Smartypants at the Wharton School of Business surveyed shoppers to find out what pissed them off most about the in-store experience, and it turns out it’s mainly the sales staff. Here’s the top 10 problems that shoppers said bothered them to the point that they wouldn’t go back to the store.
sales
Follow Up: AT&T Says There's No Activation Fee For GoPhones
By 3.14.08
Earlier this week we posted an email from a man who said an AT&T salesman tried to charge him an “activation fee” to switch his daughter’s already-active SIM card to a GoPhone. We got a lot of useful (if sometimes contradictory) advice from readers in the comments section, and now an AT&T spokesman has written in with an official statement about it.
Beware The Craftmatic Bed Scam
By 3.11.08
The commercial says you can win a free Craftmatic bed, but all you’re likely to win is a salesman worming his way into your home. An Inside Edition investigation revealed some shady high-pressure tactics by Craftmatic bed salesmen targeting the elderly. Typical sales tactics involve starting with a high price, $5,000 and then using a series of phony price drops to get the person to buy today. The salespeople say the bed is so great that it will solve acid reflux and heart disease! And at a seminar where you learn to be a better Craftmatic bed salesperson, a hidden camera showed instructor Carolyn Nilson talking about the lengths she would go to to close a deal, saying “I’ve done it all. Dug checks out of the garbage that they didn’t shred…reactivated credit cards, gone to the bank.” Most contests are just “lead-generation” opportunities for the businesses. Warn elderly friends and family about the sleazy tactics of the Crapmatic sales force.
By 3.11.08
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For the retail managers lurking here: an analysis of data from a “US specialty retailer” shows that not reducing staff during lean times leads to an increase in profit margins. [The Times South Africa]
Is It Legal To Use Out Of Date List Prices For Comparison On Sales?
By 2.27.08
Last week we pointed out how Apple artificially inflates the discount of its refurbished units by using the original introductory list price as a comparison, even if the price has since dropped and the true list price is now lower. Now a reader writes in to say he caught Toys R Us doing the same thing on sale prices of Playstation 3 bundles and 30 gig Zunes. Our question: is this legal? New York City’s consumer protection law seems to imply that—at least for retailers doing business in NYC—it’s not, unless you clearly indicate the trail of price reductions, something neither company is doing.
CompUSA Sells "Defective" DVD Player That "Does Not Work" "As Is" For $179.98
By 2.24.08
CompUSA is selling a broken Sony DVD player for $179.98—that’s 40% off the sticker price! The Wife over at Bastion of Mediocrity noticed that the sticker also reads: “Defective,” “Does Not Work,” “As Is.”
Comcast Call Center Sales Contest Sheet: "Don't Let These Freeze Masters Get You"
By 1.31.08
From inside a Comcast call center, we got a sales goal sheet designed to excite call center reps to sell more new customer bundles using with four cartoons icons of cold; Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat,, Mr. Freeze from Batman, Frozone from The Incredibles, and Ice-Man from X-Men. The flyer exhorts: “ANTI FREEZE INCENTIVE. Don’t let these freeze masters get you…Sell some bundles and protect yourself from the cold!!!” If you’re in the top three of your department, the flyer continues, you can win $250, $150, or $100 for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, respectively. Exciting. What is the symbolic function of the “freeze masters” as a performance incentive? What does, “the cold” represent? Left out in the cold? Given the cold shoulder by your peers if you’re not contributing enough to the 2000 bundle goal? An inability to pay one’s heating bills? We have no idea, we’re just glad we don’t work in a call center, we’ve never been too good at winning knife fights. (click to enlarge).
Video Game Industry On Nitro While Music Cries Alone In The Dark With No Friends
By 1.18.08
The video game industry is on fire! Wooo! Sales are up! Times are good!
In December, Nintendo had its biggest month ever with the hot-selling game system. Holiday shoppers bought 1.4 million Wiis, according to sales data released Thursday by the NPD Group. The Wii’s success helped drive the video game industry to a record-setting $17.9 billion in sales, about 43% higher than 2006’s $12.5 billion, which was also a record.
