ETF's
I work for a dealer and we have recently instituted a new policy regarding ETF's. The one advantage we had over a company such as amazon or let's talk has just been wiped away by our company. As of last month we now charge our customers an extra 200 per line if they cancel within 6 months of activation. I can understand where our company sees this as beneficial but I also feel that they are being bullheaded about this because there are numerous customers who complain about this and we've even had people walk on deals just because of this. They say, "Well, the AT&T store down the street isn't going to make us sign this ridiculous paper so we're going to take our business there." Then by the time I try to call my manager it is too late an...
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This is the part about working in the wireless industry I can't stand... Freakin sales reps that think like an uninformed customer instead of understanding how the industry works. AT&T onlys pays your company on the upgrade/activation after the customer has been under contract for at least 6 months. So those discounted prices you're selling your phones for (subsidized prices) are only going to make a profit after AT&T pays your company. What this means is if the customer cancels their contract within the first 6 months, without that $200 equipment fee you just lost money on that transaction. Seeing as how no company is in the business of losing money the $200 fee is essential in making sure your company makes a profit & doesn't give away...
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Chromemember said:...
This is the part about working in the wireless industry I can't stand... Freakin sales reps that think like an uninformed customer instead of understanding how the industry works. AT&T onlys pays your company on the upgrade/activation after the customer has been under contract for at least 6 months. So those discounted prices you're selling your phones for (subsidized prices) are only going to make a profit after AT&T pays your company. What this means is if the customer cancels their contract within the first 6 months, without that $200 equipment fee you just lost money on that transaction. Seeing as how no company is in the business of losing money the $200 fee is essential in making sure your com
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No you don't understand. When an agent sells a phone they buy for 300 for 200, they need that commission to not go negative. I don't see you going negative when someone doesn't pay their bill.
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Oh I didn't know how simple business worked. I thought that ATT just gave us the phones and then we sold them for profit. Of course I know how it works. I know roughly what we pay for the phones and I know what ATT gives us on the backend. Didn't think that qualified me as uninformed as customers are but whatever. But here is a situation. I work in the DC area(NOVA to be more precise) and our dealer has started this policy. As you know DC is a heavily populated area and there are a plethora of COR stores in the area. Enough that really makes me beg the question of why there are indirect dealers in this area. Back to the situation, I have a few customers that bought a Tilt and a Berry. They get unlimited data and fam messaging and 2...
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shootinthewad, I was replying to crackberry so I don't understand how you think I was replying to you. If I was replying to you directly, I would have just done it directly under your post.
When at&t sells phones to agents, they sell them at a profit. Agents can sometimes go through other parties like Brightstar and Brightpoint if they are big enough but most stores aren't.
When a COR store sells a phone for $150 before rebate, they didn't but it for $230 but agents do.
The reason why COR stores are ok is because the company as a whole will usually get the money back through the ETF usually. Agents don't see a dime of the ETF. A pretty good arrangement for the carrier don't you think?
When at&t sells phones to agents, they sell them at a profit. Agents can sometimes go through other parties like Brightstar and Brightpoint if they are big enough but most stores aren't.
When a COR store sells a phone for $150 before rebate, they didn't but it for $230 but agents do.
The reason why COR stores are ok is because the company as a whole will usually get the money back through the ETF usually. Agents don't see a dime of the ETF. A pretty good arrangement for the carrier don't you think?
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Chromemember said:
This is the part about working in the wireless industry I can't stand... Freakin sales reps that think like an uninformed customer instead of understanding how the industry works. AT&T onlys pays your company on the upgrade/activation after the customer has been under contract for at least 6 months. So those discounted prices you're selling your phones for (subsidized prices) are only going to make a profit after AT&T pays your company. What this means is if the customer cancels their contract within the first 6 months, without that $200 equipment fee you just lost money on that transaction. Seeing as how no company is in the business of losing money the $200 fee is essential in making sure your company makes a profit & d...
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This is the part about working in the wireless industry I can't stand... Freakin sales reps that think like an uninformed customer instead of understanding how the industry works. AT&T onlys pays your company on the upgrade/activation after the customer has been under contract for at least 6 months. So those discounted prices you're selling your phones for (subsidized prices) are only going to make a profit after AT&T pays your company. What this means is if the customer cancels their contract within the first 6 months, without that $200 equipment fee you just lost money on that transaction. Seeing as how no company is in the business of losing money the $200 fee is essential in making sure your company makes a profit & d...
