Re: Ridin' Through Gateway Country, Roundin' up details....

["impudent...incorrect...disobedient" <frogfarm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

[CC'd to the original parties]

Quoting Robert G. Brown (bob@acm.org):
> 
> For several weeks now, I've been chattering about going to "Gateway Country",
> the Gateway 2000 Store/Order center on Westnedge Avenue. The idea is to "play
> dumb", as a way of finding out what a salesperson there will do with someone
> who doesn't know very much at all, and how they would find out what machine
> was really right for me, including such details as why I'm interested in buy-
> ing a computer, what the system will be used for, and so forth.
> 
> The purpose of this is not to poke fun at the dumb salespeople, suddenly 
> revealing to them what a genius I am or something. I wanted to see what John
> Q. Public has to go through to get decent value in a PC, and what better way
> to find out than to pretend to BE John Q. Public?  If we're going to make
> assumptions about hardware and software, let's see what most people have to 
> go through in order to get one.

Kudos for the idea and the effort expended.

[snip]
> By "useful information" I mean WHY would someone want to buy something, like 
> get their $1999 machine instead of their $1199 box. I mean, is what I'm going
> to do make that extra $800 worth spending?

As you note, the mark of a good salesperson is to find out what the
customer wants and then move heaven and earth to give it to them. Trying
to cater to imagined or nonexistent needs is just stabbing in the dark,
and benefits neither the seller nor the buyer (that is, if the seller has
any desire whatsoever to build a positive reputation).

> She was very good at telling me what that $800 was going to be spent on, and
> she was also good at answering questions about the hardware and software. She
> even (when pressed a little) told me about a couple of options that are NOT
> on their sheets (I have this friend, see? and he knows about computers...)
> Like for an extra $99, They load NT Instead of Win95 (a reasonable deal
> [...]

Shucks, that IS a good deal, considering the price of NT. I assume it's the
single-user workstation version? Given my mostly positive experience with
95 and extensive experience with OS/2, I've used NT hardly at all. Since my
dad has been considering buying Gateway, I have a slightly vested interest.
(slight nepotistic grin)

> But the question that I was waiting for... even broadly hinted that she
> should ask: "What are you going to use the computer for, anyway?" Just never
> came up. It was like she didn't want to know. So there I was, without enough 
> knowledge to make a good choice, and the salesperson wasn't about to help me.

I consider myself a salesperson for the idea of minimal computing, since
most of my friends are "income-challenged" in one form or another. So the
first thing I always ask is what they want or need the computer to do.
Often that's the hardest part. Once they've thought about it and the issues
have been clarified, it's much easier to tailor hardware and software to
their specific intentions. As I noted before, one friend of mine, a single
working mom in college, uses Linux (and Lynx) so she doesn't have to drive 
to campus, saving her a not inconsiderable amount of time and gas money. I
just installed OS/2 3.0 on a friend's "antiquated" 486/33 with 8Mb RAM and
a 120Mb hard drive -- he's amazed at how fast Windows applications load
compared to the speed on a friend's IDENTICAL stock Windows machine. Some
of the time, a 286, XT, or even a dumb terminal is sufficient for the
purpose. But until there's a person who wants to do something with it, a
computer is just a glorified doorstop.


> Not only was no aid extended at that point, but it was clear that if I wanted 
> to go for the top o'the line box (at $3499) they wouldn't stand in my way, or
> ensure that this really is the right box for me. On balance, I think that the
> average car salesman, certainly the average appliance or stereo salesman is
> more helpful.

Too many people end up like my stepsister, who bought a "loaded" Gateway
box and has come to realize she could have gotten by with a lot less. As it
is, she spends most of her time fighting her kids away from the games so
she can do her work!

(Regarding [uninformed] consumer-level computing, the iMac looks bad in the
expandability area unless USB takes off in a big way. I'm eagerly awaiting
more news on the revamped Amiga hardware and OS that was recently announced
(hopefully Gateway will be able to plow all that money into decent system
building, eh?). But unless they drop in price or offer demonstrably more
value, the PC world is still holding the (slight) edge in overall price-
performance ratio. I just want power without sacrificing usability, and
until somebody gets it right, there is no one perfect system for everyone.)

Thanks again for your comments, and I'm looking forward to your followup
covert visit and report.

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