Odd experience at the verizon store

[JudgeHolden]

How could it not be? The rumor that we as sales reps are required/encouraged/forced to offer one phone over another is so ridiculous. Anyone with any kind of sense can imagine the illegalities of doing so, and the conflict of interest claims that would come up.

We have a marketing department, and the marketing is a joint effort between our company and the manufacturer of the phone.

It's actually not ridiculous. I find it odd that you think it would be. Various companies give various commissions based on products they want to move all the time.


But if you read the post on the main page of the site I defended your claims that it isn't what's in the works here. Instead it's three factors: Carriers aren't attempting to educate associates, associates have their own biases as we all do and try to sell accordingly, and Microsoft is the Oldsmobile of the technology industry.
Pulling any one of these levers will influence the rest, I might add.



But look, everyone: wireless vet is one of the few Verizon associates interested enough to show up to this board and, if you look at his history, he's still ambivalent about WP7, still thinks we're nuts and, if we were to walk into his store, would still show us Android and iPhone before WP7. Of course he would! For one, we're far more likely to be interested in those devices, meaning it's an easier sale. For another, they're the devices he knows best and he's most interested in and therefore can speak the most about.
But if we came in and said we wanted WP7 I'm sure he'd show it to us. I'm sure he'd also offer to show us something else, but that also makes sense.

 

[EJNelly]

How could it not be? The rumor that we as sales reps are required/encouraged/forced to offer one phone over another is so ridiculous. Anyone with any kind of sense can imagine the illegalities of doing so, and the conflict of interest claims that would come up.

We have a marketing department, and the marketing is a joint effort between our company and the manufacturer of the phone.

People just assume because people have a personal bias that the company has a bias. Bound to happen since sales reps do represent the company. You guys should probably teach to your sales reps to be unbiased. :/ Not that they're gaining anything from it, aside from probably pushing the sales of their favorite platform. The only time I ever push someone away from an item is if it won't actually fit their needs or it has been problematic. Works well and I have people that come to me specifically, if only I got anything extra for it.

 

[JudgeHolden]

It's good for sales reps to have a bit of a bias because that's passion, and customers listen to passion.

And elsewhere people complain about there being 4 iPhone displays and zero Trophy displays in smaller stores. Which is what Verizon does to make more money - if you reduce iPhone displays you get a line, or people walking out. If you increase Trophy displays you get Trophies with no one nearby.

I'm surprised Microsoft hasn't offered boatloads of cash to get Verizon to put an emphasis out there, with the cash compensating for what Verizon loses by not emphasizing phones that sell themselves. Like the


Let's be honest - if salespeople have this stigma and ignorance what do end users have?

 

[jimski]

It's good for sales reps to have a bit of a bias because that's passion, and customers listen to passion.



Let's be honest - if salespeople have this stigma and ignorance what do end users have?

I have no problem with reps having a little bias/passion based on their experience. Heck, that's what we do here every day. Its human nature. But talking trash about something, without having any knowledge of the subject, is not helpful. Better to say, "I don't know anything about the Trophy", than spit out misinformation. And if as a salesperson you don't feel that's an appropriate response then make the effort to get the necessary knowledge.

Can't believe that the first week the Trophy launched, there would have been any compiled negative feedback to pass along to prospective customers. I don't expect sales reps to be pushing WP yet, but just keep the playing field level. It will be up to Microsoft marketing to do the rest.



Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[Lnin0]

I grow tired of these stories. It really has nothing to do with the stores or employees and everything to do with Microsoft's branding and marketing.

People didn't flock to the iPhone because some minimum wage employees at the ATT sales counter did a bang up job of promoting it. People flocked to the iPhone because Apple marketing made it a 'must have' device. Apple built the momentum and the customers and sales slubs followed.

Your local Verizon sales rep is not there to play PR rep for Microsoft or Apple or Android. He is there to scape what living he can out of a average job and to act like he is cool for having the it. He is not a leader, doesn't keep up on the industry outside of what memos come down to him and pushes what is cool and popular in the main stream.

He is a follower just like the rest of the masses so until MS does something to change everyone's direction you cannot blame the sheep for following a different leader or some schlub at Verizon for pushing whatever the flavor of that day is. If you want to be mad about the exposure WP7 is getting you need to go to the source of the problem - Mircosoft.

