Shop Talk

Ya but it's probably not lieing at all. I'll bet that is the new policy but the second rep just chose to ignore the new policy because he thought it was idiotic. That happends quite abit especialy with some of the stuff that companys do now. Our company charges $25 to swap handsets...i have a tendency of "forgetting" to charge customers unless they ask about it and "remind" me.

I totally agree.

A cust comes in cuz they killed the sim...

If they have an attitude, they will pay the 25.00 for the sim.

If they come in being polited, we will waive the 25.00 most of the time.

When will people learn you get more flys with honey than you do vinegar??

I don't feel sorry for you indirect complainers at all. Do you think anyone ever remembers the name Mobile Solution or Wireless Depot when they have a problem with their phone?! No! They go directly to the corporate store because that is the name that is stamped on their phone.
Indirects are generally only paid on activations. You guys go out of your way to be shady and screw the system. Then, when there's a problem, indirect dealers generally send their problems to the corporate store.

trust me, indirect, no one is singling you out and picking on you. we all get screwed over in this business.

Broken. It is a case by case basis. I work for one of the indirect agents in my area. I can do almost anything here that a corporate store can do -cash payments. Trust me, I know. I worked at a corporate store for 2 1/2 years until 3 weeks ago. We sell with integrity here. But on the other side of the coin, there is a company who just fired 15 rep for fraud on the same day.

Corporate or indirect doesn't matter, the "higher ups" are screwing us both.

yes, cing cing. i know the higher ups are screwing us both and i would like to work together...hence the original title of this thread... "we work for the same company, geez!" 😛

I didn't respond to the original post did I? I take exception to the "Iderect Complainers" comment.

I work very well with the Direct stores around here. Mainly beacuse I've worked with and beaten the crap out of (Numbers wise) most of them.

Oh and by the way, there is no space in cingcing. 🤣

I am also offended by the poor indirect complainers post. When people have problems they go to the store they bought the phone at 8-9 times out of ten. And unlike most corporate stores shoving a refurbished phone at them or saying dial *228 that solves everything. Our store actualy helps them. yes from time to time we use the FRU program. But most of the time swe fix the problem. customer's appreciate the great service but when it comes time to upgrade even our favorite customers decide to go to the direct store because we cannot compete with a hundred dolars off. COME ON VERIZON PLAY FAIR. It is because of agents that verizon has enough money to pay their direct employees.

And then they do a Buy one get one after giving away the first with the NE2. They were doing a BOGO with the LG VX9800. With the NE2 and the secondary (no spiff on upgrades) we would LOSE 200 bucks on those phones if we matched! VZW shafts their indirects bad. Another example. I have a customer that has a 39.99 line. They switch to a family share 3000 minute plan. We get VZW 140 bucks more monthly revenue but VZW pays us on ONLY as if we added a 9.99 line.

I am so glad we have alternate wireless services to sell here...for an other company that doesn't shaft the agents.

I hear you, too. I work for a USCC agent. The prices are the same, and that is really cool. But the corporate employees get much MUCH more money.

BrokenCellPhone said:
Do you think anyone ever remembers the name Mobile Solution or Wireless Depot when they have a problem with their phone?! No! They go directly to the corporate store because that is the name that is stamped on their phone.

That's why my company puts a sticker with our logo and phone number on the back of every phone.

Not to mention nobody around here wants to go to the nearest corp store because they suck with a burning passion.

That's absolute BS! I have the carriers name on my store as an EXCLUSIVE indirect. I handle all of my customers to the best of my ability and ONLY hand it over the direct stores or CS when it is needed. The carriers are the one's who tie our hands with the golden handcuffs. if they would get off thier high-horse and let us do more for the customer, then there would be no problem.

