Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!osu-cis!killer!elg
From: elg@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Eric Green)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: CBM HELP!!! Dealer Problems
Message-ID: <4823@killer.DALLAS.TX.US>
Date: 17 Jul 88 05:03:59 GMT
References: <2030085@hpcilzb.HP.COM>
Organization: The Unix(R) Connection, Dallas, Texas
Lines: 52

in article <2030085@hpcilzb.HP.COM>, daves@hpcilzb.HP.COM (Dave Scroggins) says:
>>The problem is finding people with computer knowledge who can also
>>sell computers. For example, at one local Amiga dealer, his price on
> I don't want to sound like a smartalec, but do you REALLY think the 
> dealers can't find good sales people that know about computers, or
> are willing to learn??.

Dealers can. But it takes a lot of time and trouble, so most dealers
won't. Also note that the owners of most dealerships are NOT
"computer-competent", and really couldn't tell if their salesfolks
were knowledgable or not.

> What about the college students that are majoring in CS??

The local "unknowledgable" computer store has had several college
students come and go. One was fired because he was no good at selling
(came off as an a-hole know-it-all -- which he was, but...). Another
simply knew nothing about microcomputers -- heck, I've found CS
students who didn't know the difference between Unix and a Pyramid 90x
(after all, it's not part of the curriculum!). 

> Moreover, even IF they can't find good sales people that have Amiga 
> knowledge, why on earth can't these people LEARN?

Mostly because the brains seem to ossify somewhere between the ages of
20 and 30 :-).

Seriously -- I regularly deal with people who have had home computers
for  3 or 4 year, and are quite serious about them. I still have to
lead them around by the nose when it comes to anything that requires
technical knowledge.   Add in the fact that most sales people became
sales people because they liked talking to people and really didn't
want to learn "icky engineering stuff"....

So yeah, there's books and user groups. But not everybody is a
programmer, like us. Ordinary folks have a real hard time learning
basic computer stuff without benefit of classroom.

> There is no excuse for the sales person to be rude or unknowledgeable
> about the product he is selling. That goes for computers as well as
> cars or anything else.

Certainly. But, as I said, most of the people with technical knowledge
(US) are pretty useless when it comes to selling things (believe me,
I've seen what technicians can do to customers. Plus, I've had
first-hand experience :-( ). Not to mention that some of us would
rather be creating the next software best-seller than selling Amigae to
the unwashed masses.

--
Eric Lee Green    ..!{ames,decwrl,mit-eddie,osu-cis}!killer!elg
          Snail Mail P.O. Box 92191 Lafayette, LA 70509              
       MISFORTUNE, n. The kind of fortune that never misses.