Meanwhile the music industry isn’t having such a fun time. Sales are down. People are getting fired at EMI and the Rolling Stones are all pissed off about it.
Gold's Gym's Slippery Salesperson Manages To Talk Himself Out Of A Sale
By 1.14.08
If you don’t like high pressure sales environments, stay the hell out of Gold’s Gym. Seattlest tried to sign up for a membership yesterday but was so put-off by the confusing sales pitch that they just walked out.
Firing All The Smart People Isn't Working: Circuit City Sales Down 12%
By 1.8.08
Circuit City’s same store sales for the month of December are down 12% in the U.S., causing some to speculate that firing all the people who understand the products you carry might not be a winning sales strategy.
Photos: CompUSA Raises Prices For Liquidation Sale
By 1.7.08
We’ve been hearing over and over again that there’s something shady afoot at the CompUSA liquidation sale. People from all over the country have been telling us that CompUSA is raising prices before knocking 15% off, resulting in not-so-hot discounts.
At Home Depot, Larger Signs Mean Higher Prices
By 1.7.08
Robert sent in this photo he snapped at the Home Depot in Frederick, Maryland on January 4th. “The cashier rang up all three at first and they came up as $11.97. Scanning them one by one set the price to $3.33.” Maybe the extra $2 is for the stackability of the containers. After all, you don’t get that feature with just one.
Open Box Gaming Mice Cost $12 Extra At Best Buy
By 12.30.07
Daniel wanted to pick up a Lachesis Gaming Mouse on sale at Best Buy for $59.99, but the San Francisco store he visited had only two open-box models left and both cost $71.99.
How To Train A Retail Manager
By 12.26.07
USA Today has a quiz supplied by the National Retail Federation based on materials they use in their retail management and certification courses. [And if you’re one of those people obsessed with taking quizzes, stop reading here until you’ve taken it.] It’s an interesting but somewhat obvious set of questions, all centered on hammering home the concept that being a retail manager means focusing on display, loss prevention, and customer service—but not on “long-term planning” of the type of merchandise that will be sent to your store.
Stores Beg Shoppers To Come Visit This Weekend
By 12.22.07
Spooked by the (apparently mythological) low numbers of shoppers this season, several retail chains are pulling out the stops in an attempt to lure consumers in over the next 72 hours, reports Reuters. Seven New York-area Macy’s stores are now open non-stop until 6pm Monday. Kmart is holding a “64-hour sale” that begins tomorrow morning and lasts until 10pm Monday (we’re not sure if the stores are staying open around the clock, however). JC Penney is advertising special sales tonight and tomorrow morning.
Sales Of Women's Clothing Drops, May Mean Steep Discounts Over The Next Week
By 12.18.07
Mastercard reported on Sunday that, after a slight bump around Black Friday, sales of women’s clothing has dropped again, down 6% even while sales of men’s clothing has gone up 4.5%. They think it has to do with an overall weak year for women’s fashion, and the fact that mothers tend to cut back on new clothes for themselves first when faced with a tighter budget. The silver lining: there may be considerable discounts at women’s clothing retailers in the immediate future as they try to bump up sales at the last minute.
Gawker Tshirt Shop Liquidation Sale
By 12.12.07
We’re liquidating the Gawker Tshirt Shop and all shirts are on sale for $17.99, down from $20 (yes, we know, Gawker is taking a cue from the CompUSA handbook. The liquidation company sets the prices! ::ducks). That means it’s your last chance to get The Consumerist “My Call Is important To You” before it becomes a valuable collector’s item and we post confessions from people who scalp it on eBay. A perfect gift for the consumer avenger in your life, even if that person is just you. Retailers will quake in fear when you stride up to the counter in this hot baby blue number. Printed on American Apparel so you’ll probably want to get one size larger than you normally do.
