Shop Talk
For the love of everything holy....
I know that it is common knowledge that all of humanity is on a downward spiral and shows no signs of ever recovering, but nonetheless, I have to vent here...
ME: Hello! Welcome to XXXX what can I help with today?
C: you take bill payments here?
Me: Yes. There is a small $3 fee.
C: Say that again?
Me: It is $3 for you to pay here but we can take your bill payment.
(deer in the headlights)
C: And why is that?
ME: Because we are indirect and in order for us to make payments at our location, we get charged to have this ability, so we have to charge the customer.
C: $3!? That is freaking ridiculous. I am going to the other store that doesn't charge.
(in my head, wishing I could say this out loud and praying that I don't by ac...
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ME: Hello! Welcome to XXXX what can I help with today?
C: you take bill payments here?
Me: Yes. There is a small $3 fee.
C: Say that again?
Me: It is $3 for you to pay here but we can take your bill payment.
(deer in the headlights)
C: And why is that?
ME: Because we are indirect and in order for us to make payments at our location, we get charged to have this ability, so we have to charge the customer.
C: $3!? That is freaking ridiculous. I am going to the other store that doesn't charge.
(in my head, wishing I could say this out loud and praying that I don't by ac...
(continues)
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LOL its like the people that drive to the store to pay with their credit card because they are scared of the automated phone system or internet payment.
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Yeah and they look at you like you have a hatchet sticking out of your forehead when you ask for the last 4 social security number. 🙄
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I am physically refusing to take payments at the counter at this point.
It was -2 degrees the other day here, douchebag came INTO the store, 3 mins. before opening (we were nice and let him in) to pay his FREAKING BILL WITH A CREDIT CARD!!!
I had a woman yesterday yelling at me "THEY CHARGE 3 DOLLARS TO DO IT OVER THE PHONE".. and me yelling back "NO THEY DONT, I PROMISE, I WORK HERE, YOU DONT, I KNOW THEY DONT"
Im sick of it, we are a RETAIL establishment, here to sell products and services, you are wasting my time by paying with a credit card.
Not to mention, without fail, after I hit tender, and you sign the credit card slip, youll ask me "So when does my contract end/what plan do I have/can I remove vision".. we are done, youve...
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It was -2 degrees the other day here, douchebag came INTO the store, 3 mins. before opening (we were nice and let him in) to pay his FREAKING BILL WITH A CREDIT CARD!!!
I had a woman yesterday yelling at me "THEY CHARGE 3 DOLLARS TO DO IT OVER THE PHONE".. and me yelling back "NO THEY DONT, I PROMISE, I WORK HERE, YOU DONT, I KNOW THEY DONT"
Im sick of it, we are a RETAIL establishment, here to sell products and services, you are wasting my time by paying with a credit card.
Not to mention, without fail, after I hit tender, and you sign the credit card slip, youll ask me "So when does my contract end/what plan do I have/can I remove vision".. we are done, youve...
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... and you wonder why people treat representatives rudely?
Perhaps it has something to do with representatives who have chips on their shoulders and forget their place.
Perhaps it has something to do with representatives who have chips on their shoulders and forget their place.
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...their place? what? are you serious? I'm sure the representatives in most cases handle the customer's politely and vent here, which is what this forum is for, untill now I didn't quite understand the hate you get on these forums but with comments like that its no wonder.
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Are you serious?
I'm one individual, who raised one dissenting opinion in this thread.
The majority of people who post here merely want people to support them no matter what they have said or how ludicrous it is.
That is not me. If you want a 'yes' man, your best bet is to keep looking for one.
More to the point, your statements directly contradict Whodey, whom I was referencing with my comments that you have criticized. Perhaps you should reread his comments.
Disagreeing with people is far different from explicitly stating how you are going to treat customers now and in the future, based upon your opinion, all the while forgetting your job description.
I'm one individual, who raised one dissenting opinion in this thread.
The majority of people who post here merely want people to support them no matter what they have said or how ludicrous it is.
