yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus One General] mjm128:
Nice story, the sales person should know their product, especially if they attack another product. If you're going to make statements back them up. Oh and if I was you're friend who just witness you being asked to leave the store, I would just politely say that I wouldn't buy the phone from this store anymore and that it was bad customer service.
[Nexus One General] chronopc:
She should say that the iPhone 4 can drop calls on command. That's one thing no Android phone will ever be able to do.
[Nexus One General] Snapphane:
That's a story I know too well. I know what I want and no salesrep has so far been able to sell me something. Even when I WANT to be convinced that buying the phone I want is a smart choise, they still can't win over my more sensible side :-P

And this being an iPhone only makes the story more entertaining :-D
[Nexus One General] Blueman101:
Damn, they got us there...
[Nexus One General] caysman:
This story is about a retail salesperson not being able to handle her job.

She was punished.

Why is there any ground off sympathy for her lack of ability?
[Nexus One General] toooitwo:
When I read “oh you cant even compare the iPhone to any Android phone. It s just on another level” I thought at first that she was referring to the Android as being on a whole different level than the iPhone. lol
[Nexus One General] Mokurex:
Great story, lol. I wouldn't even argue with the sales if it was me. You can't talk to iPhone fanboy using common sense haha.
[Nexus One General] Dai323:
GOOD LORD!! FLAME CENTRAL HERE!

Well thanks for the people who see it as me defending myself. To the other people..are you guys serious? You mean to tell me if you were sitting on your new Ford Mustang, and some douche walked up and said "My Camero is SOO much better than this. You cant even compare them" that you would sit back and say nothing?

I didnt cost her a sale. SHE DID. I didnt start the debate. SHE did. My friend has known how capable the Nexus One is for months, so it wasnt his first time seeing it. He saw it next to an iPhone only because she chose to call me out. I only stated facts. Maybe Im just used to actually knowing the products that my company sells and markets. And in the end, Colin went for a Nexus One because he saw value in it after her little "demonstration". I feel bad that she lost a sale..sort of, and I say sort of because she brought the debate on herself. It wasnt my intention to walk into a store to get thrown out of it.

I guess there are 2 ways to see everything, but I dont see myself in the wrong here.
[Nexus One General] JanetPanic:
The way you describe it in the anecdote you do come across as disruptive and probably rude. I will qualify this with the fact that I have never worked a sales position in my life. I have however seen enthusiasts at tech stores do exactly as you describe on various products. You may have been "defending your phone" but based on your description you also went in looking for a fight and went combative when the opportunity arose. (e.g. "glorified app launcher" "iFlopped" almost got an erection when you realized you would be able to debate in English...)

If you wanted to be constructive you could have described the relative merits of each phone (no need to whip it out) and gone on an honest dealing standpoint. For example you could have mentioned and conceded the features which are stronger on the iPhone (screen, front facing camera, gaming for example) and then explained why the N1 is the better value proposition based on your usage pattern.

Instead you used multiple fallacious arguments: comparing price without mentioning it was eBay vs new and comparing features of a hacked ROM vs a stock one. At the very least these facts should have been disclosed. Further if you had truly done tests the video on the iPhone 4 is significantly better, hacked ROM or not. I would humbly suggest you take a moment and think on how you could have helped your friend make his decision in an informed manner as well as educated the sales person without conflict.

For the record i do not like the iPhone. I do not like the interface at all. At the same time I do acknowledge that the simple and constrained interface is better for some. Further I feel that the overall quality of apps on the Apple store is higher with the Android store being more of a bazaar to Apple's boutique. Though this is becoming less true everyday.

EDIT:

Further you took on a generic sales pitch with a technical argument. The vast majority of people in the market for an iPhone would not understand the nuances of the multi tasking implementations as an example. I would go as far as saying most would not understand it even if it were explained to them. So it would be bad form to do a sales pitch going into that kind of detail. People want simple to understand bullet points, not an education on technology.
[Nexus One General] Dai323:
I whipped out the phone because my friend asked me if mine had a bigger display. That was the only reason the phone came out of my pocket.