 

[camaroguy]

I grow tired of these stories. It really has nothing to do with the stores or employees and everything to do with Microsoft's branding and marketing.

People didn't flock to the iPhone because some minimum wage employees at the ATT sales counter did a bang up job of promoting it. People flocked to the iPhone because Apple marketing made it a 'must have' device. Apple built the momentum and the customers and sales slubs followed.

Your local Verizon sales rep is not there to play PR rep for Microsoft or Apple or Android. He is there to scape what living he can out of a average job and to act like he is cool for having the it. He is not a leader, doesn't keep up on the industry outside of what memos come down to him and pushes what is cool and popular in the main stream.

He is a follower just like the rest of the masses so until MS does something to change everyone's direction you cannot blame the sheep for following a different leader or some schlub at Verizon for pushing whatever the flavor of that day is. If you want to be mad about the exposure WP7 is getting you need to go to the source of the problem - Mircosoft.

Sorry you are just plain wrong. It is the sale's reps fault for beeing narrow minded and not knowing what he is talking about. Nothing you have said excuses them from almost refusing to sell a wp7 device to a person who walks in looking for that exact device.

I told my aunt she should very seriously consider a WP7 to replace her super old smart phone, I told her the reasons why I thought it would be better "for her" (she is not all that technologically inclined AT ALL) than an andriod phone. She goes to the store and asks for that specific phone. Dude basically tells her its junk and I don't know what I am talking about, and that she should pay more money for this 4g android phone because its way better. Her, not being technilogically inclined and thinking (well maybe my nephew didn't know about this other phone, he doesn't sell these things afterall), decides the sales guy must know what he is talking about.

All I ever hear from her now is...why does my battery die in 4 hours? Why does this phone do this and that when I don't want it to? How do I make it stop this and how do I make it stop that? Why does it lock up on me?

Point is, dude was a ******, changed her mind and ended up selling her "by far" the worse of the two phones "for her"....That is a problem, and its not because of Microsoft.

 

[Cyterio]

I agree with Cameroguy. I am fine with a sales rep. offering his opinion or facts, I always welcome someone else's view because you never know, maybe it's something you didn't consider about a certain product. I don't however think that it is fair to lie or mislead uninformed customers, no matter what the product is. I don't know how these reps get paid or what the internal sales incentives are but it really does seem odd that many people have been reporting similar stories. I myself would like to see this platform succeed, and from the sounds of it Microsoft is aware of whats going on. Lets hope with a little push from Microsoft they can get the ball rolling with these carriers and even out this unfairly stacked deck.

 

[EJNelly]

It's good for sales reps to have a bit of a bias because that's passion, and customers listen to passion.

And elsewhere people complain about there being 4 iPhone displays and zero Trophy displays in smaller stores. Which is what Verizon does to make more money - if you reduce iPhone displays you get a line, or people walking out. If you increase Trophy displays you get Trophies with no one nearby.

I'm surprised Microsoft hasn't offered boatloads of cash to get Verizon to put an emphasis out there, with the cash compensating for what Verizon loses by not emphasizing phones that sell themselves. Like the


Let's be honest - if salespeople have this stigma and ignorance what do end users have?

Passion is one thing, bias is another. Most bias I hear is outright misinformation against everything that isn't their platform or device of choice.

I think you're referring to my thread in the general forum in the second paragraph. Which saddens me to think that you read it as complaining. It was a positive experience, I was stating facts about the setup because I figured people would ask. I was there because my gf is eligible for upgrade. She wants a phone that is not large, is fast, preferably with an fm tuner, decent battery life and camera, preferably with a physical portrait keyboard that doesn't slide. I think she's accepted that this phone doesn't exist. The sales rep heard out her needs And suggested either an HTC phone for the tuner or an iPhone 4 for the battery life. She played with the iPhone first because she liked the case on his iPhone because it doubled as an extended battery. But she soon found she didn't like it because it only has one button for navigating. Then she played with the Incredible 2 but that didn't seem to move her either. She wound up leaving without a phone. She has considered getting a Trophy since the first time she played with mine, the hang up for her has been no Pandora and no app for the alarm system we have.

