# Kicked out of the sony store



## The G3 Man (Oct 7, 2008)

So, I walked in to the Sony store in Yorkdale and found A "sony guy" being untruthful about their laptops. After explaining my case I was asked to please exit the sony store, most likely because those customer's did not ed up buying a Sony laptop. The IT was lying about how good Windows Vista is, and how no Sony laptop could run Windows XP if you relly wanted to. And that Vista was faster then XP on any hardware.

Note: I had my I love my Mac t shirt on

Morgan F


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

Customers do not have a right to intrude on an employees conversation with another customer. That is rude, and unwelcome, regardless of what the employee is saying.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Careful, the Sony guy might show up where you... do whatever it is you do, and explain how it's done better somewhere else.




The G3 Man said:


> So, I walked in to the Sony store in Yorkdale and found A "sony guy" being untruthful about their laptops. After explaining my case I was asked to please exit the sony store, most likely because those customer's did not ed up buying a Sony laptop. The IT was lying about how good Windows Vista is, and how no Sony laptop could run Windows XP if you relly wanted to. And that Vista was faster then XP on any hardware.
> 
> Note: I had my I love my Mac t shirt on
> 
> Morgan F


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## JumboJones (Feb 21, 2001)

Lars said:


> Customers do not have a right to intrude on an employees conversation with another customer. That is rude, and unwelcome, regardless of what the employee is saying.


"F" that, I've piped up on several BB and FS employees spewing BS about Macs. True consumers should be doing some research before they buy, but sales staff shouldn't be able to flat out lie in order to get a sale. If I were in the purchasers shoes I would certainly be grateful regardless of how rude the sales staff thinks I am.

Good for you G3 Man.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

The Sony Store is so bad these days that I kicked myself out last year because the "experience" was so pathetic. Same experience at Worst Buy and at the Store Formerly Known As Radio Slack. In fact, retail is so bad these days that a stoll around the mall is more than enough to promote massive amounts of savings.

Now the TSC - that's a different story, especially if I want a deal on Bison Chow...


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

I'm with Lars; you weren't invited to their conversation, you had no right to interrupt. BUT ...

... I think it's your civic duty to corner those who were lied to at some point after the fact and explain -- politely -- that the salesperson was full of it, if in fact he was. Something along the lines of, "I couldn't help overhearing, and I have to tell you that guy is factually wrong about (whatever). I know from personal experience." Maybe give them a web site where they can check the veracity of what you say (after all, why should they believe you more than the salesman?).

I've "corrected" salespeople (again, after the fact) and customers who were told lies on numerous occasions, but if you can't handle it tactfully, don't do it.


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## The G3 Man (Oct 7, 2008)

JumboJones said:


> "F" that, I've piped up on several BB and FS employees spewing BS about Macs. True consumers should be doing some research before they buy, but sales staff shouldn't be able to flat out lie in order to get a sale. If I were in the purchasers shoes I would certainly be grateful regardless of how rude the sales staff thinks I am.
> 
> Good for you G3 Man.



Yes, I was in a bad mood too. I was very rude when I got kicked out, He said Have a nice day sir" and I said, "I will as I am not in a store which lies to their customers". Yes I acted with great arrogance after and i was quite rude. 

Morgan F


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## Ottawaman (Jan 16, 2005)

You've intruded on the sacred relationship that exists between salesperson and customer.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

LOL

Good one, Ottawaman.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

Ottawaman said:


> You've intruded on the sacred relationship that exists between salesperson and customer.


Yeah, the relationship where some tool gets to Jolly Roger an unknowing customer. Of course, this goes to show that "training" in retail is entirely dysfunctional, and that the stores tend to hire retards...


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## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

ha

Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of **** That Doesn't ****ing Work | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

^^NSFW because of language, but quite funny!

p.s. - i like sony.


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## MrsMime (Sep 8, 2008)

JumboJones said:


> "F" that, I've piped up on several BB and FS employees spewing BS about Macs. True consumers should be doing some research before they buy, but sales staff shouldn't be able to flat out lie in order to get a sale. If I were in the purchasers shoes I would certainly be grateful regardless of how rude the sales staff thinks I am.
> 
> Good for you G3 Man.


I agree. If I were the customers, I would have been grateful as well. I would much rather be kicked out of a store knowing that somebody isn't wasting hundreds or thousands of dollars on something they're going to be disappointed with than say nothing and feel sorry for them.

The same thing happened to my wife's grandma, when she went into a Staples to get my mother-in-law a PC laptop. They duped her into buying the whole MS Office suite by telling her that she wouldn't be able to connect any printers without it. This is obviously untrue, and that money was wasted as my mother-in-law doesn't even need the suite. $650 bucks down the drain on that one. If somebody had been listening in and said "hey, you don't need that!" it never would have happened.

