Friend of a friend just got a job as a camera expert

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Keebsuk said:
Ernesto. You were "Billy Big Balls" at the start of the thread yet when someone asked what you do for a living you have become interestingly silent. Stop hiding behind your keyboard and tell us what you do :D

Andy
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The silence was because my wife was taken into hospital. As for my job, I am the CEO of Large Gonads supplies and my name is William and yes I am indeed better known as "Billy Big Balls" by my competitors in the testicle and testicle accessories industry.
 
Regarding the knowledge of electronics retail staff, I have personally found it to be distinctly lacking.
I'm no expert but have found (through overhearing advice to customers) that product knowledge can be poor. I have no interest in loudly making a fool of anyone , however I have advised people quietly when the advisor has went off to check stock or whatever. Whether they choose to use the info is upto them but at least I can be satisfied about trying.
It doesn't affect my choice of where to buy stuff because the staff are helpful and pleasant to deal with and any research has been done before.

I have encountered a few knowledgeable sales staff, and it's good to be able to chat about things in a but if depth, but I need to point out that their knowledge came from personal interest and not from training provided by the retailer.
 
ernesto said:
The silence was because my wife was taken into hospital. As for my job, I am the CEO of Large Gonads supplies and my name is William and yes I am indeed better known as "Billy Big Balls" by my competitors in the testicle and testicle accessories industry.
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Your a waste disposal engineer aren't you?
 
stu.artd said:
Regarding the knowledge of electronics retail staff, I have personally found it to be distinctly lacking.
I'm no expert but have found (through overhearing advice to customers) that product knowledge can be poor. I have no interest in loudly making a fool of anyone , however I have advised people quietly when the advisor has went off to check stock or whatever. Whether they choose to use the info is upto them but at least I can be satisfied about trying.
It doesn't affect my choice of where to buy stuff because the staff are helpful and pleasant to deal with and any research has been done before.

I have encountered a few knowledgeable sales staff, and it's good to be able to chat about things in a but if depth, but I need to point out that their knowledge came from personal interest and not from training provided by the retailer.
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As I said I think this highlights a key issue with many retailers, if they limate themselves to employees who have existing knowledge then they also likely increase the salary they must offer to attract them.

Introduce the idea that anyone can be trained up to be an expert in a short period though and you can get away with paying much less.
 
There are probably not enough people looking for jobs in retail who actually have the knowledge although paying more to try and attract real experts would be a good test. I know the Apple genius approach is mocked but if they do know more (not sure if they do) do they get paid any more?

Pay people minimumish wage and you will have trouble retaining them, if retention is low then investment in training will be low so you get exactly what we see in shops.

This may point to the fact that there really isn't any demand for expertise in most shops and people can research before going and the salesperson is just there to get the product from the store room, work the till etc,. If this is all we end up getting from majority of shops then how is going to a shop any better than buying online?
 
iced_jacob said:
In that high street big electronics store chain that everyone loves to hate in here ;)

So they sent her on "special training" to become a camera expert. Sees me lugging my DLSR around:

Her: Oh big camera, what brand is it?
Me: Sony
H: You got a Sony? Why?
M: Cause I like those
H: Canon and Nikon are better. Panasonic and Olympus also. but not sony (!). What sensor does it have?
M: APS-C 24mp
H: Hm...I prefer CMOS :cuckoo: :cuckoo:
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Presumably you explained the importance of circles of confusion and how to use a modulation transfer function before debating the pros and cons of context adaptive binary arithmetic coding over context adaptive variable length coding?
 
ernesto said:
There are probably not enough people looking for jobs in retail who actually have the knowledge although paying more to try and attract real experts would be a good test. I know the Apple genius approach is mocked but if they do know more (not sure if they do) do they get paid any more?

Pay people minimumish wage and you will have trouble retaining them, if retention is low then investment in training will be low so you get exactly what we see in shops.

This may point to the fact that there really isn't any demand for expertise in most shops and people can research before going and the salesperson is just there to get the product from the store room, work the till etc,. If this is all we end up getting from majority of shops then how is going to a shop any better than buying online?
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In the main they are no better than any other retail store in terms of knowledge or training etc. They just market themselves better.
 
Soda Farl said:


In the main they are no better than any other retail store in terms of knowledge or training etc. They just market themselves better.
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Have to say ive found the technical knowledge in my local apple store to be vastly better than the other large retailers.
 
ernesto said:
There are probably not enough people looking for jobs in retail who actually have the knowledge although paying more to try and attract real experts would be a good test. I know the Apple genius approach is mocked but if they do know more (not sure if they do) do they get paid any more?

Pay people minimumish wage and you will have trouble retaining them, if retention is low then investment in training will be low so you get exactly what we see in shops.

This may point to the fact that there really isn't any demand for expertise in most shops and people can research before going and the salesperson is just there to get the product from the store room, work the till etc,. If this is all we end up getting from majority of shops then how is going to a shop any better than buying online?
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I'd say pretty much any shop will benefit from motivated staff who create a more friendly and helpful atmosphere.

