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What happened and why is it still happening?

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DavidEduardo said:
In technology, whether it is a an upgrade for a "big screen" TV or an SSD or video card or even something basic like a power supply, I would never buy in a store as the last person I'd want product advice on is a floor salesperson at Best Buy, Costco or Sam's Club..
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Eons ago, I worked in a now-gone big box store, usually electronics for a long stretch, but could sometimes be assigned anywhere. Tech was always an interest to me, so I did my best to be of genuine help (and admittedly, this was way before the sophistication of today), but yeah…I wouldn’t ask that me either. I was just trying to earn some money to pay the college expenses.

That said…at least I could give a competent answer to some electronics questions. It was when I was assigned to straightening-up detail in the part of the store that included lingerie that the really interesting questions were posed. Because who wouldn’t think a schlubby college dude would be an undergarment expert.

That manager had a sick sense of humor sticking me there.
 
DavidEduardo said:
A big advantage of buying online is that you can compare many similar products, read reviews and make reasoned decisions.

In technology, whether it is a an upgrade for a "big screen" TV or an SSD or video card or even something basic like a power supply, I would never buy in a store as the last person I'd want product advice on is a floor salesperson at Best Buy, Costco or Sam's Club..
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And I feel the opposite. I don't have the confidence to just read reviews myself and say this is right for me. I need a real person to advise me. I'm not saying I can't change, but it will take a while.

Now I will admit in 2009 when I needed a way to record from digital TV, I asked for advice at Radio Shack. At the time, that seemed logical. I was told to buy a TiVo which, as it turned out, required me to have cable or satellite, and it didn't work without an adapter when digital cable replaced traditional cable, so it was about as far from working with digital as I could get. But because I knew digital TV wouldn't work, I took advantage of Time Warner's deal on cable that would give me just the channels I had received on analog TV That worked out. I had a new way to record (VCRs would eventually go bad, though for the antenna, a combination TV/VCR required only a single converter box and I just had to change the channel manually before a recording). TiVo hasn't been perfect, but over the years I've learned to deal with more complicated versions. It's just that every time I do learn new stuff, it's a nightmare.

As for the antennas I got, which for indoor use were supposedly the best or were at least the best I found in stores that I went to, I got good results on five channels not in my market (one on my cable system) and acceptable results on some other channels in my market and available on cable. Over time, most of them went downhill. That's why I'm reluctant to get a really good antenna. I need someone who really knows what he (or she) is doing and can look at my exact situation.
 
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vchimpanzee said:
And I feel the opposite. I don't have the confidence to just read reviews myself and say this is right for me. I need a real person to advise me. I'm not saying I can't change, but it will take a while.
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And I will do something in the middle. Do research myself (primarily Consumers Reports) then go into a brick & mortar store (when possible) to make the purchase.
 
vchimpanzee said:
And I feel the opposite. I don't have the confidence to just read reviews myself and say this is right for me.
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Ironically, this coming from someone who posts random things on Wikipedia.
vchimpanzee said:
I need a real person to advise me. I'm not saying I can't change, but it will take a while.
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What, you're saying that David and I aren't real?
vchimpanzee said:
Now I will admit in 2009 when I needed a way to record from digital TV, I asked for advice at Radio Shack.
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Oh, now there's a reliable source!
vchimpanzee said:
It's just that every time I do learn new stuff, it's a nightmare.
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Good that you know your limitations, but that's gotta be a tough thing to admit.
vchimpanzee said:
As for the antennas I got, which for indoor use were supposedly the best or were at least the best I found in stores that I went to, I got good results on five channels not in my market (one on my cable system) and acceptable results on some other channels in my market and available on cable. Over time, most of them went downhill. That's why I'm reluctant to get a really good antenna. I need someone who really knows what he (or she) is doing and can look at my exact situation.
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The reviews I posted up thread had reviews of actual antenna and consumer electronics installation people. Not Crap Shack, but I'd bet the Yelp reviews I forwarded and 10X more qualified than a minimum wage counter person of the past.
 
