Customer Service, Part 685

This is just a little vignette of the customer service that isn't. We go into FNAC, the 'Best Buy', 'P C Richards' equivalent in Europe. We are looking for a shelf stereo system, and we settle on two or three systems to test. We go home, telling Francesco the salesman that we will be back tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and we have brought two CDs so that we can hear what we need to hear. We listen to the first system, the more expensive one. Then Francesco suggests that we listen to that system over there...less expensive, smaller speakers but by the same manufacturer... but it isn't hooked up. He says, no problem, he can do that.

So while he is doing that we look at something else in the store, nearby. I don't want to appear to be looking over his shoulder. He tells us the second system is ready, and we listen to the CDs. Then we take the CDs back to the first, more expensive system, the one that we really want, to listen one more time before we make a buying decision. And the cables are gone!

There aren't enough cables in the store for all the systems, so our oh-so-helpful salesman hooked up the second system with the cables from the first system. Now we have to ask, beg, please would he hook up the first system again, as we are making a big decision (remember that 35% exchange rate) and we need to hear the first system one more time. I promise that if we like it we will buy it. I am dancing as fast as I can to get him to change the cables again.

So, he does and we do and we buy. Now, my question is: Why would a salesman disable one of the two systems a serious customer is examining? It was our second day there, we brought our own music for listening, he knew we were going to make a decision that morning.

Answer: ...This Is Italy.