I would also like to note that the 4 iPhone thing probably comes from Apple. When my store began carrying the iPhone we wiped out 5 phones just so we could put out one demo and display materials.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

If memory serves this phone launched alongside two high profile Android phones (LG Revolution and Experia Play I think ... hard to remember them all) so I can understand how it got lost in the shuffle a little bit but it is a bit disheartening that they hadn't even heard of it

 

[YourMobileGuru]

I also had a negative experience at an "official" Verizon store. I went to the store on the first day of the online launch to physically get my hands on one of the Trophy's to check out. They had one demo unit and after several minutes of checking it out the sales rep came over to help me. I told him I was interested in upgrading my Palm Pre Plus for the Trophy. He asked if I was familiar with WP7 OS, I told him that I had been "reading up" on it for quite a while and just waiting for it to launch on Verizon. The Rep. then proceeded to try and sell me a new Thunderbolt, which is plagued with problems by the way. I said politely that I already did my research and that I want the Trophy. He then asked if he could show me one more phone to check out, which was the iphone. I again told him that I was only interested in the Trophy. He wouldn't say anything about the phone or the OS, only tried to push other phones on me. Needless to say, since they were not selling the phones in-store for another week, I went home and ordered it online with free 2 day shipping. Regardless of the phone or OS, I don't think its fair to have an agenda against a phone like that, no matter if its a terrible phone or not, especially if the customer is interested in it.

Here's the key point here, he wanted the commission It sucks, but I have heard that this happens they try to push phones they have in stock and downplay ones they don't. Shouldn't happen that way (and I dont think I have ever experienced it) but I have heard of it before. He knew that if you came back you would probably end up dealing with someone else and he would not earn anything for his time with you

 

[Krobix]

I just would like to say that almost every verizon rep i ever talked to has always tried to pass an Android off on me no matter what i wanted and if i wanted something that maybe was a little older it was always the "man that phone is yesterdays news, get this phone here its the best there ever was" speech.

It gets old however i do admit i like the Android OS but i also like the iOS. Im leaving both of them behind and buying myself a Trophy. I found the mac windows phone connector app and that was it, only thing i wanted was a way to transfer my music from my mac to my windows phone. Right now i have a droid charge and an iPhone 4 32GB and to be honest they just dont appeal to me like the WP7 does.

Thats another thing the reps need to find what types of features the customer is looking for and maybe offer a choice of multiple phones because honestly the only people who care about the difference between a 1Ghz processor and a 1.2 Ghz processor are those of us that are really into that type of stuff.

 

[scottd34]

@ vzw rocks. there is no difference in commission if a rep has to order a phone for a customer from the warehouse then if they have it in stock. Some do fear that if they dont help you set it up then you may return it if you cant figure it out right away.

As far as pushing platforms, there is no incentive in the company for reps to push one over the other. I remember a training for wp7 but I am in tech support. Not sure if retail reps got it but they should have since the trainings are standardized.

The problem is that most reps have iphone or android, and sadly will push what they have because there are a lot of reps who are not as technically inclined so they are afraid that you will ask a question they dont know the answer to. Instead to avoid that they will try to steer a customer away from things they dont know. I used to see this all the time when I worked in the retail stores and broadband cards / smartphones were newer. It is sad, but you get that a lot in sales at the consumer level no matter what you are selling and where you work/shop.

I played with wp7 when I was visiting a store for other work reasons and had a minute to check it out. I was pretty impressed and despite the few things it was missing over android that I used I went and got the trophy anyway. I have been loving it. There are more then a few techs in my team that are looking to get one once their upgrade comes up after playing around with the phone a bit.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

@ vzw rocks. there is no difference in commission if a rep has to order a phone for a customer from the warehouse then if they have it in stock. Some do fear that if they dont help you set it up then you may return it if you cant figure it out right away..

I am well aware of that but the fact is that most customers (not tech nerds like us) want instant gratification. They come in and choose a device and they want it NOW, not tomorrow even if overnight shipping is free; and yes they want it set up for them.

