Should computers be only sold by certified people only?

[eddie]

You probably would not buy a new car unless you knew the dealer you bought it from had at least one certified mechanic and the dealer was authorized (specialized) in that brand of automobile they sold. Should this kind of attitude be be the prevailing way of thought for customers when dealing with retailers that sell linux based systems much less other os based computers?. Would you go to Target or Kmart to get an Apple based machine if you had to have one of their machines? Is it a conflict of interest for Dell or any company to sell both Windows based and linux based machines at the same time? Do we need to educate the public about how to purchase a system? What do you think?

[LinuxMint-4]

You probably would not buy a new car unless you knew the dealer you bought it from had at least one certified mechanic and the dealer was authorized (specialized) in that brand of automobile they sold. Should this kind of attitude be be the prevailing way of thought for customers when dealing with retailers that sell linux based systems much less other os based computers?. Would you go to Target or Kmart to get an Apple based machine if you had to have one of their machines? Is it a conflict of interest for Dell or any company to sell both Windows based and linux based machines at the same time? Do we need to educate the public about how to purchase a system? What do you think?

Computers should be sold with a instructional video. In fact all Linux machines should come with one, maybe this will answer most noob consumer questions and maybe help keep noobs from returning Linux computers.

[allix]

The biggest problem is money, I suppose certified stores could charge extra in that its just going work as attended.
The problem we still have is people that use linux know linux pretty well ..

[Gomer_X]

I don't buy a car based on the salesman, I buy the car after doing research.

I don't buy computers at all. I buy parts and build computers based on research.

It's not unreasonable to expect people to do a little research. We need legal recourse if sold something different than what the package says, but I don't expect to be able to trust salesmen.

We have enough laws already to keep people from taking responsibility for their choices (in the US, at least).

[greggh]

No

[jturning]

No, because nothing is free. Myself, I don't count on anyone when buying anything. I might listen to a salesman when doing initial scouting, but by the time I buy something I've done my research and followed prices. I end up purchasing based on what I want at the best possible price. For example, I took a three hour train ride to purchase my motorcycle after working out a great price over the phone.

Bugz

[dann]

You have to define what you mean by certified. Those sales people in the big chains like Staples, Best Buy, etc. are all trained on the product line they are selling. They are expected to read product documentation and watch videos as part of their job and keep up with the products on the shelves. Both the hardware and the software for the systems. Given that, while they might not receive a certificate, does this not count?

Not really, you might say because what they are indoctrinated with are product selling points as opposed to legitimate information a computer professional would require. But they are one or many up from the average Joe who has not done his or her research.

Could you give examples as to what you might be talking about? Like what are you expecting a sales person to know?

[eddie]

I know several people who work for or worked for best buy and they would not buy anything there except for a really special deal.. There is no way a salesperson can know every even major detail of equipment in the computer section of a Best Buy. My goal for a dealer would be an authorized dealer would be that could do on-site repairs and or exchange as need be.of linux equipment. They would not just be selling a linux unit just to sell it. The sales people should know linux well enough to use it if it was their primary computer. They do not have to be a command line guru per se. The tech support people should know linux well enough to be a linux+/a+ class knowledge. I personally do not care about certifications, but they are a kind of benchmark. I do believe a computer system no matter what the os should have service available after the sale. Even Sears before it became part of Kmart had some of the best trained people as far the major appliances went. Computers were an exception though. At least that is the way it was where I worked. Now a days most retailers are just looking for a lowly paid warm bodies to ring sales and push extended service agreements. They are not into service after the sale unless you pay big bucks per hour extra. An independent brick and mortar computer store has an advantage here. They might charge a bit more, but you know you will be supported with specialized help before and after the sale. I know it is impossible to compete against the online prices, but that is where the real salesmanship comes in. I used to have a boss that could sell ice cubes to eskimos.

[dann]

You probably would not buy a new car unless you knew the dealer you bought it from had at least one certified mechanic and the dealer was authorized (specialized) in that brand of automobile they sold.

Hmmm... To this I say I think that most people don't buy a car from a dealer based on their certified mechanics on site. In fact; one is encouraged to take the car to their own mechanic to be checked out for purchasing. Anyway, I assume you are pointing out the differences between a certified "insert brand name dealer" as opposed to a smaller, mom and pop used call lot?

It would be tough to categorize the big chain stores into either slot there - Certified Dealer as opposed to Small, Mom and Pop-like chain. Apple would be a certified dealer, but the small guy selling white boxes would be the mom and pop.

Unlike an automoble I think computers are considered more of a commodity.

Would you go to Target or Kmart to get an Apple based machine if you had to have one of their machines? Is it a conflict of interest for Dell or any company to sell both Windows based and linux based machines at the same time? Do we need to educate the public about how to purchase a system? What do you think?

I don't think Apple would want you to go to Target or Kmart to purchase and Apple computer. But if they did sell them, I am sure people would buy them there.

I'm not sure why it would be a conflict of interest for Dell to sell systems with Windows or Linux or any other OS for that matter. That would be like saying it is a conflict of interest for them to sell Nvidia or ATI graphic chips as opposed to Intel.

I think the most difficult thing that we need to consider, and one a lot of geeks have problems with, is that; by-and-large, most people don't want to be educated as we would like them to be with regards to purchasing a computer. This goes along the lines of though that people should have to have a license or some credentials/instruction under their belt before operating a computer. Again, most people see a computer as a commodity, an appliance that should just work; as opposed to a sophisticated machine capable of complex tasks.

To most people the point of whether it runs Linux or Windows or OS X comes into play when they want to install some piece of hardware or software. When they want to go beyond the box. That is when it matters and by then; if they are not educated in some way, it can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction.