. Usually in an electroics store the salesman will be younger since I'm sure it doesn't pay very well.

    However, I think a lot of posters on this forum like to spread blame about the poor market share of the Playbook when in fact the blame lies solely with RIM.
    03-09-12 05:44 PM
  2. JayR2010's Avatar
    Because they try make them change ther mindo to buy a ipad.
    Ipad = more expensive, more expence = more commission
    Scotter75 and aleid like this.
    03-09-12 05:57 PM
  3. Ben1232's Avatar
    Someone in one of the threads you spoke about said the salesman probably recieves higher commision for other tablets.

    I see what you say about the guaranteed sale however.
    03-09-12 06:00 PM
  4. hpjrt's Avatar
    While I appreciate your perspective, OP, I'm not sure that your experience is comparable to that of a retail sales "associate" in the average electronic store. Generally speaking, an electronic store sales person is young, relatively inexperienced people who have more opinions than knowledge. I'm sure that their training leaves a great deal to be desired as well but the fact remains that few have any interest in providing any fact-based, well considered advice to a consumer. That's not RIM's fault.
    Scotter75, diegonei and Hgouck like this.
    03-09-12 06:22 PM
  5. Hgouck's Avatar
    I agree that if someone walk in and says " I want to buy X" they would be silly not to sell them X. If they come in and say "I am looking for a tablet" than the sales person needs to find out the need of the customer. The challenge is when the sales person always thinks one brand meets all needs. If they want a repeat customer or one that will refer their friends, they better take the time to know the basics of what there is available in their store so they can direct the customer to the right device. IMO
    Last edited by Hgouck; 03-09-12 at 07:44 PM.
    03-09-12 07:38 PM
  6. CrackedBarry's Avatar
    Because they try make them change ther mindo to buy a ipad.
    Ipad = more expensive, more expence = more commission
    Nonsense. Never mind the fact that many chain stores DO NOT pay their sales associates commission. (and even other chains don't give commission on hardware, but give a commission on the insurance/service plan that the store offers)

    There also isn't any difference in price (at least there didn't used to be) between a 16 gb iPad and a 16 gb Playbook or Touchpad for example. So no, the sales associate doesn't make more by selling an iPad than another tablet.

    (And nope, Apple DOES NOT offer increased commissions. You guys forget that the stores actually don't make that much profit on an iPad. The price is fixed by Apple, and the margin for best-buy, for example, is 5-10%. And usually closer to 5 than 10. Chainstores don't make much on iPad or iPhone/iPod sales, the margins for high or increased commissions just aren't there. The stores make their money on accessories. Whether iPad or Playbook accessories.)

    So WHY do retail stores often try to lure buyers away from Playbooks? The explanations simple, and every time I bring up tablet sales with one of the salespeople at Best Buy, Future Shop or Staples they say the same thing. They see A LOT OF RETURNS on Playbooks. Some salespeople have told me that around HALF of the Playbooks they sell get returned. (Not just hardware problems, though some clerks have told me that there are a higher number of defective screens than they're used to. Most of the returns seem to be caused by the customer just being unsatisfied with their purchase.)

    Since the store (and clerk, in the case of commissions from accessories and service plan) loses money on every return, it's only natural that a good retail clerk tries to steer the customer towards a product that sees fewer returns. Whether a Galaxy Tab or an iPad.

    iPads have one of the highest satisfaction ratings. And instead of blaming a sales person who's just doing his job, you should put the blame where it really lies. With RIM, for releasing an unfinished product with few apps available.
    theletterjay likes this.
    03-09-12 08:24 PM
  7. theletterjay's Avatar
    Having worked in a retail store selling phones and tablets for a few years, the reason for certain products not being sold in favor of others is always a balance between how much commission you want to make vs. how much of your time the sale will take (during the sale or later if the customer has problems). As I understood it, incentives came from within the company and from manufacturers themselves, so for example an overstock of a specific phone might lead to a huge commission on that item temporarily, or if a manufacturer wanted to push a new product they would bump incentives and offer prizes etc. It almost never had to do with an items retail value. To add to this, most incentives were tied to services, so as an example, if you sold a blackberry without a contract it wasn't worth nearly as much. Imagine how that rule plays out with a tablet that is a near marginless accessory.

    As well, in many large box stores most employees don't make commission at all, and will usually just give their opinions. These employees know how to work an ipad, and it's features have value for them, so that's what they tell people to buy. Apple has the upper hand in product education to salespeople, plain and simple, because most people have used an iOS device before, and they are all very similar.

    Trusting a salesperson's recommendations without going home and doing your research is asking for trouble unless you have a good personal relationship with them and honestly do value their opinions. To most people in retail commission sales, the average consumer is an open wallet. To the majority of non-commissioned retail salespersons, they're a way to pass time and look good to the boss.

    All sales bashing aside, it is very clear why the carriers didn't care to sell a tablet that robbed them of potential profits, or why big box stores sell more ipads that their employees all understand. In these respects RIM did fail, because if the carrier/electronics store doesn't want to spend money to help sales, the manufacturer has to do it themselves, and not just through advertising but through the people who tell everyone what to buy.
    03-09-12 08:29 PM
  8. 71 GS's Avatar
    I remember looking at a PB when they were launched. At that point I knew nothing about them. I remember the salesperson trying to give me a demo not having a clue on how the swipe function worked. Needless to say the demo did not go well and I didn't buy anything. It wasn't til I remembered I registered here when I had a BB some time ago and started doing a little research. 64gb later I have no regrets and enjoy sharing a little knowledge with sales people when I shop.

    A little better training on all the non fruit brands could be good for most store personal.
    03-09-12 10:07 PM
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