Not retail related but I was amused by a couple of comments I heard from onlookers at en event where the QE2 paid a visit to the river of her birth. I was using my 70-300 and I overheard one guy next to me exclaim "Oo, look at that big binocular lens"

At the same event I saw another photographer operating his Nikon F4 (it was a while ago) with a cable release. Very commendable, I hear you say. He was handholding, no tripod.

The managing director/head of department of a company I once worked for (doing survey photography in the telecoms industry) couldn`t understand why a Minolta lens wouldn`t fit on a Nikon camera.

J_Glowacki wrote:
Chain stores, Best Buy, Circuit City (when they were still around), YUK!

My wife and I were in a Circuit City a few years back when a woman came in and began looking at some P&S camera's. A kid came over to help her and she stated loud and clear that she wanted to spend $100 to $150 for a small camera to take some family snapshots. It had to be small enough to fit in her purse and easy to use. I overheard most of her conversation and it was obvious she had little to no clue about photography.

After the sales push this kid put on her she left with a Canon 40D kit, a 70-300mm Canon IS lens, two Sandisk 8GB cards, a Canon starter kit bag with filter and extra battery, a 3 year warranty and a new CC Credit Card probably maxed out! I could picture her sitting at home, opening the box and wondering how to attach the lens! The pile of items she had on the counter at the register would be enough to overwhelm anyone with a P&S resume'.....

I wasn't sure whether to feel bad for her because she really got taken for a ride or feel sorry for her that she could be talked so easily into dropping in the neighborhood of $2500+ when she was prepard to spend $150 My wife says I should have spoke up and prevented her from purchasing something so extravagant... I don't know, if people are that clueless is it my job to save them from themselves?




I would love to have been able to push a sale like that when I worked for Wolf camera!

I had a guy come into the shop this morning with his Canon digital Elph, the conversation went something like this...

Guy: The center of my image on the lcd is soft, I was wondering if you could take a look at it?
Me: (after a quick look at the camera) It's soft because the lens is fogged. What happened to it?
Guy: I was cleaning the camera and I think some water got into it.
Me: Water? What...were...you...cleaning...the...camera...with?
Guy: Soap and water.
Me: ...
Guy: was that wrong?
Me: ...

DubiousDrewski wrote:

Then there's the slew of strange mispronunciation of names and brands. I kid you not, these are some of the fumbles I've heard:
Nikron, Nixon, Neekon,

Interestingly enough there has been considerable discussion elsewhere about the correct pronunciation of "Nikon". While here in the States we pronounce it "Nike-Con" in other countries it is called either "Nee-Kon" or "Nick-Con". If I am not mistaken the Japanese pronounce it "Nee-Con".

One of my favorites is when I show someone a picture on the rear LCD screen, and they ask if my camera is digital!

DubiousDrewski: You have a really nice selection of pro caliber photos on your website. Too bad you are stuck in a camera shop trying to educate the public, one person at a time. Dumb questions are endless, life is short.

I was watching a salesgal 'push' the sale of a high priced polarizing filter, after the customer agreed, she advised a cheaper filter to protect the expensive filter....and just a couple days ago I saw a guy buying a kit and the salesman advised a filter, and the customer says what kind? Oh a polarizer was the answer, $80 later the guy had a filter that he had no clue what it does, or why and when to use it.

I guess the profit is in floor mats and undercoating, I mean filters and more filters...

gardenvalley wrote:At the same event I saw another photographer operating his Nikon F4 (it was a while ago) with a cable release. Very commendable, I hear you say. He was handholding, no tripod.
What's the problem here? He's using the cable release to reduce camera shake, as it was designed for. My guess would be that someone told him "Using that cable release will make your pictures sharper", and he didn't get any further explanation or context. Haha. He might have looked at those photos after and thought "Hey wow, it DID make my photos sharper! Neato!"

Micky Bill wrote:I guess the profit is in floor mats and undercoating, I mean filters and more filters...
Oh, don't even get me started on that. Where I work, in order to receive our "profit motivation" (Which is a small bonus for a sale, somewhat like commission, but not really), we MUST sell a filter with the camera. No filter, no bonus for the employee. From my personal experience, I'm very much AGAINST using UV filters for protection(For reasons we won't get into here). So to make money, I must go against my own morals.

Needless to say, I don't make as much bonus money as the other employees.

Barry Pehlman wrote:
DubiousDrewski: You have a really nice selection of pro caliber photos on your website.
Thank you very much for the kind words. It's encouraging.

I have a friend who is "upset" at her Olympus camera because the batteries have to be charged "all the time" when she shot film she only changed them once a year.

