Photography shop or John Lewis?

Oh dear, not another one who gets offended at the drop of a hat!
You may have been a salesperson for over 20 years but I have been a customer for over 50 years.

Indeed Gramps but you made a general sweeping statement that is untrue. Some of us run our sales teams correctly- maybe Jessops and others could learn from us?
 
Indeed Gramps but you made a general sweeping statement that is untrue. Some of us run our sales teams correctly- maybe Jessops and others could learn from us?
No my statement was based on 50 years of experience at the receiving end and is accurate ... is your company the rare exception?
I have no idea but the speed with which you take offence and become defensive about your service makes me wonder how you deal with your customers.
 
No my statement was based on 50 years of experience at the receiving end and is accurate ... is your company the rare exception?
I have no idea but the speed with which you take offence and become defensive about your service makes me wonder how you deal with your customers.

The company I work for is therefore the rare exception. As is Grays Of Westminster.
 
No my statement was based on 50 years of experience at the receiving end and is accurate ... is your company the rare exception?
I would accept that it’s often the case now - stores are (often) staffed by minimum wage employees who have pleanty of selling skills but not enough knowledge about what they are selling... but 10-15 years ago companies like Jessops were more often staffed by people who first and foremost were camera enthusiasts (or whatever relevelant enthusiast for the type of store). My experiences would lead me to conclude LCE is still like that but Jessops I tend to know more than the staff.
 
Indeed Gramps but you made a general sweeping statement that is untrue. Some of us run our sales teams correctly- maybe Jessops and others could learn from us?

Whilst some sales teams are trained and run correctly this is not usually the case for high street shops.
High street stores employ young inexperienced staff at minimum wage and due to high staff turnover, generally do not provide adequate training. It’s too expensive.

I used to be a manage at a well know computer retailer. Somebodies knowledge of computers was never even questioned at an interview. Some training was provided by manufacturers but it was scares and time limited. Kids on minimum wage aren’t really interested anyway. There are some exceptions but they are few and far between.
 
Whilst some sales teams are trained and run correctly this is not usually the case for high street shops.
High street stores employ young inexperienced staff at minimum wage and due to high staff turnover, generally do not provide adequate training. It’s too expensive.

I used to be a manage at a well know computer retailer. Somebodies knowledge of computers was never even questioned at an interview. Some training was provided by manufacturers but it was scares and time limited. Kids on minimum wage aren’t really interested anyway. There are some exceptions but they are few and far between.

It costs a lot of money to train your staff. It costs a fortune in lost sales if you don’t.
 
Tell that to the retail bosses.
Yes.
Retail is a much more complex landscape than a simple sales missive can describe...

Who’s massive? Amazon! How’s their sales staff training? Non existent!

Who else? Apple! How’s their sales staff training? Amazing!

In the 21st century marketing is so much more than hiring well trained sales staff, branding is huge, sales messages are complex and are so much more than knowing your product. And so much product is bought by people who have no desire to experience ‘sales’ (just like the OP)
 
I will tell it to the boss of any organisation. I will scream it at them and paint it in letters 6ft high on their office wall. Because it’s the truth.
Amazon seem to be doing ok ;)

Having no imagination whatsoever enables you to know some simple truths that are a million miles from the truth.
 
Last edited:
Amazon seem to be doing ok ;)

Having no imagination whatsoever enables you to know some simple truths that are a million miles from the truth.
Agree with you (in Amazon’s case) ... but when you can’t compete with Amazon on price, you need to compete on something else...
 
Was in Derby on Saturday and went into the Jessops there, total opposite of the Birmingham branch, well stocked, no flat batteries and staff that seemed enthusiastic, 3 members of staff stood at the counter taking about what would make the perfect camera, really refreshing.
 
I had toyed with the idea of going for a grey import when I buy my next camera, but I think I'm going to go to John Lewis.

I know what I want, but buying through JL makes it easier to ask for vouchers towards the purchase from friends and family as presents.

I think like others have said, having advice and knowledgeable staff onhand should actually be a given if a store has a physical presence. But the problem with going into expert 'specialist' stores is that you're sometimes made to feel inadequate if they're experts first and sales people second.

Anyone remember 'Not the nine o'clock news'?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvswW6M7bMo
 
Jessops will price match if they can. JL's "never knowingly undersold" line is BS. I've told them about cheaper high street prices and they've not bothered reducing their shelf price, although they did offer to match the high street price - but they didn't have the product available in store (the competitor did.) While the partners at JL do get a share of the profits, surprisingly few of the people who work for them are partners. A lot are manufacturers' agents (they're the ones with some product knowledge) or agency workers.


The bold above is mine. Actually all of JLs direct employees are partners. Manufacturers agents and agency staff are not JL employees - they just happen to work in-store.
 
Yes but my point was (and still is) that a lot of the people who work in the stores are not direct JL partners/employees.
 
Back
Top