Kelly A said:
Ironically, this coming from someone who posts random things on Wikipedia.
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I'm not the one who has to depend on my being right.
Kelly A said:
What, you're saying that David and I aren't real?
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Real enough that I can consider it.
Kelly A said:
Oh, now there's a reliable source!
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They were back then.
Kelly A said:
The reviews I posted up thread had reviews of actual antenna and consumer electronics installation people.
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Okay. That probably will mean something. I'll have a look when the time comes.
Kelly A said:
Not Crap Shack, but I'd bet the Yelp reviews I forwarded and 10X more qualified than a minimum wage counter person of the past.
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I regard these people as experts.
 
Kelly A said:
Radio Shack employees weren't experts at anything, other than running their cash register. Nobody had any training, most lacked experience, and even back then, minimum wage jobs didn't require you to actually know something about what you were selling.
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I did not know that. I believed people in those stores knew what they were doing.

What about Best Buy?
 
Kelly A said:
Radio Shack employees weren't experts at anything, other than running their cash register. Nobody had any training, most lacked experience, and even back then, minimum wage jobs didn't require you to actually know something about what you were selling.
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Radio Shack employees, or at least the ones around here, used to have a bachelor's in Ignorance and a master's in Arrogance!

vchimpanzee said:
What about Best Buy?
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I'm sure Best Buy, like most stores, has some people who are more knowledgeable than others. Having said that, their job, first and foremost, is to sell you something. That doesn't necessarily mean they're lying to you, but they know what their job is, and, at least to some degree, they're going to tell you what they think you want to hear. I'm a firm believer in "trust, but verify." If/When I go into a store like that, I look at what it sells, check the online ratings, and narrow it down to two or three products. That way, if I have a conversation with anyone, I'm more likely to be able to tell if they know what they're talking about and are being truthful. Being in the driver's seat always helps.
 
Kelly A said:
He started glazing over when I explained the difference between one being 'emissive' and the other being self-emissive.
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... as I said.
 
Kelly A said:
Ironically, this coming from someone who posts random things on Wikipedia.

What, you're saying that David and I aren't real?

Oh, now there's a reliable source!

Good that you know your limitations, but that's gotta be a tough thing to admit.
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This is getting to be like Whac-a-Mole.

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Kent said:
Radio Shack employees, or at least the ones around here, used to have a bachelor's in Ignorance and a master's in Arrogance!
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My favorite was a guy-behind-the-counter who believe that I had to tell him whether I wanted AC or DC flashlight batteries.
Kent said:
I'm sure Best Buy, like most stores, has some people who are more knowledgeable than others. Having said that, their job, first and foremost, is to sell you something.
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Best Buy, at higher volume locations, has floor sellers who have been trained by the leading TV manufacturers. When I bought my first OLED, I had already read up on the technology but found the seller had it pretty well memorized and even, amazingly, understood.

For Samsung, LG and Sony, you get some knowledgeable sellers. I was buying the nice 77" one for a home theater, and that brought the best seller towards my wallet.
Kent said:
That doesn't necessarily mean they're lying to you, but they know what their job is, and, at least to some degree, they're going to tell you what they think you want to hear. I'm a firm believer in "trust, but verify." If/When I go into a store like that, I look at what it sells, check the online ratings, and narrow it down to two or three products. That way, if I have a conversation with anyone, I'm more likely to be able to tell if they know what they're talking about and are being truthful. Being in the driver's seat always helps.
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Yes, I already knew what my options were on price, specs, warranty and the like. What was left was to actually see the unit, see how easy the remote worked, etc. We even have to know that all those big screen TVs have a "store setting" that is designed to look good under intensive fluorescent retail lighting and horrible acoustics.
 
Streaming stinks. Trying to listen to a station on TuneIn in the middle of town with several towers in sight. Buffering for more than a minute. Digital TV and streaming is total BooBoo.
 

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Kelly A said:
Radio Shack employees weren't experts at anything, other than running their cash register. Nobody had any training, most lacked experience, and even back then, minimum wage jobs didn't require you to actually know something about what you were selling.
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At the end, RadioShack was a glorified cell phone store happening to sell a few electronics. And they weren’t experts at cell phones.
 
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