T-Mobile Sales Rep Calls Windows Phone the worst Phone ever

[Laura Knotek]

Re:

I believe you're correct. WP is being treated now as Android was in the past. So the question is: why did Android take off (explode might be a more fitting term), but WP remains stagnant?

In the US, that was mainly due to the exclusivity of the iPhone and Verizon's promotion of the OG Motorola Droid. T-Mobile was the first US carrier to offer an Android device (HTC Dream, known as G1 on T-Mobile). However, Android did not gain significant market share in the US until Verizon offered the OG Motorola Droid and promoted it heavily.

 

[prasath1234]

Android won because people thought it was cheap alternative to iPhone with less apps nd games initially.
From Windows phone

 

[runamuck83]

I think the moment Android took off is when Verizon was advertizing like crazy and all those "Droid" ads started popping up.

Most people started referring to Android as "Droid". Even now, people ask me if I have a "Droid". Thinking it's better...

That was an effective marketing campaign

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

Re:

What incentive is there to train their staff? Low demand for Windows Phones in general, and Microsoft has not been doing the best job when it comes to supporting US carriers.

IT IS Microsoft's fault regarding Cyan on T-Mobile and Verizon. Microsoft needs to put even more effort in supporting their platform and devices, despite the Nokia branding ...

I do not blame the reps or the carriers.

So you don't blame the carriers for not putting out a completed update or for taking months to test an update that could daily be tested in a couple weeks? You also don't see a connection between low numbers of users and representatives pushing people to other platforms?

 

[LockOnTech]

When Android was young the sales staff thought that was junk too.

Times change, we just need to stay positive. Have to say I picked up a 635 and am amazed at the product for the price. Fast, lightweight. Know four people who now have them recently and while clearly not as good as higher models, still amazing for the price.

Even though I used android for quite sometime; although I respect android for the ability to be competitive in this strong marketing world and that I used a few devices in the past, I still believe it is junk now. Had an LG volt that has decent specs and was able to preform a simple task, before that had an HTC One V that cannot even maneuver its own weight.


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

 

[jlzimmerman]

Re:

I believe you're correct. WP is being treated now as Android was in the past. So the question is: why did Android take off (explode might be a more fitting term), but WP remains stagnant?

Because there was a lot of room to grow. The reason Android got a foot hold is because AT&T had the iPhone exclusively. This left the other carriers clamoring for a competitor to keep up. Enter the Droid 1 and 2, Droid X, Galaxy S, etc…

In hindsight, if Apple didn’t go exclusive with AT&T Android may have been another Symbian, or have similar market share as WP today. In 2009/2010 the market was an open field, not saturated like it is today. And at the time RIM was being stubborn and refused to change with the times. The iPhone and Android had wide open spaces to explode.

Like with so many other things, once people get attached to tech and swear their allegiance, it’s hard to get them to switch. Often times they love to hate the competitor of their beloved tech of choice, especially one which is the unfamiliar from a company that already has a bad reputation (Microsoft).

The poorly informed and clearly biased salespeople at the carrier stores are one of the MAJOR roadblocks that prevent WP from growing. If MS isn’t going to tackle this problem then they need a MS store on every street corner on the planet because that may be the only way to get their phones in people’s hands without a sales person sneering their disapproval upon the customer.

 

[tgp]

Re:

So you don't blame the carriers for not putting out a completed update or for taking months to test an update that could daily be tested in a couple weeks? You also don't see a connection between low numbers of users and representatives pushing people to other platforms?

I don't blame the carriers. What's the incentive?

You have to remember that you look at it from the side of a WP fan. The carrier looks at it from the financial side. You say, "Forget profits! They're already making millions. I want to see WP sold because it's the best!" The carrier says, "Let's see, iPhones and Samsung Androids are the most profitable; let's push those! Customers like them and they return to replace them after 2 years. The return rate is low." The carrier doesn't give a flip which OS is moving. It only cares which OS's, or devices, are moving. What's the point of pushing a 3rd platform that's an underdog? Would it profit the carriers if WP's were the popular devices rather than iPhones and Androids?

Low sales can be the result of a number of factors. Where I work, if something doesn't sell well enough, we drop it. However, we are probably more objective than a lot of phone reps. Reports are that Windows Phones have a relatively high rate of return. Why is that? I don't know; I'm asking. I know in my workplace we have a much higher ratio of WPs than the market. I'm employed by a Microsoft partner. The WPs among us are sent in for warranty at a much higher rate than the iPhones or Androids. It's a very small sample size, but that's what we see.

