I have bought phones outright already, so I'm not against that, but it has to make sense to do so. I can upgrade in January so I'm not interested in paying full price for a Droid now. I never have nor do I ever plan to buy a phone from Walmart.

which is a good thing, but a lot of people do.

On Droid launch day, I want to say at least 60% of the people who came into my store "just looking" at what all the fuss was about came back into the store the next week with their Droids they got from wirefly/walmart/online wanting my store to show them how it works and set everything up for them.

I think this is the type of "just looking" customer the OP wants to avoid.

Yes that would definitely pi$$ me off.

Ah, how I miss the good ol' days of retail. Customer walks into a store in a strip mall "just looking" then asks thirty questions. Meanwhile co-worker closes a two line activation (who walked in after-wards). Mr. "Just Looking" leaves. Next week he is in asking for assistance with his brand spanking new phone he bought from the store across town. Believe me, I feel your pain. I would feel really bad if I worked on straight commission (like many indirects). Fortunately I didn't so the hourly eased the pain of those "customer service only" transactions just a little.

well.. the one advantage to no longer having my job is I don't have to deal with the attitude anymore I guess.

Ha ha...thats sad. After the Helio experience I said I will never buy a phone from a Kiosk again. When I signed up for Verizon I actually ordered my phone online because the phone I got at the time was a web only special. I had the phone for a couple of weeks and didn't like it at all...Voyager. I went to a Verizon corporate store and exchanged it for a Pink BB Curve. Im elgible for an upgrade April 2010. Im thinking about getting the Droid. Im not too fond of that keyboard though.

Best way to deal with this is to be excited, be wowed by the device, and to be the expert. In all the years I've been doing this, I've had probably one customer each month mention they're buying from me, even though I'm not the lowest price, simply because of me.

I try to give them their money's worth.

What you’re doing there is called 'Salesmanship' you should travel around the country and give lessons to the other VZ reps. I've only ever seen one excited VZ Salesman and I was a return customer for him until he left the stores I visit and I lost track of him. I am usually just looking at phones also but the reason is that usually I don't get the feeling the person I am talking to has a clue as to which end goes next to your ear.

I'm glad you mentioned this. I did go to a Verizon store soon after the Droid was released to "see what all the fuss was about". I'm glad I did because I quickly learned that I didn't like the keyboard (among other things). More importantly most of the reps in the store didn't know their way around the phone and the one who was the designated expert was stumped by an email setup issue. The most important thing a sales person can do to encourage sales is completely know the product and be able to demonstrate what's desireable about it to customers.

For what it's worth, I'm one of those "resident experts" and I wasn't anywhere near ready at launch. I had 10 minutes exposure to it two days before it launched. They kept everything Droid close to the chest right up until it launched.

Then you were put in a bad position. Not preparing the reps to properly launch the phone is just bad business and unfair to you as well.

Sure, but in the world of corporate secrecy and trying to keep an edge over the competition, they sacrifice having their sales force up to speed on a new product. If people like me weren't online posting information before it's released, they wouldn't have to give the entire sales force a crash course two days before launch.

Given the situation, they did manage to train us for four hours in person and a half hour online. It's not like we went into it entirely blind.

Really, I can't blame them. As I said, I AM part of the problem...

Sorry for the late response.

If I were to go around the country training reps the way they should be, I'd be quickly fired. Verizon doesn't like people like me working in the sales force. They want more malleable, gullible kids who will do as they say, even if that means reading selling points directly from queue cards.

Well, the phone sold itself to me. I've been getting a week between charges on my Storm since the company handed me my Droid... I barely use my Blackberry now. And frankly, if the phone wasn't my company phone, I could do so much more with it.

This is the first phone to truly impress me in years.

All very interesting. I'm one of those who is waiting for the new HTC device (Predator/Passion/Dragon/whatever) and I'm really interested in the Android platform, never having used one before (stuck with BB for the last couple of years). By all accounts it seems to be great. I know it's different than HTC's but I figure there basically the same.
What an age we live in!

I agree... this device continues to amaze me.


There is an app I found called "sky painter." the idea is that you "tag" a location with a little doodle you make up on the device, and then when you approach that area, you can boot up the device, activate the camera, and see the doodle.

I think people made it so you can find your car.. But I've been having fun writing messages over where I shop. 🤣

Today I had a guy tear into me over his Droid. I had helped him a week ago with some accessories, which he had picked up before receiving the phone via FedEx. Note, I didn't sell him the phone. I merely demonstrated some features to him.

So, today, he comes in and waits an hour for me (I had other people come in for me as well). I finally get to him, and he's all gruffy about the wait as well as the phone. He tells me that "everyone" in the area recommends he talk to me about his problems.