Photography does clearly seem like an area where expertise is going to be vital to sales. Its more technical than pretty much any other area of consumer electronics afterall and I'm guessing that a pretty high percentage of customers that buy from shops rather than the net do so because they want advice.
 
Rapscallion said:
Have to say ive found the technical knowledge in my local apple store to be vastly better than the other large retailers.
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I have found it to be the opposite. My local Apple store is mainly full of students who haven't got a clue. The guys on the genius bar depending on who you get are reasonably proficient, but not always.
 
The fact that some of them are reasonably proficient puts them way ahead of the large retailers I have had the pleasure of witnessing.
John Lewis get the service approach right but they don't usually know what they are talking about.
 
Rapscallion said:
Have to say ive found the technical knowledge in my local apple store to be vastly better than the other large retailers.
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Soda Farl said:
I have found it to be the opposite. My local Apple store is mainly full of students who haven't got a clue. The guys on the genius bar depending on who you get are reasonably proficient, but not always.
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That's always been the case though. I used several Jessops stores and the knowledge and customer service was excellent, but the general consensus was the opposite:shrug:

The fact is that a 'store' is made up of a group of individuals, they may or may not have brought any knowledge, the training given won't help them at all, because the shops needs don't match with the customers.
 
Rapscallion said:
Have to say ive found the technical knowledge in my local apple store to be vastly better than the other large retailers.
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Of a small segment of a particular market.

Ask a Ford salesman about a current Ford model and the chances are he/she will be able to tell you all about it and a Ford trained mechanic will be able to tell you how to fix it. Ask the same experts about an unrelated make/model and their knowledge will be less extensive.

Ask a "genius" how to connect a new iPhone/iPod to an older dock and some of them simply don't know and even fewer can explain why the genuine Apple lead to do the job is so much more expensive than a 3rd party one.
 
Nod said:
Ask a Ford salesman about a current Ford model and the chances are he/she will be able to tell you all about it and a Ford trained mechanic will be able to tell you how to fix it. Ask the same experts about an unrelated make/model and their knowledge will be less extensive.
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Why I understand the problem and realise how difficult (almost impossible) for the likes of a Curry's salesperson to know all the products inside out, it is still not my problem as the customer.
If I have to go and research to get the answers myself what is the shop actually offering me?
 
ernesto said:
The fact that some of them are reasonably proficient puts them way ahead of the large retailers I have had the pleasure of witnessing.
John Lewis get the service approach right but they don't usually know what they are talking about.
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You clearly didn't speak with me then did you :p

But I agree, there's not a lot of training that go's on in retail branches, and certainly a lot less in contact centers. I took it on myself last night to educate a few of my team memebers about DSLR's, Lenses and Compact cameras, as I got tired of listening to them say "This one has more mega pixels, so it'll be better." Needless to say, It doesn't always stick.
 
st599 said:
Presumably you explained the importance of circles of confusion and how to use a modulation transfer function before debating the pros and cons of context adaptive binary arithmetic coding over context adaptive variable length coding?
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Funnily enough she would probably get that as she has an engineering background :P
 
ernesto said:
Why I understand the problem and realise how difficult (almost impossible) for the likes of a Curry's salesperson to know all the products inside out, it is still not my problem as the customer.
If I have to go and research to get the answers myself what is the shop actually offering me?
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Then why do you continue to spend your free time visiting their stores seems a bit inane. :cuckoo:
 
ernesto said:
Why I understand the problem and realise how difficult (almost impossible) for the likes of a Curry's salesperson to know all the products inside out, it is still not my problem as the customer.
If I have to go and research to get the answers myself what is the shop actually offering me?
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Then why do you continue to spend your free time visiting their stores seems a bit inane. :cuckoo:
 
Rapscallion said:
Have to say ive found the technical knowledge in my local apple store to be vastly better than the other large retailers.
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Anyone with any technical knowledge saves their money and buys a PC don't they? Rather than fall for the "we can charge £800 more for the same spec laptop because it's in a shiny box" approach? ;)
 
KitsuneAndy said:
Anyone with any technical knowledge saves their money and buys a PC don't they? Rather than fall for the "we can charge £800 more for the same spec laptop because it's in a shiny box" approach? ;)
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I didn't!

WIndows was in a dire state when i got my laptop. The choice of vista (or xp) vs osx was a nobrainer for me at the time (especially sine the laptop was paid for by myt insurance company...).

Having since used windows 7 that choice has once more become something i would need to think about. But no doubt, if money were no object, it would be a macbook once again. After using the os for 3 years i find it so much quicker to (particularly with use of tools like launchbar which do not yet have a windows equivalent - launchy is about 20% of the way there).

The other feature i like of the laptop id the great touch pad, haven't yet used a windows machine with a large touchpad that is as nice to use. The screens are also good, as is the keyboard.
 
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Rapscallion said:
I didn't!

WIndows was in a dire state when i got my laptop. The choice of vista (or xp) vs osx was a nobrainer for me at the time (especially sine the laptop was paid for by myt insurance company...).

Having since used windows 7 that choice has once more become something i would need to think about. But no doubt, if money were no object, it would be a macbook once again. After using the os for 3 years i find it so much quicker to (particularly with use of tools like launchbar which do not yet have a windows equivalent - launchy is about 20% of the way there).