If the salesperson is lying to make a sale, they wholly deserve to have the rug yanked out from under their feet. Like chas said, though, be tactful.


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

I've heard FS employees telling people that Macs only work with 'Apple hardware' and so they wouldn't connect to their displays, speakers etc.

I had to interrupt on that one.


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## The G3 Man (Oct 7, 2008)

they did not end up buying the sony in the end.


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## The G3 Man (Oct 7, 2008)

Adrian. said:


> I've heard FS employees telling people that Macs only work with 'Apple hardware' and so they wouldn't connect to their displays, speakers etc.
> 
> I had to interrupt on that one.


thats nothing, I heard a FS employee telling someone that Mac's have no Install discs and can not connect to ordinary tech, AND once the Systems corrupt it is done for. What FShop?

Morgan


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## MrsMime (Sep 8, 2008)

Yeah, these idiots deserve the sale loss as far as I'm concerned. The way I see it, it's the bad karma of their lies coming back to hit them. :lmao:


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## darkscot (Nov 13, 2003)

Lars said:


> Customers do not have a right to intrude on an employees conversation with another customer. That is rude, and unwelcome, regardless of what the employee is saying.


I say BS on that, Lars. Retail is public, sales are public. It's worse to keep quiet in some situations.


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## krs (Mar 18, 2005)

Lars said:


> Customers do not have a right to intrude on an employees conversation with another customer. That is rude, and unwelcome, regardless of what the employee is saying.


"Do not have the right"?
Is there a law against that?

I'm sure it's unwelcome, as to rude - it depends how one approaches it.

I would probably take something like that up with the store manager and head office assuming I have the time - I'm really getting fed up with the BS you get from some of these sales people, especially the ones on commission.


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## mneub (Sep 15, 2002)

Lars said:


> Customers do not have a right to intrude on an employees conversation with another customer. That is rude, and unwelcome, regardless of what the employee is saying.


Lol


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

The G3 Man said:


> thats nothing, I heard a FS employee telling someone that Mac's have no Install discs and can not connect to ordinary tech, AND once the Systems corrupt it is done for. What FShop?
> 
> Morgan


It was one in Brantford, Ontario.


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## Chas3 (Jul 14, 2007)

I hate the sony store. When I went to ask about getting files off my broken ps3 they b***hed at me for being an idiot by breaking it in the first place (It was broken by blockbuster and a sticker someone left on there game). If I ever buy a sony product, I buy it somewhere else.


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## MrsMime (Sep 8, 2008)

I've never actually shopped at a Sony store; I popped into one in Vancouver once but wasn't helped by staff. Which is just as well, I had no intentions of buying anything anyways. The only Sony things I've ever owned are Playstions, and if I ever had intentions of buying anything before, they're gone now after hearing all these experiences..:lmao:


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

krs said:


> I'm sure it's unwelcome, as to rude - it depends how one approaches it.


I would agree. I would start with something like "Excuse me, but I couldn't help overhearing how....." and politely correct the salesperson.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

I'm with G3. I simply won't wait through a lengthy sales spiel to break it to them gently that they're being lied to. Is there some sort of politeness protocol about allowing the salesperson to stop lying before one interrupts?


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## MrsMime (Sep 8, 2008)

I would most likely wait until the salesperson was out of earshot before filling in the customer. Reduces the likelihood of interruptions and/or arguments between the salesperson (who would most likely get defensive) and myself. It would also save the customer having to rebuff the staff person, and the staff person the embarrassment of having been busted.

That's my tact.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

The G3 Man said:


> So, I walked in to the Sony store in Yorkdale and found A "sony guy" being untruthful about their laptops. After explaining my case I was asked to please exit the sony store, most likely because those customer's did not ed up buying a Sony laptop...


I applaud your action. 
Lying to make a sale, I think, can also be worded as "committing fraud in order to take someone's money."
You did your civic duty and it was the right thing to do. 
That's just citizens sticking up for each other. If more of us would do that, showing the hucksters that they can't spread their disinformation unchallenged, the lies and frauds would quickly dry up.


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## The G3 Man (Oct 7, 2008)

krs said:


> "Do not have the right"?
> Is there a law against that?
> 
> I'm sure it's unwelcome, as to rude - it depends how one approaches it.
> ...


It was the manager who was lying. I was with friends who could not stop laughing. (I switched them (my friends) to Mac, and they "saw the light".

Morgan


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## The G3 Man (Oct 7, 2008)

Adrian. said:


> It was one in Brantford, Ontario.


