Shop Talk
Authorized Retailers...GET YOUR SH** STRAIGHT!!
Im sick and tired of customers coming in to the corporate store i work at and telling me that the AR they bought their phone from told them about a deal we have going on when in fact we do not have it at all!!! these AR's need to get their facts straight, instead of just worrying about 'numbers' put the customer first for once... anyone have any stories about this? i have to many to tell on here...
...
I thought we had gotten past this! Stop generalizing. And remember that customers don't always tell the truth. I probably get more people who have been mislead by corporate than you get mislead by dealers. It is not in our best interest to send customers to you to get deals we can't do, so it doesn't make sense that ALL of us would send a customer to you for that purpose. Take a deep breath.
...
agreed. well put. I was an AR for verizon and we took care of everything possible. of course we are limited in some areas as to corporate, so...
...
We in the indirect world are sick and tired of our customers being told by a Telesales Rep, or a Corporate Store Salesperson that they can get the EXACT same deal that corporate is offering. Sometimes we can, sometimes we can't! We can't do NE2...Yet 😈 ... We can't magically do an early upgrade on a share line just because you say we can .. if it's not approved by credit & activations...We DON'T GET PAID! We're also sick and tired of you sending your customers to us to fix your mistakes. Or how about the numerous times you send a customer into us and "assure" them we can do a warranty swap over the counter...or magically transfer their phonebooks without having the phone they need the numbers transferred from... I could go on ...
(continues)
(continues)
...
YES!!!YESS!! u tell em civl. I dont know how many times I've had a customer come in pissed of because a vzw employee F%#@ed up royally on something.only time i send someone to a corp store is if they need a swap out or a NE2. other than that we can pretty much handle evrything else.
...
didnt mean to start such a war on this ...good thing i do not work for VZW...sounds like they have a problem with this...an FYI to everyone out there, always treat cust. that own pizza places well we just got tons of free pizza coupons...
...
bruiser said:
didnt mean to start such a war on this ...
Excuse me, are you new here?????? 🤨
When you post a thread titled as you did......What did you expect to happen? Peace lilies, daffodils, and sunshine????
Anytime in this forum if you start a agent vs corporate thread, it doesn't matter if you specify whether it's for VZW/Cingy/USCC/Tmobile/....or whoever....TRUST me it WILL start a battle.
...
its kind of hard to say the customer is lieing when every single one comes in with the exact same story, the ARs just do not want to hear the cust complain so they just pass them on to us at corporate...this issure is not going to pass untill the AR's get on the same page as us.
...
I get more complaints about bad customer service from the corporate stores. Also customers always come in complaining about corp. stores. I spend more time fixing mistakes made by the corp. stores than selling. Why do I spend more time w/ fixing problems? because I put the customer first. I don't know where ur store is but in my market direct dealers are the biggest a**holes to customers. I don't know how u do business either, but direct dealers are shady and misleading as hell out here so back off the indirect dealers.
...
Let's stop generalizing, I'm an authorized agent, direct to USCC. I am very carefull with my integrity, and will NEVER, tell a customer wrong info intentionally, and will never send them to a corporate store unless I can't fix a problem. When a customer tells me that a corporate store will do something I can't, I do send them to corporate, since I can't do anything about what they are selling.
As for custies coming up with the same exact stories, read some of our horror stories in here, and see if you haven't had some of the same exact people saying the same exact thing in your store.
When you say things like all directs are shady, you are hurting your company. Without the directs and indirects, your company, or any other could not...
(continues)
As for custies coming up with the same exact stories, read some of our horror stories in here, and see if you haven't had some of the same exact people saying the same exact thing in your store.
When you say things like all directs are shady, you are hurting your company. Without the directs and indirects, your company, or any other could not...
(continues)
...
I sell for three different companies and have to hear all the horror stories from customers about each carriers corp stores. USCC is not available in my market and I specifically said in my market. Direct dealers don't hurt my company at all considering my company is a national retail chain owned by radioshack. Out here the corp stores are hurting their company, Not Me! And also when I go into Corp stores just doing pricematches and I got some punka** salesman telling me my company sells inferior products, and telling customers that walk in there that my company sells inferior products is ridiculous. Our products are the same as yours. That is why I am biased towards Corp Stores. I don't tell people that the Corp. Stores sell inferior produc...
(continues)
(continues)
...
Better be carefull, there are those in here that think that RadioShack stores are the spawn of hell! (I'm a RadioShack dealer and have a few horror stories about that situation as well)
...
Yea, my company is a susidiary of Radioshack, but the prices are different. We're in a lot of Malls, Pilot Travel Stations, and Sams Clubs. We get our fair share of horror stories about everyone. Corporate stores mainly though.
...
I work for a Cingular indirect and we have so many problems with the local corporate store. I've had customers that bought a phone here and happened to stop by the corporate store to buy a case for their phone. They were told that it was a mistake to do business with us and they were instructed to return their phone and cancel the line with us and then go back to the corporate store to open a new line with them.