Any one of these forums is obviously going to be biased toward its platform. The carriers are biased too... they're biased towards the highest profits. That's their goal, and that's why they make the choices they do.

Now let me come over to your side: I don't understand why the US carriers choose to carry WP in the first place if they then ignore it. They must see something in it to even have it available in the first place. That's probably where rep bias comes in. But yet the bean counters upstairs mustn't care too much about it since nothing seems to change.

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

Re:

I don't blame the carriers. What's the incentive?

You have to remember that you look at it from the side of a WP fan. The carrier looks at it from the financial side. You say, "Forget profits! They're already making millions. I want to see WP sold because it's the best!" The carrier says, "Let's see, iPhones and Samsung Androids are the most profitable; let's push those! Customers like them and they return to replace them after 2 years. The return rate is low." The carrier doesn't give a flip which OS is moving. It only cares which OS's, or devices, are moving. What's the point of pushing a 3rd platform that's an underdog? Would it profit the carriers if WP's were the popular devices rather than iPhones and Androids?

Low sales can be the result of a number of factors. Where I work, if something doesn't sell well enough, we drop it. However, we are probably more objective than a lot of phone reps. Reports are that Windows Phones have a relatively high rate of return. Why is that? I don't know; I'm asking. I know in my workplace we have a much higher ratio of WPs than the market. I'm employed by a Microsoft partner. The WPs among us are sent in for warranty at a much higher rate than the iPhones or Androids. It's a very small sample size, but that's what we see.

Any one of these forums is obviously going to be biased toward its platform. The carriers are biased too... they're biased towards the highest profits. That's their goal, and that's why they make the choices they do.

Now let me come over to your side: I don't understand why the US carriers choose to carry WP in the first place if they then ignore it. They must see something in it to even have it available in the first place. That's probably where rep bias comes in. But yet the bean counters upstairs mustn't care too much about it since nothing seems to change.

Their incentive for pushing an update is that they should give a crap about their customers. No, seriously, they should.

 

[Jeremynelson1987]

What's funny to me is that everyone who carries Windows Phones has tried to sway me to something else when I ask about them. Here's a normal sales conversation at Phone Store X (this is really what happened)

Me: I heard a lot of good things about the Lumia 92X- do you guys carry it

Rep: Yeah, but you don't want that phone. We just got the new Galaxy lineup, and they're great phones.

Me: Actually, I'd like to see the Lumia, please.

Rep then normally shows me the phone while only half selling it to me. S/he doesn't know half the stats/features they know about the iGalaxy S.

What the phone companies need to do is hire people who are diverse in their phone use. The battle is lost when not a single rep at Phone Store X has personally used your phone. At the very least, Rep 1 can call Rep 2 over for support because Rep 2 is a Windows Phone user.

You have to start at the root. People don't buy the phones, but there's nobody at the store to advocate for them. Obviously Microsoft doesn't have any pull over T-Mobile's hiring decisions, but that's where the problem starts- uninformed reps who either bury or ignore your hardware.

 

[tgp]

Re:

Their incentive for pushing an update is that they should give a crap about their customers. No, seriously, they should.

Have you ever heard of a carrier that does? :unhappysweat: They have a lot more problems in that area than caring about WP.

 

[runamuck83]

I have a hidden camera recorded conversation of me and a Verizon store rep (kind of creepy, I know - but I wanted to confirm for myself whether the stores are really so biased).

I went in asking about a HTC M8 with Windows - and the guy basically told me I'm better off with an iPhone or a Galaxy.

Should I upload the recording?

 

[EBUK]

Re:

why did Android take off (explode might be a more fitting term), but WP remains stagnant?

Two words: Microsoft Windows. It was those two words that kept me away from Window Phone for a long time, despite being tempted.

Let's face it, Microsoft does not have the best reputation. It's monopolistic practices of the past are impressed on people's memories, and the arrogance and idiotic behaviour of people like Ballmer, do nothing to enhance the image.

And Windows... people do not forget dll hell, BSOD, unhelpful numeric-code error messages, security holes, dreadful browsing experiences, terrible search, Hotmail spamming, viruses, viruses, and more viruses, slow and buggy operating systems, registry corruption, etc.

So Windows on a phone sounds like a terrible idea. Really, it's an image problem. MS has to get out and shout out loudly that Windows Phone does not suffer from those problems. Alas, MS remains silent, and people wonder why.