This was at Crossroads in North York, Toronto.

Morgan


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

As Mac users, we probably have a much different view on how good Vista is compared to those who prefer to use Windows. 

Vista is not a horrible operating system on it's own. For many of us, it is a very poor solution compared to OS X. But for many who don't know better, or who are coming from Windows 98, ME, etc. it is a nice step up. 

It could be that the context that the statement was made in was correct. That for the needs of the potential customer, Vista was that good. As for XP, depending on the situation, perhaps XP could not be loaded onto that particular machine. As far as I am aware, it is no longer possible to purchase a retail copy of XP. If the potential customer didn't already have one, then the statement would have been correct, it wouldn't be possible to load XP on to that machine (at least not legally). 

Mac fans have a terrible reputation as being zealots. Based on the original poster's description of what happened and without having been there, this is a perfect reason why Mac people have this reputation. 

Put yourself in the shoes of the potential client. I'd be thinking, if this guy is a 100% Mac user, how does he know what can and cannot be done with a Windows machine? He doesn't use Windows. 

I stopped dealing with Windows machines 3 years ago other than the odd FileMaker customer who is all Windows. I don't have a clue as to what Vista is capable of, and there is no way I would feel confident on determining if a salesperson was lying or not with regards to Windows itself. 

As for the other examples that were posted in this thread that were incorrect statements about what Macs are capable of doing, yes I have stepped in and corrected a salesperson in those situations. But I have done so as tactfully and professionally as possible. In the majority of these types of situations, the salesperson has thanked me for providing them with the additional information. 

Remember that salespeople in these stores are getting paid next to nothing, especially considering the amount of knowledge that they should have in order to properly assist their customers. There is little if any paid training, they either learn on their own time, read specs off a box when they are showing it to a customer, or they fake it.

Also remember that unlike the Apple Stores, which are 100% corporate owned, many chains like the Sony Store, Bell Stores, Rogers stores, etc. are contracted out to third party companies who just purchase the right to use the name. Or they are franchised out. 

Also, for much of Sony Canada's history, they were owned by a family out of Winnipeg. I believe it was sometime in the 90's when Sony Japan bought them out.


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

I agree Oakbridge.

I don't interfere when they are talking about Windows. But when they start spewing falsities of Macs and OSX, I always step in. 

Salesguy: Macs can't connect to non Apple external displays and speakers.
Me: What do you mean? Do Macs produce some different audi/visual frequency that isn't compatible with standard VA equipment? Please identify this frequency for me?


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

As G3 states, they were lying about SONY laptops being incapable of running Windows.


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

Macfury said:


> As G3 states, they were lying about SONY laptops being incapable of running Windows.


No he didn't state that:


The G3 Man said:


> The IT was lying about how good Windows Vista is, and how no Sony laptop could run Windows XP if you relly wanted to. And that Vista was faster then XP on any hardware.


As I said in my post. We don't know what context these statements were made in. 

There is truth to the statement that Vista is a good operating system. It all depends on what you are comparing it with. In the right circumstances (and READ THIS COMPLETELY before flaming me) Vista could be the better choice over OS X. 

If I am running a business that uses a vertical market piece of software that only runs under Windows, and requires IE and Outlook to function and I am buying a brand new computer. Vista is the only choice. Period. I would love to have someone justify that when you have to have Windows for the main piece of software running an entire business day, and you eliminate two of the main pieces of software that come with OS X, that you can still productively run OS X?

It is just a bad choice. Now personally I feel sorry for the person that is put into that situation, but really they have no choice. 

As for XP. Find me a LEGAL Retail copy of XP and I take back what I said.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Oakbridge said:


> As for XP. Find me a LEGAL Retail copy of XP and I take back what I said.


Heck, that's easy:

Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP3 OEM Version E85-05683 in Canada at TigerDirect.ca


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Oakbridge said:


> No he didn't state that:


Yes he did:


> how no Sony laptop could run Windows XP if you relly wanted to.


I often recommend that dull people with mundane business requirements buy PCs, so I won't argue with a salesperson over that.


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## The G3 Man (Oct 7, 2008)

Oakbridge said:


> No he didn't state that:


Yes I did state that. The customers wanted XP and the salesman was lying. Heck my friend got Windows 95 running on his C2Q Q6600.

Morgan


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## The G3 Man (Oct 7, 2008)

I was not saying that Windows was not any good. All OS's have their highlights.


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## JumboJones (Feb 21, 2001)

We still order all of our Dull PC's with XP installed, we run too much software that isn't Vista compatible or proven reliable on Vista. 