WHOA!! umm....so clearly you work for the corporate monster...here is the real deal. I work for a Premier Indirect Agent and have to say that the number of phones, billing issues, customer complaints, etc... that we deal with on a daily basis for the CORPORATE high and mighty employees is unreal. The fact is, I know for a fact that my company pays more than corporate store pay and our company puts ALOT less pressure on their employees than corporate does. We DO have access to help customers with billing issues, repairs (we offer our own in store insurance program that beats the tar out of what the direct channel offers and we handle all claims on site), and YES we offer renewals as well. I am so sick and tired of most of the corporate employ...
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Do you think anyone ever remembers the name Mobile Solution or Wireless Depot when they have a problem with their phone?! No! They go directly to the corporate store because that is the name that is stamped on their phone.

Actually, people normally bring their phone back to my store, or call me at the store.

You guys go out of your way to be shady and screw the system. Then, when there's a problem, indirect dealers generally send their problems to the corporate store.

Actually, I do everything I can to help the customers. I don't want to be shady and screw anyone, because if I don't follow policy, I don't get paid comission on the sale. Also, I don't screw customers because then they will just be a chargeback and I lose my comission...
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no, people who play the corporate vs indirect game are very driven by their own personal vendettas, it is mostly an individual greed motivation that makes one person try to make the sale over another no matter what... the people at the corporate store here dont even tell people we are down here to buy a battery because they do not want to give us repeat business for later things, my boss does not like me telling people they can pay their bill at the corporate store, so it goes both ways but is driven by one persons need to make extra money for beer or weed or whatever. Everyone needs to stop pretending like there is a conspiracy against them to sell a phone to "your" customer, the same customer you are going to complain about when he drops h...
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its shop talk! freaking talk about phones or service or something of actual value than the same crap over and over!

Ok... so... How about that US Cellular? What a cool company! lol I don't know what to talk about. I mostly come to this forum to bitch and moan and pass the time while my store is dead. Oh and I love to read peoples' stories. How about you alejandro? You always seem angry and grumpy (not meant to insult you or anything, but you really do). Got any good stories? I like stories... and cheese. mmmm cheese. 😁

No, whatever the people that frequent the shop talk want to talk about, i only come here when i want to talk shop, i don't complain about customers because there are bigger things to worry about than the lady who wants to know why she cant change her plan to the one seen on tv... i am never grumpy, i am always angry but i usually have the courtesy to keep my negativity in the lounge : )


how about that no roadside assistance thing anymore? i'm gonna keep it on my plan since i already have it... i have had to change a couple of tires on my car in the last year, thankfully they happened close to home.

Yeah I still have the roadside too. It was a sweet deal too. I've begun using it as a selling tool. currently, we're offering roadside assistance for only $3/month with a new activation, but after may 18th, we won't be offering it anymore, so now is the time to get it if you want it. Then I go into explaining how it works and stuff. It's better than AAA insurance. Costs less, and it doesn't have to be your car. They do pretty much the same stuff. I have only used it once, but I used it for a friend. They were on the side of the highway as I was driving by so I stopped and had my roadside tow them. Covered $50 of the towing, which was like $75, so they only had to pay $25 for a tow job. Not too shabby =)

Ok, ive been reading these posts and this is what i think, I work for a corporate store and our indirects are horrible im not saying the indirects as a whole but some of the people that work for them are. They work on commision so of course they are going to try to sell them that is how they make money. It's human nature to sell them. I on the other hand do not make commission so if someone comes in and doesnt need a certain feature i dont even bring it up. So i dont think that corporate stores are bad nor do i think the indirects are bad, its some of the people that work for both ends that make it bad.

Agreed. I completely agree that it's a handful of people on either side. each person is an individual and not all suck, but a lot just give everyone else a bad name. I do the same thing with the features. if someone doesn't need it, i don't sell it to them, unless I think they are a secret shopper. Then I'll mention EVERYTHING because I want that $250 bonus for getting a 100%. =)

Wow, to your comment, I recommend checking the top post. It was labled "Lets all work together."

Now, to rant a little bit.