Also, in the mall I work at we have a Verizon corporate store and two Digitell Verizon kiosks. We always have complaints from customers about the corporate store and never about the kiosks. A few of the employees at the corporate store have actually walked by our kiosk (right in front of their store) and told their friends tha...
(continues)
Also, in the mall I work at we have a Verizon corporate store and two Digitell Verizon kiosks. We always have complaints from customers about the corporate store and never about the kiosks. A few of the employees at the corporate store have actually walked by our kiosk (right in front of their store) and told their friends tha...
(continues)
...
In my area we get customers coming in saying CS told me to go to any store to have this done. Well sometimes we can help them. Usually it's something retail just cannot do. We advise the customer that CS was incorrect. They always say, "Well why would CS tell me that?" We can't say, "Because they just wanna get you off the phone and keep their call time down." Instead we say, "I'm not sure, but here is the policy regarding this issue in writing to show you that CS was incorrect." Then they get angry because we're not telling them what they want to hear. Since CS lied to them, they want us to follow through. We don't bend, because we're not stupid sheep. We repeat that retail cannot help them.
After about twenty minutes we send t...
(continues)
After about twenty minutes we send t...
(continues)
...
KUM BAY AAAAAAAAAAAH MY LORRRD KUM BAAAAAY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
...
So this lady thinks corporate stores have different policies than agent stores and gets upset. She is upset because I tell her there is a $50 charge for missing items on data related products (in this case a 2125) but customer disservice and the corporate store say they only charge $25, no matter the phone.
She gets into a hissy, wants to return everything (even though every time she goes home she finds another missing item that she says I never gave her to begin with).
Turns out the MANAGER at the corporate store was wrong, they DO charge $50 for missing items on data products. They call her, apologize and she comes back and apologizes to us (she made a scene in the mall). Well, she still wants to exchange her phone and now says co...
(continues)
She gets into a hissy, wants to return everything (even though every time she goes home she finds another missing item that she says I never gave her to begin with).
Turns out the MANAGER at the corporate store was wrong, they DO charge $50 for missing items on data products. They call her, apologize and she comes back and apologizes to us (she made a scene in the mall). Well, she still wants to exchange her phone and now says co...
(continues)
...
I agree with you on that texaswireless. Corp. stores will say one thing and the customer will relay the message as something different because they want to squeez as many free things out of us as they can. Corp. stores in my opinion as well as many customers are a bunch of inconsiderate a-holes because they only care about getting new lines an not helping the customer. so when a customer comes in with any kind of problem especially if they originally bought it from an agent, they shove them off and tell them to go back to the store they got it from. Well they went to the corp. store for a reason, mainly for 1yr xchanges, software updates or billing issues. Indirects cannot mess with those problems. Also just to set the record straight, c...
(continues)
(continues)
...
I only sell used/30 day exchange phones to people who don't have insurance and I tell them exactly what they are getting. We can't put a used(in any capacity) phone on a new line, without getting ourselves in trouble. I hate when I hear that, because we get our phones (at a higher price) from the same place the corporate stores get theirs.
...
haha you get that too? When I worked for Verizon (auth agent) Wireless zone.. people would come down from corporate saying that the customer can buy a refurb. why does corporate always assume we sell refurbs? we've always sold new phones... wtf. 👿
...
AnalogPimp said:...
I agree with you on that texaswireless. Corp. stores will say one thing and the customer will relay the message as something different because they want to squeez as many free things out of us as they can. Corp. stores in my opinion as well as many customers are a bunch of inconsiderate a-holes because they only care about getting new lines an not helping the customer. so when a customer comes in with any kind of problem especially if they originally bought it from an agent, they shove them off and tell them to go back to the store they got it from. Well they went to the corp. store for a reason, mainly for 1yr xchanges, software updates or billing issues. Indirects cannot mess with those problems. Al
(continues)
...
Just had a very nice older couple in my store. They were absolutely furious with Verizon, ready to cancel their account. They have a 2 line share plan, and had upgraded one line about a week ago, and was wanting to to do the share line on the account, but a corporate store sales rep told them they couldn't do it unless they went on a new plan which was going to raise their bill. Well luckily, I'm very well educated in my career. I spoke with them, got what they needed, looked at their account...and VIOLA! No price plan change needed! So I was able to convince them to NOT cancel the previously upgraded phone, and upgrade their other line here. The lack of knowledge from one rep, about cost the company 2 lines......and I just kept them....
(continues)
(continues)
...
well, coming from both sides, i can see how each side feels. as retail corporate, you are completely mislead on what an agent can and cannot do. it's ridiculous how much corporate stores just "assume" agents are completely capable of doing everything, when in fact we aren't. when i worked at retail, i would get SO frustrated with agent dealers sending their customers into our store saying they couldn't do things. i just kept thinking, "B/S!!!" now working at an agent, i am sick of all the people that corporate sends here. to be blunt, corporate is completely less educated than a lot of agents, but only in certain locations. i know for a fact there are corporate employees who know much more than i do. but also i know a lot more than the local...