That is not me. If you want a 'yes' man, your best bet is to keep looking for one.
More to the point, your statements directly contradict Whodey, whom I was referencing with my comments that you have criticized. Perhaps you should reread his comments.
Disagreeing with people is far different from explicitly stating how you are going to treat customers now and in the future, based upon your opinion, all the while forgetting your job description.
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wasn't so much razzin you for disagreeing, its the.. hmm.. wording behind it is somewhat antagonistic. I would think that would be obvious, I don't want a yes man, who does?
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captainplooky said:
More to the point, your statements directly contradict Whodey, whom I was referencing with my comments that you have criticized. Perhaps you should reread his comments.
which is why i said most
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🤣 bitter? I'm not bitter.... 🤣 🤣 that's what 13 years in wireless does to you.
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GTO_chick said:
Yes, drive 10 miles in your gas hog to save $3 you complete moron. And on your way down there, why don't you go ahead and flip that piece of sh!t over in a ditch and make the world a better place. I HATE the fact that we breath the same air, you waste of human space.
blockquote>
Thank you for making me laugh really hard!! That is the best paragraph!! 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
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A $3 fee to pay a bill is excessive.
I pay less in taxes then it would cost to pay a bill at your location.
The customer was right, that is freaking ridiculous.
I pay less in taxes then it would cost to pay a bill at your location.
The customer was right, that is freaking ridiculous.
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You know what else is ridiculous, it's free to pay by mail, over the phone, or on the internet.
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my point exactly....don't b!tch at me because my store charges just because you are too freaking lazy and stupid to use other options that are available to you.
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All those payment methods are not subject to a surcharge, but paying in person is.
That isn't ridiculous?
That isn't ridiculous?
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As ralph stated, this is not something that is part of the store's profit. This is charged by the company that we use to process the payments. If it is ridiculous, talk to them.
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I doubt that.
Simple math would tend to indicate the charge would be profitable when you consider other the processing costs of similar companies.
Simple math would tend to indicate the charge would be profitable when you consider other the processing costs of similar companies.
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Plook, the companies charge us to use their payment terminal. We have to pass on that charge to customers.
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I have a suggestion for you.
Pretend like you DONT think you know everything in the world there is to know about every situation, every system, every person, every company, every policy and every piece of equipment known to man.
And also, get out of our forum
Pretend like you DONT think you know everything in the world there is to know about every situation, every system, every person, every company, every policy and every piece of equipment known to man.
And also, get out of our forum
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Taking payments is never profitable for third party, indirects and agents. The companies charge us to be able to do that. It's profitable for the big companies, but not for us. It's kinda like buying your milk at a quick stop, rather than the grocery store..... you pay for the convenience.
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Not really. Stores are there to sell. Companies pay customer service reps to take payments, as well as set up IVR systems and maintain their websites all to make the customers experience easier. Not to mention it's faster to use these outlets than drive somewhere to pay a bill, when they were never instructed to do so.
Also I'd like to add that I see no reason to leave my house to do something that takes two seconds to do online.
Also I'd like to add that I see no reason to leave my house to do something that takes two seconds to do online.
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Not to mention it's faster to use these outlets than drive somewhere to pay a bill, when they were never instructed to do so.
That is an odd statement, considering the "store locator" features of most all sites include what you can and can not do at the store, including paying bills.
My contention is that the $3 is an unreasonable and steep charge for payment processing, not that there are alternatives available.
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I know the company I work for provides machines to take payments. And the store locator is there for reasons other than making payments.
Whether indirects charge $3 to make a payment really doesn't concern me. There are plenty of other options available to them.
Whether indirects charge $3 to make a payment really doesn't concern me. There are plenty of other options available to them.
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Exactly! We used to charge $5 when we were Alamosa. Yes it sucked, no I don't think it was fair but it does no good to yell at the rep about it because guess what!?!?! It is entirely OUT OF HER CONTROL!
