How much does the average retail employee know about products?
April 18, 2013 7:42 AM Subscribe
In your experience, how much does a non-commissioned employee at a (rather large) store know about the products being sold? I'm sure they probably know more than I do - but I'm wondering if they receive product information, training or if employees are placed in areas where they have expertise.
Example: If I go to the garden department at Lowes - will the employees be able to answer basic questions like which soils to use and which plants don't require much sunlight? If I go to somewhere like Gander Mountain - will the employee in the shoe department know what the ideal hiking boot would be for me if I were to tell him my needs? Would an employee at Whole Foods know what kind of soap would be best for certain skin types?
I rarely ask for assistance mainly because I'm socially awkward.
I usually do all my research online before I buy items that I'm not familiar with - but sometimes I'm just at a store and curious. Usually I try independent businesses because I figure they must have an interest in their products if they opened a store to sell them. Sometimes they might not have what I'm looking for, though.
Of course the answer to this question probably varies - but what is your overall experience (maybe as an employee or customer) with this?
Example: If I go to the garden department at Lowes - will the employees be able to answer basic questions like which soils to use and which plants don't require much sunlight? If I go to somewhere like Gander Mountain - will the employee in the shoe department know what the ideal hiking boot would be for me if I were to tell him my needs? Would an employee at Whole Foods know what kind of soap would be best for certain skin types?
I rarely ask for assistance mainly because I'm socially awkward.
I usually do all my research online before I buy items that I'm not familiar with - but sometimes I'm just at a store and curious. Usually I try independent businesses because I figure they must have an interest in their products if they opened a store to sell them. Sometimes they might not have what I'm looking for, though.
Of course the answer to this question probably varies - but what is your overall experience (maybe as an employee or customer) with this?
I worked retail for several years and never received specific product training, though the amount of information you get varies a lot according to policy. When I worked at a garden center I actually learned quite a bit, but that was from listening to the people there who really knew their stuff. I think your idea of trying to focus on independent businesses is a good one. Have you asked them about the possibility of ordering things you're interested in?
posted by brilliantine at 7:53 AM on April 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by brilliantine at 7:53 AM on April 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
I find that it greatly depends on the employee you ask. Some of them will be well-informed, and some of them are just there to ring people up and move on to the next person. It's kind of a crapshoot. You are more likely to find accurate answers and informed opinions at small, local businesses, because the owner is often close at hand, but then again, I have also received more help than I expected at national retailers, on various occasions.
Overall, I have received the best, most informed service at my local hardware store, local plant nursery, and local produce market. Also, high-end clothing store employees tend to know their product line very well, probably partially because of commission-based sales.
posted by rachaelfaith at 7:55 AM on April 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
Overall, I have received the best, most informed service at my local hardware store, local plant nursery, and local produce market. Also, high-end clothing store employees tend to know their product line very well, probably partially because of commission-based sales.
posted by rachaelfaith at 7:55 AM on April 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
I'm an employee. We sell an expensive product that we've all supposedly received training on. Very few of us know all there is to know about this product. However, certain locations have received much more training on this product - these locations have specific staff trained by the manufacturer.
Companies who have high turnover of staff very often don't bother training people to any large degree on their products. Companies who don't make much profit or who don't treat their staff well - Walmart, for example - often have high turnover of staff.
posted by Solomon at 7:55 AM on April 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Companies who have high turnover of staff very often don't bother training people to any large degree on their products. Companies who don't make much profit or who don't treat their staff well - Walmart, for example - often have high turnover of staff.
posted by Solomon at 7:55 AM on April 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
It really, really depends.
When I worked at Macy's we knew our stock and were ready to help because we were all customers ourselves and spent quiet times trying things on and checking each other out. We were on commission.
At Nordstrom, you're going to find people who are very knowledgable about the products, at Sears, perhaps, at Wal-Mart, I'd be surprised.
Specialty stores, like REI should have knowledable employees.
I doubt an employee at Whole Foods will have product recommendations, but the lady behind the Clinique counter will.
Ask your questions and be prepared to get little to no help.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:57 AM on April 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
When I worked at Macy's we knew our stock and were ready to help because we were all customers ourselves and spent quiet times trying things on and checking each other out. We were on commission.
At Nordstrom, you're going to find people who are very knowledgable about the products, at Sears, perhaps, at Wal-Mart, I'd be surprised.
Specialty stores, like REI should have knowledable employees.
I doubt an employee at Whole Foods will have product recommendations, but the lady behind the Clinique counter will.
Ask your questions and be prepared to get little to no help.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:57 AM on April 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
Data point from the UK; I went into a national chain of warehouse-sized electrical stores and upon asking where the fuses were was met with a stare so blank I doubt the young man in question was even aware of fuses as a concept, let alone their approximate location in the hinterland beyond his "information" desk.
Do your research beforehand.
posted by fatfrank at 8:05 AM on April 18, 2013
Do your research beforehand.
posted by fatfrank at 8:05 AM on April 18, 2013
When I worked for a local pet store the reps from the food companies would come in and do product updates, tell us why their products were better than that guy's products, talk about new products, etc. When we had down time I would sometimes "go shopping" in the store and try to figure out what I would buy and why for each particular animal we supported. I could talk fairly intelligently on almost everything in the store.
When I worked at Macy's I was taught how to run the cash register.
posted by magnetsphere at 8:05 AM on April 18, 2013
When I worked at Macy's I was taught how to run the cash register.
posted by magnetsphere at 8:05 AM on April 18, 2013
They receive some training, but generally it's hard for a retail employee to know a lot of details about every product because there are so many products and the products often change frequently. But there's variation. For example, I've generally found that to be the case more with computer store employees than hardware store employees because the latter tend to be more seasoned and there's less change in products.
posted by Dansaman at 8:06 AM on April 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Dansaman at 8:06 AM on April 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
It really, really depends on the store and the department and the employee. And the size of the store, and what it sells.
I worked retail in my teenage years, and I tended to be put in the electronics department of a big box store. I was good at IDing songs and movies and things like that but if someone wanted to know which particular boombox offered more bass cancel or whatever, I'd have had no idea.
Generally, your best bet is to ask an employee who's in the general area you're looking in, and not passing through - if you flag down someone passing by, they'll help you but it's a crap shoot. Garden departments tend to have people who know gardening well enough, and so on.
They don't tend to receive product information or training, though specialty shops may differ. Employees are sometimes placed in areas where they have expertise, but not necessarily. For the most part, employees will learn about products on the fly, and won't spend a lot of time on their off hours doing research unless they've got a passion for the thing they're selling.
A decent enough rule of thumb is: The bigger the store (and the wider a range of products being sold), the less likely it is that an employee will have specialized knowledge.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 8:07 AM on April 18, 2013
I worked retail in my teenage years, and I tended to be put in the electronics department of a big box store. I was good at IDing songs and movies and things like that but if someone wanted to know which particular boombox offered more bass cancel or whatever, I'd have had no idea.
Generally, your best bet is to ask an employee who's in the general area you're looking in, and not passing through - if you flag down someone passing by, they'll help you but it's a crap shoot. Garden departments tend to have people who know gardening well enough, and so on.
They don't tend to receive product information or training, though specialty shops may differ. Employees are sometimes placed in areas where they have expertise, but not necessarily. For the most part, employees will learn about products on the fly, and won't spend a lot of time on their off hours doing research unless they've got a passion for the thing they're selling.
A decent enough rule of thumb is: The bigger the store (and the wider a range of products being sold), the less likely it is that an employee will have specialized knowledge.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 8:07 AM on April 18, 2013
I've worked in retail - at one point I was the lady behind the Clinique counter - and in my opinion it depends totally on the employee. For Clinique there was quarterly in-depth training on new products. In general retail, generally an induction-type training, maybe around top-sellers, but not much more. The longer you work somewhere the more you pick up, often by being asked a question about a product that you have to find out yourself, and then you know for the next time. If the employee is an eager-beaver people-pleaser like me then they'll take the time to learn as much as possible to try and be as helpful as possible. If its a small store employees are probably pretty knowledgeable, possibly even passionate about what they're selling. If its a large department store and you're asking a 17 year old who gets paid crap and doesn't really care (I generalise, obv) then they might not bother to retain that much.
