FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CUSTOMER CARE REPS PLEASE READ!
Okay, I don't know how many of you are doing this, but it must be a lot of you considering how many people come in to my store. When a customer calls in and you refer them to a retail store for a change of responsibility, or an upgrade phone AFTER you have already extended their contract, or anything else like that, PLEASE don't tell them to "just go in to any T-Mobile store." There are a lot of us who are indirect dealers, and when you tell the customer that they assume that any location with a T-Mobile sign can take care of what they need. It's frustrating for me and for them, and they are confused about why I can't help them. It would be very helpful if you would just make it clear to them that they need to go in to a corporate owned ...
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I'm with you J. Same thing happens to me all the time. Please reps, tell them to go to their nearest CORPORATE T-mobile store.
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Yes, and while you are at it, please tell them that the person assuming responsibility for the line has to pass a credit check. Oh, and don't tell clients that you can charge them for an upgrade on their account and let them pick it up at a retail store. I will admit that one is rare, but when it happens, it is really annoying.
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Oh, I've had that one several times. Or the care reps tell them they can just go into a store to see the phones in person and then come back and order it over the phone or online. Meanwhile, I'm wasting my valuable time helping the customer, thinking that maybe I have a sale, until they tell me that they are just here to look.
Here's another example that happened FIVE minutes ago. A guy came into my other store wanting to buy a new SIM card this morning, and he got all pissed off when my employee told him that they were $30. I realize that is spendy, but I pay $20 for them. It turns out he had already spoken to a care rep who told him that they were $20 and he could just go to a T-Mobile store and get one.
I haven't seen any responses...
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Here's another example that happened FIVE minutes ago. A guy came into my other store wanting to buy a new SIM card this morning, and he got all pissed off when my employee told him that they were $30. I realize that is spendy, but I pay $20 for them. It turns out he had already spoken to a care rep who told him that they were $20 and he could just go to a T-Mobile store and get one.
I haven't seen any responses...
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Yeah, I don't think customers will ever be able to distinguish between indirect and direct. And, the CC reps don't seem to make any effort to help them understand the diff. Don't get me wrong, we have some good reps, but too many goofs.
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Well, I try. I even look up freakin' addresses for customers and then they say, "Well, I'm just going to go to the place I got my phone." It's true, some reps aren't so bright...(I know that from the number of messes I have to clean up on people's accounts) but honestly, they aren't reading forums. They barely know how to use their own mobile phones. It's pathetic really. Only the decent reps care enough to come and check things out... and we do our jobs to begin with. 🙄
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ya we'll stop doing that when all you indirect dealers start giving our customer's the correct information, 😲 exg WE DO AND CANNOT CREDIT FOR ACTIVATION FEES!!!.....HOW ABOUT THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR THE USAGE ON THE PHONE WHEN THEY CANCEL WITHIN THE BUYERS REMORSE, now I know that this might happen with the COR thing but come on your complaining about that??? I could keep going on and on about you indirect dealers 👿
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Retail reps vs customer care reps
indirects vs directs
waa waa waa...
I assume some folks on here forgot about "team together, team apart".
Stop complaining and get back to work! 🤣
indirects vs directs
waa waa waa...
I assume some folks on here forgot about "team together, team apart".
Stop complaining and get back to work! 🤣
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Part of team together, team apart is giving our clients a seamless experience. That is what the discussion is about. Our clients are getting different information in different locations and it makes them mad. We need to work out a way to streamline the experience and make sure everyone is giving the same info. Can't we all just get along.
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sittin here in a dead store today i was reading your complaint...i work for another carrier and I FEEL YA!! the customer service always sends everyone here (agent) for loaner phones, internet orders, etc..we have a strict policy regarding loaners but CC just sends em here anyway...our retail location is also 20 or more minutes away, so we get the brunt of it..there have been occasions where customer care has called first...but its rare....just today cc told a woman who did telephone order she could get a loaner from us..of course she got pissy...
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I check the store locater, tell the customer that the store does participate in the loaner phone program and give the store number to call and check on availability. If they refuse to take care of that it's beyond my responsibility.
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Oh, are you the rep that told me a couple of months ago that the closest direct dealer to Clarksville Tennessee was located in Clarksville Indiana??? 😕
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I'm feelin' ya. Believe me. I have to handle customers who have had incorrect expectations set by indirect dealers all the stinkin' time.
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Just have then head to the nearest Verizon Wireless store instead! They'll get em taken care of!
