Question

1. To increase sales at an electronics store, your manager is advertising a popular music player at an unusually low price. When customers arrive at the store requesting the music player, the manager wants you and other sales people to steer customers to a more expensive alternative. Should you go along?

Answer 1

The trick which the manager wants to use is called "bait and switch" where a customer is lured into a visit to the store by an unrealistically attractive advertisement and later prompted to buy something else that is not an attractive proposition on the pretext of the originally advertised good being out of stock or unsuitable for the need of customer. The practice is not only unethical in nature but also llegal as per the FTC guidelines for ethical advertisement standards.

By following the advice of manager, you will not only create a bad and unethical image of company in view of customers, many of them know of such practices, but also attract penalties for violation of law. The practice, therefore should be avoided, and the manager should be apprised about the law.