do you really think they will truthfully answer that? Why would they? Just so you will know how much to negociate for when buying phones.

Wow... what a sad frame of reference you have. And yeah, are you kidding me? There's NO WAY we're telling you that, that's so rude and disrespectful to even ASK... I'm trying not to be offended, but I am. What are you trying to imply exactly??

First off, the folks on this forum are not likely to be located prcisely at the VZW store I purchase rvices from. Secondly, this has nothing to do with negotiating prices but rather the service that is received and why sales folks make certain choices when presenting information.

It is the same issue with medical doctors and the incentives that the group practice and insurance firms operate under.

sammy2 said:
First off, the folks on this forum are not likely to be located prcisely at the VZW store I purchase rvices from. Secondly, this has nothing to do with negotiating prices but rather the service that is received and why sales folks make certain choices when presenting information.

It is the same issue with medical doctors and the incentives that the group practice and insurance firms operate under.

has it ever occurred to you that we want to sell you good products and services because we have integrity, not because we make more money if we push a certain plan or device? sure, we have "focus days" like any company, but we don't push them on customers unless it's a good/the best fit comparitive...
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There is a wide range of competancies and values in any sales force. I beleive it is nieve to believe that all sales people in the store are out for your benefit and will place it above their own.

Even the ones that are trying are not always competant which it why I try to come imformed. but I certainly would like an informed sales staff to so we can have an honest dialogue on any issue.

I know that when I go into the local store I have a range of experiences depending upon which sales person I encounter.

When the sales staff discusses the V&!) with me and it is obvious that they do not know the product or the near future plans for updates than I become concerned. The fact that VZW provides them with the phone to carry around and ...
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As an informed consumer, I have to say that I agree w/ sammy2. I once worked as an indirect agent, and indeed there are incentives. That is not to say that EVERYONE is trying to "swindel" the customer to by a phone to get the commission, but sadly, there are enough "bad apples" out there to stain the name of those who truly do want to provide the great service.

Biggs said:
As an informed consumer, I have to say that I agree w/ sammy2. I once worked as an indirect agent, and indeed there are incentives. That is not to say that EVERYONE is trying to "swindel" the customer to by a phone to get the commission, but sadly, there are enough "bad apples" out there to stain the name of those who truly do want to provide the great service.

Since we obviously can not control the behavior of others, wouldn't it be logical to better educate yourself BEFORE you go into the store? Check out the phones online, get opinions, be in control. Go into the store knowing what you want. Don't "get" talked into a phone.

Also, as with ANY cellular company -- Verizon. Wireless. Doe...
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When I contract with an attorney I am told every fe and cost up front. that is also true for every building contractor, and doctor. I do not need to know their dolloar amount of compentsation but rather what built in incentives they may have to steer the decision process one way or another. Mortagage brokers and real estate relationships are the same. I could not care less if they earn $50,000 or $100,000/yr. I do want to know if they get some kickback for selling one phone vs. another or if they receive a bonusr for add-on services or if those bouses are taken back if the customer cancels the service.

In my business I deal with both sides of contracts and often come across those in sales who have sweet heart deals that provides incen...
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sammy2 said:
When I contract with an attorney I am told every fe and cost up front. that is also true for every building contractor, and doctor. I do not need to know their dolloar amount of compentsation but rather what built in incentives they may have to steer the decision process one way or another. Mortagage brokers and real estate relationships are the same. I could not care less if they earn $50,000 or $100,000/yr. I do want to know if they get some kickback for selling one phone vs. another or if they receive a bonusr for add-on services or if those bouses are taken back if the customer cancels the service.

In my business I deal with both sides of contracts and often come across those in sales who have swee

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I have every right to ask of any potential conflicts of interest that may impact me and the reps have a right to respond how they wish. I can then take my business wherever I wish.

I recall seeing MD specialist and being told that a particular proceedure was "not an option". It turned out it was an option for me but rather simply that he personally did not do the proceedure. My insurance would have covered it and it was a customary proceedure. His answer hid the option so that I would only see the options he wanted me to see.

Obviously not everyone is as unscrupulous as that but the fact is they are there and I should not have to be an expert for every device and service I want to purchase. It is mutually beneficial to devlop trus...
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Sounds like you need to stick with landline service and that you're paranoid.

