Are all sales people arseholes?

[Desert Rat]

I'm to honest to get along with salesmen. If they screw up, I throw them into the blades. That way
they learn faster.
When I was new a salesmen had me install a machine in the corner. I had to move a brand X box
out of the way in order to complete my job and then put it back. I did not know at the time that
I could have turned down the install site.
I went into the office and sat down in his cubicle and told him I did not like being taken advantage
of. This was in front of all the other sales people.
It did not do any good. So it's the blades now. No BS, just be up front.
Sometimes they are a necessary evil. Not very often, just sometimes.

DR

[spaniel ears]

I've never quite understood why the biggest arseholes make the best salesmen. Personally, I wouldn't buy a bag of crisps off some of the slimy tossers i've worked with in the past, but for some reason Joe public fall for their bullshit. It's a sad fact that you have to tollerate working with these cretins if you want your company to do well, the bigger arsehole they are the more proffit they make in my experience. They're a different species to most people, the only time you'll ever go for a pint with these creatures is usually the office Christmas party where you have no choice. Aside from that, speak to them only when necessary and tell them to fuck off if the slither into your workshop would be my advice. Detestable individuals.

[mojorolla]

We are a Sharp dealership. I have sat through quite a few sales pitches as a manager. During the last one, the sales manager is telling the perspective customer "There is no turn around section. The image is put on both sides of the page at the same time." Really? I must have fallen asleep during class and missed that part.

[fixthecopier]

I have this customer who I deal with for 4 months every year. He comes up from Alabama to do taxes. He is a bit of an asshole. He bought a Minolta EP2080 when it was new. It rattles and makes all kind of noise. I have a good success rate at flipping people out of the old stuff and into something newer. When I try with him, I fail. Why? Because the salesman told him copiers last 15 years when he bought it. All I get is "Just fix the damn thing, I have a service contract."

[Desert Rat]

Do they still make parts for that EP2080? If they do, then order everything you will need to
rebuild the machine. Tell the customer his machine needs a few things and you have to
special order the parts.
If management is on their game they will flag this order as to expensive.
Tell the svc manager the salesman told the customer the machine would last 15 years, and it
needs to be rebuilt if we're going to support what the salesman said.
Sooner or later the customer will call and ask about the status of the parts.
When he does tell the svc manager you don't know quite what to tell the customer, and
request his help.
Basicly let management do their jobs, motivated by the customer.
God knows they won't listen to the people on the front line.

[blackcat4866]

... "There is no turn around section. The image is put on both sides of the page at the same time." Really? I must have fallen asleep during class and missed that part...

ROFL! I've heard a few whoppers before myself. I can't decide if the salesman just doesn't know how mis-informed he is, or is just inventing on the spot. =^..^=

[NeoMatrix]

I have this customer who I deal with for 4 months every year. He comes up from Alabama to do taxes. He is a bit of an asshole. He bought a Minolta EP2080 when it was new. It rattles and makes all kind of noise. I have a good success rate at flipping people out of the old stuff and into something newer. When I try with him, I fail. Why? Because the salesman told him copiers last 15 years when he bought it. All I get is "Just fix the damn thing, I have a service contract."

Ha ha... Of course photo copiers last 15 years , It's just there is a minor problem of them still working fully after 15years.

I've seen plenty of photocopiers last 15years tied to the end of a boat as an anchor. No problems at all, the salesmen was correct.

[sdrawkcab]

I can't decide if the salesman just doesn't know how mis-informed he is, or is just inventing on the spot. =^..^=

Probably the latter, A couple of months ago at a rather heated sales meeting, I was bemoaning the
complaints from the techs about Installs, the same things that we read here, no fax kits, wrong tray configurations, wrong finisher etc etc, then a salesman said
"Techs should just do what they're paid for"
I said "You're an overpaid arsehole"(or asshole if you prefer)
He said "I AM NOT OVERPAID"
Since then everybody (including the other salesmen) have addressed him as
Arsehole
true story

[KEVIN900]

I have this customer who I deal with for 4 months every year. He comes up from Alabama to do taxes. He is a bit of an asshole. He bought a Minolta EP2080 when it was new. It rattles and makes all kind of noise. I have a good success rate at flipping people out of the old stuff and into something newer. When I try with him, I fail. Why? Because the salesman told him copiers last 15 years when he bought it. All I get is "Just fix the damn thing, I have a service contract."

According to the "End of Life" Bulletin, Minolta deemed that obsolete in June, 2007. Parts are no longer available. Create a shopping list of parts, and let management take over. My company used to automatically renew service contracts, too. Now the list is reviewed by the service manager, and apology/thank-you letters are sent out instead to customers with "classic" equipment.

