farmdoc's blog post number 27

Last week Meg – the second of Vivienne and farmdoc’s four beautiful daughters – and her partner Patrick went to Ballarat seeking a gas heater for their new Daylesford home. I don’t know how much research they did beforehand. But after a discussion with a salesman, they ordered a heater. It seems to me that we are often at the mercy of salesmen. Unless we have clear buying criteria – like the time when Vivienne and I, looking for a digital camera, listed six features that were all found in only one model – then there is a choice. And when there is a choice, we don’t know the salesman’s agenda. He could deliberately aim to sell us an item that doesn’t suit our needs, but suits his. The item he promotes may be the one with the fattest profit margin, or the one whose supplier bought him an expensive dinner the week before. We just don’t know. And he won’t tell us. Another thing: how much technical knowledge do salesmen have anyway? My guess is, with rare exceptions, not much. And even those possessing it may not use it in an objective and unbiased way. So I have never had much respect for salesmen. Anyway Meg and Patrick’s heater is still on order. I hope it’ll keep them toasty for many years.