Computer Questions

Vordar

Vordar

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Jun 9, 2013
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Need some help thinking of both questions and answers... If you were going to buy a PC/Laptop from a store (not a custom build) what sort of questions would you ask as a consumer, what would you be interested in knowing about it. Similarly, if you were SELLING a PC/Laptop, what do you think is most important to inform someone about a machine?

I'm trying to put together a quick reference guide for the people I work with. They can sell a printer with their eyes closed and their hands behind their back, but when it comes to computers, I get radioed things like "whats the difference between this i3 and i5 when they are both showing the same speed?" Granted that is a very particular question but I'm trying to get a reference guide so if they have a question or just want to learn something they can see what the different parts are of something as well as what the differences may be between, well, two chips with the same speed. On the chip side, most things we have are i3, i5, A4 and A6, there might be a laptop still running on something lesser, and there MIGHT be an i7 in store... but thats the gist of those. Of course the popular question is which is better AMD or Intel, and i think they all scratch their heads and BS their own opinion at this point. The consumer generally is NOT a gamer looking for a machine, rather someone in business or just for home use.
 
Ah the problem with chain stores killing commission based sales...salesmen have no incentive to learn as much as possible about their product.
So, you can have a department meeting before opening and give a crash course; teach the employees how to use a computer and their preferred search engine to determine the answers to their questions; sacrifice an employee to the technology gods in hopes of an answer to their questions; etc...

Selling computers is easy. I solved this issue by changing the floorplan to have business/home/"gaming" PCs in separate, but similar areas, allowing the salesmen to direct their customer accordingly. Consumers particular about hardware specs already know what they want in most cases. The real selling is done after choosing a computer and attaching the things they want or need to operate it ie antivirus, MS Office, etc.

Source: Technology Sales Manager for Circuit City (first job out of the Army while going to night school)
*Note* I got the fuck out of retail as fast as possible; people are dicks.
**Also, AMD can go die in a fire. <Flamesuit ON>
 
DragBag11B said:
Ah the problem with chain stores killing commission based sales...salesmen have no incentive to learn as much as possible about their product.

*Note* I got the fuck out of retail as fast as possible; people are dicks.
>
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It sucks that commission based sales has gone downhill due to lack of incentives....Idioacracy effect!


But great post dbag!
 
Most people are too ignorant of what's in a PC to ask intelligent questions. Usually they'll ask vague questions about storage space or memory and don't know dick about anything else. I vote for the KISS method.
 
I once worked at Circuit City too. I told them i knew a shit ton of stuff about computers so they put me in the tv/audio section of the store. :( No wonder they went fucking out of business.
 
Teach them to sell to the experience, wants and needs of the customer. What is the customer going to use the PC for? start there.
 
I had this female friend buy herself a 11" with an i3, 2gb ram and an ANCIENT video card for 790€ ...

When dealing with women, just ask what colour and size.
 
Soulzz said:
LOL.
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That's no joke. I get shit like this all the time. The log onto the PCs, Chrome opens automatically to our home page and at least a dozen times a day they come to me and ask "how do I get on the internet?" And then they argue with me when I tell them they're there.

I like to tell them they need a secret code they can only get if they've been a member for over 90 days.
 
Zappypants said:
"Will it Facebook?"
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure you can facebook on a 286. In text or CGA mode, you might even be able to do it on something earlier :) . Except videos or MP3s I suppose. Need some Pentium powa for MP3s. I remember my friend had to listen to them at 22khz on his 486 while I was lulzing with my mighty Pentium II Klamath 233MHz overclocked to 266 (I started early). With the perpendicular motherboard socket. Multitasking WHILE listening to those 160KBps premium-quality MP3s, eat that sucka. Those were the days :p . Good ol' times.

As far as a laptop, if you're buying one, I'd be mostly concerned if it overheats like shit, because most laptops aren't designed to run at 100% for more than 1-2 minutes. That is, if you're buying it for gaming or some kind of other processing (which you should be anyway, for web I'd buy a fucking $50 android tablet these days).
 
a KISS explanation for the average person.

CPU: How fast the computer can think. The avg person can be fine with about 2.0-2.5GHz
RAM: How much your computer can handle at once. You want at least 4GB. for Win7 or Win8 to run smoothly. (Recom specs are too low)
HHD: How much you can save on your computer. The avg person can be happy with 500GB. However with the price of space getting less and less 1TB will give them MORE then enough
Graphics: How nice things will look on their monitor. The avg person will be happy with 1GB.

AMD vs Intel will always depend on who you ask...Tho since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and Intel keeps getting sued and losing, by AMD for infringing on their patents and your AMDs will run better and cooler for cheaper. Ill take an AMD any day.
 
Much winrar, so video, very modem.

Did he just call that switch ancient? I was using an external rockwell 33.6K modem in 1999 that had a switch like that in the back. Oh, and it connected via serial port (those thick ones). It's pretty amazing that a contemporary modem is still compatible with this shit. 40 years later!
 
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