Three-piece Suit
Why do the kids working the cell-phone kiosks in the mall need to wear a suit to work? Who is so overwhelmingly impressed by a dressed-up salesperson that it overcomes the rest of that (used-car salesman-esque) experience?
And on that note — who actually thinks dressing up their sales staff, then having them stand around like preying vultures makes for an inviting retail environment?
(written while waiting for 300 to start, at the mall movie theater…)
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Your question sounds rhetorical, but… I think they wear the suits because studies have shown it does improve sales. The question is, how recent are those studies? There are people who believe people do not scroll online, but that was from a study ten years ago. People have learned to scroll and I think people have also learned to distrust the suited teenager at the mall.
I think it might improve sales when a bunch of other conditions are met as well. Just putting them in suits though…
And yeah — maybe back when cell phones were a huge purchase and there was a lot of customer education taking place on why they need one in the first place, then the supposed air of authority that comes from the suit helps.