I have to add that I'm not sure if the commission helps that much. In cosmetics sales I always found the commission was way less than people assumed, little enough to be practically insulting, and usually a bonus rather than a real incentive, so I don't know that it has that much bearing.
posted by billiebee at 8:08 AM on April 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
I have to add that I'm not sure if the commission helps that much. In cosmetics sales I always found the commission was way less than people assumed, little enough to be practically insulting, and usually a bonus rather than a real incentive, so I don't know that it has that much bearing.
posted by billiebee at 8:08 AM on April 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
It definitely depends on the store, the department, and the individual employee. There are some awesome, super-knowledgable people out there on retail floors who can be really helpful... but since you asked about the 'average employee', I would say that in an average big box store, employees don't often know much more than you.
Thanks to the proliferation of web-based customer review and/or manufacturer product spec web sites, I'm usually able to figure out what I want and weigh features and prices at home, then just walk into the store, buy it and leave. When I do ask an employee they usually umm and ahh and look at the box and shrug and either say "I don't know, sorry" or make something up.
posted by usonian at 8:24 AM on April 18, 2013
Thanks to the proliferation of web-based customer review and/or manufacturer product spec web sites, I'm usually able to figure out what I want and weigh features and prices at home, then just walk into the store, buy it and leave. When I do ask an employee they usually umm and ahh and look at the box and shrug and either say "I don't know, sorry" or make something up.
posted by usonian at 8:24 AM on April 18, 2013
It depends.
I have worked both high end and mid-priced retail. It wasn't commissioned based, but we were all fearful enough of "secret shoppers" and would get an occasional small bonus if we consistently had large sales. I knew the stock well, and about things like sizing, fit, the differences between different product lines from working alongside my manager a lot.
Do your research beforehand, but don't be afraid of asking for advice. I never minded if customers asked questions or asked for help. Really, if I wasn't completely overwhelmed with trying to help ten people at once, I genuinely enjoyed answering questions and helping customers pick out products.
And if it was a slow day, it was likely I had spent the last 45 minutes folding piles of shirts or something else equally exciting, I'd probably rather be helping you decide which fit of pants works best for you.
posted by inertia at 8:26 AM on April 18, 2013
I have worked both high end and mid-priced retail. It wasn't commissioned based, but we were all fearful enough of "secret shoppers" and would get an occasional small bonus if we consistently had large sales. I knew the stock well, and about things like sizing, fit, the differences between different product lines from working alongside my manager a lot.
Do your research beforehand, but don't be afraid of asking for advice. I never minded if customers asked questions or asked for help. Really, if I wasn't completely overwhelmed with trying to help ten people at once, I genuinely enjoyed answering questions and helping customers pick out products.
And if it was a slow day, it was likely I had spent the last 45 minutes folding piles of shirts or something else equally exciting, I'd probably rather be helping you decide which fit of pants works best for you.
posted by inertia at 8:26 AM on April 18, 2013
Another point: how much would it cost for an expert in [thing]? I used to work in a hardware store and was expected by people to be an expert on electrics, plumbing, gas fitting, windows, loft extensions, garage doors and general building work. I was paid minimum wage (~£5.50/hr). I got chatty with a customer one day who told me that he charged £50 just to turn up to someone's house. that's before any work was done or the leaky pipe was even looked at. If I'd known anything about plumbing, I'd have been in a very different job.
posted by Solomon at 8:33 AM on April 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Solomon at 8:33 AM on April 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
On the low-mid end, nothing. I was a salesfloor rep at #{big_box_retailer} in high school. Most of my coworkers were highschool/college kids too, or folks just holding down a job. The store was huge, there were tens of thousands of products, sales-floor assignments were more or less broken down into "clothes" and "everything else." There was no way anyone could know tons of details about most products under those conditions. The folks assigned to work in electronics tended to have a bit of specialized knowledge, but more of the "I'm into electronics on my own time, and talk enough about it that the managers realized and put me here" than the "I received special training as part of company policy" variety.
