Display Piece

One of the things that really bugs me is the use of display pieces in cellphone showrooms. I have changed mobiles more times than i care to remember, but i can recollect only one or two occasions where the salesperson showed me an actual working piece of the handset before buying the cellphone. Why can i not see the actual piece before i pay the money.

consider this: you go to buy a TV in a showroom. Will you ever buy a TV just because a salesperson has told you that it gives you the best pictue and awesome sound. No. You would want to see and hear it in actuality. We will insist on doing so for a TV which might cost us less than 10k. Then why not so for a cellphone which may cost in excess of 10k?

I need to feel the phone, check out its user interface, see how fast it is. Every user has one or two requriements which must be present in his cellphone. If I am switching brands, i need to see if the same functionality is provided by the new brand. I dont want to buy a piece and then see that it does not provide that functionality. That is why i dont want a dummy plastic piece but an actual working phone to test it out.

I would probably have settled for a dummy piece if the salespersons were any good. But 99% of cell salesmen have very little knowledge other than stock quotes like "Nokia battery is the best", "Motorola has good sound". I have been a sony ericsson user for long and can definitly attest that its battery is much better than a nokia. Yet the salespersons persist with such idiotic cliches. In fact, i fancy that i will teach these guys a thing or two about cell phones.

I guess it is upto us, the consumers to insist that we will not buy a phone unless we are shown an actual working piece. I do that now and if the shop does not agree walk out of it, even if it offers a less price. I urge you all to do it.