And all she got was simple bullet points. Her arguements were statements, and mine were "Mine does too". If thats an "education on technology" to you, then I guess we really view technology differently. If I would have wanted to "educate" her as you said, I would have went into details on kernals, rooting, overclocking, and coding, which I didnt (and probably couldnt have done anyway).

And who said the Nexus One has better quality in video? Did I say that? No..if you read the post, she said "this can shoot in 720p" and I said "mine can to".

Common guys...if your gonna ATTEMPT to flame me, at least read the actual post first.;)

And please..lets not get started on price. The Nexus One is NEW for 529 euros here without contract. If you wish, feel free to pull out a calculator and see how much you end up paying for an iPhone4 after 2 years. **yawn**

Bottom line: Dont start **** if you cant back it up. SHE started this guys, not me. I finished it. I still cant believe Im getting so many negative responses over this. Its funny, as the people so far who say that Im the douche are making points that are about as valid as the salesperson in question.
[Nexus One General] JanetPanic:
I am not flaming you. If I wanted to flame you I would have used much harsher language. What I am trying to get you to do is understand that it is better to help people make informed decisions than it is to "win." If you mention android does 720p video but omit the comparative quality comparison then you are not being helpful. If you mention the price of your phone omitting the fact that it was a sniped eBay purchase you are not bing helpful. And while you had to display your phone for screen size comparison, clearly as you described it this was simply a vector for you to start your attack. Given your friend had an iPhone previously and the fact that all iPhones have the same size screen it seems likely this was a setup more than an honest question. Or do you mean to tell me your friend had never seen your N1 before?

EDIT: And going into quick desk as well as opening a bunch of apps IS going to technical for your average sales pitch. You are welcome to snipe my statements as you did the Sales Reps. I however am willing to continue this discussion on the hopes that you can learn to evangelize without being combative. Please note that I am not trying to debate the relative merits of each phone. What I am arguing is that the method by which you went around convincing your friend was not particularly constructive and by your own admission deceptive in certain points.
[Nexus One General] jasonlefever:
Hahaha, this story is hilarious. Props to you op, she tried flaming you, you retaliated. Simple as that. She also deserved to lose the sale, you think a true salesperson would flame someone's phone while trying to make money? No. All in all, it's her fault.
[Nexus One General] pedaler:
Being a lifelong salesman myself, I can tell you that she had it coming. I have cost myself closing sales because I tried to BS my way through the process. She clearly didn't know what she was talking about. You clearly answered all her objections. Maybe she as learned a valuable sales lesson. Good Post!!!
[Nexus One General] Dai323:
Fair enough bro, and I really dont want this thread to turn bad. But at the same time, Im trying to get the point across that all I did is RESPOND to statements with a statement. I didnt go deeply into this stuff, as there was no need to.

I would do the same if someone said "The PS3 owns the XBOX360 because it has Final Fantasy XIII". If thats really their best arguement, of course I would say "so does the Xbox". If they really are silly enough not to mention VALID points, such as Blueray and more modernized components, then Im just gonna counter the simple ones as I did with her.

The iPhone4 has many features that could have stood up to many arguements that she could have mentioned. She wanted to start a debate using features that couldnt deter a would be customer from using Android as an alternative, and I simply countered them.

In the end, my friend saw that a phone that was 6 months older than the iPhone4 was just as capable (more actually) of doing more or less the same things for a fraction of the price. Thats simply a fact thats pretty hard to deny.

Thats exactly my point! Thanks to the guys who are seeing that!! :)
[Nexus One General] Shahpur.Azizpour:
You were "defending" your phone?! Don't you have anything better to do than walking into an t-mobile store and starting a flame war with some sales girl? If I was your friend I would probably leave the shop embarrassed. It would have been okay if you just replied to her Android comparison that the nexus one can do everything the iPhone does. And nothing more. But you just went way too far IMHO...and its no surprise that a sales person doesn't want somebody to enter their shop and SELL other products.

