First off, I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the customer ask "I'm looking for an SLR around 10 megapixels, what do you have?"

The sales clerk turned around and pulled the only Pentax camera in the store off the shelf and began....

"Here's one that you'll really like." as he pulled the K10D from the shelf. "This is the latest offering from Pentax and they've been selling like hot cakes." and he told him that the demo was the last one in the store and no more coming in for several weeks.

He began to walk the customer through all of the features and virtues of the
K10D and told him how he had just bought one himself as it was a real winner.

I heard the guy ask about Canon or Nikon and the salesman steered him away from either and continued with his "Latest offering" sales pitch.

I wanted so badly to intervene but my better judgement did not allow me to do so. I also wanted to tell the customer, when he left the store, that he had, in fact, bought a wonderful camera, but that the salesman had mislead him.

I didn't have the chance to do that.

What I gathered from this entire thing was that the clerk was clearing out, probably because he had been told to do so, the last remaining K10D.

He sold the guy the right camera but for completely all of the wrong reasons.

I wonder if the guy will be mad when he finally does some research and finds that he's been snookered. I wonder if he will take the K10D back, ask for a K20D and buy some other brand when he finds out that the Wolf camera store has none of the latest Pentax offerings. Or, if he will simply take it back in disgust.

????????

Wolf camera in action.

[TomInJax]

Hmmm.... I don't shop at Wolf Camera. This is an example of why. You would probably get better advice shopping at a used car lot than at Wolf!

I hope that at the very least, he got an excellent price on it.

Thanks Ed, for exposing more dishonesty at a large, uncaring chain store.

[Janimo]

I must have hit one of the few decent Wolf Camera stores in Georgia. I went to the store in Decatur, on W. Ponce de Leon, and they still had the Pentax K10D with the Pentax 18-55mm kit lens in stock. New. Both still in box. For the amazing price of $748.99 combined. Needless to say, I scarfed them up. I think they still had several "new" ones in stock. A salesman there even put me on to the Piedmont store, who had new stock of the K20D and K200D, but by then I had decided on the K10D, mainly because ot the battery (I don't want to worry about AA batteries).

The sales people were very friendly, helpful, and won me as a loyal customer.

Who woulda thunk you could find the K10D and lens for such a reasonable price at Wolf?

[Mike Cash]

I would have walked up and set the person straight regarding the "latest model" nonsense. I have a habit of doing stuff like that which annoys my family no end.

[TomInJax]

I would have walked up and set the person straight regarding the "latest model" nonsense. I have a habit of doing stuff like that which annoys my family no end.

I like that in a person! I like your attitude! Kudos!

[little laker]

I would have probably been polite, and told them that although the K10D is an excellent camera it's no longer a current model.
I wouldn't be surprised if the salesman just didn't know any better.

I wouldn't be surprised if the salesman just didn't know any better.

I suspect that he knew better.

And, I suspect that he knew exactly what he was doing.

I'd guess that during the weekly store meeting (all retail stores have these), the word was put out to get rid of that last Pentax camera.

[Photo Tramp]

I suspect that he knew better.

And, I suspect that he knew exactly what he was doing.

I'd guess that during the weekly store meeting (all retail stores have these), the word was put out to get rid of that last Pentax camera.

I have to agree with you ED. It sounds exactly like the kind of sale being done in many of the chain stores. I do agree the sale was shady and the customer was lied to. This is no way to do business. If the sales person would have been honest he would have laid out all of the 10MGP cameras and showed the customer the virtues of each. Along with that he could have said I bought the K10 a few weeks ago and it's a great camera, The price is right and it fits exactly what i shoot. But than again He wasn't honest and the customer did get a great camera ( I hope the customer went away happy) Even so Wolf and their sister stores have been known to to hire warm bodies with no knowledge and turn them loose on unsuspecting customers.

I take my hat off to you Mike I know I would have done the exact same thing. But I think I would have at least said the sales person may not be aware of the two new offerings of Pentax but I can tell you for a fact you are getting a great camera for what the store has here in stock, but since this is a DEMO I think maybe if you talk to the manager and tell him you like the camera and want to buy it, but the price seems a little high for a DEMO so how about throwing in an SD card or a second battery and charger, Hell they run specials where if you buy the camera you get a free printer. I'll take it right now.

[MJB DIGITAL]

well, didnt the guy ask for a 10mp camera?

well, didnt the guy ask for a 10mp camera?

Apparently, you don't see anything wrong with the way that went down.

Which tells me that you definitely won't be on my "Buy From" list.

According to the OP's story, the clerk grossly mis-represented (lied?) what he was selling the customer.


r

[F-Stop]

I would have acted just as Mike does and interrupted the clerk much like Photo Tramp said and corrected the situation. It's a feeling of satisfaction knowing you did a good thing and helped someone out. Buying a product based on business recommendation is one thing but to be approached by someone in the store touting how well the camera they are buying is goes a long way even if you are correcting the truth. Who knows what he paid but if he was able to get a better deal through someone else's intervention - if that was me I'd be freaking excited knowing I walked out with a quality piece of equipment and online right way reading about it. Fortunately, I'm reading about it before I buy.

I've done that many times in the past; hey, I've even walked after people and told them the difference and steered them correctly. Most of it locally is just misinformation on the sales side and a naive customer on the receiving end. I can see how Wolf gets it's name, waiting for the 'Sheep' to come in the store and eat their money.

[séamuis]

well, didnt the guy ask for a 10mp camera?

though I agree with Ed and others the whole thing was a bit shady, I think that we shouldn't overlook the fact that the customer did in fact ask to see 10 MP SLR's and the K10D is exactly that. without any more details on the situation I don't think its fair to make an assumption about the salesman's knowledge or motives in this transaction. though I would just like to say that I don't care for wolf/ritz camera at all and thus don't shop there.

[Mike Cash]

I'd stand there and give a heartfelt pitch for the Pentax, latest model or not. But the point is not so much that the guy asked for 10MB as it is the fact that the salesman, whether through ignorance or guile, misrepresented the K10D as the latest model. That is the part that I would speak up about.

I've sometimes seen mothers telling their small children to drink their milk or they won't grow up tall. And I butt in telling them that I somehow managed to get a tad over 6'2" despite the fact that I absolutely despise milk. Want to force them to drink just because you told them to? I'm behind you a hundred percent. But I won't stand by and let a fraud be perpetrated.

[JCSullivan]

A bit off topic I know - I apologise before-hand.
I loved milk and drank as much as I could - my teeth and bones prove it but my height certainly throws the theory of tall out the window - way out.

[straightshooter]

Ed, what I've found is that ever since Ritz bought out Wolf, they have gone downhill and lately in a big hurry. I was in the one at Southlake Mall in Morrow the other day (I should have known better) looking for a large gadget bag but the biggest they had would have barely held one SLR and maybe two lenses. As we left, I told my wife (in a loud voice), "I remember when they actually were a good camera store." I wonder if what used to be the "professional" store in downtown Atlanta is as bad.

Tom, I know they closed the Wolf in Regency Mall in JAX but my wife went to the newer one at JTB and St. John's Bluff and she seemed to think they were ok. I haven't been there so I don't know.

CW