I think the guys at the camera store were making fun of me today

[zumbido]

You would think that a sales person would be interested in someone who wants to spend a lot of money. :bang:

Believe it or not, sales people are, as the phrase would imply, people. All people (wisely or not, opinions vary) rate some things above money. I, for one, hate dealing with people that have a bunch of dollars but no sense. I'll do a lot to avoid them. They make me feel bad about humanity, and there are already plenty of other reasons for that. I want to see reasons to feel good about humanity. Maybe that means I'm stupid, but there it is. And I'm not remotely unique in this.

 

[Nikon Bob]

Leicas are expensive, yes, but just like a luxurious car, the people who cannot justify the price are the people who do not appreciate finely crafted things, the people who simply cannot afford them so they resort to lame comments, or even worse, both.

That is the opposite side and is just as annoying. Somewhere in the middle ground lies the the answer. There is no camera that can walk on water and none that are totally useless.

Bob

 

[sper]

I work in a camera store. You have no idea how many Leica guys ask for zooms or AF lenses on their shiney new M9. Or how many of them cringe when we don't have the newest Summicron but do have a Zeiss option.

It's maddening. So yes, we make fun of Leica buyers. And I don't care if I lose the sale.

The best service can be found while shopping online.

 

[jsrockit]

I, for one, hate dealing with people that have a bunch of dollars but no sense. I'll do a lot to avoid them. They make me feel bad about humanity, and there are already plenty of other reasons for that. I want to see reasons to feel good about humanity. Maybe that means I'm stupid, but there it is. And I'm not remotely unique in this.

Honestly, I agree with you... and wouldn't want to deal with those types either. However, I don't believe the OP is one of those types. Additionally, I'd also say the people in question have the wrong job.

 

[zumbido]

Honestly, I agree with you... and wouldn't want to deal with those types either. However, I don't believe the OP is one of those types. Additionally, I'd also say the people in question have the wrong job.

Agreed on that.

 

[GSNfan]

So yes, we make fun of Leica buyers.

The irony of buying very expensive gear and yet the same people who sell it to you make fun of your purchase decision.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Folks, I didn't recommend the very nasty quip I quoted. I just mentioned it. I have never found myself in a similar situation, but I have experienced subpar service and simply never returned to the store.

As for the clerk's remark, it was snarky, unnecessary, and even if it was accidentally within the OP's earshot, never justified. What a customer wants to buy shouldn't be the employee's business, much less a reason to pass judgment.

 

[drew.saunders]

what's HDR?

Holy (excrement)! Dat's Repugnant!

 

[Ranchu]

I understand that store workers deal with rude people, but I'm not one of those. I generally have a good nature about being ribbed for my tastes as I realize they are not the most usual. If a person in a store teases me, my view is I can tease back. I don't seek to be nasty, or prove anything, but I like to talk a little sh@t as much as the next guy. What does piss me off is when store workers who don't know a tenth of what I do (evidently) take an authoritarian, scoffing attitude. That's when I'll ask politely maddening questions. I think some store workers may not realize that there are many people who buy at camera stores because they think it's important to support them, not because they need help from them.

Rule one: When I ask the price of a lens in the case, take it out and let me see it, don't just report the price to me. I am not going to ask to see it.

 

[zumbido]

Rule one: When I ask the price of a lens in the case, take it out and let me see it, don't just report the price to me. I am not going to ask to see it.

This is what I'm talking about. You think you're polite to the staff, and I'm sure overtly you are, but then you ask a very plain and specific question and expect that they will know that you're actually asking something else entirely.

Why? It's incredibly rude, and moreover just perplexing. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

 

[Ranchu]

This is what I'm talking about. You think you're polite to the staff, and I'm sure overtly you are, but then you ask a very plain and specific question and expect that they will know that you're actually asking something else entirely.

Why? It's incredibly rude, and moreover just perplexing. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

That's just lazy. If I'm asking how much it is, that implies that I'm at least somewhat interested in taking it off your hands. Your job is to sell me the lens, not get picky about how I communicate. My asking the price is an opportunity for you to get that done. Laughable.

 

[braver]

This is what I'm talking about. You think you're polite to the staff, and I'm sure overtly you are, but then you ask a very plain and specific question and expect that they will know that you're actually asking something else entirely.

Why? It's incredibly rude, and moreover just perplexing. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

No it is not rude.

Understanding want a customer might want even though he does dot outright say it is what being in the services business is about. You're supposed to offer options and services to your customer, just because they might be interested and may reward it for you.

This is true for services like software development, but just as much for stores and many other areas of business.

That's just lazy. If I'm asking how much it is, that implies that I'm at least somewhat interested in taking it off your hands. Your job is to sell me the lens, not get picky about how I communicate. My asking the price is an opportunity for you to get that done. Laughable.

Indeed.

I don't get that people don't get this if this is the way they want to make their money.

 

[zumbido]

That's just lazy. If I'm asking how much it is, that implies that I'm at least somewhat interested in taking it off your hands. Your job is to sell me the lens, not get picky about how I communicate. My asking the price is an opportunity for you to get that done. Laughable.

Shrug. If you think it's laughable, that's your choice, but it explains a lot. It's not being "picky" about how you communicate in the least. You are expecting them to read your mind. You are expecting them to do something entirely different from what you asked.

You are being "picky" about how the communication takes place, not them--and that's the nicest way of saying it. "Implies"? Only in your own head.