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Sorry, our customers may not all be brilliant, but they are not dumb enough to do that.
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I GET THE SAME THING OFTEN AT MY CURRENT LOCATION. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS TO CHANGE BUT I HONESTLY DONT SEE IT CHANGING. WITH OUT CHANNEL WE ARE REALLY LIMITED TO CERTAIN THINGS AND SUPPORT.I SEE THIS CHANNEL EITHER GOING EXCLUSIVE OR SEMI EXCLUSIVE. I AGREE I DONT NOW HOW MANY CUSTOMER COME INTO MY STORE AND SAY I UPGRADED MY PLAN BUT THE REP TOLD ME TO GO TO A RETAIL STORE TO UPGRADE MY EQUIPMENT.
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PS...I heard a rumor that beginning Monday we're doing CORs over the phone through activations anyway.
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That would be so nice. Let's hope it happens. Thanks for being one of the good ones.
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Hey! I am a T-Mobile customer and I know what the difference is between a corporate-owned T-Mobile store and a Indirect T-Mobile store.
The T-Mobile owned stores looks more fancy or professional and is way bigger than indirect store. And plus all the employees have a T-Mobile shirt on in the corporate-owned stores !! You have to be blind not to know which one is a real store & indirect store. The indirect store also have AT&T phones/plans and Verizon phones/plans and Cingular phones/plans etc.(Most of the time). Am I right ?? Hope so! Cause then I am screwed if I am wrong !! 😛
The T-Mobile owned stores looks more fancy or professional and is way bigger than indirect store. And plus all the employees have a T-Mobile shirt on in the corporate-owned stores !! You have to be blind not to know which one is a real store & indirect store. The indirect store also have AT&T phones/plans and Verizon phones/plans and Cingular phones/plans etc.(Most of the time). Am I right ?? Hope so! Cause then I am screwed if I am wrong !! 😛
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You're right about the differences, but wrong about the ease of distinguishing because if you are right, about 80% of the population is blind.
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I know the difference too. It's not hard to distinguish. A real Tmobile store has the logo on the building; it has a big a** T-Mobile on the outside. I think people just don't bother to see the difference.
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I guess I should rephrase. Customers know the difference, or at least understand when I explain it to them. They just don't understand what the differences are, and get even more confused when the care reps tell them to just "go to any T-Mobile store."
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If I had a flipping nickel for every time I've told a customer to go to a "direct, corporate T-Mobile store, which sells ONLY T-Mobile products and services" to do an upgrade or a SIM purchase or whatever--and had them say "oh, yeah, like the one I got the phones at!" and I look and guess what? It's Howie's Laundry and Cell Phone Emporium! Well, all I gotta say is that I'd have a large BUTTLOAD of nickels!
Many, many customers tend toward the anencephalic... so when I look up a store for anyone for any reason, I only give them direct stores unless they have NOTHING else in their area but indirects, and even then I tell them in no uncertain terms that we can't guarantee their experience if they go to an indirect store...
Oh, and whi...
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Many, many customers tend toward the anencephalic... so when I look up a store for anyone for any reason, I only give them direct stores unless they have NOTHING else in their area but indirects, and even then I tell them in no uncertain terms that we can't guarantee their experience if they go to an indirect store...
Oh, and whi...
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You want all the handset upgrades? You got them. We are just trying to do you a favor. As long as we are getting things out, how about you reps mentioning to COR people that a credit check is required. I don't know about you personally, but we get at least two a week that come in to do a COR and were not informed about the credit check. And guess what every single one is? That's right, and H Bomb.
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I agree with you on this one. I'm in L&D for Customer Care and I see this sort of thing way too often. It's just a cop-out on the reps behalf. They are lazy and stupid. However, if our customers were self-sufficient, they would go to T-Mobile.com and find the store themselves. As a matter of fact, what CANT they do on the web? A customer doesn't have to call CC ever again if they don't want to. T-Mobile has made it so easy to do everything on-line.
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You know you guys in customer care will be handling "change of responsibility" forms starting November 1st!
THANK GOD!
THANK GOD!
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Well, believe it or not, it isnt going to be a form, so Customer Care wont have the chance of mysteriously losing it like most direct dealers seem to do. Also, THANK the LORD we finally have control over this option. Customers don't want to have to drive to a sales office and deal with a sales rep that really could care less if the customer transfer the service or not. My motto: "If it doesn't get them a comission, they aren't havin' it."