She could have handled it cooler though, by just ending the conversation.

Sent from my Nexus One
[Nexus One General] Dai323:
I STARTED A FLAME WAR??

Ok, I wont even bother going on, as its obvious you didnt even read the original post. Not even worth the time.

**yawns**
[Nexus One General] Shahpur.Azizpour:
I have read the post, and i know that she made the first comparison. THATS why i wrote that a simple and short answer would have been enough.

When i said "Flame War", what i meant was this: some random sales girl brought up the general iphone marketing points, while claiming that the iphone is on a different level than android. You went on to interrupt EVERY sentence that followed after that, and started demoing multi-tasking and all that stuff. Seriously you could have shown those features to your friend without stealing the time of the sales person. Before walking into that store.

It's a little bit childish to get all worked up and into an argument with a sales person, in order to "defend" a phone. It's just a phone. Stay calm.
[Nexus One General] MaximReapage:
I've worked in retail for years (albeit now in optical retail). If you don't know your products AND your competition's inside and out, you're going to get burned, PERIOD. Anyone who expects less is a moron.
[Nexus One General] Shahpur.Azizpour:
You can't be serious. NO regular sales person can keep up with nerds and fanboys which spend their spare time on xda devs and other boards like us. They simply don't have the time, and by the way, selling an iPhone nowadays is not really a hard task.

In Germany you won't find any sales person on the usual mobile stores which really knows anything about the competition. These people get 2 day crash courses about the products. Anybody who knows a little bit about the product he is going to buy, won't take sales persons seriously anyway. And for the other people: they don't need in depth comparisons, and are happy with some marketing smalltalk.

Sent from my Nexus One
[Nexus One General] Dai323:
I couldnt have said it any better myself.

The difference between a salesman and someone who sells something is only knowledge of their products and professionalism. If I were so worried about my sales commission, and wanted to make as many sales and as much money as possible, I would go home and learn EVERYTHING I CAN about the product, and not just rely on the middle quality training that my employer might provide. THATS how you make money and thats more importantly how you EXCEL as a salesman. The salesmen who make the real money are the ones who put in the time and energy to learn what their selling. Trust me, when you can do that, it gets damn hard for anyone to walk in the door and ruin your sale.

Why do you think objection handling is the first thing your taught in commision sales?

I dont know if you live in Germany, but thats just wrong. Germans are not only some of the most brilliant engineers and technically minded people in the world, but are also very careful about what they spend their money on. Salesmen should keep that in mind to prepare themselves for getting them to buy such a pricey product.

I have a friend of mine that works at an O2 store who knows the ends and outs of Windows Mobile so well, that its damn hard not to walk out with an HD2 in your hand. THATS what its all about. Product knowledge and objection handling..period.

But hey..maybe its just me. I guess its cool for some people to work a job and not care if their actually good at it or not. I choose to try my best at what I do.
[Nexus One General] caysman:
I'm trying to understand some posts here. janet rightfully pointed out that he/she never worked in sales before. So I understand.

And aziz studiously does not say. So, aziz, not a day in sales too?

I've been in sales since I could talk, and selling everything to everybody ever since, and I say that this post is not about the thread starter (but thanks for putting it in a post) but about the sales person's incompetence.

Now I know why lousy sales people still exist... Because some still tolerate them.
[Nexus One General] Dai323:
I know right!! Im trying very hard to understand them as well. Apparently some of the people here dont read properly.

This ISNT about whats better Apple or Android!! This is about A SALESPERSON WHO MESSED UP. Thats all.

I could personally CARE LESS if your sister, brother, or best friend wants an iPhone. Why do you think I went with him to go buy it? If I wanted to convince him not to buy one, I would have done it at a much earlier time.

Call me a douche if you want. But before you do, read the original post. I have also mentioned that the Nexus needs a modified kernal to shoot in 720p. I have already said SHE STARTED THIS AND I FINISHED IT. I have already said that the iPhone has features that are very hard to argue with.

