I work in Home Theater at a Best Buy in the Pittsburgh area and would like to contribute to the thread. I don't feel that you can't fully blame the employees for simply not going "above and beyond". Best Buy does very little to educate it's employees on the workings of the products it sells, a problem which is compounded during the seasonal holiday hiring period. Out of roughly 20 employees in home theater maybe five have a understanding on the workings of the products we sell.
I work hard to make sure that my customers have a good understanding of HD before they're out the door, and my managers have complemented (and rewarded) me for my hard work, but the fact remains that most of the employees CAN'T educate the customers because they don't posses the knowledge to do so.
The solution? Offer more pay to draw competent talent, plain and simple.
I agree with you to a point. You mentioned that out of 20, 5 may be knowledgeable. What's to stop the other 15 from picking up a book, reading product manuals, reading the brochures from the manufacturers, or going on CNET or any other product site to learn the basics? When I was 16 working at Best Buy I did this. I took all the training videos home. I read everything they gave me and more on my own. I asked the more experienced sales people questions. I did what it took to keep my job and to be the most knowledgeable. I don't think it's too much to ask of a salesperson, regardless of commission or regular pay, to do the same. It's true that commission is a great incentive as I mentioned above, but people should still take an interest in what they sell.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ty @ Dec 31st 2006 1:56AM
I work in Home Theater at a Best Buy in the Pittsburgh area and would like to contribute to the thread. I don't feel that you can't fully blame the employees for simply not going "above and beyond". Best Buy does very little to educate it's employees on the workings of the products it sells, a problem which is compounded during the seasonal holiday hiring period. Out of roughly 20 employees in home theater maybe five have a understanding on the workings of the products we sell.
I work hard to make sure that my customers have a good understanding of HD before they're out the door, and my managers have complemented (and rewarded) me for my hard work, but the fact remains that most of the employees CAN'T educate the customers because they don't posses the knowledge to do so.
The solution? Offer more pay to draw competent talent, plain and simple.
Wilson @ Dec 31st 2006 3:33PM
I agree with you to a point. You mentioned that out of 20, 5 may be knowledgeable. What's to stop the other 15 from picking up a book, reading product manuals, reading the brochures from the manufacturers, or going on CNET or any other product site to learn the basics? When I was 16 working at Best Buy I did this. I took all the training videos home. I read everything they gave me and more on my own. I asked the more experienced sales people questions. I did what it took to keep my job and to be the most knowledgeable. I don't think it's too much to ask of a salesperson, regardless of commission or regular pay, to do the same. It's true that commission is a great incentive as I mentioned above, but people should still take an interest in what they sell.