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All I said was the charge was ridiculous and no surprise, there are some who defend it.
I agree, one can voice their objection, but it's no reason to be rude with a representative.
I agree, one can voice their objection, but it's no reason to be rude with a representative.
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But it's what their store is charged in order to process bills. A bill transaction makes no profit for a store, so there's no way for them to recoup the fee otherwise. It may be ridiculous, but it's the fault of the payment processor, not the store.
It's also ridiculous to spend more than $3 on gas (assuming the next store is that far) to get somewhere else if that's all the fee is.
It's also ridiculous not to just pay it over the phone and drive all over town instead.
It's also ridiculous to spend more than $3 on gas (assuming the next store is that far) to get somewhere else if that's all the fee is.
It's also ridiculous not to just pay it over the phone and drive all over town instead.
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But it's what their store is charged in order to process bills. A bill transaction makes no profit for a store, so there's no way for them to recoup the fee otherwise. It may be ridiculous, but it's the fault of the payment processor, not the store.
I have to disagree.
If you believe that each individual transaction actually costs $3 to process, then I have some land I want to sell you on the cheap.
Also, how is it not the store's fault? Aren't they the ones who contracted the use of the processor?
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Actually, no. This is a system that is required for anyone who is indirect to use with my provider.
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I see.
So your store has no control over what they sell and who they sell it for, or how they sell it.
Interesting.
So your store has no control over what they sell and who they sell it for, or how they sell it.
Interesting.
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Sure, that store could sell a different carrier or not take bill payments all together. Those are the options, and neither of those serve the needs of the customer.
The customer needed to pay a bill. They could do so for free over the phone with a check or credit card, or they could've done it in the store with cash for $3. They could've also spent 32 cents on a stamp and mailed it in.
The customer needed to pay a bill. They could do so for free over the phone with a check or credit card, or they could've done it in the store with cash for $3. They could've also spent 32 cents on a stamp and mailed it in.
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I cant beleive in the reasoning of the great and all powerful plooky that you are gonna charge me 39 cents to send something in the mail. Why would you charge me to obtain services from you?
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32 CENTS! THAT"S REDICULOUS! THAT'S NOT CUSTOMER SERVICE!
Plus then you have to add the cost of the envelope the time and effort it takes to mail it... 🙄
OR they could just have their phone turned off for nonpayment and pay the (Est.) $200 ETF...
Plus then you have to add the cost of the envelope the time and effort it takes to mail it... 🙄
OR they could just have their phone turned off for nonpayment and pay the (Est.) $200 ETF...
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God you are dense. I am not even going to further discuss this with you or "explain" how my store works. We would be here all night, and quite frankly, I am going home now.
For those of you that got a laugh out of the post and didn't over analyze this post, thanks. For the one person here that continue to stir the pot about something that you have no clue about, well, have fun arguing with yourself. It is kind of funny, every time I see your name in posts, the sounds of a hornets nest is all I hear. Stir on! 😈
For those of you that got a laugh out of the post and didn't over analyze this post, thanks. For the one person here that continue to stir the pot about something that you have no clue about, well, have fun arguing with yourself. It is kind of funny, every time I see your name in posts, the sounds of a hornets nest is all I hear. Stir on! 😈
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You're absolutely right, Plooky. Even though I sell Verizon, I don't actually have to do what they say. It's not necessary for me to sell their phones (I prefer to sell my VZW customers Cingular phones). It's not necessary for me to follow their price plans (I just make up my own, free minutes for all!). It's not necessary for me to take their bill payments (I'll just recommend my customers make their cash payments online).
🙄
Let's get serious. We choose our providers, and we have to follow their guidelines. If they mandate a $3 processing fee (which my store does, and there's nothing we can do about it), we have to collect that fee. Or not sell their service. And what's a cell phone store without cell phones and provide...
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🙄
Let's get serious. We choose our providers, and we have to follow their guidelines. If they mandate a $3 processing fee (which my store does, and there's nothing we can do about it), we have to collect that fee. Or not sell their service. And what's a cell phone store without cell phones and provide...
