Customer Service, Anyone?
Best Buy is the latest entrant in the "when sales metrics run the show, everyone loses" sweepstakes:
As a sometime business school professor, I could just imagine the conversation with the TV department manager the day before. “Corporate says we have to work on what’s called up-selling and cross-selling,” the clerk was informed in lieu of actual training on either the products or effective sales. “Whenever you aren’t with a customer, you need to be roaming the floor pushing our deal with CinemaNow. At the end of the day, I want to know how many people you’ve approached.”
This is the sort of thing sales people think is effective. Why, I'm not sure, since nearly everyone I've ever met finds it irritating beyond belief. It sure is a widespread business meme though....
