I don't know why this wasn't voted up higher. There's loads of rationalizations we can get in to re: training and satisfied customers and such, but really, he was pushing what was available, because likely that means the store makes more money that day. Their numbers go higher, and everyone is happy right then. Web ordering means the person might not do it when they go home, unless they're convinced to do it in store right there.
Meh, I bet they have a process in store where they walk you through customization and the sale gets recorded for the store's figures. There are people who aren't into delayed gratification, but a computer purchase is still serious enough that people will wait a week or two for what they want.
He walked into the store, self-selecting as someone who prioritizes immediacy. Otherwise he would have simply ordered from the website from the comfort of his home, no?
And if you went to a store and they then walk you through the website...that would be very offputting to many people -- all of the disadvantages of both mediums.
I, too, suspect that the sales rep was simply pushing what was available in stock, and while this is completely typical of all brick-and-mortars, it is by no means selfless or in his interest, and I think it will turn out to be a very expensive decision to go with just 4GB.
"And if you went to a store and they then walk you through the website...that would be very offputting to many people -- all of the disadvantages of both mediums."
You just described Gateway stores! And this is exactly why they failed. And it's all the funnier because people said Apple stores would fail because Gateway failed.