Same person forced a memory card into it and told me it was a tight fit but she finally did it. THe camera was put in for service.

digoer wrote:
I have a friend who is "upset" at her Olympus camera because the batteries have to be charged "all the time" when she shot film she only changed them once a year.

She must not have used that camera very much.

EBH

To be fair to your friend, cameras that are over a year old and use AA batteries really do chew through them at a frightening rate. Working in the camera shop, you know what is one of the most common technical problems I hear?

Customer: "I have this camera, it's about two years old, and it goes through batteries really quickly"
I, completely used to hearing this problem, ask "Your camera uses AA batteries, right?"
Customer: "Yeah, how did you know?"
Me: "All cameras that use AA batteries act like this after a year or two. You're the third person this week to say this to me"

It's so damned common. Really it is. AA battery-operated cameras are the WORST possible camera you can buy, if reliability is something you value.

LP-E4s are not far behind. They lose charge quickly when not in use.

EBH

Could just be that the rechargebles themselves are dying after a year of work?

No, I mean fresh batteries do it too.

Regarding the sales people, it's hard to find that perfect balance of knowledge and honesty, as well as simply having the ability to truely help the customer get what they want or need. You can be dishonest, lack knowledge, or sometimes have plenty of knowledge but be unable to keep the discussion relevant.

In the big retail stores, I think you'll often find more dishonesty and lack of knowledge. On the other hand, I've personally experienced the "too much information" scenario at 2 local shops. This can be made worse by brand passion/loyalty from salespeople who are also serious photographers.

The one local shop has a few employees and the owner is a very knowledgeable technician and quite passionate about photography. I've only ever bought a few small items there, and usually I deal with the employees. On a few occasions, over the phone and in person, I have ended up dealing with the owner.

He's a good guy, pretty honest, but he really likes to talk, which I don't mind much as I'm pretty chatty myself. He is also very passionate about his personal brand preference, Nikon. I went in once to inquire about repairing a Canon lens, and he went on and on about how crappy Canon lenses are, poorly built, how many of the L series have poor IQ, etc. Personally none of this bothers me, but I could see how some customers could be put off by an overly talkative nature, or worse, insulted by the brand bashing.

Anyone else have experiences like this?

DubiousDrewski wrote:
No, I mean fresh batteries do it too.

Not had it with my A710 after 3 years...

DubiousDrewski wrote:
To be fair to your friend, cameras that are over a year old and use AA batteries really do chew through them at a frightening rate. Working in the camera shop, you know what is one of the most common technical problems I hear?

Customer: "I have this camera, it's about two years old, and it goes through batteries really quickly"
I, completely used to hearing this problem, ask "Your camera uses AA batteries, right?"
Customer: "Yeah, how did you know?"
Me: "All cameras that use AA batteries act like this after a year or two. You're the third person this week to say this to me"

It's so damned common. Really it is. AA battery-operated cameras are the WORST possible camera you can buy, if reliability is something you value.

Doesn't make sense. You're saying the camera draws more power as it gets older?

From the NY Times:
Appalling Behavior, This Time by Customers

Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

ontime wrote:
Doesn't make sense. You're saying the camera draws more power as it gets older?
I don't really know for sure what causes it. All I know is the anecdotal evidence I have collected over the years of dealing with this issue seems to point to something like this, yes.

My theory is this: You know how a battery's voltage will taper the less charge it has? Well a new camera will be able to operate at input voltages that vary up to say, 40% of the designed voltage input. But in older cameras, they somehow lose their versatility for operating in anything but the ideal voltage.

The reason I think this is because there have been a few times when people brought in their old AA cameras. The camera claimed the battery was dead, but my battery tester would rate the battery as being 60% full or more in some cases.

So anyway, AA cameras suck. I highly recommend you don't buy them.

Fair enough, haha. Great bottom line.

I had another one just now. I thought I'd share.

I had a guy come in asking about our Pentax E90 point n shoot. It's worth $90. He was trying to be some sort of low-budget connoiseur. He was asking questions like "Which processor does it use?", and "What's the maximum aperture?". I kid you not.

I remained professional, and I googled these details for him, but inside, I was laughing to myself: "Are you freaking serious?!".

As if he would really decide not to buy the camera after learning that it uses a version of the PRIME engine that he doesn't like. And the aperture? Ha! (F2.9, by the way. Surprisingly good for such a low-end machine).

It's like going to a Honda dealership, picking the cheapest little auto-transmission car you can find, and asking the salesman what the maximum ft-lbs of torque is and at how many RPMs. It's hilariously misplaced concern.