On Sat, 11 Oct 2003, David Madsen wrote: > I used to work in a camera store and I can tell you why the sales person > tried to sell you a Canon. Most of you may already know this, but I > will say it for those who don't. Reps in retail stores get commissions, > obviously, but they don't always get the same amount for selling > different brands, i.e. they might get higher commission for selling the > Canon. In addition, some stores hold competitions to see who can sell > the most of one brand or even one product to the tune of a huge bonus. > I tried to exhibit a little more integrity than that, but I have seen > sales people sell the completely wrong camera to a customer just to get > the bigger commission, even if they had to lie and coerce to do it. I > understand your frustration.
This happens in a lot of places. There are these things called "spiffs," which are bonuses for selling a particular camera. Usually it's not a huge deal, as pretty much every camera is spiffed similarly. On occasion, though, the spiffs go up for a particular model if the store has purchased too many or is having trouble selling the ones they have in stock. Then you have to watch out for overly-enthusiastic salespeople. If they're trying to push for a particular product, it could be legit. Maybe they're doing it because they genuinely believe that this particular camera is ideal for the type of work you do. But press them for details. Why do they think that? What do they base this opinion on? What specific features make this better than others? What are its weak points? If a salesperson tries to push a model/brand on you before you tell him exactly what you intend to use it for, be suspicious. Point out what they're doing so they're aware that you know. If the salesperson won't admit to any weaknesses in the product, be suspicious. Every product has its weak points. I went on about how great the Optio 550 is (amazing battery, great zoom range, small size, high res, well built, manual controls), but I let customers know that it tends to show more pincushion distortion than some other 5MP p&s's in that price range. If you want to use it primarily for architectural photography, you may want to look at a different camera with a smaller zoom range. Bottom line... every salesperson is different. If the one you're dealing with is dismissing all other cameras but the one they put in front of you, or if they don't seem interested in the type of photography that you intend to use the camera for, then tell them that you feel like they're trying to push that camera on you. If they don't become more objective, then politely request that a different salesperson help you. Keep going until you find one who's actually interested in helping you find the best camera for you, which may not be the best camera for most people. And, for the record, there are still some stores that don't work on individual commission. To reduce the type of behaviour that you're talking about, the store I work for doesn't allow manufacturers to provide spiffs to us individually. Instead, they go into a collective pot, and then are divided equally among all the store and lab staff, so even people who don't sell cameras still get a little something. That's not a bad way of doing it. chris
