Chicago Garmin Store Jerk-Salesman

[ScottM]

So yesterday I was killing a little time and walked over to Michigan ave to brave the throngs of tourists and to see the Garmin 696 at the Garmin store.

I walk and the first floor is filled with all kinds of GPSs for cars, I ask where the aviation GPS are and am told to go upstairs. Once there I see tons of outdoor and marine gear and way in the corner are the aviation set ups. No one is around so I walk up tot he 696 and start playing with it to see if this is something I wants.

I have been debating between ripping up my panel and my pulling my KLN90B to upgrade to a 430W for about $13k installed or just add a X96 with XM weather. I flew with a 396 last month and really liked having the weather in the cockpit but I was not thrilled with the form factor of the 1-496's. Very bulky and if put on the glare shield blocks a lot of my view.

The 696 is pretty neat and I wanted to see how small it was and how user friendly it is.

I start pushing buttons and within 2 minutes a salesman is right next to me asking me to move because he has a customer who wants to look at the unit. I look right at the salesman and say "I am a customer who IS looking at it". He is taken a back a bit, but not far enough. He then says I'll show you how to use this and I reply I am familiar with the 396 and 496 and I want to see how the 696 will meet my needs. He then tells me he has been trained to do demos. I just look right at the salesjerk and tell him then demo away perhaps the other guy is going to buy it as I would not buy anything from him. The other guy was mortified at the salesmen when he had first asked me to move and he also walked out with me. We both complained how a salesman pretty much just blew $6k in sales by being an arse.

 

[wabower]

The last guy who complained on one of these forums was ****ed because the same store didn't have a 1000 or 600 system for him to play with. At least you're ahead of him.

So yesterday I was killing a little time and walked over to Michigan ave to brave the throngs of tourists and to see the Garmin 696 at the Garmin store.

I walk and the first floor is filled with all kinds of GPSs for cars, I ask where the aviation GPS are and am told to go upstairs. Once there I see tons of outdoor and marine gear and way in the corner are the aviation set ups. No one is around so I walk up tot he 696 and start playing with it to see if this is something I wants.

I have been debating between ripping up my panel and my pulling my KLN90B to upgrade to a 430W for about $13k installed or just add a X96 with XM weather. I flew with a 396 last month and really liked having the weather in the cockpit but I was not thrilled with the form factor of the 1-496's. Very bulky and if put on the glare shield blocks a lot of my view.

The 696 is pretty neat and I wanted to see how small it was and how user friendly it is.

I start pushing buttons and within 2 minutes a salesman is right next to me asking me to move because he has a customer who wants to look at the unit. I look right at the salesman and say "I am a customer who IS looking at it". He is taken a back a bit, but not far enough. He then says I'll show you how to use this and I reply I am familiar with the 396 and 496 and I want to see how the 696 will meet my needs. He then tells me he has been trained to do demos. I just look right at the salesjerk and tell him then demo away perhaps the other guy is going to buy it as I would not buy anything from him. The other guy was mortified at the salesmen when he had first asked me to move and he also walked out with me. We both complained how a salesman pretty much just blew $6k in sales by being an arse.

 

[docmirror]

Write a letter to the manager of the store. I hate this kind of spit. Really makes me boil.

 

[mikea]

You ougth to let Gramin know.

I'm sure they will be just thrilled to know that the $500,000 (Guess. It's probably lots more) a month rent they're paying is being used so effectively to generate sales.

You threw the guy for a loop. He's not used to having one actual pilot in the store. He didn't expect two.

 

[Jay Honeck]

Your very first mistake was shopping in CHICAGO, realm of King Daley. I'd buy a 696 from a Chinese sweatshop upstairs from a kiddy-porn shop before I'd give a nickel's worth of sales tax to that guy.

And I say that as someone who once worked for the Chicago Tribune, and who used to love flying into Meigs to explore the Magnificent Mile...

 

[flyersfan31]

Your very first mistake was shopping in CHICAGO, realm of King Daley. I'd buy a 696 from a Chinese sweatshop upstairs from a kiddy-porn shop before I'd give a nickel's worth of sales tax to that guy.

And I say that as someone who once worked for the Chicago Tribune, and who used to love flying into Meigs to explore the Magnificent Mile...

 

[wsuffa]

Arrogant sales jerk.

You can find 'em anywhere.

I probably would have looked at 'em and said "if I wanted a dose of attitude, I would have gone to Best Buy or a used car dealer".

 

[Lawreston]

. . . or while shopping for said item one could carry a photo of the panel in one's plane, and display such to a similarly arrogant sales-jerk and say, "Listen, jerk; don't you think this unit would be a good addition to my current panel? If you do, too bad; you're not the only Garmin dealer in this state." And then, walk away.

HR

 

[alindsay]

I was thinking of going down there to look at the 696 too. Not now.

You were probably nicer than I would have been. I probably would have asked for the manager right then and made a big deal out of it...especially since it would have been a 50 mile one way drive from my home.

