Observing Infomercials Essay, Research Paper
Observing Infomercials
While watching late night infomercials on television I
asked myself, do the operators treat everyone the same? How
much do they know about the product they are selling and are
they concerned with your well being? To answer these
questions I preformed a few tests for two nights in a row.
First I acted like an elderly lady and then a regular middle
aged person.
The first number I called was selling an ionizer, or
air purifier. They hung up right away when they heard a
middle aged person asking if it would help with a gas
problem. To, my surprise when I called back as the elderly
woman they also hung up. The second number called was
selling a BowFlex body building machine. They also sensed a
prank from the middle-aged person but were very helpful to
Mildred, the elderly lady.
Mildred called back a second time and they were very
helpful and explain that it would most certainly help clear
the air, and went into full detail about how it worked.
Mildred also complained about the rudeness of the lady
reached before and they were very apologetic and helpful.
The Bowflex operator explained what the machine could do and
would do and seemed to know a lot about the product from
personal experience.
When Mildred asked if the ionizer was too heavy for her
to carry around the house, because she is just a feeble
old woman of 83 years, they explained the product was very
lightweight and anyone could move it without harm. Mildred
asked the BowFlex operator if an 83-year-old with arthritis
should participate in bodybuilding and they said yes not
caring for Mildred?s well being. Mildred, being an
inquisitive little dear asked if she could take it apart and
put it back together herself they also answered yes to this
question. I don?t know about you but I wouldn?t want my 83-
year-old, arthritic grandmother taking an exercise machine
apart and trying to put it back together.
My conclusion from this observation of infomercial
operators is that it really depends on which operator you
get, some are very informed and helpful while others are
just out to make a buck. From my experiment I observed that
the majority of infomercial operators are women and are
pretty well informed about the product and rarely have they
used it themselves. Considering all this I say, just go to
the store and check it out for yourself.