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AT&T Strategy Shift Cuts Off Wirefly and LetsTalk

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Good News

Hitur Petar

Feb 23, 2011, 7:30 AM
So after helping build and promote ATT despite being limited in what they could even sell, the rug is being pulled out from under them. Classy move ATT. Now the 3rd party resellers can focus more time on selling ATT competitors, the carriers who still respect them.
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GeeksAreBest

Feb 23, 2011, 8:41 AM
Actually, the reason the rug was pulled out from under them as you put it, is that those two companies created the most amount of churn for EVERY company, not just AT&T. They were the only ones who were PO'd about it so far though.

Wirefly and Letstalk would pull stuff like saying that a customer's number wasn't able to be transfered from account holders, etc. and would start the people up with their own services and new #'s for the sale. They'd also arrange things on people's plans so that it got all screwed up, then when the customer made the change within that first 6 mo. period that they're contracted not to make changes...Both companies would hit the customers for the "up to $250 penalty".
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dgrave2929

Feb 23, 2011, 9:45 AM
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 This is great news for those of us who sell At&t. I dont have to hear the same crap ever again. Well I think ill just go to wirefly and get screwed again. Just like Geek said those websites for the most part are crap.
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JeffdaBeat

Feb 23, 2011, 10:00 AM
Couldn't have said it better myself. Wirefly is probably one of the most unethical sales site I've seen in quite some time. Phones are cheap, but you almost have to pray that they get it right, otherwise, you're screwed...whether you have AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint...
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boredtsr

Feb 23, 2011, 10:11 AM
Look, I don't post here often and I will admit I work for Wirefly. The only point I want to make is that there are good and bad reps everywhere. I'll be the first to admit that if you can afford the higher phone cost, you're better off going to the carrier directly, but Wirefly is a good alternative for those with less available funds. I've had just as many bad experiences with store reps screwing up accounts as third party reps, and I have worked in both environments.
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T Bone

Feb 23, 2011, 10:18 AM
The part about store agents not being any better than online agents at setting up accounts correctly is quite true, but in this particular case what people are objecting to about here is the additional $250 ETF if they make changes to their account within the first 6 months....so if one of these online agents screws up your account, you get penalized by them for having someone fix it. And that's not right.
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GeeksAreBest

Feb 23, 2011, 10:24 AM
Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying that there aren't screw ups everywhere. But I HAVE had more mistakes through Wirefly and Letstalk than any third party or even AT&T Corp. stores. Usually the result is that customer signed up on $xx plan, was put on the one higher, so changes online and then is calling AT&T disputing the $250 charge that was created to their debit card they used for their $.01 purchase of their phone...

I've worked in a third party, sales driven environment and the people who play it straight never make as much as the crooks, so 90% of the commission base offers are always screwed to start with. It's not a fun business, but neither is dealing with the aftermath which is what AT&T is trying to alleviate.
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boredtsr

Feb 23, 2011, 11:43 AM
I agree with you 100% about the honest reps not making as much as, to use your term, crooks, I personally would rather have a satisfied customer than a fat paycheck. Now as far as the fees that appear for making changes, I won't deny that I have seen it and corrected things like that myself, so it still comes down to honest reps vs crooks as being the difference no matter where you go.
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JoeyEsquire

Feb 23, 2011, 12:49 PM
You have one thing correct. Someone who is not a very good salesperson and is a crook WILL do better than someone who is a bad salesperson and isn't a crook.
HOWEVER, a good salesperson will still do very well and is by definition honest. Crooks are not the only people who do well... it's just that there's a serious lack of talented sales people out there, as most are mere order takers.
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boredtsr

Feb 23, 2011, 1:52 PM
Agreed. I wasn't saying an honest rep doesn't make money, the point I was trying to make is an honest rep won't add, for example, a tethering feature, if the customer doesn't need it just to pad their paycheck. I've made it in this business for over 10 years by knowing what a customer needs and wants without giving them crappy they'll never use.
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boredtsr

Feb 23, 2011, 2:34 PM
That was supposed to say crap not crappy. This is what happens when I try to post from my phone while I'm at work 🙂
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Overmann

Feb 26, 2011, 12:06 PM
I remember Verizon specifically stating to the reps that you should never "pad" accounts or put them on plans they will change out of. Ex: Auto-ticking free trial features without telling the customer about it (80% of the time they don't ever use those features and will come back to haunt you later about it), upselling the next plan up when they consistently don't use the minutes needed to go to that plan (and did not even ask about minutes to begin with), or getting someone into a smartphone when they will never use the email and features and are looking for the basic device. Apparently, Customer Service investigates these feature changes and pulls back the commissions if they find you doing that.
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JoeyEsquire

Mar 2, 2011, 12:30 PM
That's smart, maybe more companies should do this....
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tmorep03

Feb 24, 2011, 10:49 AM
i agree this a good thing. I work in tmobile sales and i get tired of people calling in with problems with their lets talk orders or wirefly orders. If you go third party i would to best buy or amazon.
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