Smaller and more specialized stores tend to do better in terms of employee knowledge. REI is a great example -- the folks who work there tend to be interested in outdoors stuff themselves. It's focused enough and small enough and pays well enough that that can happen.
Also: Solomon has a good point.
posted by Alterscape at 8:59 AM on April 18, 2013
Smaller and more specialized stores tend to do better in terms of employee knowledge. REI is a great example -- the folks who work there tend to be interested in outdoors stuff themselves. It's focused enough and small enough and pays well enough that that can happen.
Also: Solomon has a good point.
posted by Alterscape at 8:59 AM on April 18, 2013
When I worked in the large chain bookstore, we were basically taught how to run the store systems and that was it. Some stuff came down to experience--i.e. people thought we were wizards when they came in babbling about "that book with the blue cover, you know the one" and we'd go "Oh, yes, The Lovely Bones, right over here" but that was more because that was a book everyone was talking about and buying and we had cases and cases of it and it had a blue cover at the time.
Some of it came down to the department you worked in (and experience there, obviously), so you'd have better luck humming a song you barely remembered at the music sellers than, say, the children's bookseller. And some of it came down to your role in the store. I did stocking of the shelves so I could tell you pretty conclusively what we had and where it was. Otherwise, you were at the mercy of whoever happened to be working and the sections they were interested in, so if you were looking for a romance title you couldn't remember the name of and it had a pink cover and it was about this woman who loved a man, well, if the lady who liked romance novels wasn't working, you were SOL.
I confess, I laughed when I saw "training." Most of our "training" was watching poorly-acted VHS videos about not grabbing your coworker's ass. The most we'd get was a semi-occasional heads-up from Corporate about what book Oprah was picking next, though usually we found out about that when cases and cases of it arrived at the shipping dock. We were encouraged through very nice discounts and freebie promo copies to expand our horizons, but obviously that was all going to be on our own time.
That said, I am still exceptionally good at picking out people's gifts from that experience just because of years of doing it. If you ask me what you should get, I dunno, a 43 year old man that likes hunting and boats, I can find you something still, but that wasn't training so much as experience of getting asked every day "I need something for my dad, he's a 43 year old man that likes hunting and boats."
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 9:19 AM on April 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
Some of it came down to the department you worked in (and experience there, obviously), so you'd have better luck humming a song you barely remembered at the music sellers than, say, the children's bookseller. And some of it came down to your role in the store. I did stocking of the shelves so I could tell you pretty conclusively what we had and where it was. Otherwise, you were at the mercy of whoever happened to be working and the sections they were interested in, so if you were looking for a romance title you couldn't remember the name of and it had a pink cover and it was about this woman who loved a man, well, if the lady who liked romance novels wasn't working, you were SOL.
I confess, I laughed when I saw "training." Most of our "training" was watching poorly-acted VHS videos about not grabbing your coworker's ass. The most we'd get was a semi-occasional heads-up from Corporate about what book Oprah was picking next, though usually we found out about that when cases and cases of it arrived at the shipping dock. We were encouraged through very nice discounts and freebie promo copies to expand our horizons, but obviously that was all going to be on our own time.
That said, I am still exceptionally good at picking out people's gifts from that experience just because of years of doing it. If you ask me what you should get, I dunno, a 43 year old man that likes hunting and boats, I can find you something still, but that wasn't training so much as experience of getting asked every day "I need something for my dad, he's a 43 year old man that likes hunting and boats."
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 9:19 AM on April 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
Back when I worked in retail, we got product training sometimes, depending on the store, what we were selling, and the nature of the new product. I feel like it happened more when I worked at Tiffany's (though that was on commission) and the MoMA Design Store and less when I worked in bookstores or Old Navy. Usually the trainings were large-group talking points sessions.
In my experience working in retail, I always tended to know a lot about the products because retail is boring, and you're spending 20+ hours in the same room mostly either talking to people about these products or standing around staring at them. I mean, what else am I going to do but learn stuff about what we sell?
