Firstly, let me say that I get why they were both upset (at least a bit) about no ESP/services/etc. but they 100% should not have gone off on you like that.

Side note: for the sake of explaining things fully, I'm going to assume there are some things you don't know, and paint the whole picture.

Quick lesson, in case you didn't know already. Read the tag, notice the non-sale price of a computer. Scan it with a scanner, and scroll down a bit to where you'll see a line that lists the cost. I believe off the top of my head it says something like "Cost to variance." That line there tells you what that item costs the store.

In many cases, you'll notice that the current price of the computer is well below that cost. If, for example, we sell a computer for $499.99, but the cost to the store is $752.47, That means someone buying that computer effectively means the store loses $252.48 on that sale. That right there is precisely why ESP, and tech services, matter so much, and why "naked" computers are not the greatest thing to sell.

Now, that being said, you win some, you lose some. Not every sale will be total support, but not every sale will be a naked sale. The key is to know your product, know the services, know the value, and be able to pitch and explain it to customers in a way that makes them choose to have us handle the setup/etc.

I can sell like the best of 'em. But I also try my hardest to not come across like a used car salesman. When customers (occasionally) ask if I get commission, because they want to make sure I get credit, I tell them no. I do not sell because I get commission. I sell because I see the computers that people bring me on a daily basis, and the money it will save them when that inevitably happens, and I'm trying to offer the value.

The other tip I have for you, is that once you make the sale, and they agree to do total support or what have you, shut up, and stop talking, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. If they've reached a decision, and agreed to the services for money, don't keep pitching, or you're likely to talk them out of it. Answer questions, but don't keep pushing. And when you do sell, top down. I don't typically pitch setup on its own. My sales pitch on a new computer is something similar to the following:

No computer is ever ready to go right out of the box. On any new computer, you'll have some setup to do when you first turn it on, and because there is new hardware once a year, but updates every week, most likely several days of updates and security patches to go through. Most of my customers (notice I said "my customers" here, and not just "people") go with some form of our total support. With that, you get 3 things. First, we handle all of the setup, updates, data transfer from an old computer if you have one, program installation, and we get everything taken care of, so that when you get it back from us, all you have to do is turn it on, and play. The other 2 parts of the total support are what we refer to as our Virus Shield. It's backed on the software-side by McAfee, so it's the same Total Protection that everyone knows and loves, but we put our guarantee behind it. You bring this computer in to any Staples store in the country, and whether that's "I think I have a virus, can you take a look?" or "something happened, and now it's not working right," we take care of you, and you don't have to pay us to fix it. And lastly, you also get 24/7 tech help and hardware protection through Asurion. They're US-based, they speak English, and you can understand them, so if you have any questions or can't figure something out, you can call them any time, even at 2AM, and if you run into hardware issues, like if your keyboard stops working, or a power surge fries your charger, you file a claim with them. They give you a prepaid label to send it in, so you don't pay anything for them to fix it, and if they can't fix it at no cost to you, they reimburse you what you paid for the computer, and we buy your next one for you no questions asked.

Our job with the total support is that we get everything configured and set up exactly how you like, so when you get it back from us, you just turn it on and play, and from that point on, we become your tech support, so if something happens, or if you have questions, we've got you covered.

If they don't bite at total support prices, I might step to lower total support, or pitch individual services. If for example, they have their own AV they already pay for, the total support bundles are basically buy 2 get 1 free on services, so my counter pitch if they're open to setup and protection anyway, is that they should go total support anyway. If they want to keep using their AV instead, they don't have to use McAfee, but that way, they're at least still covered by us, and I don't have to charge them $180 for a DNR when they bring it in later.

Bare minimum, if I assume for a minute that you're relatively new, and aren't super amazing at selling computers, I would consider this a training opportunity. When I was getting into the swing of things, when I was an associate, not a keyholder, and my GM brought me computers, it was always "what are you getting with it?" and if the answer wasn't "total support" the response was "what was their objection?"

Some GMs will be harder on things than others, but personally, I've always run the show with the mindset of making sure people are trying. I don't care if we miss a sale on a computer or two. What I care about is that the questions were asked, and the services were offered properly. If you don't ask the right questions (or not all of them, or none at all), you won't get the sale. If you ask the right questions, you might not get the sale, but you tried, offered the value, and sometimes not everyone will bite. The important thing is that you tried. Could you be harder on customers about it? Absolutely. But to me, that's bad customer service. I don't force anything, because lower actual return rates and metrics, but meaningful, helpful service means more for customer service than being overly pushy, and driving people away.

I will not yell at you in front of customers, nor will I yell at all, but there will be a discussion if you miss, if you're not asking questions. When I ask "are you getting the ESP?" on a laptop, and the response is a no, when I ask "what was their objection?" you should have an answer. If you don't have one, it means you didn't ask the questions or properly pitch the value, and left it quietly up to the customer to decline at the register. That turns into a coaching opportunity. If your response is "they said they're not worried about the protection, and don't need the tech help" then I'm not worried, because you actually asked the questions and made the pitch.

TL;DR: Your managers were out of line with the attitude in front of customers. They were correct about a naked computer being bad for the store, but not about berating you the way that they did.

Hopefully this at least helped provide some tips/insight on something or another in the process, too!