I take very good care of myself and I am a very compentant consumer. In fact i ahve had very few problems with my carrier because I take due diligence. As far a paranoid.. I have over four decades of life experiece of how people behave and I work every day with contract disputes. My eyes are wide open. 😳

Well Sammy, here you go...you have force me to tell you how much I make a year...Through you infinite wisdom and creative writing and arguement I have been left with no chioce to tell you that I make.....150,000/year...by the way this entire post is dripping with sarcasm! Have a good day! 😁

it must be all in kickbacks for that headset 😁

Nah, VZWMan gets a totally different kind of kickback. He gets 2 bucks every time he hears "what do you mean the BT is voice ONLY? YOU NEUTERED MY PHONE, YOU SICK CREEP!" from v710 buyers.

yup you found me out PP, 99.9% of all my calls are based on the Motorola V710(more sarcasm) To completely honest with you I tkae about 100 calls a day and not 1 of them has had anything to do with that phone....not 1

sammy2 said:
I have every right to ask of any potential conflicts of interest that may impact me and the reps have a right to respond how they wish. I can then take my business wherever I wish.

I recall seeing MD specialist and being told that a particular proceedure was "not an option". It turned out it was an option for me but rather simply that he personally did not do the proceedure. My insurance would have covered it and it was a customary proceedure. His answer hid the option so that I would only see the options he wanted me to see.

Obviously not everyone is as unscrupulous as that but the fact is they are there and I should not have to be an expert for every device and service I want to purchase. It is m

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Not exactly.

I do not care what the detail amount is but rather simply that it exists to better aprpeciate the potential motivation of any rep. and any potential conflict of interest.

sammy2 said:
I take very good care of myself and I am a very compentant consumer. In fact i ahve had very few problems with my carrier because I take due diligence. As far a paranoid.. I have over four decades of life experiece of how people behave and I work every day with contract disputes. My eyes are wide open. 😳

sammy2 said:
I do not care what the detail amount is but rather simply that it exists to better aprpeciate the potential motivation of any rep. and any potential conflict of interest.

understood. but i suppose such information would be irrelevant to a customer such as yourself, seeing as how you have your eyes wide open, are a competant consumer, and have de...
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Keen observation. I work hard on understanding imporatant aspects of any purchase but I would not expect to know everything.

I recall years ago I was in the first wave of consumers who negotiated with auto dealers starting from the wholesale price and adding an approriate profit margin. Now it is common practice. While the sales rep agreed to the approach he neglected to reveal that he receives a % rebate at the end of the year based on volume.

My professional association expects and emands that as professionals we reveal any potential financial or other type of conflict of interest.

What exactly do you mean by conflict of interest? Let me give an example of what I think you mean and tell me if I correct:

You have 2 similiar items, say a headset, but on one you get 5% commision while on the other you get 10% commission, therefore being that one is at a higher commission rated than the other you would try to sell the higher commission rated item before the lower one.

Is this what you're talking about??? Because if so, you should ask that question to basically everybody in a commission based enviroment...

That example would be a good one and I agree every sales person in a commission environment must somehow address this challenge. It certainly is not unique to the cell phone industry. Other examples may include quotas or pressure from managers to sell certain products or category of products.

I am not familiar enough with the rep training to know whether it includes ethics.

Well as stated before, the issue is with commision a rep gets nothing on the phone...I think it's mainly with the actual activation and accessories...but if a customer wants a specific accessory, it's in the best interest for the sales rep to give the customer what they want for 2 reasons...

#1 whether it is more or less commission, it's still commision, less is better than none.

#2 It builds repore with the customer therefore there is a possibility of continued commission from that one customer

I advise clients that if something is very important to them than it deserves to be immortalized in writing. If you are not worried about a particular item than it need not be in writing and you can work with the oral level of agreements and understanding.

In short:

If there was to be an incentive to sell, for example, a 2.99 text messaging package, what could the maximum 'kickback' be? 2.99? Wow, you're getting robbed! But if it were that high, the company couldn't profit from it, could they?

Since all phones are designed to work on a certain carrier's network, if it provides you with the service you pay for, and doesn't affect you financially, what difference does it make if there is an incentive for the rep?
In the old days when I sold analog phones, it was common practice to offer an incentive to the rep on higher end phones. We sold very few of them, and generally worked harder selling them because we had to educate the customer on their use moreso than a more basic model.

I hav...
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I would only support a rep maximizing his/her income if it is also aligned with the customer's needs. I have paid subcontractors more thatn the contract price because of the job wonderful job they did. This issue is not about taking money away from them and into my pocket but rather assuring (to the extent possible) accurate and honest service.

I recall years ago a rep was trying to sell me a Nokia phone knowing full well that they did not work well on the Verizon network. Another rep in his office told me the facts and it was obvious (based upon the second reps statements) the first rep knew about the limitation.

Just to put this in perspective I have had one provider and one phone for the five years I have had cell phone service. ...
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The company I represent doesn't even pay a commision on the phone, so that would be moot here.

we don't make commission based on phones either.

I was pretty sure you didn't...lol. Most carriers don't compensate on them.