yep i found this one out the hard way when applying for a job in the uk at currys (similar to best buy like in the op)
didn't get the job of course, that's fine, whatever, move on and go to next application
what i learnt afterwards though was that, they don't hire for currys/best buy based on your actual understanding of tech. they hire on your ability to sell the items, and help customers engage in excess consumerism.
the main point being, i obviously wouldn't sell anyone a $99 gold plated hdmi cable. because firstly, that's unethical profiteering, and secondly, i know that a $5 would do the same job. i would point a customer to the $5 cable, it's the correct choice. but this is why i am unhireable for this job.
currys, best buy, euronics, mediamarkt etc need to hire people that can sell the $99 cable. to do that, they counterintuitively have to hire people who don't know enough about tech. reason being, if you don't actually know about tech yourself, you will think that the gold cable is better, and you can then do a more convincing job of selling it. plausible deniability. apply this to every item in the store. you want someone who can push 8k tvs, beats headphones and smart fridges. not someone who will guide the consumer to what they actually need for their use case.
it's the reason why you go into these stores and the staff don't have a fucking clue about actual tech questions. they were hired precisely because they don't have a clue.
Just for the sake of it I would like to see some new store do the opposite of this and actually hire people that know tech, not for the profit but just to see if the costumers would choose that one.
I currently work at an electronic's store where this is a reality. God, I hate it there It's offset by how nice some of the colleges are but the sales person tactics that you need to use when the manager is in the store are like 50 questions with each needing 5x no as an answer, or you need to push harder.
I almost vomit at the site of consumerist uneducated environment hating people who do blindly believe what they are told. I try my best to educate some of them so that they make educated choices and are not swindled.
We are told to push a certain in-house brand that is just Chinese crap that always breaks is with 200% markup. Same with the extended warranty.
The best thing is I have more knowledge than any of the staff there. I'm always told when I suggest something to a senior employee in front of a customer that they "know" what is better, and it's unprofessional to correct a more senior college. A clown show of sorts.
The next question is a visual skills challenge. To the best of your ability, embody a gazelle.
Describe in single words, only the good things that come into your mind about your mother.
You’re in a desert walking along in the sand when all of the sudden you look down, and you see a tortoise, it’s crawling toward you. You reach down, you flip the tortoise over on its back. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t, not without your help. But you’re not helping. Why is that?
Wel, I guess I'm rewatching that tonight...
(For the uninitiated: Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz, aka "the guy from Silicon Valley and Jean-Ralphio from Parks & Rec", did an improv series on Netflix - and it's great)
