Solution to National Retail- Every rep., agent, or worker should read!
I am just a regular agent that works in a small town. We do enough business do justify being there and our people enjoy having a locally own Cingular branded store. True, we aren't Cingular, but we still sell excellent service to all of those who want it.
Throughout the past year, suggested pricing for agent stores and mandatory pricing for core stores has gone up significantly, while national retail (Wal-Mart) has continued to go down. Cingular as a corporation has allowed national retail to undercut us so much that our sales have dropped 65% in my store. This is unbelievable!!! I know that everyone is aware of this problem. Here's what Cingular should do.
Cingular should step in and take their phones out of the Wal-Mart kiosk, then r...
(continues)
Throughout the past year, suggested pricing for agent stores and mandatory pricing for core stores has gone up significantly, while national retail (Wal-Mart) has continued to go down. Cingular as a corporation has allowed national retail to undercut us so much that our sales have dropped 65% in my store. This is unbelievable!!! I know that everyone is aware of this problem. Here's what Cingular should do.
Cingular should step in and take their phones out of the Wal-Mart kiosk, then r...
(continues)
...
You know, a lot of this could be an exposure test for Cingy. Can they increase sales through big-box retailers and forsake everything else. Increasing capacity in their call-centers, etc.... If it works, it's easier to have them (Wal-Mart, RadioShack, etc) do the leg work than opening (and paying overhead/commission) cor stores and catering to individual resellers.
Not playing Devil's Advocate: I know big-box guys will never be able to beat the tech expertise, cs abilities, and overall splendid attitude rec'd at smaller cor stores or agents BUT....
Not playing Devil's Advocate: I know big-box guys will never be able to beat the tech expertise, cs abilities, and overall splendid attitude rec'd at smaller cor stores or agents BUT....
...
I do see your point, but in the mean time as an agent, I'm having to scrape and beg for every sale and go to extreme means to even begin to sell customer service over national retail price.
...
...and interestingly enough that is the complaint from every user on this board that represents an independent.... The sad thing, we all know the business (or any business) is feast or famine sometimes. We never needed a push from the carrier to help the famine part along!
...
look at it like this.
yea they have lower prices. BUT how many phones? 4-6 at the most.
yea they have lower prices. BUT when these phones first drop they are just a highly priced as the corp stores. i.e. the damn rokr. when it first dropped in wal-mart it was $340 or 60 sumthin same as corp store. now its $128.00 or something and it doesn't include a case like the corp store who's is what $148.00? if i'm correct. the v551 and v557 are more than likely what's helping them but i have had a wal-mart experience with my v551 went through 4 of them and after 30 days . wal-mart could give a rats anis about you. good thing i had insurance and went through 2 more. after that i said screw it and brought a rokr outright and a sony ericsson s710a...
(continues)
yea they have lower prices. BUT how many phones? 4-6 at the most.
yea they have lower prices. BUT when these phones first drop they are just a highly priced as the corp stores. i.e. the damn rokr. when it first dropped in wal-mart it was $340 or 60 sumthin same as corp store. now its $128.00 or something and it doesn't include a case like the corp store who's is what $148.00? if i'm correct. the v551 and v557 are more than likely what's helping them but i have had a wal-mart experience with my v551 went through 4 of them and after 30 days . wal-mart could give a rats anis about you. good thing i had insurance and went through 2 more. after that i said screw it and brought a rokr outright and a sony ericsson s710a...
(continues)
...
Exactly. I think that's how people are looking at it... Problem now, is getting people into the stores to explain that scenario to begin with. We as independents or cor stores HAVE the selection, we have the service, blah blah blah... That peeves a lot of people when you're used a price-shopping comparison or a place to go when you buy a phone from Wal-Mart that craps out and the user is unable to obtain any resolution.
...
jsw4383 said:
Legal Competition is good for America. Suck it up.
I agree.
If you are an independent agent why don't you put together a package of accessories to give a Wal-Mart shopper for free or greatly reduced. If you truly have this issue with more than one or two people per month get your agent principal to invest in items and accessories Wal-Mart and Best Buy don't carry.
As an agent you have those tools. Cingular corporate cannot special order anything unique. You don't like the ONE case they carry for the RAZR? Too bad. I carry 7 different styles of cases for the RAZR, and I will give one to the customer for free if they mention Wal-Mart. I offer a $50 referral credit for future items.
...
(continues)
...
We as agents do have alot of resources. Our store in Branson West is right next to a wal-mart and a damn alltel store. Wal-mart gives us some problems at times. But like it was said before they dont have squat for brains at wal-mart and there customers always end up coming over to us. Then I convince them to Buyers remorse that wal-mart phone and I re-activate them in my store
😉
😉
...
We as agents have TREMENDOUS resources available to us.
Along with better training we have the ability to create a package deal for customers via discounts that most corporate and national retail stores cannot match due to their own pricing policies.
This can be an exrtremely valuable tool in price matching competition along with offering better knowledge and service ability.
If your agent principal does not allow you to use said tools then that is not an agent issue, it is his/her issue.
Along with better training we have the ability to create a package deal for customers via discounts that most corporate and national retail stores cannot match due to their own pricing policies.
This can be an exrtremely valuable tool in price matching competition along with offering better knowledge and service ability.
If your agent principal does not allow you to use said tools then that is not an agent issue, it is his/her issue.
...