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Whoa whoa, slow down there. As a direct sales rep, I do not agree 100% with that "opinion". I process every COR that a customer wants. Complicated or not, but you might want to look at the person who created such a process. You want us to fax it in right? Faxes are never guaranteed. If we had a way to just do the entire change ourselves, it wouldn't be a problem. But the customer comes wailing at us when the COR dept changes the wrong number when it clearly says it on the form.
So please do not act like its the sales reps alone who make this already "P.I.T.A." even worse. I know Customer Care deals with a lot of crap on the phone, but just imagine dealing with it in person. You have divorced couples, feuding families/friends, psychopathic...
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So please do not act like its the sales reps alone who make this already "P.I.T.A." even worse. I know Customer Care deals with a lot of crap on the phone, but just imagine dealing with it in person. You have divorced couples, feuding families/friends, psychopathic...
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You tell 'em starr. And what is wrong with the "if it does not get me a commission, I'm not having it" attitude? Is that not why we are in sales? People think we are a payment center, service facility, phone fixers, customer care reps. We are sales people. We sell things. There is nothing wrong with wanting to have as much time as possible free to sell things. That is what makes the company grow. I am not diminishing what all the other functions do, because they are vital as well. But, if customers come to us with all that stuff instead of the people that were hired to do it, we can't do our jobs effectively. If we all work together doing the job we were hired to do, this company will be unstoppable.
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Come on guys from the way it sounds we are all Tmobile employees here , if thats true then we all know that not only were the CCR's ranked #1 , so were the RSR's , and as for the indirect guys , we all know they provide about 60% of our customers , I think we need a little more team together than team apart, with a little more of that we can stay #1 and continue to stomp the other guys into the dust....
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You know, I must say that is QUITE a valid point in all retails defense. We may hear it all, but they get the 3-D! I have a good friend that works at the local Tmo store, and I've heard horror stories about hurdeling cell phones, spitting customers, and the one's up on their high horse holding up the line weather it had to do with T-Mobile or not. On the website it states if someone looks up a store if they participate in a loaner phone program, so without calling they customer trucks it down there and low and behold the last one was just given out...and in NYC especially they're REALLY strict on the policy from what I've heard, and have to pretty much share and schedule...Some customers don't understand the store can't just take a phone out...
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😳 WOW, holy crap! I can't even finish reading all the posts it's makin my eyes hurt on this one! I've worked in telesales, retail sales, and now customer service with T-Mobile, and I have to say as "partridge family" as we can be sometimes, dear god is the retail/indirect vs. customer care civil war ever gonna end? lol. Really guys I DO try my best to explain to customers the differences in corporate and non corporate stores, and I don't think I've ever sent one to ya'll for a loaner, or told one to just go and pick up a phone. Everytime I speak with one of ya'll indirect dealers, or even direct at that for adding features, extending contracts, I use your dealer/comp code whenever possible to give you credit for the soc. However, in all fa...
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Thats some good stuff. Hey, question for ya...where or from who did you hear about that neat pilot for dealers visiting customer care and visa versa? I love that idea but would like to know more! I'm in customer care L&D dept. and haven't heard about it. 🙂
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It was in one of those Sue Nokes' lets get everybody together for 30 minutes on a saturday and pump the team up meetings...I don't think it was her that said it, I think it was either our GM or Team manager....thats what I get for paying attention lol...no I was, really, just got distracted and missed a few things...with 100 people in the break room its slightly easy to do that lol
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NO!! I know what it was! It was touched on by Sue at one of her meetings...However our implementations manager, incentives manager, and GM put out an e-mail communication asking for rep's opinions on what retail and dealers could do better. So, after getting feedback, they let us know all 3 of them were going to be visiting stores in the area all that next week and getting their feedback. After they got back, we got another communication with just the brief synopsis, and also that the purpose of it would be to possibly implement the "day in the life of" pilot.
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That sounds like a really great program. I think that everyone needs to get a better understanding of the job on the other side of the phone.
I work for and indirect dealer, so I know that we will have nothing to do with that. But there are a few direct dealers that in my area that need a talking to. I had a lady come in here last week with a nokia 3360 and was told be a tmobile direct dealer that this phone was the latest model that was available for free with tmobile.
She showed them an ad from another local direct dealer, and the local walmart. The person at the store told her that those stores were requiring 2 year contracts, unbelievable. It's not my job to do so, but I told her the truth. I told her that is an old phone a...