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Ok, ridiculous or not, spending 3 times as much to drive to pay it for free is utter stupidity.
And by the way, I assume you have heard the term "don't shoot the messenger?"
This is completely applicable in this case. I am simply doing my job and charging what I am required to charge.
That being said, if the customer doesn't like it, a simple "Nevermind" or even just simply turning around walking out the door is sufficient. The second they open their mouth with any smart ass comment makes it open season for me to vent here or to co-workers about how completely ignorant they are. I am not trying to say that $3 is not ridiculous to charge, but if these people didn't wait until the last minute to pay their bills in the first place, ...
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And by the way, I assume you have heard the term "don't shoot the messenger?"
This is completely applicable in this case. I am simply doing my job and charging what I am required to charge.
That being said, if the customer doesn't like it, a simple "Nevermind" or even just simply turning around walking out the door is sufficient. The second they open their mouth with any smart ass comment makes it open season for me to vent here or to co-workers about how completely ignorant they are. I am not trying to say that $3 is not ridiculous to charge, but if these people didn't wait until the last minute to pay their bills in the first place, ...
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I charge $3.75 just to spite you. I have many customers who only like to deal in cash and appreciate the fact that they don't have to drive 45 min and waste alot more gas. I think I'll start charging $4.00 and telling the customers the extra $0.25 is just for you...
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Hello moron almost all indirects for every company charges a fee to pay a bill in there location. If you belonged here you would know that. For god sake Metro PCS charges three dollars to pay a bill at there retail locations. 😎
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captainplooky said:
A $3 fee to pay a bill is excessive.
Its not as bad as Bank of America charging me $10 to make a payment by phone. They called it a manual check fee.
Either way, if you want to avoid the fee mail it in or pay by phone. If they were responsible and mailed it out in the first place they wouldn't have to pay a convenience fee.
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LOL. So funny. I agree. When I worked for vzw agent, we had to charge 3$ and people would always bitch. It's 3 damn dollars and it saves you the headache that is the corporate store.
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i always get excited when customers say their going to pay their bill somewhere else. if they want to go to the corporate store instead of wasting my time then theyre doing me a favor, you should be happy
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Oh, it doesn't bother me when they go elsewhere. It is their complete stupidity and utter rudeness that irritates me. If they don't pay here, no sweat. But don't chastise me for doing my job.
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I wish we didn't take payments anymore. They cause more headaches for us than anything. I deal with this everyday, it gets old really fast.
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What company does your payment processing?
I was exploring some of the payment processing companies, and was unable to resolve the surcharge with the actual cost of processing.
I was exploring some of the payment processing companies, and was unable to resolve the surcharge with the actual cost of processing.
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Plookie, regardless of who it is that handles the processing, we (the store) get charged for using their payment terminal. We, in turn, must charge the customer these fees so that we don't lose any money. I sell Verizon and when a customer comes to make a payment at the store we make nothing off of it. Verizon collects that money from us. Verizon charges us $3 for each payment. We take in about 10 payments a day. We have 17 stores. Think about how much money that would cost OUR company if we didn't recoup that cost.
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186,150 a year, that is how stupid Plook is, shame on him for trying to come up with one of his moronic responses to an otherwise normal wireless practice. 😎
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Think about how much money that would cost OUR company if we didn't recoup that cost.
I'm thinking about the millions of people who pay, whose payments are processed, and yet they aren't charged a fee.
Or are you trying to say, that your company is willing to lose thousands of dollars except on people who pay in the store?
Come on!
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Bill payments are worthless time wasters for stores.
Approximatley 2% of them turn into a sale of ANY kind, and most of the time that is a piddly accesory.
Add to that, we're talking about INDIRECT AGENTS, brainiac.. theyre not there for bills, theyre there to sell stuff.
GOD how I wish people would treat us like BestBuy
Approximatley 2% of them turn into a sale of ANY kind, and most of the time that is a piddly accesory.
