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The hard part of qualifying is actually not that people will lack the time, but people feel guilty about financially profiling people superficially. Just check

by majani 13y ago

The hard part of qualifying is actually not that people will lack the time, but people feel guilty about financially profiling people superficially. Just check the recent Oprah scandal. It could be said that the sales girl was 'qualifying' Oprah's sale and directing her to buy the cheaper handbag, but turns out that she had misjudged the book by it's cover.

dhimes 13y ago
She may have been better off if she asked questions rather than jumping to conclusions. In other words, if she had read pmarca's excellent advice, she may have made the sale and earned a repeat customer.
- pmarca 13y ago
  Yes! You ask polite questions. "Have you been here before? What product do you use today? What are you looking for? That's a beautiful watch/scarf/sweater. Where are you visiting from? What do you do for fun?" It's not that hard.
pmarca 13y ago
I pulled the latest on the Oprah situation since I can't resist: During an interview last week with Entertainment Tonight, Winfrey was asked if she had personally experienced racism. She responded with an anecdote about a clerk at a shop in Switzerland who had recently refused to show her an expensive bag, even though she repeated her request multiple times. "That one will cost too much, you won't be able to afford that," Winfrey claimed the clerk told her. That shop assistant, identified only as Ariadna N., spoke to Blick on Sunday, and denied Winfrey's version of events. Ariadna said she showed Winfrey the Jennifer Aniston range of bags, explained that they come in different sizes and materials and pointed out a less expensive alternative when Winfrey expressed interest in the 35,000 franc (more than $37,000) purse at the top of the display. Needless to say, that's not qualifying out a customer who's never going to buy, that's stupidly rejecting a customer who could have easily bought, with cash, on the spot. If there was an award for world's dumbest salesperson, Ariadna would win.
pmarca 13y ago
Priceless: "Believe me, normally people are excited when I come to their stores," Winfrey said. "It's very unusual when I'm not practically dragged into a boutique. Dozens of people will be pressing their noses against the windows to get a look at me shopping." ... "The woman at the shop said that it was the Jennifer Aniston bag that Tom Ford had created especially for Jennifer," Winfrey told Blick. "It crossed my mind that maybe I should give Jennifer or Tom a call. I know both of them very well."

by majani 13y ago

dhimes 13y ago

She may have been better off if she asked questions rather than jumping to conclusions. In other words, if she had read pmarca's excellent advice, she may have made the sale and earned a repeat customer.

pmarca 13y ago
Yes! You ask polite questions. "Have you been here before? What product do you use today? What are you looking for? That's a beautiful watch/scarf/sweater. Where are you visiting from? What do you do for fun?" It's not that hard.

pmarca 13y ago

I pulled the latest on the Oprah situation since I can't resist: During an interview last week with Entertainment Tonight, Winfrey was asked if she had personally experienced racism. She responded with an anecdote about a clerk at a shop in Switzerland who had recently refused to show her an expensive bag, even though she repeated her request multiple times. "That one will cost too much, you won't be able to afford that," Winfrey claimed the clerk told her. That shop assistant, identified only as Ariadna N., spoke to Blick on Sunday, and denied Winfrey's version of events. Ariadna said she showed Winfrey the Jennifer Aniston range of bags, explained that they come in different sizes and materials and pointed out a less expensive alternative when Winfrey expressed interest in the 35,000 franc (more than $37,000) purse at the top of the display. Needless to say, that's not qualifying out a customer who's never going to buy, that's stupidly rejecting a customer who could have easily bought, with cash, on the spot. If there was an award for world's dumbest salesperson, Ariadna would win.

pmarca 13y ago

Priceless: "Believe me, normally people are excited when I come to their stores," Winfrey said. "It's very unusual when I'm not practically dragged into a boutique. Dozens of people will be pressing their noses against the windows to get a look at me shopping." ... "The woman at the shop said that it was the Jennifer Aniston bag that Tom Ford had created especially for Jennifer," Winfrey told Blick. "It crossed my mind that maybe I should give Jennifer or Tom a call. I know both of them very well."