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I agree 100% with you.
I think in theory the extra 200.00 works but come on. If I remember right the EFT is what 300? So assumeing that it is 300.00 then tack on the extra money makes for a crap deal if you ask me.
I would not sign a contract if those terms ere in a contract. Thats why I like the mind set of the major retailers. The Shack, Best Buy etc tells there people to stack on as many add ons and other things with the sale to make it profitable then and there. The Shack said if we added on CLA on to a wireless it just made that sale profitable for the store.
But there are other problems we have here in the UK that you dont state side.
Here in the UK it is aginst Tradeing and Standards law to sell any extra phone contrac...
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I think in theory the extra 200.00 works but come on. If I remember right the EFT is what 300? So assumeing that it is 300.00 then tack on the extra money makes for a crap deal if you ask me.
I would not sign a contract if those terms ere in a contract. Thats why I like the mind set of the major retailers. The Shack, Best Buy etc tells there people to stack on as many add ons and other things with the sale to make it profitable then and there. The Shack said if we added on CLA on to a wireless it just made that sale profitable for the store.
But there are other problems we have here in the UK that you dont state side.
Here in the UK it is aginst Tradeing and Standards law to sell any extra phone contrac...
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Personally it seems as if ATT would like to just kick the dealers to the curb
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Well one thing i have to say is that at&t can't get rid of dealers. There are more dealer locations then there are COR. I have worked both for COR and dealers. I think the dealers get the raw end of the deal. the funny thing is that, Best Buy and Radio shack have the same thing with the ETF within 6 months. Its a way of life and just a fact at&t still has to make money and so do the dealers. I say suck it up and deal with it. I have never had someone walk on me because of the dealer 6 month vesting.
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Crack,
We have spoken on here and offline for a while now and let me just say...
You are talking out your a$$ on this particular subject.
I respect your opinion much of the time but you are not fully versed, nor should you be, on how the economics of agents work. We have tried for years to get the greedy carriers to share the ETF with us so we can eliminate and sort of below cost agreement. They won't so we can't.
We have spoken on here and offline for a while now and let me just say...
You are talking out your a$$ on this particular subject.
I respect your opinion much of the time but you are not fully versed, nor should you be, on how the economics of agents work. We have tried for years to get the greedy carriers to share the ETF with us so we can eliminate and sort of below cost agreement. They won't so we can't.
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a better policy would be to require the customer to return the phone if they cancel before 6 months and pay a restocking fee if its damaged
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That would not work either since most handsets are useless to the network once activated. Not to mention the phone most likely would be out of date.
It boils down to the salesman doing there Job right and makeing sure the person is right for AT&T and the phone they buy. If you sign up a person to AT&T just for the iphone and they hardly have serivce and you know it. You just did that customer a huge dis favor. Can you say Charge Back?
It boils down to the salesman doing there Job right and makeing sure the person is right for AT&T and the phone they buy. If you sign up a person to AT&T just for the iphone and they hardly have serivce and you know it. You just did that customer a huge dis favor. Can you say Charge Back?
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On AT&T handsets are not "activated". The SIM card hold the important account information and cannot be reused. Phones can and are frequently reused, resold, refurbished, etc.
I can sell a phone to a customer, they can be happy, everything is alright and we both feel good about the sale. Then five months later a new phone that interests the customer even more than the phone I sold them comes out on a competitor's system (happens all the time, ask Verizon about the iPhone).
They cancel their contract, I get charged back, and we not only lose the bit of profit we made, but also now are in the hole for the phone sold under cost.
Our purchase agreement is not about protecting profits, it's to prevent losses and abuses.
I could bu...
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I can sell a phone to a customer, they can be happy, everything is alright and we both feel good about the sale. Then five months later a new phone that interests the customer even more than the phone I sold them comes out on a competitor's system (happens all the time, ask Verizon about the iPhone).
They cancel their contract, I get charged back, and we not only lose the bit of profit we made, but also now are in the hole for the phone sold under cost.
Our purchase agreement is not about protecting profits, it's to prevent losses and abuses.
I could bu...
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Are you talking about Sprint? Because with Verizon Wireless, at&t, and T-Mobile, phones can be reactivated. With at&t and T-Mobile, you just need a new SIM
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As an agent, my company purchases a blackberry curve for over $350. It leaves the store at $200 with a contract. We make up for that loss by AT&T paying us for the contract plan, and attached features.