Add to that, we're talking about INDIRECT AGENTS, brainiac.. theyre not there for bills, theyre there to sell stuff.
GOD how I wish people would treat us like BestBuy
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It wouldn't matter if you were told. I just looked up our payment prosessing center myself out of curiosity. You cannot find out the fees without a valid business with a tax id number. I CAN tell you when we ring out through them that the $3 processing is automatically added by them.
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bump... or would answering this question reveal the fallacies in the "logic" applied by some in this thread
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bump.....or would reading my answer KILL you since it disproves your theroy in it's entirety. OH and would you mind telling me which third party transaction processing centers you looked up? Because I am sure that if we could find one that wouold do it for free we would be more than happy to go through them instead of having to pay the fee for every individual payment we process.
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Hey Plooky...
I've been working for indirect dealers for almost 10 years now... and frankly I agree with you on a lot of what you say - $3.00 is a touch excessive, but I also see the reasoning.
Example - we are a dealer for a company that allows us to take payments in our locations. The only stipulation is that we have to use one of two companies to process the payments. We happen to use Q-Pay - so when I login to Q-Pay and pull an account, it shows the amount due, plue the $3.00 fee, and the total to collect. The fee is split between (to the best of my knowledge) between Q-Pay and us. We keep $1.00 out of that fee, Q-Pay keeps the rest as their fee. That fee is in lieu of any kind of monthly fees or anything like that as far as I kno...
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I've been working for indirect dealers for almost 10 years now... and frankly I agree with you on a lot of what you say - $3.00 is a touch excessive, but I also see the reasoning.
Example - we are a dealer for a company that allows us to take payments in our locations. The only stipulation is that we have to use one of two companies to process the payments. We happen to use Q-Pay - so when I login to Q-Pay and pull an account, it shows the amount due, plue the $3.00 fee, and the total to collect. The fee is split between (to the best of my knowledge) between Q-Pay and us. We keep $1.00 out of that fee, Q-Pay keeps the rest as their fee. That fee is in lieu of any kind of monthly fees or anything like that as far as I kno...
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TIO Express networks.
Why don't you go harrass them? They make $1.50 of the $2.00 fee that is automatically collected with each cash payment.
I use the $0.50 fee to cover the costs of reconsilling the transactions that are drafted from my bank account. I don't break even but as a convenience for the customers who refuse to keep any money in a checking account or those who cannot get approved for a credit card or for those who consistantly wait until the day before they are scheduled to be disconnected (and pay a late fee as well, that interest checking account must be SWEEEEEET) I signed up to accept these payments.
As others have stated you can pay via a checking account, debit card or credit card for FREE!
But I forgot, you a...
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Why don't you go harrass them? They make $1.50 of the $2.00 fee that is automatically collected with each cash payment.
I use the $0.50 fee to cover the costs of reconsilling the transactions that are drafted from my bank account. I don't break even but as a convenience for the customers who refuse to keep any money in a checking account or those who cannot get approved for a credit card or for those who consistantly wait until the day before they are scheduled to be disconnected (and pay a late fee as well, that interest checking account must be SWEEEEEET) I signed up to accept these payments.
As others have stated you can pay via a checking account, debit card or credit card for FREE!
But I forgot, you a...
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RS Takes Sprint Payments for a fee of $5 if you have a Precash Card.
Precash ties the Wireless account to the card number and when you make a payment, it posts in about 2 - 4 hours.
$5 is just a fee for taking the money on behalf of Sprint and getting it posted.
If you do not have a Pre Cash Card, the card will cost you $2
Bottom line - if you have a card - $5, if you don't - $7
Precash ties the Wireless account to the card number and when you make a payment, it posts in about 2 - 4 hours.
$5 is just a fee for taking the money on behalf of Sprint and getting it posted.
If you do not have a Pre Cash Card, the card will cost you $2
Bottom line - if you have a card - $5, if you don't - $7
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I never said it wasn't for profit...