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I work for and indirect dealer, so I know that we will have nothing to do with that. But there are a few direct dealers that in my area that need a talking to. I had a lady come in here last week with a nokia 3360 and was told be a tmobile direct dealer that this phone was the latest model that was available for free with tmobile.
She showed them an ad from another local direct dealer, and the local walmart. The person at the store told her that those stores were requiring 2 year contracts, unbelievable. It's not my job to do so, but I told her the truth. I told her that is an old phone a...
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yes, that unfortunately happens sometimes, about the phones, I've not heard of corporate stores doing that rather than dealers, but again thats not everyone. If QA is scoring a call, and you DON'T get the reps dealer code prior to answering their question or working on their request thats a big mark off. We have to note EVERYTHING. I think you have a good point, though about tracking it, but without actively following up on every situation in which you've been told a dealer code to assist, it would be very hard and time consuming. Just keep in mind it's thinking outside the box that matters, and we're lucky enough T-Mobile lets us do that (well, to some extent). Even as an indirect dealer, you can still call us to file a dealer complaint, or...
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No, I don't have access to remedy or the voice (don't know what those are). And your right, there would be a lot of work in tracking those calls.
It wasn't a corporate store that told her that, it was a t-mobile exclusive dealer here in AZ. There are several. I work for a company that sells 5 different carriers, one of whom is tmobile.
My only real complaint with the corporate stores is that they will try to steal our sales by telling customers that we sell used or refurbished phones, anything to try and discredit us. We can beat the corporate store by about $100 dollars on average. It really makes you mad when they do this because we say nothing bad about them, only that we can beat their prices. They are the ones that talk ...
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It wasn't a corporate store that told her that, it was a t-mobile exclusive dealer here in AZ. There are several. I work for a company that sells 5 different carriers, one of whom is tmobile.
My only real complaint with the corporate stores is that they will try to steal our sales by telling customers that we sell used or refurbished phones, anything to try and discredit us. We can beat the corporate store by about $100 dollars on average. It really makes you mad when they do this because we say nothing bad about them, only that we can beat their prices. They are the ones that talk ...
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Well T-Mobile relies mostly on indirect dealers, last I checked ya'll made up 65% of sales. There are gonna be bloopers where ever you go, but that's a large reason I got out of sales. Not just in the wireless industry, but there will always be cut throats and back stabbers and shady M-----F---ers who will do anything just about to make commission over you. Not everyone is like that at all, as I'm sure you know, I just didnt like the high pressure. I'm sure if I had my own store it would be a bit different, I don't know I've never been indirect with the exception of once and thats another 2 week story lol
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I really was just frustrated when I posted this originally, I wasn't trying to fan the flames of a feud. In fact, I've never felt like there was a feud between indirect and customer care. I have a lot of admiration for T-Mobile customer care. I deal with three carriers, and I would far rather talk to a T-Mobile rep than any other. I do get really upset about direct sales people talking trash about indirects as if we are all the same, but that is a different topic. I just had a whole streak of customers coming into my store a little while back that were supposedly referred there by customer care. I know that customers get it wrong often, but several of them said that care had mentioned MY store specifically. I don't even really know ho...
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Yeah, it was a moto C350, the one that came out to replace the c332's. Probably because they were never offered as an actual phone from T-Mobile, only given out to replace c332's, we have a surplus of inventory, therefore are giving them away as upgrades to non qualified customers willing to renew their contract. I talked to a direct dealer today and she said as far as upgrades contract renewal or not they don't get that much commission and she kinda chuckled about it and said its like $3 after tax like 50 cents lol...is that any different from you? So, what exactly does it do for indirect if a customer calls in and like upgrades their plan to a promo plan, and we renew their contract-but they want to go to the store to get their phone in pe...
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Excellent question! See, the fact that you do not know the answer already is what frustrates me, and I realize that is not your fault. If you upgrade their plan over the phone and extend the contract, I CAN'T do it again in the store. Of course now the customer is pissed off or confused or both, because a customer care rep told them they can just go into any store to get a phone. What I am sometimes able to do is get care back on the phone and have them reverse the renewal that was done before. I realize that you guys aren't supposed to do that, but most reps I've talked to have been very good about it. If they won't do it, I call again and get somebody who will.
Now, as far as the direct dealer you talked to, I'm not familiar with th...
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Now, as far as the direct dealer you talked to, I'm not familiar with th...