At the very least, I knew what we sold, how much inventory we had, if there were options available ("do you have this in paperback?" "does this come in a size 16?"), and basic facts about the products.
In my experience as a shopper, I find that employees are less likely to know the products in huge chain stores where associates are more likely to be just working a register all day and less likely to actually be out on the sales floor actively selling the product. For example I have terrible luck with Best Buy and places like that. They NEVER know anything about anything, likely because they don't spend much time out on the floor and there are too many products with too many features. Even if there are regular "trainings", there's no reason for that knowledge to really take root if you're not using it. Especially if it's drowned out by a million other features of a million other products, all of which will change in six months, anyway.
posted by Sara C. at 9:29 AM on April 18, 2013
In my experience working in retail, I always tended to know a lot about the products because retail is boring, and you're spending 20+ hours in the same room mostly either talking to people about these products or standing around staring at them. I mean, what else am I going to do but learn stuff about what we sell?
At the very least, I knew what we sold, how much inventory we had, if there were options available ("do you have this in paperback?" "does this come in a size 16?"), and basic facts about the products.
In my experience as a shopper, I find that employees are less likely to know the products in huge chain stores where associates are more likely to be just working a register all day and less likely to actually be out on the sales floor actively selling the product. For example I have terrible luck with Best Buy and places like that. They NEVER know anything about anything, likely because they don't spend much time out on the floor and there are too many products with too many features. Even if there are regular "trainings", there's no reason for that knowledge to really take root if you're not using it. Especially if it's drowned out by a million other features of a million other products, all of which will change in six months, anyway.
posted by Sara C. at 9:29 AM on April 18, 2013
The people you want to look for, especially in hardware stores like Lowes and Home Depot, are the older, retirement-age employees. They tend to be working part time after having retired from a full-time career, and, at least with the little old guys at Lowes, seem to pick jobs that make use of their long-standing expertise in a particular hobby. The twenty year old employee in the plumbing section is unlikely to be an expert in plumbing, because if they were they'd be out pursuing it as a full time job. But the seventy year old employee probably picked Lowes over working at WalMart because he'd have a chance to chat with people about his area of hardware expertise all day.
posted by MsMolly at 9:33 AM on April 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by MsMolly at 9:33 AM on April 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
I doubt an employee at Whole Foods will have product recommendations, but the lady behind the Clinique counter will.
I once had a roommate who worked at Trader Joe's. She wasn't a manager, but she was a level above just a regular associate. Key holder? Team leader? Something like that. That girl KNEW every damn thing about TJ's products you could ever want to know. She was always bringing home new products to try out so that she could recommend stuff to the customers.
Maybe she was an outlier, though. I don't think I've ever met anyone who was that excited to work in a grocery store.
(Additionally, my uncle worked at one of the first Whole Foods stores. He ran a section -- I want to say cheese? -- and seemed, to my childhood self at the time, to really know his stuff and care about the product. He worked for WF for years and even met his wife there. That said, this was 20 years ago when WF was a tiny chain of health food stores.)
posted by Sara C. at 9:34 AM on April 18, 2013
I once had a roommate who worked at Trader Joe's. She wasn't a manager, but she was a level above just a regular associate. Key holder? Team leader? Something like that. That girl KNEW every damn thing about TJ's products you could ever want to know. She was always bringing home new products to try out so that she could recommend stuff to the customers.
Maybe she was an outlier, though. I don't think I've ever met anyone who was that excited to work in a grocery store.
(Additionally, my uncle worked at one of the first Whole Foods stores. He ran a section -- I want to say cheese? -- and seemed, to my childhood self at the time, to really know his stuff and care about the product. He worked for WF for years and even met his wife there. That said, this was 20 years ago when WF was a tiny chain of health food stores.)
posted by Sara C. at 9:34 AM on April 18, 2013
Yes, it varies significantly between individuals; even if a retailer has high knowledge expectations, some employees are barely skating by. I worked in the "photocopy yourself" area of a office supply retailer, and after I was punched out I went to the nearest manager (we had to personally let someone know we were leaving) to say "bye" -- she was a manager in the computer parts area, and when I walked up she was giving some very uninformed information to a customer. Maybe she really didn't understand the question, but it was regarding routing and switches, so I jumped in and pointed him at the right part he needed. Reiterating: she was *manager* of the department, and seemed to have a huge gap in knowledge regarding the products she was supposed to train her employees on. After this event they tried to move me into electronics as a salesperson, and I can guess why.