The other feature i like of the laptop id the great touch pad, haven't yet used a windows machine with a large touchpad that is as nice to use. The screens are also good, as is the keyboard.
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Haha I was trolling mostly :)

My other half has a macbook but more and more I find her ditching it to use my PC. I like some things about the macbook, but I'm so used to windows keyboard shortcuts that I just don't find using it as quick.

Launchbar is ok, but I get by with just pinning commonly used things to the Win7 Startbar. Mine's an HP DV-7 and I like the touchpad on it, but I have used some dire ones! The one thing I wish it did have, is the magnetic power cable, much safer when the little'n has a habit of pulling the cable!
 
KitsuneAndy said:
Haha I was trolling mostly :)

My other half has a macbook but more and more I find her ditching it to use my PC. I like some things about the macbook, but I'm so used to windows keyboard shortcuts that I just don't find using it as quick.

Launchbar is ok, but I get by with just pinning commonly used things to the Win7 Startbar. Mine's an HP DV-7 and I like the touchpad on it, but I have used some dire ones! The one thing I wish it did have, is the magnetic power cable, much safer when the little'n has a habit of pulling the cable!
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The back lit keyboard i something i wish my work laptop has. Instead it has the most low powered lamp i have ever seen to light up the keyboard. Even in pitch black with screen turned down it is unable to provide much illumination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g0OtAzdTAg

PS Launchbar is much more than an app launcher, it can manage files, the clipboard, search any website you set up, run scripts, and a lot more.

Quicksilver is a freeware alternative, that i binned a couple of years ago due to its bugginess, but since has had some code rewrite.

If like to use the keyboard, BetterSnapTool is a nice utility. (also take a look at better touch tool which can tailor the touchpad controls.

And trolls, in apple / window comparison, whodofthunkit!
 
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Soda Farl said:
So what do you do for work ernesto?
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This discussion is about customer experience and knowledge of staff. I am a customer and I have many years experience going into shops which is all you need to know.

Really don't understand your obsession with knowing what I do for a job. What do you think you will achieve by knowing and what bearing will it have on this discussion?
 
It's not just electronics retail where there can be a lack of product knowledge.
When I was going round car showrooms a couple of years ago I was surprised at the level of knowledge one of the sales staff at a local franchised dealer had about the cars they were selling. One manufacturer, a handful of different models and I knew more about the differences in trim levels etc.. than he did - all the other sales staff knew their stuff though. Strangely enough, when I went back a short time later he was gone.
 
ernesto said:
This discussion is about customer experience and knowledge of staff. I am a customer and I have many years experience going into shops which is all you need to know.

Really don't understand your obsession with knowing what I do for a job. What do you think you will achieve by knowing and what bearing will it have on this discussion?
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You have been very quick to criticise other people's work, so it is only natural they would want to know about yours. You have framed some points around your work that appear to others to be inconsistent.
 
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MJWC1 said:
You have been very quick to criticise other people's work, so it is only natural they would want to know about yours. You have framed some points around your work that appear to others to be inconsistent.
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I am criticising the retail industry, not making personal attacks on anyone. If there were any personal attacks/comments on anyone in this thread they were on me but I can live with that.

It is still completely irrelevant what I do for a living as this thread is about the retail experience from the consumer and the training or lack of it for the retail employees that leads to that experience.
It wouldn't matter if I was a surgeon or if I was a pro football player would it, how would that info help in this discussion in anyway whatsoever?
 
ernesto said:
This discussion is about customer experience and knowledge of staff. I am a customer and I have many years experience going into shops which is all you need to know.

Really don't understand your obsession with knowing what I do for a job. What do you think you will achieve by knowing and what bearing will it have on this discussion?
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It seems a bit bizarre that you feel it is fine to fault what other people do for a living but refuse to confirm what you do yourself after all your big talk earlier in the thread.

Why are you so embarassed about what you do for work? :suspect:
 
Soda Farl said:
It seems a bit bizarre that you feel it is fine to fault what other people do for a living but refuse to confirm what you do yourself after all your big talk earlier in the thread.

Why are you so embarassed about what you do for work? :suspect:
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Can't you pursue this via PM?
 
Soda Farl said:
It seems a bit bizarre that you feel it is fine to fault what other people do for a living but refuse to confirm what you do yourself after all your big talk earlier in the thread.

Why are you so embarassed about what you do for work? :suspect:
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I can fault retail shops based on my experience of them and the fact that lack of knowledge is the norm based on my shopping experiences over the last 30 years. I am not attacking anyone personally am I?

If I tell you what I do for a living what are you going to do with the info exactly? Firstly the info is irrelevant and secondly you can make no comment or find fault with what I do as you do not see what I do. Seems a really bizarre obsession for you to need to know what I do.

And as childish as it may be, the single reason for me now not telling you is because you seem so keen to know :)
 
Soda Farl said:
It seems a bit bizarre that you feel it is fine to fault what other people do for a living but refuse to confirm what you do yourself after all your big talk earlier in the thread.

Why are you so embarassed about what you do for work? :suspect:
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It really doesn't matter, does it. drop it and move on :|
 
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