[Desert Rat]

In defence of the "copier", there really are a couple of models that will go the distance and still
be fully functional.
I am servicing three of these dinosaurs. That would be the Kodak EKTA-Print series. It morphed into
the Image source 85. This model started production in 1996. And the EKATA-PRINT 2085 started
in 1994? maybe '95.
These machines are American made with real metal. And real chains and heavey duty motors, blowers,
and compressors.
They could have turned this into one of the first digital boxes on the market but they sold it to IBM
so they could have it. And they bought the IBM copier division which IBM did not want to do
but gave in to customer pressure. And the IBM copier was another real machine.
They had to stop making parts to get them out of the field.
To bad. Companies use to have pride in making a product that would last the test of time.
Now it seems it is all about having one product die off just after the intro of the next.
Or be disposable, like these inkjet thingys.

Oh well that's my rant.

DR

[HenryT2]

I have worked in sales as well as being a tech. I was a tech prior to sales, so I knew how to plug in the equipment I was demonstrating, and could actually turn it on. I was fortunate enough to get out of sales and back to being a tech.

A lot of salespeople are idiots, and a lot of them are stupid. But, there are some really good salespeople out there.
The good ones have met all the qualifications to handle their job.

These qualifications include:

Being able to look presentable. ( If you look stupid, well...you are stupid )
Being able to speak correctly. ( If you sound stupid...well...you are stupid )
Knowing the equipment you sell. ( If you do not know what the equipment will or will not do...well...you are stupid.
If you have not worked as a tech for at least two years prior to a sales position, then you do not qualify as a salesperson: you are an idiot.

Remember:

An idiot is someone who has not been taught, trained, or guided by someone who cares enough to teach them.

Most salespeople are stupid. They have been taught, trained, and guided by someone else: they just would not listen and learn.
As Forest once said, " STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES ".

Now: I need to get back to work.
Thanks for letting me RANT.

[kingpd@businessprints.net]

I have heard good things about these machines before and had seen one still in a government office a few years ago. They seemed to be really solid and from what I recall had really good solids and copy quality. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't canon have a relable of the imagesource 85? I think it was the NP9850II?

In defence of the "copier", there really are a couple of models that will go the distance and still
be fully functional.
I am servicing three of these dinosaurs. That would be the Kodak EKTA-Print series. It morphed into
the Image source 85. This model started production in 1996. And the EKATA-PRINT 2085 started
in 1994? maybe '95.
These machines are American made with real metal. And real chains and heavey duty motors, blowers,
and compressors.
They could have turned this into one of the first digital boxes on the market but they sold it to IBM
so they could have it. And they bought the IBM copier division which IBM did not want to do
but gave in to customer pressure. And the IBM copier was another real machine.
They had to stop making parts to get them out of the field.
To bad. Companies use to have pride in making a product that would last the test of time.
Now it seems it is all about having one product die off just after the intro of the next.
Or be disposable, like these inkjet thingys.

Oh well that's my rant.

DR

[blackcat4866]

There was a NP-9800 and NP-9850, but I never saw any. The NP-8530 was it's little brother, and yes it was very reliable in high volume locations. The only bad thing about the NP-8530's was the damn Ultrex connectors causing it to lose it's mind in unpredictable ways. =^..^=

[KenB]

There was a NP-9800 and NP-9850, but I never saw any. The NP-8530 was it's little brother, and yes it was very reliable in high volume locations. The only bad thing about the NP-8530's was the damn Ultrex connectors causing it to lose it's mind in unpredictable ways. =^..^=

I had a ton of NP-8530s in my territory back in the day.

A can of contact cleaner and a brass "toothbrush" were my best friends to tame those nasty connectors.

[blackcat4866]

Same here. These are just the ones I documented:

NP-8530:
Very light copies? Ultrex on potential control PWB
Misfeeds on bed? All cassettes read as legal size regardless of actual paper size? Ultrex on duplex driver PWB
Ledger paper not recognized in any cassette? Goes to a jam state immediately when Start is pressed? Ultrex on duplex driver PWB
E020? Ultrex on DC driver PWB
E210? Ultrex on DC controller and DC driver PWB
Check paper indication as if a LCT was installed (when not installed)? Ultrex on connector PWB
Comes to Ready without initial rotations? Scan lamp comes on and stays on continuously? Ultrex J114 on DC controller & J402 at connector PWB
Paper deck feeds during warmup, even when out of paper? Ultrex J114 on DC controller
Backlight is visible, but no characters displayed? E243 & copier functions normally? Ultrex J116 on DC controller
Main motor switches to low speed during duplexing? Ultrex J102 on DC controller
Misfeeds at fixing exit sensor Q10 that won't clear? Ultrex on connector PWB
Misfeeds from paper feed unit that won't clear? Ultrex J5 on paper feed unit controller

=^..^=