On the opposite end, I've been very surprised by the level of knowledge of people at the local big-box pet store, which I'd have expected to be uninformed low-hourly-wage workers. They have their line of expertise written on their nametags, so if you have fish questions, it's not hard to find the fish expert, and they all seem to really, really know their stuff. So, the type of store doesn't necessarily indicate the level of knowledge of the employees. It might be hit-or-miss, depending on where you happen to be at the time. You never know if the old guy in the garden section at WalMart is a retired farmer and knows more than anyone else.
posted by AzraelBrown at 10:02 AM on April 18, 2013
On the opposite end, I've been very surprised by the level of knowledge of people at the local big-box pet store, which I'd have expected to be uninformed low-hourly-wage workers. They have their line of expertise written on their nametags, so if you have fish questions, it's not hard to find the fish expert, and they all seem to really, really know their stuff. So, the type of store doesn't necessarily indicate the level of knowledge of the employees. It might be hit-or-miss, depending on where you happen to be at the time. You never know if the old guy in the garden section at WalMart is a retired farmer and knows more than anyone else.
posted by AzraelBrown at 10:02 AM on April 18, 2013
I think it depends on a lot of factors. Years ago I worked at Whole Foods in the seafood department and had zero knowledge or specific training about seafood. At that time I think my knowledge of how to handle seafood ended at opening a can of tuna. I was hired by the store and assigned to that department(as has been the case in other retail jobs I've had) but some of the other people knew a lot about seafood and it was basically a career for them. I've visited other WF seafood depts and the employees obviously knew their stuff.
I wasn't there for very long, but I was disappointed because I actually wanted to learn about seafood - I learned on my own, but as far as the job was concerned the department didn't seem to care if I knew anything or not.
posted by fromageball at 10:11 AM on April 18, 2013
I wasn't there for very long, but I was disappointed because I actually wanted to learn about seafood - I learned on my own, but as far as the job was concerned the department didn't seem to care if I knew anything or not.
posted by fromageball at 10:11 AM on April 18, 2013
I think commissioned earnings are a major factor in how knowledgeable the sales staff are - commissioned sales staff are more motivated to learn more about the products in order to appear knowledgeable to customers and earn their trust. Same goes for stores that largely sell big ticket items, or specialize in one type of item. Hobby stores also tend to attract staff who are passionate about the hobby themselves and already know a lot about the products.
But generally, it's a crapshoot. In one department of the department store I worked at, there were several sales staff who had been there for a decade or more, no joke. They knew everything about their products and taught the junior staff a lot, so the average product knowledge level was quite high. Later I was switched to a different department where there was really high turnover and nobody knew anything about anything. It was the blind leading the blind. I ended up becoming one of the more knowledgeable staff just because I cared enough to take the time to read about the products and do a little bit of thinking about my customers' needs. For most of the other staff it was just a job and all they wanted to do was punch in and punch out, never mind giving the customers a pleasant shopping experience.
posted by keep it under cover at 11:35 AM on April 18, 2013
But generally, it's a crapshoot. In one department of the department store I worked at, there were several sales staff who had been there for a decade or more, no joke. They knew everything about their products and taught the junior staff a lot, so the average product knowledge level was quite high. Later I was switched to a different department where there was really high turnover and nobody knew anything about anything. It was the blind leading the blind. I ended up becoming one of the more knowledgeable staff just because I cared enough to take the time to read about the products and do a little bit of thinking about my customers' needs. For most of the other staff it was just a job and all they wanted to do was punch in and punch out, never mind giving the customers a pleasant shopping experience.