Have I sold my soul to Google by buying a Nexus One. Um..in a word..NO. No contract= my soul runs free like a feather in the breeze. And if your thinking that HTC and Google wont provide replacements for rooted phones, go back and do your research in these very forums. There are many people with an unlocked bootloader who have returned there phones for a replacement. again **YAWN**

Whatever phone people wanna buy is THEIR BUISNESS. BUT..and its a big but..if you want deal a low blow to sombody elses free choice, dont expect them to stand there and say nothing.

Like I said in my last post, my friend who works at O2 can make an HD2 look like the GOD of all phones because HE KNOWS HIS STUFF. Only people who know their stuff should make smart ass comments in a store. If you dont...well..the end result of losing a sale is EXACTLY what will and what SHOULD happen.

Its really irritating how people are actually saying that I attacked the saleswoman! Man oh man....
[Nexus One General] walie:
My first mental image of the OP:
[Nexus One General] uberamd:
Well I hope that you never make a mistake at your job one day and some kid goes up to you and calls you out infront of people.

Well thats lovely, here in the US on AT&T you get no discount for not subsidizing your device so I may have a Nexus One that cost me $550, but my bill is the same cost as it was before and I can't leave AT&T because I have the AT&T specific Nexus One so I have no other carrier to go to. It sure isn't a free soul for everyone. Also you need to realize that HTC and Google are CORPORATIONS. They don't give a rats about you. Every decision they make has one goal in mind: making money from you. They don't love you. They don't care about you. You're just a number on an accounting form.

Also I hope HTC has a stockpile of these devices available in the US then because they pulled the Google store so I am doubting HTC is keeping a supply of AT&T compatible Nexus One devices here in the US just waiting for people like me to claim warranty work.

Again, I hope this happens to you at your job someday. I hope some kid walks up to you when you're helping someone and points out your lack of knowledge on a specific topic. Really, I hope that happens to you someday so you know how it feels.
[Nexus One General] solidkevin:
Moral of the Story?

You are a Douche.
[Nexus One General] Dai323:
**crying from laughter**

Ok ok ok....LOL...just let me ask you guys then. Do you think it would have been more "acceptable" for me to just say nothing after the SALESMAN made the comment which STARTED the whole debate? Is that how you roll? Were my "mine does that too" answers REALLY that insulting?

I got news for ya fellas....if THATS really enough to get make your eyes tear up, you should just stay in your basement for the remainder of your lives, cause lifes a BIT harder than that. :)

**sigh**

Mods, feel free to close this thread if you want. I thought it would be interesting to share this story, but since Im obviously just a douche whos "mine can do that too" answers are upsetting people so much, I guess theres not much of a point. I would love to continue debating it, but I can see that people would rather throw insults and start name calling instead of having a mature debate about it. At least some seem to have gotten the point.
[Nexus One General] solidkevin:
She didnt know much about anything except Iphone and if you saw that she was clearly getting annoyed/mad why did you keep going? You just come off as a MAJOR Android fanboy and Apple Basher, Yes we get that you think Android is better, no need to bash apple every chance you get, I love Android and am Not a huge fan of Apple, that doesn't mean I will bash apple everytime I get and much less someone who is trying to do their job and sell a phone to someone, that is just being an ass.
[Nexus One General] solidkevin:
lol by the way you acted in your little story and by that line, thats all I need to know about you, Im done with you.
[Nexus One General] Shahpur.Azizpour:
Come on, this is getting ridiculous. Yes I live in Germany and i got my computer science degree here. But what the hell has a regular sales person to do with Germans being great engineers?! Talk about positive prejudices. The last time I walked into a mobile shop (vodafone shop to ask about the nexus one) there were a couple of maybe 19 year old "salesmen" standing around. They didn't know much about the products, and could only provide some general informations.

You guys seriously need a reality check if you think that all those people working for very little money in that mobile stores, are passionate sales persons. This is just not the case. They probably don't care about Apple nor Android but have to work there.