New customers sign a purchase agreement stating if they cancel the contract before six months they must either return the phone (in accordance to return policy, missing items have restock fee), or be charged $150.
Certainly one can say if some customers deactivate within the first six months, the sales rep has some fault. However, that is not exclusively the case. The ETF from AT&T does not compensate us at all. It is $175 declining, and they offer $150 in AT&T rebates so the ETF will at best cover those rebates they pay to the cust...
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New customers sign a purchase agreement stating if they cancel the contract before six months they must either return the phone (in accordance to return policy, missing items have restock fee), or be charged $150.
Certainly one can say if some customers deactivate within the first six months, the sales rep has some fault. However, that is not exclusively the case. The ETF from AT&T does not compensate us at all. It is $175 declining, and they offer $150 in AT&T rebates so the ETF will at best cover those rebates they pay to the cust...
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My store instituted this same type of policy more than 6 months ago. During that time, our numbers stayed relatively level (despite the economic hard times) and our churn and chargebacks have dropped significantly.
The key to making it work is presentation. Make the 6 month requirements clear to the customer before you close the sale. If you throw it on them at the end, after everything else is done, they are more likely to balk. If they know up front, and you explain the logic behind it and that it's to protect the company and allow it to stay in business, they wont complain as much. We've only had 1 customer in that 6 month period refuse to sign the form. Also, remember that customers can sense if you dont like something. If you ...
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The key to making it work is presentation. Make the 6 month requirements clear to the customer before you close the sale. If you throw it on them at the end, after everything else is done, they are more likely to balk. If they know up front, and you explain the logic behind it and that it's to protect the company and allow it to stay in business, they wont complain as much. We've only had 1 customer in that 6 month period refuse to sign the form. Also, remember that customers can sense if you dont like something. If you ...
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Look guy,
Below Cost Agreements are a fact of life in this industry. They have been around for at least a decade or more.
There are ways around upset customers on this issue and frankly you need to educate yourself on this issue. To be successful you need to focus on what offer you can provide to the customer that NO ONE else can provide. Learn what that may be for you and reap the rewards. Focus on the few that get upset and you can go home at night and cry whoa is me.
Your choice.
Below Cost Agreements are a fact of life in this industry. They have been around for at least a decade or more.
There are ways around upset customers on this issue and frankly you need to educate yourself on this issue. To be successful you need to focus on what offer you can provide to the customer that NO ONE else can provide. Learn what that may be for you and reap the rewards. Focus on the few that get upset and you can go home at night and cry whoa is me.
Your choice.
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Ahhh....the below cost agreement.....
When I opened 3 years ago, I had every intention to introduce a secandary agreement with my customers. To this day I have not done so. As other have stated, positioning the agreement before the sale will prevent people from walking.
My churn is low accoring to at&t's standards. It runs between .7-1.2 percent. The good news is, I am able to write off the loss of the phones and chargebacks of my business taxes. So the loss is recouped on the back end.
Having worked for a dealer before I opened, he made us have the customer sign the aggreement. No credit card imprint was take, but we got the customers full social. If the cancelled w in 6 months, he had a collection agency on retainer to ding their ...
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When I opened 3 years ago, I had every intention to introduce a secandary agreement with my customers. To this day I have not done so. As other have stated, positioning the agreement before the sale will prevent people from walking.
My churn is low accoring to at&t's standards. It runs between .7-1.2 percent. The good news is, I am able to write off the loss of the phones and chargebacks of my business taxes. So the loss is recouped on the back end.
Having worked for a dealer before I opened, he made us have the customer sign the aggreement. No credit card imprint was take, but we got the customers full social. If the cancelled w in 6 months, he had a collection agency on retainer to ding their ...
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We only make new postpaid accounts sign the agreement. For small franchises, I can see the need not being as great. The company I work for has over 300 stores across the U.S. and even 1% of sales would quickly add up.
Say one customer per store a month deactivates and does not return their phone and we take a $150 loss. That is $1800 a year per store, or $540,000 a year for the company. A half-million dollar loss per year in just equipment costs alone is no small concern.
Say one customer per store a month deactivates and does not return their phone and we take a $150 loss. That is $1800 a year per store, or $540,000 a year for the company. A half-million dollar loss per year in just equipment costs alone is no small concern.
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