Working in a sporting goods store one summer, I learned one thing:
Customers are plagued by the illusion that salesmen know all about the products they are selling. The victims would invariably break into cursing when I confessed ignorance about an item that interested them.
One customer became ugly when I couldn`t recommend the best golf ball. I have golfed only once, and being proud of my 300 I decided to retire at the height of my career.
It was during one of these insulting fits by a customer that I decided on a new sales strategy: lie. This would save the customer from the depression that always followed my shrug and ”I don`t know.”
The lies were especially handy when selling fishing tackle. What I know about fishing consists of pole, reel, line and hook. I learned about bobbers while on the job, but I still confuse sinkers with BBs.
One day I saw a perplexed customer studying a display of fishing lures. I reluctantly approached, and he explained he was planning some deep-sea fishing off Florida and wanted to know the best lure to use.
Even I knew that lures aren`t used to catch deep-sea fish. He was an intelligent man who quickly grasped my explanation.
”If lures won`t work, what should I use?” he asked.
”Worms,” I confidently replied.
The customer happily left the store with one–inch hooks and a dozen night crawlers. I closed the cash drawer and wished him luck. Thinking back, I wonder if the night crawlers lived to see Florida.
