On Thursday, September 20, 2001, at 04:44 am, Joe Clark wrote:
> I suppose it is banal to complain that dumb-arse dealers wasted my
> time, but that is what they did. They also lost a sale; I would have
> bought the adapter on the spot had anyone mentioned it. I only
> learned about it by stumbling around online.
Well there is a lesson to be learnt from this - some people don't know
jack! ;)
Actually I was going to say there is no such thing as a person who knows
*everything* about computers, of ANY format. What's more actual genuine
experts are few and far between (most are these hard acting d00dz) and I
am surprised how much credit I get for performing a simple change of
hardware or driver update. You think you Mac guys have problems you
should try going to PC World or Dixons in the UK and asking the
difference between DDR SDRAM and intel flavoured RDRAM - it's a
misinformation waiting to happen (I don't know the difference either
before u ask but I do know what each one is)! A lot of the high street
stores here sell PCs as 'just another appliance' which is the wrong
attitude. Sales people are poorly trained and badly informed to deal
with more advanced customers. I have to say the only exception is John
Lewis plc, who are my only high street Mac dealer! They do a
professional job.
The lessons to take are:
1. Sales people are what they are tagged - SALES - all they want is you
to write them a cheque for $xxxx and take the stuff on their word. It's
futile trying to talk them into selling you a part that loads costs
less, they just surmise that 'It will not be adequate'. For them
Usefulness = Price, which we all no is bunk, isn't it? Please note:
There are occasionally SOME exceptions to this rule. Customer
satisfaction does actually concern some companies - MacWarehouse (who I
drove up the wall when I had a 7500) and Dabs.com are two that
immediately spring to mind.
2. Look everywhere at once. I do this. As a case in point. Take my
iBook - I started out by looking up the various models. I then posted on
news groups asking if anyone knew any sources. I also looked for myself
on eBay, buy.com etc. and in free advert pages. I then gathered up all
the information I knew and came to a conclusion. The result - I got my
iBook, knew exactly what I wanted and didn't have to spend hours on the
phone arguing with a sale assistant about which would be best for me. I
also - through all this investigation, got a good deal on a refurbished
model (not just second owner) with a 3 month warranty (not great but
it's better than eBay) and the assurance that it had been looked over by
an Apple Approved techie before shipping.
3. Research is a golden tool. It can save you a fortune and in this day
and age you can do it with the comfort of your mouse. I'm serious, I
ALWAYS check 4 or five places either by internet or (sometimes as well)
by phone to get prices and options before making a big purchase. Not
only the web but mailing lists such as this one can also provide
valuable information. I always checked, when buying a Mac, if any
problems would arise on the relevant mailing lists before I got it
(although the old ATA bug on my Rev. 1 G3 B&W slipped through but it's
no biggy) and after I ordered it for advice.
In short Look around various sources - find what you want - find out who
has it ant the best price/best deal - buy it knowing exactly what you
want. Too many people take trawling the internet (sorry about the pun!)
as a last resort. My Dad used to purchase hardware for a local council -
he has taught me these lessons. The net might not be a great place for
efficient research but it's better than arguing with your idiot sales
d00d.
Here endeth the lesson (lecture???). My 2p ran out again....
--
Mark Benson
aka SiliconValleyPirate (EveryMac)
Kane_NUFC (Yahoo! Messenger)
SilValleyPirate (AOL Instant Messenger)
AirportMan (ICQ - 70745942)
Sent using Mac OS X Mail
Apple cancel Paris Expo in wake of terrorist attacks of Sept. 11th
(check http://www.apple-expo.com). I was going too.....
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