 

[ajb1965]

Re:

I have to say I agree with you on several points EBUK. My first reaction when a coworker showed me his WP7 device was sarcastic to say the least. The Windows PC OS has had to endure a lot of public ridicule and overcome a lot of scrutiny, and still remains just an OK operating system after over 20 years of development. But love it or hate it, it's the OS of choice for the desktop market overall.

Fast forward to WP and you have a completely different animal. Generally more stable than Android but more customizable than IOS (read generally!), and that it's often paired with unique hardware and camera features not found elsewhere should make it a top contender. But I fear it may be the Betamax of mobile OS due to the sins of the father. I don't mind though. As long as MS sticks with WP I will stick with it regardless of the percentage of user base it has in the mobile market.

My 2 cents (again)

 

[EBUK]

The Betamax, the MiniDisc, the Sony Alpha... great tech, all from Sony, all now defunct, and Sony has died a slow death (I won't touch anything from Sony anymore.)

Sometimes, with the rise of the smartphone and tablets, it looks like MS is dying a slow death. It needs to rise like a Phoenix from the ashes of it's past mistakes but without alienating existing WP stalwarts..

 

[Silviu Bogusevschi]

The Betamax, the MiniDisc, the Sony Alpha... great tech, all from Sony, all now defunct, and Sony has died a slow death (I won't touch anything from Sony anymore.)

Sometimes, with the rise of the smartphone and tablets, it looks like MS is dying a slow death. It needs to rise like a Phoenix from the ashes of it's past mistakes but without alienating existing WP stalwarts..

Just like Conchita..?

 

[qa_ninja]

Re:

I would of thought (as a customer), they would of trained them (the employee) to handle ALL types of products they sold; perhaps like a small class no more than one hour a day? Fortunately if I have a problem with my stuff I tend to solve it on my own before calling support.
Sent from my iPad mini 2 using Tapatalk

sorry, I can say that's not the case. I feel they teach each employee to recognize the phones. Then they tell them what phone they want to push. So every employee will go "Oh, yeah, I recognize that phone, I use to have it. I got a ________ phone now". Then you ask them to do stuff on your phone, it's funny to see them look up their help pages on how to do stuff .

Source: Decided to quiz the phone folks at AT&T and T-mobile along with Verizon/Sprint over the years as I debated changing plans, complaining of data usage, low signal strength, etc.

 

[metalchick719]

I guess I've been lucky. When I originally toyed with the idea of getting the 925 (I was using an unlocked Rogers 920 at the time) at the T-Mobile store nearest me, the rep who helped me was actually very nice and didn't say a word against Windows Phone. The only time she did try to sway me toward Android was when I said I wished the 925 had a microSD slot and had to set her straight that it didn't have one. Other than that, she was very positive about the phone and platform in general even though she didn't have experience personally using WP.

As for the OP's experience, well, you just gotta love blatant ignorance. The heck with that!

 

[several potatos]

It seems Microsoft has a big problem with Windows Phone perception among T-Mobile store representatives! Two days ago I visited the T-Mobile store in my city about speaker problem with my Lumia 925. As soon as I mentioned that I have a Windows Phone with speakers not working, the sales rep at the counter immediately blurted out that Windows Phone is the worst phone ever. There were other customers in the store who also heard the sales rep. rant. Of course, when I mentioned that I have no problems with Windows Phone, and other branded phones can also have speaker problems, she mentioned that she cannot provide any help with Windows Phone. Fortunately, the speakers started working after a while.

Hope Microsoft corrects such erroneous perceptions.

I actually came here to defend my fellow T-Mobile rep, but really, that's not something that I would accept in my own store. Forget ALL the phone OS wars; you don't ever, ever, ever tell a paying customer "I can't help you" about a product you sold them. We have tons of tools in our stores to deal with every handset. I don't know or like Blackberry, but I have a devoted database about it courtesy of T-Mobile. Further, all she had to do if she wanted to be lazy was exchange it under a warranty claim. Making a warranty claim is honestly one of the easiest processes in T-Mobile. All you do is write down what the customer claimed was wrong, select the model, and ship the phone to the billing address.

We reps aren't all bad. I promise.

 

[mark233]

I guess I've been lucky. When I originally toyed with the idea of getting the 925 (I was using an unlocked Rogers 920 at the time) at the T-Mobile store nearest me, the rep who helped me was actually very nice and didn't say a word against Windows Phone.

This has been my experience where I live ..... at 3 different stores.

 

[rollindice]

I call that T-Mobile store representative a clown,he wanna make jokes he should join the circus