The Job I Do - The World Of Retail

Hey Steemit community!

What I Do in my job

So, as you may have read in my introduction, I work for an electronic retailer called Currys PC World. This is based in my hometown of Truro in Cornwall and have worked there since April 4, 2014, so near enough 4 years now.

My role is a Sales Assistant so I am the customer facing person who has to talk to customers and find out what they are looking for, find the right product and provide a complete overall solution for their needs...more of this to come later on, keep reading!

It is, to say the least, a very insightful job in respect that it's fascinating to see how the customers i talk to deal with and process the technology that is around in today's world. I see people stunned, mouth open, can't believing what they are seeing and touching etc.

A Shock To The System

It is surprising, in this day & age, to see how frightened and confused most people are of technology and how confused they get with different terminologies, abbreviations and methods etc. One example I can definitely say is confusing people is 4K technology in TV's...it always makes me smile when I see people look at 4K and comment on "how realistic" it looks or "how clear and vivid" the picture is...

Asides from that, people are really not familiar with other forms of technology or how things are moving forward, one example of this is buying a computer. Most customers I speak to think that software such as antivirus and Microsoft Office comes pre-loaded on the computer they want to buy. This is not the case.

Whenever I tell a customer that software is not included with the computer, they give me a confused look as if to think "well what do you mean? how am I meant to write my letters?" You then have to advise them that, if they need such software, they need to purchase it. Once you tell them that Microsoft Office is now like antivirus, being a yearly subscription, you get a mixed response from people. Some people will welcome the idea and accept that it's how things are going these days and then you get others who completely appease the idea and think it's "an utter outrage" to have to pay for Microsoft Office or antivirus at all.

Then comes to making the computer's recovery media. Now, just to explain before going on, the computer's recovery media is a process where you copy across the operating system's core files to removable media (normally a USB stick) so that, in the event your computer stops working, wont boot correctly, or isn't performing well, you can reset it back to factory settings using that USB stick and it will allow you to start from scratch...anyway...

When you ask a customer "how are you going to make your recovery media?" they look at you like you are talking French. So, to put the customer at ease, I generally explain the reasoning behind the recovery media and what it involves. The customer will then tend to lose interest or show signs of confusion about half way through the explanation, but after explaining it a few times (usually about 3 in various different ways), they understand what it is for.

It is the same case with TV's. If a customer is deciding what TV to buy, you have to explain about processing rates, what makes one TV different from another (even though they look identical in appearance) and also how they will be mounting their TV whether it be on a stand (which 9/10 customers already have, but then find later it is too big for their stand) or if they are going to mount it on the wall.

Next, I move onto their existing cable collection. The thing is with cables these days, after about 3 years or so, cables can show signs of degradation in their capability. Inside a cable, you can get a thing called oxidisation, which means that oxygen travelling through the cable can deteriorate it and therefore compromise the quality of picture or sound the customer will get.

After trawling through the numerous cables the customer has connected to their existing TV and having a lengthy discussion about why they should upgrade their cables (which usually ends with the customer saying no, because as usual they think they know better than the trained expert)...I collect their TV, take them to the checkout and they leave with their shiny new toy (normal protocol is to then return perhaps a few days or a week later after realising that they have bought the wrong size because they "over judged the size" or because they went home and realised they did need those cables you mentioned before....but now realising they have to pay full price because they weren't purchased with the TV)....that's always interesting! Anyway moving back to computers...

What about Care for your product? They don't care....

Once you have that out of the way, you then move onto aftercare support that the company offers. Now, in all honesty, aftercare on any electronic product in my opinion is an absolute must. I hear you ask "Why?", well let me explain.

If the customer was to have a problem with their electrical product, no matter if it's a computer, TV, washing machine, cooker, microwave or camera, the customer will always have the manufacturers warranty as a backup for repairs etc....but, the manufacturers warranty does not cover everything. Stay calm....I'll explain.

A manufacturers warranty will only cover the product if it becomes faulty due to a manufacturing fault (for example if your PC decides to turn itself off and not come back on). In this case, the product would be sent to the manufacturer for repair, usually taking up to 28 days and, if repaired successfully, sent back at no cost to the customer at all.

A manufacturers warranty will not cover a product for breakdowns or faults due to software, user error or anything that has been caused by the user. Another example would be dropping the product if it were a computer for example. In this case, the customer is now liable for any repair costs, carriage costs and/or callouts made on the product. The manufacturer will still repair the item, but there is a cost involved to perform the repair, acquire the parts etc...

Now, usually I would say around 7/10 customers will refuse any aftercare package I offer them due to it being an added cost to their already mounting purchase, but, what they don't realise that, over everything else they have purchased, the aftercare would probably rank as the most important thing to consider during the whole purchase. Customer's don't look at things long term, they only see the here & now.

Customers don't take into consideration that, in 16 months time, little Jonny is going to knock the laptop off the table and crack the hinge on the back of the screen. This then results in the customer looking at a £60 carriage and diagnosis charge plus the parts required on top, whereas, if the customer had an aftercare package, they wouldn't need to worry about any additional charges.

After I get past all that, I then proceed to the payment options and usually its by card or part card/cash, on the odd occasion getting a customer who wants to look at having it on credit. It is comical that at this point, if they have said they want to do it on a credit option, that they realise they have forgotten any ID which they know they need & we need to see before giving them their product....

So there you have it. That's what my job entails. It may not be a glamorous job where I see the world or dine at world class restaurants...but it is still a job & it is, like I said previously, fascinating to talk to people and see how they react and process changes in our technology these days...

Here's to more years chatting to the masses about the ever changing world of tech!

Signing off....

MrScottJ :D