Well, reason why people at the store don't know anything about the product-
a few possible explanations:
1) The majority of their time at work consists of stocking shelves from truck shipments, folding clothes, or restocking RTS (return to stock or returned/exchanged product).
2) new products/promotion/ and schematics are coming out so often in a large store like Target that knowing anything in particular about one specific product is near impossible, unless that employee goes about learning it on their own because they care.
3) Most employees don't care about learning, because they are paid $6.00 an hour or something close to minimum wage.
I remember when i worked in the Home Audio department at Best Buy. I had a lot of product knowledge, and often had repeat customers come in and ask for me; but only because I took time out of my personal life to learn. The only training that I received from Best Buy focused on the sales process, how to treat customers, and company policies. We would learn overall technologies of a given department (like what Surround Sound is or how a LCD TV was better than a CRT) but not specifics.
Those employees who took time to learn did so because they were interested in the subject, or wished to look smarter in the customers' eye. Remember- the only place that still pays commission is Fry's Electronics in the USA. So knowing all about your product even at Best Buy was considered a waste of time.
In today's day and age, the typical customer usually doesnt even know what they are looking for. They wander into Target and travel down 80% of the aisles looking for stuff they "need". When they see the bright orange colors of the new Gillette Fusion, they remember the cool commercials and the marketing phrase "The Best a Man Can Get!" and throw the razor and gel into their cart.
Those who do know what they are looking for are people like me and you on this, and many other boards. We walk into Target knowing that we want Proraso Shaving Cream in the Green tube, because everyone says its' great and 'cools the face'. It just may be a problem if they don't think to look for it in somewhere other than the shaving aisle.
So what Im saying is that the internet may have even created customers like us- ones that know more about the product than the actual employees of a large store like Target. This is great news to retailers: they don't have to pay for their employees to be trained as much. Pay them just enough to work during High School or College restocking the aisles and ringing people up at the register. In 3-6 months, most of the people will quit or be fired anyway.
And to those who are not informed before walking into a store: good luck. Prepare to be 'Sold.' I remember when I worked various sales positions and customers would come in and say things like: " I want Surround Sound. I want those tiny speakers that sound HUGE!" And what i would be thinking was "And let me guess- you don't want to buy the Bose system you heard, so you'll settle for some system costing $300, and then complain to me in a week when they sound SMALL after you put all 5 speakers on top of your TV."
sorry for the long explanation, but the simple answer: they dont care.
a few possible explanations:
1) The majority of their time at work consists of stocking shelves from truck shipments, folding clothes, or restocking RTS (return to stock or returned/exchanged product).
2) new products/promotion/ and schematics are coming out so often in a large store like Target that knowing anything in particular about one specific product is near impossible, unless that employee goes about learning it on their own because they care.
3) Most employees don't care about learning, because they are paid $6.00 an hour or something close to minimum wage.
I remember when i worked in the Home Audio department at Best Buy. I had a lot of product knowledge, and often had repeat customers come in and ask for me; but only because I took time out of my personal life to learn. The only training that I received from Best Buy focused on the sales process, how to treat customers, and company policies. We would learn overall technologies of a given department (like what Surround Sound is or how a LCD TV was better than a CRT) but not specifics.
Those employees who took time to learn did so because they were interested in the subject, or wished to look smarter in the customers' eye. Remember- the only place that still pays commission is Fry's Electronics in the USA. So knowing all about your product even at Best Buy was considered a waste of time.
In today's day and age, the typical customer usually doesnt even know what they are looking for. They wander into Target and travel down 80% of the aisles looking for stuff they "need". When they see the bright orange colors of the new Gillette Fusion, they remember the cool commercials and the marketing phrase "The Best a Man Can Get!" and throw the razor and gel into their cart.
Those who do know what they are looking for are people like me and you on this, and many other boards. We walk into Target knowing that we want Proraso Shaving Cream in the Green tube, because everyone says its' great and 'cools the face'. It just may be a problem if they don't think to look for it in somewhere other than the shaving aisle.
So what Im saying is that the internet may have even created customers like us- ones that know more about the product than the actual employees of a large store like Target. This is great news to retailers: they don't have to pay for their employees to be trained as much. Pay them just enough to work during High School or College restocking the aisles and ringing people up at the register. In 3-6 months, most of the people will quit or be fired anyway.
And to those who are not informed before walking into a store: good luck. Prepare to be 'Sold.' I remember when I worked various sales positions and customers would come in and say things like: " I want Surround Sound. I want those tiny speakers that sound HUGE!" And what i would be thinking was "And let me guess- you don't want to buy the Bose system you heard, so you'll settle for some system costing $300, and then complain to me in a week when they sound SMALL after you put all 5 speakers on top of your TV."
sorry for the long explanation, but the simple answer: they dont care.
