AGENT STORE PROBLEMS
Who on here works for an agent? I work for the corporate side, and was wondering how the agents go about training their emp? Im not looking for details, i realize thats confidential. When i was an Retail Wireless Consultant at a corp. store(now working at Cust. Care Cen), i had nothing but problems from the agents in town, as they were apparently totally oblivious to any rules and limitations set forth by Corporate..Not attacking anybody on here, just wondering how they train you guys? seems like something needs to change!
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We Agents feel the same about the Corp reps. Corp reps usually could not sell a rubber in a vd clinic, so they work at corp where the payplan and the enviroment protect the weak.
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Im not sure where ya work at, or the results of your corp. area retail stores, but where i was, when working as an RWC, i averaged around 55-60 phones a month, and out store in the area of 180-200 phones a month. the agent stores(two total) i believe averaged in the neighborhood of 100-115 phones. thats a significant difference...its not where you work, its the knowledge and confidence of your product that sells to a customer.
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for every carrier, in every region the scenario plays out differently but it always has something to do with one hand not knowing what the other hand is doing, but depending on where you are any party could be the irresponsible party, people always come to the agents out here because the corporate store is such a problem, people complain to me everyday about them, but i always stick up for the retail store because i understand that the problems, as long as they have been going on, are still only temporary. And i try to get the customer to understand that, i tell them that i will help them the best i can but assure them that their negative experience should not sour their opinion of the company, and i always get the response of how helpful an...
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Where I live, there are no corporate stores. All locations are agent stores, and all, except for 1 location is run by Urban Media Group. US Cellular has said they plan to open a corporate store in NW Indiana, but they have yet to do so, and the newest store is owned and operated by Urban Media Group in Munster Indiana. There are a few other agents that sell multiple carriers, but I only focused on agents that sell only US Cellular, and there are only 4 locations that sell only US Cellular.
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Like others have said it really depends where you are. I myself work for an agent, and we go though extensive training to make sure we follow not only our SOP's but USCC's as well. And train on a weekly basis to make sure we are up to date on all aspects of the business. At one time there was another agent here that didn't know $h%# and that got annoying for everyone!
We also have a great working relationship with the corporate retail stores. Not to say that we haven't had some bozo's that slipped through the cracks and made it to the sales floor, but they have too and we all understand that.
We also have a great working relationship with the corporate retail stores. Not to say that we haven't had some bozo's that slipped through the cracks and made it to the sales floor, but they have too and we all understand that.
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I am a manager for a chain of agent locations called Totally Celluar. We attend MANY Us Cellular provided traiing courses and have people who train our new people extensivly before sending them out onto the sales floor. I have seen mistakes made by both ends and i am not sure its an AGENT problem.
I do know that agents dont have strict training guidelines though so it is possible that certain agent locations havent fully trained their employees. I think it depends on management and ownership.
Each agent location has a Us Cellular provided 'AE' whose job is to test the knowledge of the people and keep them updated and informed on everything. We also have agent OLR and many other resources.
its a shame to have people explaining the pr...
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I do know that agents dont have strict training guidelines though so it is possible that certain agent locations havent fully trained their employees. I think it depends on management and ownership.
Each agent location has a Us Cellular provided 'AE' whose job is to test the knowledge of the people and keep them updated and informed on everything. We also have agent OLR and many other resources.
its a shame to have people explaining the pr...
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I know I am a little late on this forum, but wanted to throw my two cents in.
I, like Shell manage a chain of USCC stores owned by 21st Century Cellular in VT and NH. You may of heard of us, because we took 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th place in the Mr. Jones EE contest 4th qtr. 05'
Sorry I like to brag about that because I am extremely proud of my staff and I thought it was relevant to this topic.
We also attend many corporate provided trainings and also conduct some of our own as well as sales contests and efficiency programs.
I too think it really depends on owner and management structure on how well the agent stores perform. It also depends on the customer. One of our stores is within 2 miles of a corporate store and we get peo...
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I, like Shell manage a chain of USCC stores owned by 21st Century Cellular in VT and NH. You may of heard of us, because we took 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th place in the Mr. Jones EE contest 4th qtr. 05'
Sorry I like to brag about that because I am extremely proud of my staff and I thought it was relevant to this topic.
We also attend many corporate provided trainings and also conduct some of our own as well as sales contests and efficiency programs.
I too think it really depends on owner and management structure on how well the agent stores perform. It also depends on the customer. One of our stores is within 2 miles of a corporate store and we get peo...
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No matter what you're trying to do... buy a car, get info about insurance ANYTHING you are going to end up talking to ALOT of people that just plain SUCK at their job and some that are AWESOME. thats just the way it is. I know TONS of agents that suck and I know tons of retail people who SUCK so its not a agent vs retail game. its more like if you see or hear of things going on that shouldnt be or a fellow employee who is not treating one of thier customers right than you say something. Whether you like it or not when a customer comes into the store the first person they talk to IS Uscellular. IS US CELLULAR! So keep that in mind if you dont do everything possible to be nice and treat your customer right they may leave not just your lo...
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Thanks for restating what i said over a week ago as a reply to the thread i posted it in.....
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Well unlike you i am not on here 24/7 cause I have a life so I didnt read what you had said..... but if it makes you feel better.... your f-ing welcome! 😁
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I can really feel the love in here uscellgurl. Don't trip off him, he just needs the attention.
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uscellgurl said:
Well unlike you i am not on here 24/7 cause I have a life so I didnt read what you had said..... but if it makes you feel better.... your f-ing welcome! 😁
Will you marry me? You think exactly like me! Alejandro throws out some smack and thinks we will all just take it. No way!! You go girl !!
