A new sales assistant was hired at a large department store. On his first day, the sales manager took him around to show him the ropes. They were passing by the gardening section, when they heard a customer asking for grass seed. The sales manager stepped in.

Sales manager: Excuse me, but will you be needing a hose to water your lawn?

Customer: I guess so. I’ll take one.

Sales manager: And how about some fertilizer and weed killer?

Customer: Um, OK.

Sales manager: Here’s a couple of bags. You’ll also need a lawn mower to cut the grass when it starts growing too long.

Customer: I’ll take one of those, too.

After the customer left, the sales manager turned to the assistant. “You see?” he said, “That’s the way to make a good sale. Always sell more than what the customer originally came in for.”

I left out the punch line on that joke about salespeople because I didn’t want to offend anyone, but what I did give you helps me make a point.

A couple of weeks ago I accompanied my friend on a shopping trip. Our first stop was the local sewing machine center. My friend’s Serger needed a tune-up. Repair on the Serger was the only reason we stopped at the sewing center. I originally was going to wait in the car, but it was cold and I hadn’t checked out sewing machines in many years. The sewing machine that adorns my sewing table is almost 40 years old.

I used to sew more often, but I got tired of bobbins falling out of the machine and the frustration over a machine that never seemed to stitch the way I needed it to stitch at any given time. I tucked my machine away and gave up sewing.

While my friend talked to the salesperson about her Serger, I started looking around. I am always leery of salespeople when I enter a store. Either I can’t find a salesperson or I can’t get rid of one. By “I can’t get rid of one,” I mean the kind of salesperson who does not leave you alone to actually shop and make decisions on your own. These salespeople are always suggesting something and follow me around the store. Usually that means I leave the store quickly and find peaceful shopping elsewhere. There is such a thing as over sell.

As I was looking around, a man approached and asked if he could help me. I said “No, I am just looking. I haven’t looked at new machines in a long time.” Then the unthinkable happened. He left me alone! Just the quality I love in salespeople.

Since I am a computer person, I was interested in checking out the computerized embroidery machines. I hunted the man down and asked him to show me his machines. He did just that. Without a sales pitch, without high sell tactics, he explained the machines. I loved them, but I knew they were more then I could afford.

As he was showing me his machines my friend fell in love with the new Sergers. She did this all on her own. She asked the man to explain the machine. He did just that without a high-pressure sales pitch and he made a sale. As I continued gazing at the new machines, I decided to ask about a plain sewing machine. At first I said a “push here, dummy” machine. So the man showed me one.

Again it was more then I wanted to spend because I wasn’t sure how much I would use a machine. However, my friend was impressed, and with no pressure, no tactics, the man sold her another machine. He then asked me what my budget might be. I told him, and he showed me a machine and showed me the simplicity of use of the machine and I was sold. I was hooked.

Our trip into the store for a service call turned into a sale of three machines with only a “Can I help you?” This salesperson knew the true meaning of the word sales. He didn’t bug us; he didn’t follow us around the store. He did give us enough time to browse on our own until we were wanting to ask questions. He then was confident and knowledgeable enough in his product to let it sell itself.

Had the man followed me around the store making suggestions, I would have left without a purchase and so would have my friend. After all, we just needed Serger repair. Because he gave us time to shop and browse without any pressure and gave us the tools to make an informed decision, we did make a purchase. That is a sign of a good salesperson.

Having said that, maybe I want more bad salespeople in my life. It would certainly save me a lot of money. If I had a salesperson follow me around Walmart, Barnes & Nobles and other big chains of this world, I would save a lot of money because I would exit the store quickly to get away from the high pressure salesperson.

I really need a salesperson to follow me around the grocery store as I always go into the store for one item and walk out with a cart full of groceries. Where are you pushy salespeople when I need you?

I believe that a business succeeds because of their service and their salespeople. There is a fine line between oversell, ignoring customers and being helpful. Successful businesses seem to know where that fine line is. As a consumer I definitely frequent the stores that have helpful but not overly aggressive sales people.

And just like the half joke at the beginning of this column, Vern sold us more than my friend and I originally came for. I guess the joke is on us.

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send e-mail to her at thecolumn@bevcomm.net .Her blog is paringdown.wordpress.com. Listen to KBEW AM radio 1:30 p.m. Sundays for “Something About Nothing.”