His gripe? He can't easily call someone while driving. Added to that, his impatience with the (any) device is so strong that he can barely use the voice recognition system. Think of the guy who keeps speaking before the voice recognition beep...
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What is that dialing app?

And have you gotten a chance to play with Meridian for movies yet? (if you are looking for an encoder, I recommend Handbrake for your pc/mac to get the video's sized/encoded correctly)

Tap Dialer by Rocketmind. They have a trial and a pay app. Paid app was $1.

Been using Meridian more than the Android player. Interestingly, the movies I had sized and coded for my Storm work just fine on my Droid.

Yeah, the movies I had encoded for my ipod touch work fine as well.

The bar code scanner is an app that captures an image of a bar code, deciphers it, and does a search on the web through Google with your GPS location referenced.

The "scanner" is really just the camera. On screen you see the live camera image with a red line across the view. You set the camera near the bar code like you're scanning it. The camera will autofocus and find a good image. It beeps and immediately translates the UPC into numbers, and starts searching the Shopping section of Google (for those who know of Froogle, this is the same part of Google Search). The GPS indicates to Google where you are, and tries to tailor the results based on your location. It also gives you a large number of Internet-based results for that produ...
(continues)

Thanks much. I continue to be fascinated by this phone. I know it doesn't take much - haha - but seriously I haven't been this impressed by a phone in a long time.

there are two ways to get around this (till they fix the os issue)

1. is to use the voice search function (one button push) and use the following syntax "Call John Doe, Mobile Phone" and it will dial it for you.

there is also an app that will dial based just on taps, so 1 tap with dial speed dial 1, 2 taps, speed dial 2, etc.

I use the in car mount and the voice search function and have no real issue.

Menno said:
It's not his job to be a Google search result for people. It's his job to sell phones. First thing I used to do was ask to look up their account if they were "just looking" if they weren't eligible to upgrade/wouldn't give me the info, they wouldn't get as many answers.

It's not a salesperson's job to do your research for you unless you actually plan on buying from them. If you just want to waste their time.. it's very rude of you as a consumer.

If a customer walks up and asks you a THOUSAND questions, it's your job to answer them. It's part of the job. People are curious. People are stupid. People are people. They'll drive you crazy, sure...but it's part of the job. I was a wireless ma...
(continues)

Salespeople are not paid enough to ask a thousand questions, so if you are a customer with no intention of purchasing, expect to be ignored as soon as a customer who will actually pay the salespersons bills shows up

Menno said:
Salespeople are not paid enough to ask a thousand questions, so if you are a customer with no intention of purchasing, expect to be ignored as soon as a customer who will actually pay the salespersons bills shows up

That's one crappy salesperson, then.

right, it's crappy that someone wants to earn a living. Salespeople are not paid enough to just answer questions all day.

Menno said:
right, it's crappy that someone wants to earn a living. Salespeople are not paid enough to just answer questions all day.

Hey, on certain days that's all you're going to do. Comes with the territory.

Right it will happen, but when a customer shows up and wastes a salespersons time, and that salesperson watches other paying customers leave, to expect the rep to continue answering your questions is rude, selfish, and the reason customer service is so hated in this market.

Menno said:
Right it will happen, but when a customer shows up and wastes a salespersons time, and that salesperson watches other paying customers leave, to expect the rep to continue answering your questions is rude, selfish, and the reason customer service is so hated in this market.

What can I say? People don't get the hint sometimes. If you don't want to help them, tell the customer.

and on top of that.. you want to complain about how crappy customer service is getting, look no further than the customers, because great customer service is expected and then ignored, and even if a salesperson bends over backward finding the best solution for a customer, they'll still turn around and go buy it at walmart.

you get what you pay for.

Menno said:
and on top of that.. you want to complain about how crappy customer service is getting, look no further than the customers, because great customer service is expected and then ignored, and even if a salesperson bends over backward finding the best solution for a customer, they'll still turn around and go buy it at walmart.

you get what you pay for.

Again. Part of the territory. You only HOPE they come back to you after you've talked with them.

no, you tell them politely that you need to assist other customers, hand them your card, and send them on their way the moment a paying customer shows up.

If a customer wants a reps undivided attention, offer to pay them

Menno said:
no, you tell them politely that you need to assist other customers, hand them your card, and send them on their way the moment a paying customer shows up.

If a customer wants a reps undivided attention, offer to pay them

Pay the rep above and beyond what he's already being paid to do? Dream on.

That's what I said: hand them your card and hope they come back.

