So charging a woman for a machine that she didn't want  just because you like it better, not only costing her extra money, but also the product that she counted on the clerk's knowledge to acquire in the first place, is nothing like robbery? You are a strange man.

Fundamentally, it's not different at all. The notion of right and wrong applies to both situations. Do you think that just because this situation is less wrong than a robbery, that justifies your criticism of his attempt to stop the wrong thing from happening?

Besides that, how do you know he gained nothing from trying to push the PS3 on her? He might gain some fanboyish satisfaction. Still, no matter whether that's the case or not, that doesn't change the fact he was doing wrong.

This is where your position starts getting hard to defend. I hope you had predicted you would be backed into this specific corner, because it's pretty obvious if you have been involved in an argument before. I hate the kind of defense you tried to pull, because I see it a lot and it's a dishonest line of defense.

Probably the main reason why (good) managers will fire sales people who mislead their customers is that, no matter how 'Smooth' the sales person thinks they are, they are far more likely to offend a customer than upsale them. Now, this doesn't mean that the sales people can not talk you into a different product but if your sales staff are not looking out for the customer's best interests it can be obvious to your customer.

Basically, if someone walks into your store looking for an XBox 360 and HD-DVD drive so they can play Madden and have a HD movie player it may be appropriate to mention that the PS3 has a Blu-Ray player built into it and is cheaper than an XBox 360 premium and HD-DVD drive. On the other hand, if someone walks in looking for a XBox 360 to play Halo 3 and Gears of War it is (completely) inappropriate to claim that these games are comming to the PS3 and will be better because of the "Power of the Cell" ...

 Would the lady have been able to return it shortly after taking it home and realizing she was duped? Yes.  Would she be able to get back her money?  Yes.  There's  a difference when you are convinced into purchasing something and being robbed where you won't be able to get your money back or enjoyment of a product. 

@Naznatips: Good job man, I have no respect for store clerks who try to coerce people into buying things they don't need/want. I've personally come across hi-fi salesmen who have advertised "fantastic" 46" plasma screens that cost up to 2500$ to old people who do nothing but watch the evening news on an analogue antennae.
"This is a very good TV, because it's big!" "No really! It is!" Losers...
Everyone shopping for TV's, stereo's or consoles/PC should have a knowledgeable friend tag along to avoid being scammed.
It's a realtively big purchase, and you don't want to be short sticked on it!

i worked retail a long time ago.

i was management for the electronics dept- which had video games.

if any of my employees was caught lying to the customer just to get the higher commission, they were fired on the spot. period end of story.

now i don't do retail, but i remain a helpful customer, if i am in best buy, i'll typically answer the question BETTER than the employee about anything computer or video game related.. and i give honest unbiased opinions.

for example lady had a wii and her son wanted to exchange friend codes with his friends and she was trying to figure out how to do this and asked the salesman, he was going on and on, i butted in.

excuse me, but do you have dsl or cable internet?
she goes, comcast.
i go ok your hookup, does the cabling go from wall to cable modem to computer, or does it go wall to cable modem to router(another box) to computer?

she goes, mode to router i guess,
i go does the back of that box have 5 plugs that look like oversized phone jacks?

she goes yes

i go what color is it...she goes blue and black

i go, ok you have a linksys router,

now does your router have little black antennae sticking out of the back of it?

she goes yes.

i go, you are all set, you just have to turn on the wireless part on the router- its off by default- then all you have to do is go into your wii and hunt for the wireless connection and it should find it no problem...

employee looking at me bemusedly (older guy) ..you need a job?

Hahaha and JJSeth just called that guy who sold the Wii and 40 Minigames(Carnival games and Wii sports) a jerk. Nice job not realizing that this was the same thing.

So let me get this straight Jjseth:

You believe it is ok to wrong a potential customer as long as they have the possibility to right that wrong by spending both time (to get to the store) and (petrol) money doing so? And this either for your own personal benefit (if you get a commission) or for shits and giggles (if you don't)?

I think I need to make a mental note of that so as to take any statement you make in the future with a grain of salt.

edit:fixed a typo: there->they