The pro and con of commission-based Salespeople

There was a time when Best Buy salespeople did not work on commissions, while Circuit City's folk did. I always found the City-City salespeople pretty knowledgable about the product, while the Best Buy ones would read back the text on the label -- as if I had not done that myself, before asking for their help.

I had a similar experience while shopping for new mobile phone services recently, I went to a Best Buy store and the salesgirl seemed to be "kinda" doing her job, but was not too well-informed and not too enthusiastic. So, I walked over to a Sprint store where a commissioned salesperson gave me a whole lot of detail, did not try to up-sell me products that I did not want, and added a few sweeteners to the deal. I ended up switching service to Sprint. Funnily enough, I also ended up enjoying the experience.

The down-side with commissioned sales-folk is that they can be pushy: they often get extra commissions for selling you something you do not want or need. Often, they're also compensated for making you pay more for the same service. I believe that most of this downside is caused by poor management who have a "pull a fast one" attitude.

Did Bill Gates shrug?

Bill Gates announced that he was going to phase himself out of MSFT. We'll never know for sure, but I suspect he would have stayed if he thought he could take the company places and enjoy the process. His lessened ability to do so, over the last decade or so, is not just a function of his competitors -- it was also, in part, the result of government intervention.

Sen. Orrin Hatch should be rejoicing today, since he played a large role in crippling MSFT. The worthy senator granted certain types of monopoly-power to MSFT competitors [i.e. a government-sanctioned power to engage in some business activity, which the government denies to others, without legitimate cause].

Hatch's anti-MSFT crusade was fought on behalf of a constituent Utah company that MSFT was thrashing in the marketplace. Today, the worthy senator is going to bat to help another Utah constituent -- the internet-based OverStock.com, whose whining CEO, Patrick Byrne. This so-called businessman and the senator he funds are trying to get back at short-sellers of Byrnes lousy firm.

(Here's a little announcement: "Oct 11, 2005: Fundraiser for Senator Orrin Hatch, 5 to 7 pm, Overstock.com, 6350 South 3000 East, Salt Lake City. Hosted by Patrick Byrne. Please RSVP to Kristy Jensen at 801-836-2935 or... ")

Now you know why good people shrug.

Thank you Bill Gates, for the great stuff you made happen.