This whole "Why I hate folks who whine about their jobs" was cold-hearted and callous. The original poster and others who have worked in retail sales or still are was just doing a bit of venting. I must say that it beats the "My carrier can beat your carrier's butt" threads.

Azeron said:
This whole "Why I hate folks who whine about their jobs" was cold-hearted and callous. The original poster and others who have worked in retail sales or still are was just doing a bit of venting. I must say that it beats the "My carrier can beat your carrier's butt" threads.

I stand behind what I said. If you don't like your job, quit. If you're a salesperson and don't like being questioned like a felon, hey, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...

Callous or not, I was a salesperson for too many years to count. Maybe I was willing to take all those extra questions. What can I tell you?

Whatever. The fact remains that there is a way to say things to people. If you were a sales person in wireless then you doubtless know this. In fact, I have responded in this very thread saying similar without being an @$$hole about it. Yes we KNOW that one of the drawbacks to making money off moronic customers is dealing with said morons and smiling when one really wants to choke their last breath out of their obnoxious heads. However, when one gets to the PhoneScoop site and seeks a little it of empathy, the last thing one wants to hear is the drivel you posted saying "suck it up". If you were a retail manager I bet your reps had terrible morale.

Azeron said:
Whatever. The fact remains that there is a way to say things to people. If you were a sales person in wireless then you doubtless know this. In fact, I have responded in this very thread saying similar without being an @$$hole about it. Yes we KNOW that one of the drawbacks to making money off moronic customers is dealing with said morons and smiling when one really wants to choke their last breath out of their obnoxious heads. However, when one gets to the PhoneScoop site and seeks a little it of empathy, the last thing one wants to hear is the drivel you posted saying "suck it up". If you were a retail manager I bet your reps had terrible morale.

We did fine. Thanks for the compliment....
(continues)

...and again there is a way to say that to someone without a hateful post. But you don't get that do you?

Azeron said:
...and again there is a way to say that to someone without a hateful post. But you don't get that do you?

I don't beat around the bush with all that PC crap. Sorry you took offense.

Honestly, I haven't worked retail in two years and have no intention of going back. I just did not like the tone of your post. There is a post on Howard's Forum called "Stupid Customer Comments" or something to that effect. It is a place reps can go to blow off steam and inevitably some customer responds offended. They don't understand that "Can You Hear Me Now" is no longer funny after the third or fourth time and certainly not into the hundreds but your rep has to smile and chuckle. It is the nature of the beast...we get that, but if he doesn't blow off some steam here we'll be reading about the poor customer who got wailed on for saying "The customer is always right. I am YOUR boss and I want you to exchange my phone for a brand new...
(continues)

Azeron said:
Honestly, I haven't worked retail in two years and have no intention of going back. I just did not like the tone of your post. There is a post on Howard's Forum called "Stupid Customer Comments" or something to that effect. It is a place reps can go to blow off steam and inevitably some customer responds offended. They don't understand that "Can You Hear Me Now" is no longer funny after the third or fourth time and certainly not into the hundreds but your rep has to smile and chuckle. It is the nature of the beast...we get that, but if he doesn't blow off some steam here we'll be reading about the poor customer who got wailed on for saying "The customer is always right. I am YOUR boss and I want you to

...
(continues)

Why is it up setting to tell someone to "suck it up" when it is the job they chose. Why is is it not ok to tell them something like "its your job, quit complaining"

i understand people like to vent!! shoot i like to vent. i work retail too, and man, customers are pains. but like u said it is the "nature of the beast".

how can i feel empathy towards people that says the cust should pay the sales associate for them to get customer service (a previous post). come on!! you're getting paid to provide customer service. which includes answering questions, selling, and solving issues. if you dont like it, go somewhere else. you can't expect to vent without having someone tell you to "buck up and do your job" there's always other people th...
(continues)

I think the point that some here were making is they get paid solely when they sell a contract. They could spend eight hours "bucking it up" and walk home with nothing to show for it. If I were in that position, I would only accept that as a part of my job for so long before I vent, quit, or come to work crazy.

Others, especially corporate employees, get paid a salary (2/3 of their pay) as well as commission (1/3).

I guess that for some the "tough love" approach makes perfect sense when you're talking to a completely commissioned sales person. For others, it doesn't. For my own part, I try to err on the side of respect until someone specifically asks me HOW to deal with this kind of scenario.

I worked for Verizon inside a Circuit City for way too long, and toward the end.

Circuit City usually took the stance that it was better to answer questions and watch someone leave than it was to sell to a customer who's buying. I sat near the TV section for almost three years and watched people take a TV salesperson's knowledgeable time, then leave, never to be seen again. I had a coworker who worked for Verizon inside Best Buy, and he told me that most of the TV guys there loved having Circuit City across the street to sell their products.

