I used to work for Office Depot and I completely agree with Aladrin.
Once a week we would have a mandatory sales meeting where the Manager went over the "attachment" rates.
For instance: A printer or fax machine sale was to also include ink, paper, a warranty, and a USB cable; A computer sale was to include a monitor, a warranty, and a printer; A camera sale was to include memory, camera case, and a warranty; Desk sales were to include a chair, a floor mat, and a warranty; A chair sale was to include a warranty and a chair mat; A paper shredder sale was to include a warranty and shredder lubricant.
If one additional item was missing from a sale the attachment rate went down.
Salespersons who did not make a 70% attachment rate were demoted or fired. Employees were "made example of" so that we would know exactly how expendable we were.
My manager instructed me to sell new USB cables to customers who purchased printers even if they were replacing a printer that had a USB interface by lying: "USB 1 cables will not work on a USB 2 printer"
I was also instructed to sell additional ink for printers by saying, "Trial ink cartridges come with the printer, but they will only last for a few days once installed"
Often times a set of replacement ink would cost as much or more than the new printer.
We were pressured to push warranties on the customers because they were considered "Pure Profit".
If a customer was tech-savvy enough to know they didn't need the attachment items we routinely told them that the items they wanted weren't in stock.
I eventually learned that Office Depot store managers get their bonuses based on the attachment rate, not sales figures.
My stay at Office Depot was short because I could not stand the sleazy sales practices that were enforced there.
I do this every day on my notebook computer (laptop with a swivel & fold flat touch screen)
I have gestures for scrolling... My gestures scroll the window that the gesture is performed near.
Can anyone say Prior Art?
The sad thing is that the US patent office will patent just about anything so long as someone else hasn't patented it.
If you duct-tape a fork to a knife handle you could probably get a patent for it the US.
Slashdot Mirror
Does anyone else think this technology could also serve well as self healing lenses for glasses?
What good is a scratch free screen if I can't see it through my scuffed eye-wear?
I used to work for Office Depot and I completely agree with Aladrin.
Once a week we would have a mandatory sales meeting where the Manager went over the "attachment" rates.
For instance: A printer or fax machine sale was to also include ink, paper, a warranty, and a USB cable; A computer sale was to include a monitor, a warranty, and a printer; A camera sale was to include memory, camera case, and a warranty; Desk sales were to include a chair, a floor mat, and a warranty; A chair sale was to include a warranty and a chair mat; A paper shredder sale was to include a warranty and shredder lubricant.
If one additional item was missing from a sale the attachment rate went down.
Salespersons who did not make a 70% attachment rate were demoted or fired. Employees were "made example of" so that we would know exactly how expendable we were.
My manager instructed me to sell new USB cables to customers who purchased printers even if they were replacing a printer that had a USB interface by lying:
"USB 1 cables will not work on a USB 2 printer"
I was also instructed to sell additional ink for printers by saying, "Trial ink cartridges come with the printer, but they will only last for a few days once installed"
Often times a set of replacement ink would cost as much or more than the new printer.
We were pressured to push warranties on the customers because they were considered "Pure Profit".
If a customer was tech-savvy enough to know they didn't need the attachment items we routinely told them that the items they wanted weren't in stock.
I eventually learned that Office Depot store managers get their bonuses based on the attachment rate, not sales figures.
My stay at Office Depot was short because I could not stand the sleazy sales practices that were enforced there.
I do this every day on my notebook computer (laptop with a swivel & fold flat touch screen) I have gestures for scrolling... My gestures scroll the window that the gesture is performed near. Can anyone say Prior Art? The sad thing is that the US patent office will patent just about anything so long as someone else hasn't patented it. If you duct-tape a fork to a knife handle you could probably get a patent for it the US.