posted by keep it under cover at 11:35 AM on April 18, 2013
It varies a lot as others have said. Some of it is the store, some of it is employee level (in general a manager or department manager is going to know more than just a run of the mill worker), and a lot of it in my experience is the motivation of the particular employee. My mother works for a national drug store chain; she's the manager of the health and beauty department of her store. Basically she knows everything you could possibly want to know about makeup, beauty products, skin care products, etc. If you have dry skin and ask her which lotion is the best, she knows, because she actually tried them all. If you want to know which makeup companies are best for people with sensitive skin, she knows that too. She actually spends a ton of time outside of work researching beauty products. But she wasn't really trained to know this stuff, she just likes her job, likes beauty products, and is one of those people that has to be the best at everything she does.
posted by katyggls at 11:52 AM on April 18, 2013
posted by katyggls at 11:52 AM on April 18, 2013
This depends on a few things:
1. How good is the employee training program - a good one will train on products. Unfortunately most training programs teach little else than where the bathroom is.
2. Does the employee make comissions - This may cause them to learn more about products to be better equipped to make sales, or it may influence them to lie and bullshit.
3. Does the employee have a personal interest in whatever the store sells - In some cases people work at certain retail places for the employee discount and enthusiasm for topic. I used to work at a bookstore and when people asked questions I knew what I was talking about. Employees in an outdoors shop might be personally interested in hiking and thus be able to talk about boots.
Basically, you can always ask the question and decide after the fact if the employee knows what they are talking about. Sometimes you can ask on a bias. For example, in Lowes or Home Depot, If I have a question, I usually search for an old man around the hand tools section because for some reason they seem to know thier shit better than some rando in plumbing, even if they are in "hand tools". I get the impression thath a lot of them are there to kill some time because they get bored being home all the time.
posted by WeekendJen at 12:21 PM on April 18, 2013
1. How good is the employee training program - a good one will train on products. Unfortunately most training programs teach little else than where the bathroom is.
2. Does the employee make comissions - This may cause them to learn more about products to be better equipped to make sales, or it may influence them to lie and bullshit.
3. Does the employee have a personal interest in whatever the store sells - In some cases people work at certain retail places for the employee discount and enthusiasm for topic. I used to work at a bookstore and when people asked questions I knew what I was talking about. Employees in an outdoors shop might be personally interested in hiking and thus be able to talk about boots.
Basically, you can always ask the question and decide after the fact if the employee knows what they are talking about. Sometimes you can ask on a bias. For example, in Lowes or Home Depot, If I have a question, I usually search for an old man around the hand tools section because for some reason they seem to know thier shit better than some rando in plumbing, even if they are in "hand tools". I get the impression thath a lot of them are there to kill some time because they get bored being home all the time.
posted by WeekendJen at 12:21 PM on April 18, 2013
This probably just makes me a dick, but when I shop for electronics I am usually very well informed, either because I manage a shop with 30+ PCs and I buy stuff once a month that most people buy once every five years, or because I've researched a home electronics purchase until I'm blue in the face.
When I'm standing on the showroom floor looking at it, I'm either (a) trying to see if they have what I want in stock or (b) trying to access tactile questions like weight, color, feel of the keyboard etc. that the website just can't answer for you.
When the sales guy or gal shows up I try to just get them to get me what I need or tell them I'm just looking if I haven't made up my mind. If they're pushy I will ask them a basic question I already know the answer to, just to access their general electronics knowledge.
The success rate is about 30%, and of that 30%, 90% of the time they're looking at the box to see if the answer is there.
That said, I have generally been pleasantly surprised at the home improvement big box stores, but maybe that's because I'm pretty ignorant about plumbing.
posted by randomkeystrike at 2:49 PM on April 18, 2013
When I'm standing on the showroom floor looking at it, I'm either (a) trying to see if they have what I want in stock or (b) trying to access tactile questions like weight, color, feel of the keyboard etc. that the website just can't answer for you.
When the sales guy or gal shows up I try to just get them to get me what I need or tell them I'm just looking if I haven't made up my mind. If they're pushy I will ask them a basic question I already know the answer to, just to access their general electronics knowledge.