There is no reason why you couldn't downgrade a Sony laptop to XP as long as you can find all of the drivers you need for it.


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## mneub (Sep 15, 2002)

SINC said:


> Heck, that's easy:
> 
> Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP3 OEM Version E85-05683 in Canada at TigerDirect.ca


Lol, even easier: 

Computers: Software: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition With Service Pack 2 | Best Buy Canada Web Store

Bestbuy still sells XP....


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

mneub said:


> Lol, even easier:
> 
> Computers: Software: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition With Service Pack 2 | Best Buy Canada Web Store
> 
> Bestbuy still sells XP....


Ah yes, but when was $80 more per disk easier?


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

My apologies. I thought that Retail boxed copies of XP were no longer available for legal sale.

As for what was and wasn't said. I still say that we don't know what exactly was said by the sales rep. The customer could have been asking if they could have purchased the machine with something other than XP and Sony isn't selling their machines with anything but Vista.

Listen I know that there are plenty of salespeople who don't know what they are talking about. It happens. But I also know that for someone to get kicked out of a retail store must have not just crossed a line, but taken quite a few steps over.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

darkscot said:


> I say BS on that, Lars. Retail is public, sales are public. It's worse to keep quiet in some situations.


I've been in many situations where customers have interrupted me talking to customers thinking they were _helping_ with a sale, when in fact they were just confusing the person they were talking to. I've had other customers interrupt and tell the person I was talking to, that they should just go on LimeWire to get the software I was trying to sell.  It's not always good to interrupt.


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

ehMax said:


> I've been in many situations where customers have interrupted me talking to customers thinking they were _helping_ with a sale, when in fact they were just confusing the person they were talking to. I've had other customers interrupt and tell the person I was talking to, that they should just go on LimeWire to get the software I was trying to sell.  It's not always good to interrupt.


ehMac is going all out with the web 2.0 with the Twitter page!

Nice new sig Mr. Mayor.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

darkscot said:


> I say BS on that, Lars. Retail is public, sales are public. It's worse to keep quiet in some situations.


But a store is private property. You can't do whatever you want in a store just because it's perceived as a public place--regardless as to whether the OP was justified or not.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

Yeah, but I'm reminded of my own little story a few years back...


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## krs (Mar 18, 2005)

Oakbridge said:


> As for what was and wasn't said. I still say that we don't know what exactly was said by the sales rep.


True, but that is totally irrelevant.

Instead of getting hung up about the nitty, gritty details of the OP's example, isn't the REAL question - should you interfere when you overhear a sales person misleading (rather than say lying to) a customer to make a sale.

My reply would be "yes", other feel one shouldn't interfere..........

Or you can turn the question around........if you were the customer and the sales person was misleading you and you subsequently made that purchase and then found out that what the sales person said was BS and another customer standing right next to you knew it was BS and didn't say anything.......how would you feel then?


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## vinnie mack (Dec 22, 2007)

The salesperson was being deceitful and misleading only to make a buck. We live in a country of freedom of speech and if you think you are hurting the salesperson's feelings or being rude for trying to help someone who is obviously about to get ripped off then something is wrong with you.

If I found out I bought a product off a salesperson who lead me to believe something that really wasn't true id be bringing it back and he would get a punch in the mouth.


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## darkscot (Nov 13, 2003)

ehMax said:


> I've been in many situations where customers have interrupted me talking to customers thinking they were _helping_ with a sale, when in fact they were just confusing the person they were talking to. I've had other customers interrupt and tell the person I was talking to, that they should just go on LimeWire to get the software I was trying to sell.  It's not always good to interrupt.


there's always a flip side, true. but as I said "*sometimes* keeping quiet..."

We're talking about blatant lies here, not interrupting to "help" a sale or circumvent software piracy.


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## darkscot (Nov 13, 2003)

MannyP Design said:


> But a store is private property. You can't do whatever you want in a store just because it's perceived as a public place--regardless as to whether the OP was justified or not.


The property is private, the company's sales pitch is not. No, you can't do *whatever you want*. I can't smash all their wares. But we're not talking about that, we're talking about an interjection to assist a fellow customer that is being mislead.

A salesperson that stands behind their product/service could welcome the opportunity to educate the customer and interjector as to why they are mistaken on their stance. Could make an extra sale.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

darkscot said:


> The property is private, the company's sales pitch is not. No, you can't do *whatever you want*. I can't smash all their wares. But we're not talking about that, we're talking about an interjection to assist a fellow customer that is being mislead.
> 
> A salesperson that stands behind their product/service could welcome the opportunity to educate the customer and interjector as to why they are mistaken on their stance. Could make an extra sale.