Verizon has told me, from the first day I was with them, to sell what I can to the customer who's buying, and ask the time consuming customers to let you help someone else while they browse. Tim...
(continues)

epik said:
I worked for Verizon inside a Circuit City for way too long, and toward the end.

Circuit City usually took the stance that it was better to answer questions and watch someone leave than it was to sell to a customer who's buying. I sat near the TV section for almost three years and watched people take a TV salesperson's knowledgeable time, then leave, never to be seen again. I had a coworker who worked for Verizon inside Best Buy, and he told me that most of the TV guys there loved having Circuit City across the street to sell their products.

Verizon has told me, from the first day I was with them, to sell what I can to the customer who's buying, and ask the time consuming customers to let you help someo

...
(continues)

You only strengthen my point: "during your time."

If you were long gone before CC started circling the toilet, you must have stopped selling wireless in 2003 or earlier. The only reason Verizon got their store inside CC was because their wireless business had been flushed away long before.

At best, you're comparing a six year old experience with the experiences of people working in the business RIGHT NOW. Every six months the business seems to change. Every year we're doing things we didn't do a year ago. You sold wireless in a time when it was growing. We're not in the "exponential growth" period any more. We saturated the market a long time ago, thanks to those who came before us (you).

Hell, even I'M outdated now, but a...
(continues)

epik said:
You only strengthen my point: "during your time."

If you were long gone before CC started circling the toilet, you must have stopped selling wireless in 2003 or earlier. The only reason Verizon got their store inside CC was because their wireless business had been flushed away long before.

At best, you're comparing a six year old experience with the experiences of people working in the business RIGHT NOW. Every six months the business seems to change. Every year we're doing things we didn't do a year ago. You sold wireless in a time when it was growing. We're not in the "exponential growth" period any more. We saturated the market a long time ago, thanks to those who came before us (you).

Hel

...
(continues)

He's right.

Circuit City was lost long before you left. They lost their drive when they decided to stop paying commissions and demotivated their staff.

If you don't have the ability to get those customers who want to browse and buy elsewhere to buy from you then you move off to those who do wish to buy now or buy from you. Good customer service isn't OWED to anyone. Good customer service should be provided to those who wish to purchase from you, period. If you do a good job of selling they will buy from you BUT if they aren't willing to give even minor bits of information they can do the same research online.

Customers owe you respect for your time as much as you owe them good service UPON PURCHASE and AFTER THE SALE.

Wow. You just said "lol." Maybe I should take back the "your generation" comment.

If you're bored by this conversation, why on earth are you posting on this site?

Yup. I closed the the kiosk at a local Circuit City the last day we were there...I saw the exact same thing. Best Buy was across the street. People come in, get their info, and went across the street to buy...

I was not paid to answer customers questions. my "base pay" was lower than what I could make flipping burgers as mcdonalds.

the only time I made money to pay my bills was if I sold phones.

So I was paid to answer and and all questions about the products and services you bought from me. If you're not buying from me, I'm not paid to help you. That's how it works.

Sorry if this seems "out there" to you, but as a rep who was fired for not hitting his quota, even though he had a great reputation with customers, and was known as "exceedingly helpful" I can tell you for a FACT that a rep who just answers any questions asked of him will end up without any money or a job rather fast. Thankfully I was able to sell phones too (just not to ...
(continues)

Menno said:
I was not paid to answer customers questions. my "base pay" was lower than what I could make flipping burgers as mcdonalds.

the only time I made money to pay my bills was if I sold phones.

So I was paid to answer and and all questions about the products and services you bought from me. If you're not buying from me, I'm not paid to help you. That's how it works.

Sorry if this seems "out there" to you, but as a rep who was fired for not hitting his quota, even though he had a great reputation with customers, and was known as "exceedingly helpful" I can tell you for a FACT that a rep who just answers any questions asked of him will end up without any money or a job rather fast. Thankfully I was able

...
(continues)

That's why I left Alltel for AT&T a long time ago for pretty much the same base. My manager was never there so as the "senior rep" (never mind that I wasn't getting any extra pay) I got stuck doing a lot of paperwork HE should have been doing while my peers just sold. I got the heck out of there.

I like Verizon's "Floor manager" model. I don't know if they still do it now that they have those machines one signs into, but having an RSM, ASM or Retail Ops standing up front to answer the dummy questions kicked ace in my opinion.

Azeron said:
That's why I left Alltel for AT&T a long time ago for pretty much the same base. My manager was never there so as the "senior rep" (never mind that I wasn't getting any extra pay) I got stuck doing a lot of paperwork HE should have been doing while my peers just sold. I got the heck out of there.