Of course my wife just about dies when I address poor service issues....but it does drive me nuts that salesmen act like that.

I actually a similar thing happen when I was looking at a Cessna 182 at NIFC at 3CK a few years back. Future Aviation had an open house and I talked my wife into stopping by to look at a C-182. The sales guy practically pushed us out of the way to have another guy look it over. Needless to say, I just left and didn't say anything because of my wife being there. Not sure I would have purchased the C-182 but I was pretty serious and had my wife's OK so you never know.

Allan

 

[rottydaddy]

Wow.
Either this guy is a total dolt who could not think beyond his training (more like programming), or he thought he was being clever, trying to get the self-actuating type (you) out of the way so that he could give access to the one he was already schmoozing. Either way, it was stupid.

A good salesman could easily have convinced you to share a quick demo with the other customer, left you to play with it some more if you wanted to, and probably could have snagged both sales.


Bet he was surprised when the other customer also left in a huff, in a show of solidarity... wish I had a picture of his face at that moment.

Or was he so dumb that it didn't occur to him that he'd just alienated two "live ones" and probably started a chain reaction of negative feedback about the store?

 

[wsuffa]

Garmin is big, they own the market, and they don't care. They don't HAVE TO care.

THis is why big business often shoots itself in the foot. ANd why I am a relentless campaigner to keep business focused on the customer.

 

[rottydaddy]

Garmin is big, they own the market, and they don't care. They don't HAVE TO care.

THis is why big business often shoots itself in the foot. ANd why I am a relentless campaigner to keep business focused on the customer.

Sometimes the customer is wrong, but from what I know about sales (which I admit isn't much, never worked in that field), not when you are trying to make a sale!

 

[dmccormack]

Sometimes the customer is wrong, but from what I know about sales (which I admit isn't much, never worked in that field), not when you are trying to make a sale!

The best sales people are those that start with the customer's needs and desires, and then fit product to same.

The worst lead with product.

 

[Lawreston]

The best sales people are those that start with the customer's needs and desires, and then fit product to same.

The worst lead with product.

Absolutely! Over the years I listened to so many other (competitive)camera "mavens"(not that I was one) spiel on and on, in essence, showing how much he knew about the product(or subject) without first learning what the customer either wanted or needed to know. And somewhere in that spiel one needs to "close," ask for the sale.

HR

 

[mikea]

...
Or was he so dumb that it didn't occur to him that he'd just alienated two "live ones" and probably started a chain reaction of negative feedback about the store?

I'll guarantee you that he doesn't know to this day that he had two actual pilot/owners in the store. He's prolly so used to video-game-type kids and looky-loo button-pushers it didn't occur to him that once in while real buyers might come in.

 

[sba55]

I've been to that exact store. When I asked if they had any 496s on display, I was told "no" and that they didn't carry any aviation products. That was about a year ago. I believed them, but maybe it was just incompetence.

Never saw the second floor, either...

-Felix

 

[kevin47881]

I've been to that exact store. When I asked if they had any 496s on display, I was told "no" and that they didn't carry any aviation products. That was about a year ago. I believed them, but maybe it was just incompetence.

Never saw the second floor, either...

-Felix

Did you look up, Felix?

 

[sba55]

Did you look up, Felix?

No. Was I supposed to?

 

[colomtnflyer]

Sometimes the customer is wrong, but from what I know about sales (which I admit isn't much, never worked in that field), not when you are trying to make a sale!

You are correct in acknowledging that sometimes the customer IS wrong... but he/she is ALWAYS the customer!

Therefore, if this dolt had found a way to link you and the other customer, he might have hit a homerun!

 

[dmccormack]

You are correct in acknowledging that sometimes the customer IS wrong... but he/she is ALWAYS the customer!

Therefore, if this dolt had found a way to link you and the other customer, he might have hit a homerun!

A good sales person will always let the customer think he is right.

 

[Matthew]

I went in that store this past summer. Plenty of salesfolks crawling all over you (downstairs). Went upstairs to the aviation section, and saw one salesperson, hiding behind the register trying not to make eye contact. I figured it was because she, I think, didn't know anything about the products and was too embarassed to admit it.

 

[jhausch]

As a person in sales, as I read this I thought to myself how the sales jerk could have done better. This is what I came up with:

"Excuse me, sir, I was going to demonstrate the 696 to this gentleman. May I run through the demo for the both of you or would you like us to wait until you're finished?"

 

[Cap'n Jack]

As a person in sales, as I read this I thought to myself how the sales jerk could have done better. This is what I came up with:

"Excuse me, sir, I was going to demonstrate the 696 to this gentleman. May I run through the demo for the both of you or would you like us to wait until you're finished?"

That's probably the bast way based on facts in evidence.

An even better way would be to have another unit hidden that the sales person could bring out for the demo but that means Garmin needs to pay for 2 of them.