The success rate is about 30%, and of that 30%, 90% of the time they're looking at the box to see if the answer is there.
That said, I have generally been pleasantly surprised at the home improvement big box stores, but maybe that's because I'm pretty ignorant about plumbing.
posted by randomkeystrike at 2:49 PM on April 18, 2013
I worked at Best Buy in college. I knew *nothing* about televisions when I started, and the only training I received was little weekly meetings to highlight sales and stuff.
I had a love of technology, though, so I learned a ton and by the time I quit I was an expert on the differences between the models, how to wire a home theater system (I'd draw color-coded diagrams for customers), which sound systems were the best value, etc.
Your luck with a non-commission salesperson will directly relate to their own aptitudes. It's a crap shoot.
posted by tacodave at 4:41 PM on April 18, 2013
I had a love of technology, though, so I learned a ton and by the time I quit I was an expert on the differences between the models, how to wire a home theater system (I'd draw color-coded diagrams for customers), which sound systems were the best value, etc.
Your luck with a non-commission salesperson will directly relate to their own aptitudes. It's a crap shoot.
posted by tacodave at 4:41 PM on April 18, 2013
I think at big-box stores it has a lot to do with the employee. If the employee is interested in the products, s/he is going to do their own research and become knowledgeable and want to share that knowledge with customers. I've had really helpful people at Best Buy, for example, but I didn't get the idea that they had any formal training, just curiosity and good customer service skills.
posted by radioamy at 7:33 PM on April 18, 2013
posted by radioamy at 7:33 PM on April 18, 2013
Some retailers are big on training, I'm afraid in this day of shrinking margins highly trained and paid retail employees are going, or have gone bye-bye.
I worked for consumer electronics retailer Tweeter briefly. They required all sales employees to attend 6 weeks of training before approaching a customer. They even put us up in hotels for the duration of those six weeks. I had 3 years experience at a similar mid-to-high end retailer, they hired me weeks before their scheduled training and paid me to do nothing for 3 weeks, sitting around a store, not allowed to help customers, unless they were slammed, because I didn't know their culture yet, or have the intense training they required of an employee even though I had more experience and product knowledge than most others in the store. It was great for the stores in theory. Their commitment to a knowledgeable sales team was without equal. Unfortunately, the market couldn't support this business model. Profit margins fell through the floor, Wal-mart and Best Buy became consumers go to retailers even with an untrained floor team. Price beat service and now no similar retail in consumer electronics exists.
I do know Best Buy employees are highly trained to sell you extended warranties though. Their Magnolia employees might be good though. It was a top notch place before Best Buy acquired them.
posted by Che boludo! at 7:30 PM on April 23, 2013
I worked for consumer electronics retailer Tweeter briefly. They required all sales employees to attend 6 weeks of training before approaching a customer. They even put us up in hotels for the duration of those six weeks. I had 3 years experience at a similar mid-to-high end retailer, they hired me weeks before their scheduled training and paid me to do nothing for 3 weeks, sitting around a store, not allowed to help customers, unless they were slammed, because I didn't know their culture yet, or have the intense training they required of an employee even though I had more experience and product knowledge than most others in the store. It was great for the stores in theory. Their commitment to a knowledgeable sales team was without equal. Unfortunately, the market couldn't support this business model. Profit margins fell through the floor, Wal-mart and Best Buy became consumers go to retailers even with an untrained floor team. Price beat service and now no similar retail in consumer electronics exists.
I do know Best Buy employees are highly trained to sell you extended warranties though. Their Magnolia employees might be good though. It was a top notch place before Best Buy acquired them.
posted by Che boludo! at 7:30 PM on April 23, 2013
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In my experience, product knowledge of sales associates does vary a lot. Going to a locally owned retailer has been a far better experience if I am looking to ask for help on particular products. My local hardware store (for starters) knows what I need, and gives helpful advice. I have not received the same knowledge base from my local Wal-Mart in a dog's age.
posted by MeatheadBrokeMyChair at 7:50 AM on April 18, 2013