With most customers if they cant get it NOW they will either choose another device or say they will be back in a few days when it is back in stock but then a good amount of them nevercome back or go to another store or an indirect which often sells the phone a LOT cheaper. I have seen this again and again in electronics sales over the last ten years.

 

[scottd34]

very true, customers may not come back or they may find it elsewhere. that does not mean that the commission for selling the item in stock is any different then the commission for an item ordered and shipped to the customer.

 

[dakranii]

Bias or not, the company pushing it or not, the Trophy options are abysmal. I've been to a few Verizon stores in my area, first when the device was coming out in May/early June, and again later in June for accessories.

This is a phone Verizon sells, they should support it.

When first asking about the phone, I visited three Verizon stores and a Best Buy. The only place that knew what I was asking for and actually showed me the phone was Best Buy. It was in a cabinet behind the desk, hidden away. The Verizon stores didn't have anything to see (I ended up ordering online).

When I've gone in for accessories several weeks after the the Trophy launched, one Verizon store pretty much ignored me. They didn't carry anything. The other store had all their accessories on a wall underneath of a sign with the phone's name on it. The Trophy column was the only empty one.

It is disappointing, but whatever. I'll just pick up what I need on the internet.

My good friend runs a Verizon store in another state. I was conversing with him asking for any info he had on the Trophy before it launched. He also pushed me to a Droid.

We like WP7. That's why we're on here. But I just don't expect to ever see Verizon put up a poster for the Trophy, sell accessories for the Trophy, or even have one on display for the customers to try.

 

[Clow]

I have read every post on this thread and I believe the vzw employees are bias towards android for whatever reason. Maybe it is all they know, but I can tell you this: I have used all three os's and ios and wp7 are fast and beautiful with minimal issues. android on the other hand has many issues, I have owned an eris>og droid>droid 2>incredible>droid x> fascinate>trophy (currently).. android is slow and clunky and 99% of the time does not work correctly. Look on any android forum and see the 1000's of threads on problems with peoples android phones: battery life, freezes, lags, force close, the list goes on. So yeah I had an issue at the vzw store when I was asking about my free xbox game:
me: where is my free game with my purchase?
vzw idiot: what do you mean?
me: it says I get a free game with my trophy
vzw idiot: where?
me: right here on this big red sign beside the trophy that says "free game with purchase"
vzw idiot: *walks over and reads sign* there is no free game with this phone
me: so why is this sign here?
vzw idiot: let me check in the back, *comes back* oh ok you have to do it on the internet *rudely*
me: bye

They are kinda rude when it comes to something they know nothing about, granted I should have read the fine print but that's not the point here.

 

[JAStark27]

How could it not be? The rumor that we as sales reps are required/encouraged/forced to offer one phone over another is so ridiculous. Anyone with any kind of sense can imagine the illegalities of doing so, and the conflict of interest claims that would come up.

We have a marketing department, and the marketing is a joint effort between our company and the manufacturer of the phone.

It's not that I feel its Verizon encouraging you to sell one over the other its more of the sales reps not knowing the difference between WP7 and windows mobile, pushing there biased opinion cause it happens to be the phone that they use or whatever else that is similar. I would love to walk in a store with my Girlfriend to get a phone and have the sales rep show her all of her options instead of just android and the iphone. Which in my opinion is a fail as a sales rep. Not saying you do this just that most of my encounters have been that situation. Not saying everyone would want WP7 or anything but atleast show a customer around with more then just 2 options. Thats my biggest issue with Verizon sales people.

 

[Clow]

+1

 

[Raptor007]

Verizon sales reps are like any wireless carrier sales rep, they are paid commission on what they sell. Its their job to know the products, to be well versed in said products and to actually do their job which is to sell a product. Its fortunate I know more than they do before I get to the store and now I just order online anyways and get the lower prices anyways.

Wireless sales reps have online training, tutorials, product announcements, etc. It's not like I really expect them to tell me when an unannounced product is coming but if its available and being sold I do expect them to know what they are talking about, they are getting paid.

 

[ArousedSpoon]

After reading some of these posts I feel the need to go back to the Bell store where I bought my HD7 and personally thank the man for not being biased, he owned an Android himself, but when he found out I was interested in a WP he pulled one out for me, put his SIM card in it and showed me some of the wonderful features the phone has.