Do you realize that nearly all people who ask how much something is have very little intention of ever buying it, and not much intention of even wanting to look at it? That's the first-cut "do I even bother" question--and that's when it's not just idle curiosity, which is very frequent.

A lot of people have no particular reason to patronize local shops as opposed to buying from the internet. They use shops as a stage to play out a little bit of kabuki, where they test the servants on their adherence to some set of unstated rituals and expectations. I can't begin to understand what the internal motivations are, but it's sad and a waste of people's time.

 

[zumbido]

No it is not rude.

Understanding want a customer might want even though he does dot outright say it is what being in the services business is about. You're supposed to offer options and services to your customer, just because they might be interested and may reward it for you.

This is true for services like software development, but just as much for stores and many other areas of business.

Ho ho. I'm in the software development business. This is not, remotely, an appropriate analogy. You're talking about the responsibility of software people to differentiate what is really useful and desired from a user's current conception of what they may want. That has *nothing* to do with a person walking up to a counter and asking coy questions because he wants to feel like he's being "serviced". It's perfectly legitimate (and respectable, in my opinion) for the merchant to not have an interest in "offering options and services" if it means playing demeaning little games with you. If the merchant chooses to play, that's his choice, but the idea that everyone should make that choice is ridiculous and sad.

I don't get that people don't get this if this is the way they want to make their money.

I don't get that people don't get that there's a difference between service and servant. Shameful, just shameful. Seriously.

 

[Ranchu]

Shrug. If you think it's laughable, that's your choice, but it explains a lot. It's not being "picky" about how you communicate in the least. You are expecting them to read your mind. You are expecting them to do something entirely different from what you asked.

You are being "picky" about how the communication takes place, not them--and that's the nicest way of saying it. "Implies"? Only in your own head.

Do you realize that nearly all people who ask how much something is have very little intention of ever buying it, and not much intention of even wanting to look at it? That's the first-cut "do I even bother" question--and that's when it's not just idle curiosity, which is very frequent.
You're insisting on very literal communication because you want to sit back and be the gatekeeper while customers implore you to help them pay your rent. Your needs or opinions are secondary, you are a function, not a judge.
A lot of people have no particular reason to patronize local shops as opposed to buying from the internet. They use shops as a stage to play out a little bit of kabuki, where they test the servants on their adherence to some set of unstated rituals and expectations. I can't begin to understand what the internal motivations are, but it's sad and a waste of people's time.

I expect nothing other than a camera store worker who wants to sell me gear. I'm not interested in ego conflicts, they are not my problem. Good luck.

 

[braver]

This is not, remotely, an appropriate analogy.

Ehm, yes it is.

If a customer wants to know what a piece of software development costs, I not only tell them a number, I tell them why it costs what it costs, what the options are to improve on their proposition, perhaps how to do it cheaper or faster, and I explain the alternatives. This makes them pick me for their project, and makes them come back for more.

I do no require them to be friendly, or to be at all knowledgable or specific about what they're asking, that part is my job. It's a bit of effort, but happy customers all make up for it.

This should be a perfect analogy.

I don't get that people don't get that there's a difference between service and servant. Shameful, just shameful. Seriously.

That's quite besides the point really.

 

[zumbido]

I expect nothing other than a camera store worker who wants to sell me gear. I'm not interested in ego conflicts, they are not my problem. Good luck.

"Ego conflicts", from a guy who isn't happy unless some poor ******* behind a counter reads his mind and waits on him like a servant. That, is rich. Good luck indeed.

 

[GSNfan]

I expect nothing other than a camera store worker who wants to sell me gear. I'm not interested in ego conflicts, they are not my problem. Good luck.

But its you who's concerned about your ego because the sales people cannot read your mind.

 

[zumbido]

Ehm, yes it is.

If a customer wants to know what a piece of software development costs, I not only tell them a number, I tell them why it costs what it costs, what the options are to improve what he has requested, or to do it cheaper, and I explain the alternatives. This makes them pick me for their project, and makes them come back for more.

I do no require them to be friendly, or to be at all knowledgable or specific about what they're asking, that part is my job. It's a bit of effort, but happy customers all make up for it.

Indeed. And, in what part of this scenario are they asking a single specific question about a physical item that is sitting right in front of both of you?

I could buy this argument if there is nobody else in the store, you say "how much is that lens?", and the clerk says, "$1000" and then stands there staring at you. In any other scenario, he has better things to do with his time--things that get him closer to making money--than play a mind game with a person who has shown no, repeat no, particular indication of actually being a customer. As noted earlier, asking a price doesn't count. When it comes to things sitting on a shelf in a store, 99.9% of people who ask a price don't buy a thing.

 

[braver]

Indeed. And, in what part of this scenario are they asking a single specific question about a physical item that is sitting right in front of both of you?

All the time. They refer to something else we built that they've seen and want to know what it costs to get that same thing.

I could buy this argument if there is nobody else in the store, you say "how much is that lens?", and the clerk says, "$1000" and then stands there staring at you. In any other scenario, he has better things to do with his time--things that get him closer to making money--than play a mind game with a person who has shown no, repeat no, particular indication of actually being a customer. As noted earlier, asking a price doesn't count.

Yes, it does. Interest is shown in a product, this is an opportunity to sell. If you decide to waste the opportunity, that's fine, but don't expect that customer to even buy a lens cleaning cloth next time.

When it comes to things sitting on a shelf in a store, 99.9% of people who ask a price don't buy a thing.

Same thing in software, or sales pretty much everywhere. You put in the effort and make the best of it.