That Hypno Show - Gerard V - Stage Hypnotist New Zealand & Australia

I just had to share this (a bit of a rant). For some reason I have recently been involved in discussions with some folk (one a taxi driver) on the merits of on-line versus retail store shopping. They all put forward the idea that if you need help and advice then going to a store and being served by a human was the best option.

My 7 year old Pioneer DVD player died recently, and after a few weeks of using a PS2 as a DVD player I was fed up. My wife and I wanted a player and now (wet weekend). So we went to two different large chainstores that specialised in appliances (Noel Leeming and Bond and Bond - both part of the PRG group). At each I asked who was the expert on DVD players in the store. In each case the reply was "what did I want to know". So I asked differently, who can tell me the important differences between the different players in each price category and which had the best picture etc. In each store the "salesperson" argued vehemently that there was no picture quality difference between players at all, and one even said that they had checked this. The differences between players were only the features offered (e.g. MP3 playback or HDMI etc.).

Basically, the service they offered was to read the "specs" from the display card, but I really don't need people to read to me. I read quite well on my own.

The reason that this has stayed with me, is that if they are actually correct (oh dear), then the best place to buy is surely on the web, because there the features are generally listed more thoroughly.

It strikes me that, sadly, those people who told me they would go to a store for "advice" are being misled by the people they are relying on. And moreover, it seems dumb for the store to emphasise that the sales points of any device are the very points that are addressed best by web shopping. The only purpose in going to a store (other than cash and carry), is that you can see and hear the device before you purchase it, especially if the advice given by the human assistant is such utter garbage. But if sight and sound are not relevant to purchasing media devices then why go to a store at all.

I'm frustrated too that the people I had been discussing web shopping with, are going to stores and being fed the pap that I was fed. But it does explain why so many devices are now loaded with features I'd never use, because those are, apparently, the only things that count when purchasing.

I'm am at times frustrated and annoyed when I am offered "assistance" ("can I help you?") by someone who will respond to my query by reading the labels in front of me because they know next to nothing about their products, and I guess they assume that I cannot read.

Thanks for that. I feel better now.  I already buy 90% of my non-grocery purchases on the web, and that won't change soon.  I'll also keep buying my suits at Man To Man - they know their stuff.  But next time someone tells me they'd go to a shop for advice - I know what to say.