I said nothing of smashing wares so that's neither here nor there. A store has every right to eject you from the store if you interject. It's not your place to say so don't expect a pat on the back.

The better thing to do would be to talk to the manager and inform them of their employee's inaccurate information or notify Sony's head office.

Obviously, there's only one side to the story being told here. For all we know, the OP could have been completely polite in how they corrected the sales person, or they could have been a total ass. That also makes a huge difference, doesn't it?


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## The G3 Man (Oct 7, 2008)

MannyP Design said:


> I said nothing of smashing wares so that's neither here nor there. A store has every right to eject you from the store if you interject. It's not your place to say so don't expect a pat on the back.
> 
> The better thing to do would be to talk to the manager and inform them of their employee's inaccurate information or notify Sony's head office.
> 
> Obviously, there's only one side to the story being told here. For all we know, the OP could have been completely polite in how they corrected the sales person, or they could have been a total ass. That also makes a huge difference, doesn't it?


I was polite AT FIRST. But as a teenager he was making it look like I was full of sh*t. I know my stuff, I have my A+ Cert, (a awesome course at my school). He started to say that you would lose 75% of the laptops power. Which I know is incorrect. My friends laptop I downgraded was in fact a Sony Vaio. I was very arrogant when I got kicked out. I made him know I was "happy" to be kicked out.

Morgan


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## smashedbanana (Sep 23, 2006)

A couple of things,

1. I've had zero luck getting new Sony Vaios that ship with Vista to downgrade to XP. I can get everything working except the audio. And believe me I've tried. Considering the effort I a technical person went to, I'd agree with what the salesman said.

2. Someone said that Sony Store is somehow public. It's not, it's private property.

3. The Sony Store is corporate owned, by Sony of Japan. It was owned as someone mentioned by Gendis in Winnipeg.


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## hayesk (Mar 5, 2000)

The G3 Man said:


> I was polite AT FIRST. But as a teenager he was making it look like I was full of sh*t. I know my stuff, I have my A+ Cert, (a awesome course at my school).


No offense, but if you tried to tell me you knew your stuff because you have an A+ Cert, I'd laugh my butt off and kick you out of my store too. Go out and work in the field for a few years and you'll find those courses are meaningless compared to actual experience.

That said, I also am not confident in the knowledge of sales people either. If they knew their stuff, they wouldn't be working in retail.


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## Amiga2000HD (Jan 23, 2007)

Heh, I like your assessment of the A+ course. I took one of those three years ago as it was a mandatory part of the college program I was in. A+ got an F- in my book. It was a total time and money wasting pile of dross.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

MannyP Design said:


> The better thing to do would be to talk to the manager and inform them of their employee's inaccurate information or notify Sony's head office.


And what would that accomplish? beejacon

These days, it's all about Corporate America and the decent into stupidity our society is undergoing...


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## KC4 (Feb 2, 2009)

EvanPitts said:


> ..."training" in retail is entirely dysfunctional...


Yup, unfortunately the "training" many now receive is not focused on actual product(s) knowledge itself, rather it's on what the customer wants/needs to hear, in order to make the sale. 

That's why independent research before a major purchase is so important. Knowledge is power.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

"Training" is usually not even that good these days - I recently had to suffer though WHMIS, which is so boring and stupid that I'd rather watch paint dry (or even to watch dry paint).

In my experience, anyone that was "good", "cared" and "had pride of workmanship" were given the business until they quit - then the bosses could stuff the staff to the brim with clueless morons that couldn't even get a handle on the bare minimum. That is Corporate America, where one does not hire anyone that is "good" because "good" is a "threat" - and thus, it's all about dumbing things down, reductio ad absurdium.

These things are good for me - since the lack of help and shelves empty of goods because some moron or Carsonite couldn't be bothered to learn how to use the Telxon really saves me a wad of cash.


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## MrsMime (Sep 8, 2008)

KC4 said:


> Yup, unfortunately the "training" many now receive is not focused on actual product(s) knowledge itself, rather it's on what the customer wants/needs to hear, in order to make the sale.
> 
> That's why independent research before a major purchase is so important. Knowledge is power.


Couldn't be more right. As far as they're concerned, customer satisfaction lasting until they realize they were jipped is good enough for them.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

And how do they manage to sell a Windoze compatible machine that is incompatible with all practical versions of Windoze? I mean, Fi$ta only? There are like, ten devices that work with that system, and even the executives at the Evil Empire can't even get drivers for their equipment. And it is peculiar that Sony would sell a Fi$ta only computer when most of their own devices are incompatible with Fi$ta.

Corporate ripoffs - and a salesman was called out for dishing out bad advice to an unknowing customer...


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