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Generally, the easier way to handle the reversal of contract date is just let us know you're doing an indirect dealer upgrade. WE extend the contract, using your dealer code and reason "equipment upgrade." This makes sure you get paid for the upgrade, and we don't have to reverse a contract that we then can't be sure is going to be renewed. For all we know, you might be one of the "other guys" trying to get the contract date changed so the customer can cancel and go with another provider, see?
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I can see how one of the bastards might try something like that, but the situations I'm talking about involve customers who have already been upgraded before they walk into my store. What you are talking about makes sense, but it doesn't seem to be standard operating procedure at T-Mobile. Whenever this happens and I call up, if they could just go ahead and enter in my dealer code on the renewal that would be great, but nobody ever suggests that. It seems like the whole thing has to be undone and then done again by me to get credit. Another reason I like to do it all myself is that I can generate the service agreement form and print it out, rather than filling out a manual contract which is a pain in the butt, and harder to keep track of...
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It's ironic how just today for the first time, reversed a contract renewal for a pricing plan change for an indirect dealer to upgrade. He said iCAM wouldn't let him do it. The customer hadn't upgraded their phone yet, but had just called us to change from smartaccess-regular, and by default it extends the contract. I guess since customer care considers two types of contract renewals valid, then it could be an easy misconception. We ask for a contract renewal if a customer is changing to a promotional pricing plan, or if upgrading. However, the way the dealer explained it to me today made sense, but only knowing that you don't have access to streamline, nor use CIHU to upgrade, rather iCAM. They REALLY need to get streamline out to indirects...
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I thought existing customers had to wait two weeks after cancellation to establish a new line? I really dont see how thats possible, given the information that I was told. Then again, I've only been doing this for 5 months, so everyday, Im learning something still.
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TexasJulie said:
I thought existing customers had to wait two weeks after cancellation to establish a new line? I really dont see how thats possible, given the information that I was told. Then again, I've only been doing this for 5 months, so everyday, Im learning something still.
Which reiderates a commonly made point, that customers can sometimes receive different information from different sources. I would like to say in everything where different authorized sources sell and support the same product; heaven knows I've been through it.
Customers technically can cancel and reactivate whenever they would like. The two week thing you may be thinking of is that if a customer does a contract renewal, if...
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Like those paragraphs huh? At least now ya know I got some skill in writing, though had they been done properly I wouldnt have made an extra space between them. That was just for you-to make it a little easier to read, and follow 😉
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😳 oops....I SOO thought this was you on the other post that someone got me on:
but it wasnt...
Bizkits inserts foot here ---> 😲
Aleq said:
And they have these newfangled things called "paragraphs," in which you make a space division in between discrete chunks of information. For example, this paragraph deals with one bit of information.
This paragraph deals with a completely different piece of information.
Dividing up large blocks of verbiage by the use of these "paragraphs" makes it easier to keep up with where you are in the information chunk, and also keeps the headaches to a minimum.
Therefore, paragraphs are our friends.
😁
but it wasnt...
Bizkits inserts foot here ---> 😲
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Checking threads and poster name is ALSO our friend... we have so very many friends here... 😁
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That's hilarious... yeah, I didn't get into the whole iCAM thing in my previous posts because lots of time you direct guys don't know anything about the software that we use. iCAM basically pulls up a customer account for us, and under "upgrade eligibility" it says either "yes" or "no". That's it, cut and dried, no way for us to monkey with it. If it says "yes" we can do it and get paid, and if it says "no" we can't. We we call you up to have you reverse it, we can go back into iCAM and it will magically change to "yes", so then we can proceed. I don't think we will EVER have access to Streamlink, and probably for good reason, since there are some greedy corrupt dealers out there.
You hit the nail on the head about why dealers tell p...
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You hit the nail on the head about why dealers tell p...
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Well, it's not like as soon as I hear that I call up the dealer and say "you know what?" lol. In a few situations, a customer has called in several times and was advised each time to go right back to the store, and keeps getting told "no", therefore calling customer care back. so, by the time I get them, they are already flustered, pissed off, and their patience is worn thin. So, I'll either conference in the dealer on the call, or if the customer is calling from the store, I'll have them put the dealer on the line. You wouldn'd believe some of the reasons I've heard!
Here's a good one: "No, I don't care that the V600 I sold the customer has a defective camera, it's not my responsibility to take it back and replace it, it's customer car...
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Here's a good one: "No, I don't care that the V600 I sold the customer has a defective camera, it's not my responsibility to take it back and replace it, it's customer car...
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