RE: Something to Make TIVO owners cry.

["Phil Harris" <phillip.harris1@xxxxxxx>]

I don't see why it's depressing for you Mark ... you're not responsible for
all company policy.

On the whole I seem to find that Comet are actually the better of the group
... Currys are almost invariably crap! (Remember the "Trying to
explain the
difference between composite and RGB" to the Currys salesman?)

The problem is that there are a large number of items going through the
doors and I guess everyone in the staff is expected to know about
everything. Of course we also want to know more than most people. Most of
the public are happy if they get a big picture, something that doesn't look
industrial and a remote that handles being dunked in beer and crisps.

Where this falls down is when there's completely new technologies like TIVO
... TIVO is so different that selling it as a video recorder is selling it
very short. However TIVO really should set up a "dealer"
subscription for
the resellers to use to demo the product ... of course then you have the
problem that the unit needs to have access to a phone line which probably
isn't available in the middle of a shop floor.

For a new technology the sales staff should know the thing inside out ...
even if only one or two staff have complete knowledge of a product then the
rest should have a basic knowledge and know when they're getting out of
their depth and refer over to the "expert".

Now, can someone explain to the chainstore sales staff that a bigger TV
doesn't necessarily give you a *BETTER* picture ... only *BIGGER*.

Phil

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Harrison [mailto:Mark.Harrison@xxxxxxx]
> Sent: 06 September 2001 09:35
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> Subject: RE: [ukha_d] Something to Make TIVO owners cry.
>
>
> OK guys.
>
> I spent a couple of hours last night reading through the Customer
> Service emails. How depressing!
>
> If I really want to scare them in-store, I just tell them who I am ;-)
>
> Seriously guys, if you get fed crap information at Comet, please do
> wander over to the web site, and log a complaint... it's the only way
> that Store Operations (read - "the enemy!") will be
convinced.
>
> Mark Harrison
> Head of Systems, eKingfisher
>
>
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Phil Harris [mailto:phillip.harris1@xxxxxxx]
> Sent: 5 September 2001 19:46
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> Subject: RE: [ukha_d] Something to Make TIVO owners cry.
>
>
>
> > Seriously now. What could the likes of Comet do to help?
> >
> > Is it about information, or about awareness? Would better
consumer
> > guides be enough (and if so, in store or just on the Internet?),
or
> > would all staff need to be trained to be able to explain?
> >
> > Mark Harrison
> > Head of Systems, eKingfisher
>
> To be honest Mark it would help if the sales staff in the stores knew
> anything about the products they sell ... I've been into the local
> Currys (I
> know they're not one of yours) a few times to see about a TIVO and I
> would
> happily admit that I'm itching to buy one as I like it as a product
but
> the
> information that I've been able to get from the sales staff has often
> been
> sketchy at best and at worst downright *WRONG*.
>
> Examples of information from the sales staff at various stores:
>
> "Lowest quality is better than VHS and the next step up is better
than
> DVD,
> there's no need to ever use best quality as thats far better than
> anything
> that's broadcast at the moment but it's there so you can record the
new
> digital broadcasts"
>
> "Yes, it's quite easy to upgrade the capacity of the unit ... I
think
> Thompson do that, you just need to contact them."
>
> "Does it have an S-Video output?"
> "No ... it has SCART"
> "But what video outputs does it support on the SCART
socket?"
> "SCART..."
>
> "Yes, it's completely silent."
>
> "Yes, if you have more than one TIVO you only have to have one
> subscription
> ... but why would you want more than one?"
>
> Try asking them whether it's possible to change from a monthly
> subscription
> to a lifetime one...
>
> In addition to that I have never been able to get an actual *DEMO* of
> the
> thing ... all it does is run that stupid rolling intro which could
quite
> easily be pre rendered to be streamed at huge data rates! Not one shop
> has
> been able to show me a TIVO recording and playing back a program.
>
> I know that not everyone can know everything about every item of stock
> in
> the shop but when you're trying to introduce a completely new product
to
> a
> market then you must know what it is that you're selling.
>
> It's like digital TV (mainly OnDigital of course) "The advantage
is you
> get
> far better picture quality than with the old system." This is
untrue ...
> if
> your reception was bad on analogue then you may get better quality but
> take
> a look at a good terrestrial broadcast - the quality can be quite
> stunning!
>
> (Gets off his high horse...)
>
> Phil
>
>
>
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