Re: Sizing up a customer by their mode of dress

From: Vern Carter (vern@ori.net)
Date: Thu Apr 29 1999 - 02:34:39 EEST


What about a persons age or the color of their skin??? Since I rarely put my title on
my name tag, I was once told at a different show to have my boss come back to the
booth and they would swipe his card.

Hello!!!!------------ I had even washed that day and was wearing a very nice suit and
tie.

The original statement about negative treatment at the show came as no surprise to me.
As one of very few American minorities in the RP industry who actually own equipment,
I deal with this on a daily basis at every show, at every hotel, in nearly every
restaurant, and even by many vendors and client companies. I should also add that
people who know me know that I am not the kind of person who is at all sesative to
such activity. I could'nt care less.

The fact is you can not change your skin, age or gender no matter how hard you try, so
the best thing to do is to ignore the idiots and move on. No matter how much you try,
some people just wont change. Eventually we all reap what we sew anyway!

Being someone who has worked both sides of the fence as buyer and seller, my advice is
to keep a positive outlook in general, be persistent and never assume anything. This
applies to all the statements about the industry as well as those about negative
treatment at the show.

Vern Carter, CTS
"For those who didn't know I am a Black American !"

-----Original Message-----
From: harvest@harvest-tech.com <harvest@harvest-tech.com>
To: DANIEL CHARLES DAVIS <DANIEL@proton.com.my>; Steven <themissinglink@eznetinc.com>
Cc: 'Rafael Santillan' <santillan@ciateq.mx>; rp-ml@bart.lpt.fi <rp-ml@bart.lpt.fi>
Date: Wednesday, April 28, 1999 11:47 AM
Subject: Re: Sizing up a customer by their mode of dress

Being in and from a sales/marketing background, I have seen and
heard a lot of methods and approaches to selling. I have heard
lectures about pre-qualifying customers by observation and
conversation. I am thankful for the Christian principles that I have
been taught (treat all people as greater than yourself, "Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you...", etc.) and the
experience that I gained in retail sales during my college years. It
has lead me to the conclusion that most pre-qualification of
prospective customers is worthless, except the data obtained
through credit checks used in some industries.

I have sold a lot of products/services to people who did not exhibit
the traditional characteristics of a "typical" consumer in a particular
industry. Those consumers usually turned out to be the best
customers of all because they reciprocated my respect for them
with loyalty to me. I purposefully purchase high-cost items in casual
dress to see how the salesperson(s) react to me. I want to know if
they actually have an interest meeting my needs, or just want to see
how much I can pad their pocketbook.

Bottom line, gender, clothing, style and appearance are irrelevant
when it comes to the purchasing power of a consumer and human
relations in general. Sometimes good salespersons make mistakes,
and sometimes salespersons just doesn't have the integrity, smarts
and/or intuition to do the right things.

Ron Clemons

From: Steven <themissinglink@eznetinc.com>
Subject: Sizing up a customer by their mode of dress
> I can tell you that this is a perilous way to size up a customer. I have
> either sold or made jewelry since I was 15 and I cannot tell you the
> number of surprises I have had with casually/shabbily dressed people who
> opened up to purchase an expensive item, FOR CASH. In fact, I have read
> studies to the effect that a majority of "millionaires" are not the chic,
> credit overextended, individuals we all think represent that social class.
> Over 60% live in nice, yet somewhat modest houses, dress casually, and
> are engaged in the more mundane manufacturing/dirty hands businesses.
>
> Many brokers, doctors, and lawyers, when you balance their high incomes
> with their spending habits/credit situation, don't have a pot to piss in.
> They live on the edge of their high income, secure that it will never fail
> them.
>
> So shun the poorly dressed at your own peril.
>
> Wear sunscreen.
>
> Steven Pollack
>
>
> For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
>

********************************************
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Rapid Prototyping Services
1000 Industrial Park Road Belton, TX 76513

For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/

For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/



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