I was just breaking down the cost.
$5 is our charge for taking the payment.
$2 for the card.
BTW, we do the same thing for Dish Network Payments.
Yeah there may be a charge, but you can pay your bill in about 4500 locations. I call it a "convienence fee".
Later.
I was just breaking down the cost.
$5 is our charge for taking the payment.
$2 for the card.
BTW, we do the same thing for Dish Network Payments.
Yeah there may be a charge, but you can pay your bill in about 4500 locations. I call it a "convienence fee".
Later.
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My point is that many third parties, like Shadiorack, assess a fee for payments. The discussion was whether the fee assessed is, or is not for the pupose of profit, hence why I brought up Shadiorack's ludicris $7 fee.
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I am not defending the practice, but I don't know if I would go as far as ludicris ($5 after the first time card charge) like I said -"convienence" fee. There are many more RS Stores than Sprint Stores. RS is not the first and definately not the only retailer to charge fees for handling a transaction on behalf of someone else.
ATM's are a good example of this practice - Use YOUR Bank's ATM, and you get your money at no extra charge. Use another bank's ATM and your bank charges YOU $2 for not using YOUR Bank's ATM and the OTHER BANK charges you $1.50 (because you are not their customer...)
So now it have cost you $3.50 to get $40 of YOUR Money!
Sprint Corporate stores can take payments for free cause it's their money and it is a convi...
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ATM's are a good example of this practice - Use YOUR Bank's ATM, and you get your money at no extra charge. Use another bank's ATM and your bank charges YOU $2 for not using YOUR Bank's ATM and the OTHER BANK charges you $1.50 (because you are not their customer...)
So now it have cost you $3.50 to get $40 of YOUR Money!
Sprint Corporate stores can take payments for free cause it's their money and it is a convi...
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What kind of an ass wishes a car wreck on someone? I dont care how ass thecustomer is I never wish death on them for any reason.
Also, why areyou so mad you didnt get to take their bill payment? You dont get paid for it and its less busy work for you so you benefit and they loose, and yet you still wish death on them in addition to that? Wow. I guess all indirect dealers are really as shady and twsted as everyone says they are...
Consider a new job were you dont deal with people, sounds like you are bad at it. I would hate to ask you for help holding open a door let alone my cellphone, you might wish the pox on me or something. You suck.
Also, why areyou so mad you didnt get to take their bill payment? You dont get paid for it and its less busy work for you so you benefit and they loose, and yet you still wish death on them in addition to that? Wow. I guess all indirect dealers are really as shady and twsted as everyone says they are...
Consider a new job were you dont deal with people, sounds like you are bad at it. I would hate to ask you for help holding open a door let alone my cellphone, you might wish the pox on me or something. You suck.
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This from someone who posts poop as a reply to a thread every chance he gets? 🤨
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I only did that once retard, and I didnt wish death on anyone. I smile and I'm witty; wishing a car crash on someone is ****ty.
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🤣 🤣 🤣 You really told me! 🤣 🤣 🤣 And no, I don't need to find a new job. I am perfectly content but thank you for your professional advice. I have been in this business since 1993 and I am very good at what I do.
This post was a vent. Nothing more, nothing less. I am not the first person on this forum to say something rash in regard to a stupid situation or customer. This post is not in any way a reflection of how I treat my customers (even though you seem to think so) and if it was, I would have been out of a job a long time ago (a long time ago = 14 years ago). Once again, that is why this forum is here. It is here to share stupid, frustrating and funny stories and to state what one might be thinking but the...
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This post was a vent. Nothing more, nothing less. I am not the first person on this forum to say something rash in regard to a stupid situation or customer. This post is not in any way a reflection of how I treat my customers (even though you seem to think so) and if it was, I would have been out of a job a long time ago (a long time ago = 14 years ago). Once again, that is why this forum is here. It is here to share stupid, frustrating and funny stories and to state what one might be thinking but the...
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