How many customers do you honestly think drive 30-45 minutes out of their way because they are having an issue with their phone before taking it back to the place they purchased it 5 minutes down the road? Not very many! Now, if we didnt have our hands tied every which way, we would be able to further assist our customers. We are limited to a 30 day DOA policy. After 30 days, we're stuck. We can't return/exchange any phones, and none of you corporate bastards supply us with refurbs to sell or swap our customers with. We have the full ability to do almost everything you corporate store babies can. We can ta...
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The only time I send people to direct stores is for a warranty replacement. This generally pisses people off because the nearest corporate store is about 50 miles away. However, since it's within 90 miles, corporate won't ship a replacement phone to my store. Don't blame me for sending people your way. I wouldn't do it if corporate would help me out more than they do.

I understand that you probably have A LOT of customer come to your store when there phone breaks... Please understand that it is not ALL of the customers. I sell many many many phones. My business card has my personal cell number on it. I answer questions any day at any hour - no matter where I am.
You may not have read some of my previous posts. I am VERY concerned with GREAT customer service. I have quit jobs that I loved because the company was more about the profit than the customer.
I'm paid on gross profit - that means I get paid on accessories, activations, outright phones, fees and added features. I also call my customers ever so often to make sure they are happy and that there phone works and remind them of a feature that was onl...
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And that would be why YOU make a lot of money and why YOU are getting a promotion.





So, can I get you phone number? WHat are you doing Friday night? 🙂

Lol - why you coming to MN? My b/f bought me XBox live for Mother Day so probably playing that... bring a controller and you can join us. 😁

Our company does that. With every new activation the customer gets a call about a month or so after they activate, from our loyalty department. They make sure the customer is happy with their dealer service, they understand their rate plan, there phone and their first bill. It's pretty cool if you ask me. It's pretty funny when a customer misses the call and they leave a voice mail to call us back. They always call back in a panic trying to figure out whats wrong. They are always so happy when you tell them that we were just calling to ask how their service is.

BrokenCellPhone said:
You guys go out of your way to be shady and screw the system.

Wow, quite a statement for someone who admitted they were attempting to phantom churn a customer just to get more commission.

Acutally, I do think that customers remember us "Poor indirect dealers" because of the service they receive in our stores and they complain about the direct dealers because they are so rude to them. If you treat your customers right they do remember and they will come back.

Oh screw you BrokenCellPhone! I work for an agent and SOOOOO many times we get calls from dumba$$ customer service asking us to swap phones for customers at our store that they upgraded on-line, in a corp store, or over the phone for something they messed up. Also, on Cingular's website when you go to locate a corp store, they have us listed, they also have us listed at customer servive as a corp store, but when you want to ACTUALLY find a corp store....guess what ya can't. They pawn everything of on us cuz they don't want to deal with it. 😡

Broken cell phone is an idiot.
People may not remember the name of the store but they definately remember coming to our location. I love when corp won't help the customer so they come to me next. I take care of the problem. You're right though. Indirects are only supposed to do activations, but when you get the momo in custy service who has been there a week and can't tell their ars from their elbow you have no choice but to take matters into your own hands. My store and every store owned by my boss will only use direct and corp store as a tool as a last resort. I also love when custy serv. in a corp store tries to help our customer with the phone that wasn't bought in their store by turning them away. Keep up the good work corporate agents...
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P.S put that in your Violin and smoke it.

BrokenCellPhone said:
I don't feel sorry for you indirect complainers at all. Do you think anyone ever remembers the name Mobile Solution or Wireless Depot when they have a problem with their phone?! No! They go directly to the corporate store because that is the name that is stamped on their phone.
Indirects are generally only paid on activations. You guys go out of your way to be shady and screw the system. Then, when there's a problem, indirect dealers generally send their problems to the corporate store.

trust me, indirect, no one is singling you out and picking on you. we all get screwed over in this business.

My friend you couldn't have put it any better. I depise RE-SELLERS. With there shadd...
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and i despise people like you that shows their ignorance by slamming an entire channel of sales and spreading incorrect info about refurbs! We purchase our equipment from Verizon you idiot.