Sent from my Nexus One
[Nexus One General] Dai323:
And this is a mature response? YOUR done with ME? So I guess your like that salesman...you can say what you want, and expect people not to answer back?

Interesting....

THAT is a good point. All I meant to say with that is that Germans are technically minded people, and dont just spend their money on just anything. No disrespect. My girlfriend si German and I have lived here for 8 years. I love this country :)

And yeah, your probably right. She obviously wasnt a passionate salesman, which is also fine. But then why start a debate that you cant finish? Thats all Im saying.
[Nexus One General] xSunny:
Well the op is right im working in sales to and i bull**** around to with sales but thats because i see people and they dont know much about computers or things i sell.. Now if a customer came in knowing his stuff and asked me whats better AMD or Intel and i bullshited him and tryed to sell him the AMD product that was a better commission for me i think the customer would prolly do the same thing the OP did and then just walk out cuz he wouldnt wanna spend more on a not so great product.. I bash apple all the time with my friends who all own iphones and i have the nexus i bash them so much.. Its not even funny same thing with my co-workers one of them actually knows what hes talking about so its kinda interesting to talk with him but the rest are horrible and i bash them like crazy so hey GET YOUR KNOWLEDGE, SELL THE RIGHT PRODUCT AND MAKE YOUR MONEY!
[Nexus One General] Dai323:
amen to that :)
[Nexus One General] solidkevin:
To be honest if I was a phone sales person working at ATT, I would recommend the Captivate every single time over the Iphone, But I wonder if the managers tell you to push the iphone more than anything? Hell thats what ATT themselves are doing right? LOL, I dunno I would just look at each person and fighure out their needs and recommend them something, whether it be the Iphone, an Android or Feature phone, I do agree though, Cell Phone Sales persons SHOULD be knowledgeable in everything, not just one area, thats pretty dumb.
[Nexus One General] rori~:
Nice story :)
[Nexus One General] uberamd:
Exactly. Instead of calling her out, you could have pulled your friend aside and spoken to him 1 on 1 about what she said. That would have been the appropriate thing to do. Maybe even spoken to the manager, but calling her out in public makes you look like an ass.

And honestly I wouldn't have gotten so worked up about your story if you hadn't said the typical Fandroid anti Apple crap you FOR NO REASON added to your story. iFLOPPED and selling your soul to Steve? Wow, can there not be ANY Android posts that don't automatically start with someone bashing the iPhone? Do you think Android would be where it is today without the iPhone? Healthy competition my friend, and you are just being a typical Fanboy with an axe to grind.
[Nexus One General] Neemo:
I, for one, have been a salesman and selling mobile phones for some time and know what the job is like.

The bottom line here is that there were no out-of-line comments or childish behaviour (except probably when she got op thrown out of the store) so there's no grounds to call op a douche.

The one thing that irritated me with other salespeople was that often they didn't bother to check their products any more through than the pre-printed sales argument cards. And believe me, it showed in the sales.

Especially when selling SMARTphones you *need* to know your stuff. You can't expect every customer to just come in and empty the shelves without you lifting a finger. Yes, this is case is an exception to some extent since op was more educated about the differences between iPhone and android, but thats why you need to be prepared for anything.

She didn't bother to do her homework. That cost her a deal. Lesson learned (hopefully).

Sales is one of the toughest lines of work there is. If you're gonna go crying over every customer that isn't ****ting rainbows, you might as well go home.

If one could reason with Apple fanboys - there wouldn't be any Apple fanboys.
[Nexus One General] xSunny:
Thats what sales persons are suppose to do ask you question to get the best for your needs.. But the iphone sales people you walk in and they'll try to sell you a iphone.. No questions i would push android to most of the younger generation that want a new phone but to the older generation like in there 30's or close to them i would really push the iphone because the iphone has a way simpler OS that you can pretty much learn how to use everything in a matter of minutes or for some hours while the android os you really have to sit down read about it learn some tricks try to root and hack it and things like that..