I like Verizon's "Floor manager" model. I don't know if they still do it now that they have those machines one signs into, but having an RSM, ASM or Retail Ops standing up front to answer the dummy questions kicked ace in my opinion.

I've seen that in action at a Verizon store. Seems aces to me, too.

Seems to me a lot of this problem is caused by the disparity between online and in-store prices. Other online marketers who also have retail stores, such as Frys.com, have solved this problem by integrating the two and making the prices the same. If you order online you have the option of "in store pickup" if that's convenient, but there's no price advantage. If you go to the store first because you want to see and learn more about a product then you may as well buy it if you want it instead of waiting for online shipping....you get the idea. It's a level playing field.

A phone purchase is significant because you're going to have to live with it for two years, yet you want the best price. That price is often online, but you don't w...
(continues)

Victek said:
Seems to me a lot of this problem is caused by the disparity between online and in-store prices. Other online marketers who also have retail stores, such as Frys.com, have solved this problem by integrating the two and making the prices the same. If you order online you have the option of "in store pickup" if that's convenient, but there's no price advantage. If you go to the store first because you want to see and learn more about a product then you may as well buy it if you want it instead of waiting for online shipping....you get the idea. It's a level playing field.

A phone purchase is significant because you're going to have to live with it for two years, yet you want the best price. That price

...
(continues)

Better a "crappy" sales person who actually hits his quota and keeps his job than a nice cheerful (and dumb) one who misses quotas because he wastes time with nitwits who have no intention of buying anything. Seriously. A thousand questions?

Azeron said:
Better a "crappy" sales person who actually hits his quota and keeps his job than a nice cheerful (and dumb) one who misses quotas because he wastes time with nitwits who have no intention of buying anything. Seriously. A thousand questions?

Ever heard of exaggeration? You'll get those customers who take a lot of your time. It happens. Hope this wasn't too offensive.

It's just not right. It's bad enough that one has to answer all those inane questions, but when someone says tough ish that is just wrong. This is a place to vent.

Azeron said:
It's just not right. It's bad enough that one has to answer all those inane questions, but when someone says tough ish that is just wrong. This is a place to vent.

What can I tell you? You'll have those days. Vent all you want. I'll even allow you to put your head on my shoulder. But no funny business.

You are downright offensive.

Azeron said:
You are downright offensive.

I love you too, buddy.

i feel a broke back mountain moment coming on. lol joking. but i will say this truth hurts. so people should not be in sales.


Americannarc

americannarc said:
i feel a broke back mountain moment coming on. lol joking. but i will say this truth hurts. so people should not be in sales.


Americannarc

Some people shouldn't, no...but not necessarily Azeron, though.

1st off, you

were

a wireless manager with Circuit City for 2 years, and now Circuit City is no more.

2nd off, i know where you're coming from, because of your background (i worked bestbuy mobile for a year), but it's really hard to answer a bunch of questions and waste a bunch of time when your pay is commission based. just keep in mind that the more time i spend "helping" people learn about a phone in the hopes that they may someday come back is lame, because you could make money from selling a phone to the next customer in line.

prizbilla_babykilla said:
1st off, you

were

a wireless manager with Circuit City for 2 years, and now Circuit City is no more.

2nd off, i know where you're coming from, because of your background (i worked bestbuy mobile for a year), but it's really hard to answer a bunch of questions and waste a bunch of time when your pay is commission based. just keep in mind that the more time i spend "helping" people learn about a phone in the hopes that they may someday come back is lame, because you could make money from selling a phone to the next customer in line.

Dude, I hoped any of the folks who walked on me would come back. If they did, fine...if not, move on to the next customer. But still give th...
(continues)

60dollarcarcharger said:
I think that was a little uncalled for...

I understand where you're coming from but you obviously don't get where I was coming from.

I enjoy my job and everything that goes with it. Some things do get rather cumbersome especially given that I work in a mall location.

Being contrite and to the point isn't always a good quality... I hope you'll think about that and take it to heart...

I wasn't complaining about having to do my job but rather how repeditive and frustrating it can be at times.... again, given the mall location

If your goal was to come in here and start a flame war you did a good job. Thanks for hijacking the thread... maybe try something better with your free time ne

...
(continues)

americannarc said:
i agree a hundred percent. it their job plus its easy to sell people thing when you know how to talk to them. i am part time and i sell just as much as full time people. i just think their in the wrong line of work.



Americannarc

Whoa. Someone actually agrees with me. It's a Christmas miracle. Beware the rabid phone reps, Narc!