NYG said:
My friend you couldn't have put it any better. I depise RE-SELLERS. With there shaddy activations and refurb phones. The list goes on and on.

Who sells refurbs? Last time I checked all our phones are brand spanking new. Oh and what the hell is a shaddy activation?

AMEN!

verizon only allows renewals at corporate stores?

No, I'm indirect vzw and I do upgrades all day long. Hell, 80% of my business is upgrades.

NE2 is a bonus that some clients are eligible for which gives them an extra $100 off their renewal. From what i understand only corp stores can give them that.

i thought that was just a catch phrase for renewals... they must price their phones awefully high to give yet another $100 off a promotional price...

from what i've heard there are a ton of things that can disqualify you for it...and almost no way to requalify once are you are disqualified. I think its there way of reducing churn due to LNP.

sounds complicated...

It's not complicated.....If you had a 2year contract with VzW and completed it, then you would be eligible to resign a new 2year agreement from the 22nd month of your previous contract and on (this is standard of course). The NE2 means that every line that you resign worth 39.99/mo and up gets an extra $100 off the promotional price of a phone

so the advertised price of the razr on tv for 79.95 would be free if they qualified for the "new every two"?

yup....

Be careful not to let customers walk just for mentioning NE2. Alot of times, they're not clear on it. I process about 90% of transactions when a customer mentions NE2. For example, they mention something about a $100 credit. "Sure no problem". I simply explain that mail in rebates are part of that credit. There's plenty of phones that I can drop down fifty dollars, and still make a good profit. If they are more knowledgeable, then make it up with accessories. In my market, we all charge $30 for cig cords, and $20 for cases/clips.(Wholesale cost, about $4). Give them $50 worth of accessories to make up the difference. NE2 through corporate, or online won't put the NE2 credit towards accessories.
Be creative!

I think that's funny. I get paid more than most trades with 4 year of school.

But then again where i work there is extensive interviews and testing. Plus i had 3 years of experiance before hand. When i was hired there was 260 people applied for 16 possisions. We were ranked number one in customer care out of all service industrys in North america. Thats what you get when you pay top of the industry though.

I think both indirect and direct dealers are the same...I mean...the each have their advantages...usually indirects give better deals on free-medium ranged phones because they throw in extra rebates and whatnot that direct stores don't do. However, on the flip end, direct stores tend to give better prices on the "newest" phones because they get them asap and they can usually offer the biggest discounts when the prices are high.

However, I've worked at both a direct store and for a indirect company and at both locations i saw honest, helpful employees...that when they were adding a line to a customer's account, the customer knew about it...and at both locations i've seen the people that would just add the line to get that person their "fr...
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It's what little affirmation I can give. We're one of the few "single city" providers left in the world full of corporations and syndicated alliances, so I know what it feels like to be the little guy working out of a 1000 ft. "Corporate Headquarters" Hah!

Well, as an agent, we work our tiny little tails off to compete with our competition. And it's no fun when your own company is your biggest competition. I actually cringe every time they send us messages about mailers, I know that they are going to offer customers something that either I have to call in, or just not going to be trained on how to do. If you want good service from your provider, (at least around here) go to an agent, preferably a small one. They will do everything they can to make you happy. That being said, my company has made it so that I can't give away or do anything wrong on the computer, for the most part, so to say that I gave a promo that I shouldn't have or that I did I code I shouldn't have is funny. I don't ha...
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Yeah seriously. I'm an agent too. I can't really complain about my company because they treat agents pretty fairly, they make all of our pricing the same. The biggest difference is the pay, which sucks.

USCC came out with new pricing, but they gave us the price sheets late. Fortunately, the manager of my store printed off a copy of the correct prices behind the counter. I was telling a customer about a phone, and I named the old price. The new price was fifty dollars more expensive...

I don't pay 50 dollars right out of my own pocket to have "goof up" thrown right in my face.

Quit calling indirects shady. Only a few are, and they usually are not around for long.