Another thing I have noticed in the last few days is a few presenters now have started saying: "I could not even get this price at staff cost/ with my staff discount." It's noticeable because they have all started saying it at the same time during this sale. I do find myself wondering if it has been suggested to them. One saying it, fair enough. Three??
I've noticed this too during the sale.
If you still have to go all hard-sell during sales and come out with lines to convince people to buy, then you have to ask yourself "are these really sale prices?"
Bargains sell by themselves. Quickly. They don't need people ranting at them, to persuade them to buy!
You're definitely right about having lines 'instructed' to them too. They definitely have meetings or get company bulletins / messages with instructions to use certain phrases.
"We're selling this below cost", "there's been a mistake on the system", "We shouldn't be below X - but for today only, we're doing it for..........", or making out producers are incompetent by continually saying "OMG producer so-and-so, are you mad" or *shock face* "GEORGE! What have you done! That shouldn't be anywhere near that price".
At one point, "drenched in gold" was a routine favourite said by many of the presenters when describing gold-plated silver (Jim still says it a lot when he covers on Gemporia). It's clear that this is said to make customers believe that the gold plating is thicker than it actually is - despite plating, Midas, etc being a specific thickness of microns across the industry.
The word 'Phenomenal' is clearly an instructed word too. They all use it. Who uses that in normal every day conversation?
I notice they try to be more "personal" now too (playing on the 'friend in your living room' nonsense) by saying "Good luck to
EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU" or "Congratulations to
EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU". Jess 'absolutely' milks this line, but Jeff and Kate McCarthy say it a lot too.
They're also clearly instructed to price compare against the likes of Tiffany's, Bulgari, Harry Winston, Monika Vinader and Van Cleef & Arples too. They're the names that always get mentioned.
They never compare against the likes of H Samual, F Hinds or Elizabeth Duke, which, in reality, are Gemporia's actual competitors.
If they think that comparing a piece of mass-produced, gold-tone wishy-washy Aquamarine earrings worth £20 to a pair of high-end, strong blue Aquamarine earrings worth several thousand pounds from Bulgari is a realistic comparison, then they're either totally deluded - or they're taking customers for absolute mugs by insulting their intelligence.