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Please. Selling depends on a lot more than just "how good you are". It depends a lot on location, and what you are doing to get people in the store. I work for an agent, and my store is in an absolutely pitiful location. Thus, naturally we don't get very many phones here.
There is a location about 30 miles away that sells plenty of phones.
My point is that monkeys could sell phones if they were in a good enough location. Whether or not you are good at *selling* is how many things you get with the phones, like verticals. We don't get very many phones at this location, but on every phone we almost double any quota U.S. Cellular or my agency puts into place.
There is a location about 30 miles away that sells plenty of phones.
My point is that monkeys could sell phones if they were in a good enough location. Whether or not you are good at *selling* is how many things you get with the phones, like verticals. We don't get very many phones at this location, but on every phone we almost double any quota U.S. Cellular or my agency puts into place.
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We honestly have had a lot of the same problems with the corporate stores doing things that they aren't supposed to. Like, now, even corporate stores are not supposed to be able to put a phone on the bill- u are supposed to pay in the store- yet that is still going on. I'm not sure where you were working, but around where I'm from, the agents abide by the rules- at least OUR agent does. I know in training they made sure to hammer us to know the rules and regulations like the back of our hand. I'm not saying that you didn't have that problem, bc you probably did, but I know for a fact that it's not all agents. The truth be told, it was honestly probably an issue of that agent not caring- a lot of it all depends on attitude. Sounds like you mi...
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Im sure it does depend on what agent..Its just been a problem here..As far as the issue of phones going on bill, that IS allowed, under the "6 month rule". A cust. must be with the company a minimum of six months, and then things may be put on bill..so that statement was definately false. as far as our corp. training, it is extremely extensive. They are very maticulous about "weeding out" the weak. I recognize some of the things we do could be viewed as "breaking the rules" but corp. employees have a thing they give us called empowerment. which means if we feel it is best for the customer, to "bend" the rules a little, it is allowed within reason. That is all in the interest of providing the ICE to the customer, and retaining their business....
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The six month rule was (as per our AAE) changed though in the last few months, so that's why it's frustrating. That totally takes away the point of even having a rule if you're giving people the authority to break it due to what they feel is the best. I could understand it if it were where the supervisor or AAE had the thing called empowerment, but if it's soley based on any corp employee's opinion of what's best, then why have a rule? What you see as best for the customer could be different from what another employee feels is in the best interest of the customer. Providing the ICE doesn't mean doing whatever we feel is best for the customer- it's doing what we can to solve the problem within reason and still abiding by the set of guidelines...
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I see everybody has a point of view on this subject, but what it all comes down to is that there are good employees and bad ones. Thats just life. No company or in the fact agent or corporate business is perfect. We're always going to have that bad seed on both sides of the field. As far as agents being trained we get trained not only by our company, but also get training from USCC. So it really depends on how much a person pays attention and what their particular company is teaching them. I've had some of the worst customer service calling corporate over the weekend, but then during the week I talked to all great people. So it's just the variables of business. You have to have the bad in order to have the great.
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exactly, the last thing we need to be doing is comparing our "who is worse" notes, everyone has their stories, but what happened to teamwork?
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I agree w/ Alejandro--One team, one goal. Agents, corporate retail reps and customer service associates should all help each other out and not do bashing!! We all make mistakes... 🙂 Thanks!
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I disagree with Alejandro. I think we should all bicker and argue around until our heads explode. (just joking.)
I didn't like the subject so I changed it. In truth it could be seen either way. Agent Store Problem, or Corporate store problem... they both have them.
I didn't like the subject so I changed it. In truth it could be seen either way. Agent Store Problem, or Corporate store problem... they both have them.
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The empowerment that USCC offers to its employees is a good thing. It doesnt mean we can just throw the rules out the window. it is to be used within reason, and with strong discretion. The hiring process is very strenuous with corp. stores, as im sure is with agents to a certain degree. so the issue of empowerment certainly does not create a larger problem. it offers a fix to the customer, when supervisors cannot be reached, and the customer needs assistance immediately. Obviously this can be abused, and believe me, when we excercise empowerment, it is documented, researched, and discussed on several levels, to ensure everything was done in a professional mannor, that benefitted both the cust. and the business...If it is found to be an abus...
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the retail store out here does a backround check, that must be why they have staffing problems. : )
no agent is that strenuous, there was an agent out here, where every one of them was an ex-con.
no agent is that strenuous, there was an agent out here, where every one of them was an ex-con.
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I know our store did a background test and checked references and did everything by the book. Plus the training was great and they take good care of their employees. Plus we have a great relationship with uscc and our ae is real helpful.
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jayhigh said:
I know our store did a background test and checked references and did everything by the book. Plus the training was great and they take good care of their employees. Plus we have a great relationship with uscc and our ae is real helpful.
What agent do you work for?
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Some agents don't follow the rules. Some do. Eventually, USCC will find out. This is why my agency is platinum certified. The good agencies are more authorized to do whatever it needs to do for the customer.
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What advantages do you have being Platinum certified. Someone had said something about it a while ago but I never got the details
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Agent stores are not the problem, but the problems lies within the customer service side and corp. side. Let's be fair, every corp. store or agent store is going to have some problems, but that's just human nature. Now the problem that p/o's me is customer service telling customers false information and then the customer coming into the stores saying what the cs rep. said. Now that's my biggest headache, they coming here all jolly and when we tell them that the cs told you false info. well, you just see them turn red and start going off.
Before you come here and try to tell us what the problems w/ agent stores are etc...try working out your end of it. Just cause you work for corp. doesn't mean crap to me, for all I know you can be one...
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Before you come here and try to tell us what the problems w/ agent stores are etc...try working out your end of it. Just cause you work for corp. doesn't mean crap to me, for all I know you can be one...
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