(continues)
(continues)
...
i guess it really depends on the market and area you're from.
around here, the AR's have no customer service power. they can't change anything on accounts, all they can do is sell and take payments. i guess AR's for other companies can do a lot more then ours can.
regardless, i hate ours. just because you don't do any customer service, doesn't mean you should have the right info on policies to a customer can go to a customer service center with thr right info and the right idea about what can be done about their issue.
around here, the AR's have no customer service power. they can't change anything on accounts, all they can do is sell and take payments. i guess AR's for other companies can do a lot more then ours can.
regardless, i hate ours. just because you don't do any customer service, doesn't mean you should have the right info on policies to a customer can go to a customer service center with thr right info and the right idea about what can be done about their issue.
...
i work at a corp store and all i hear all day is "so-and-so told me that i had to come here and you'll give me a new phone for free" or "the guy over at the other store told me this would be $45 and now you're telling me something else" when you hear that 40 times a day it gets old. maybe it's not all AR's but in my area, they're all terrible. customers are always misinformed by them, they do shady stuff(such as charge for things that come free with the service, tell people they're getting free accessories, but just charging more for the phone. charging for services that arn't available yet, changing face plates and not telling customers their warranty is now voided....people are stupid, they need to be told this stuff sometimes).
it's way ...
(continues)
it's way ...
(continues)
...
Welcome to the world of an indirect Agent. The number of times customers are told they can come to us to do their NE2, or get the phone without having to do a Mail-In-Rebate. Or how about the custys told they can come here and buy a refurb for $50 (dont have ANY refurbs), or because verizon said so, they can come here to exchange/return their accessory they bought online. Ooh! I know even better! Telling the custys that since I'm a dealer, I will personally pay their activation fees. I think the best part was when a corporate rep told a customer they couldn't do an upgrade on a share line at my store. The customer came in to ask "just in case" and I was able to fully service them.....
...
I have TONS of people who got their phones from Radio Shack bring their broken phones here and when we tell them that they don't have our insurance, they have Radio Shack insurance they get pissed and say that that's not what the salesperson at Radio Shack told them. We always tell people not to go there to get phones. We'll even price match within a reasonable amount just to avoid the headache in the future.
...
I work for a sub-company of Radioshack and not all Radioshack employees are shady. My customers know exactly what they're getting everytime. I never mislead the customer by saying our warranty will the same thing as the carriers insurance. There are going to shady salesmen every you go whether it be a corporate store or authorized agent. Don't single out all Radioshack employees. Not all of us are a**holes. I could write a novel with the customer complaints I get from Corp. Stores.
...
Is your company anything like the Radioshack just down the street from me? They would sell a customer a Free phone, but make them pay for the charger and battery...that comes packaged IN the box.....
...
no not at all. I would never do that. You should go down to that Radioshack and kick them in their f***kin balls for doing such stupid sh*t!
...
I'm a RadioShack dealer, and our DM suggested that we not give away the stuff that comes in the box. We reacted by giving away car chargers with every sale. I think thats so nasty to do. Actually, he worded it as a "bundle". We explained that we were a local business and that we have to go to church with these people, and send our kids to school with these people. We can't run and hide in another community, we live here! I couldn't believe his attitude. I do know that corporate RadioShacks do some crappy things to customers. (Not all, but some)
...
Yea, we would never do that either. I work for the retail services side of Radioshack, not the corporate side. We don't even sell batteries by themselves. Even if we did, selling the house chargers and the batteries seperately is ridiculous.
...
We sell replacement batteries. I've heard rumors (you know how customers will talk) about Verizon phones not coming with the belt clips, or headsets, or sometimes not even the house charger. I know as a fact that Verizon repacks certain phones, but I didn't know if they took things out of the box or not. Almost every phone I sell comes with a belt clip and a headset with the phone/battery/charger/manual in the box from the manufacturer.
...
VZW does not have the Cases or Holsters in the box anymore. Only phone I know that comes with a holster is the Q. Only a small select few come with a headset. My guess is about 90% of our phones come with just the Phone, Battery, User Guide, and Charger. Anything else is additional.
...
You know that motorola, lg and kyocera all put headsets and holsters in the box from the company. I was just flabergasted when I found out that VZW repacked and stole all that stuff out of the boxes, and then charged the customer for a "bundle" of products that they should have gotten for free. That's just wild.
...
I never knew that! The collateral on the new upcoming phones I get straight from the manufacturers always say what's "included in box". It never says anything about headsets, car chargers, or cases/holsters.... This is news to me. But like it matters... I always had customers who wanted a discount off the cost of the phone because "i'll never use that clip anyways, i'm paying for something i'll never use" and now i get the customers "well i should get all this other stuff for free, just because i've been a customer for 100 years" Our customers generally don't pitch too much of a fit over it...but it was a nice gesture when atleast a little something besides the obvious battery and charger came with the phone.
...
The real problem though, is not the agents. It's the fact that the companies don't share information between telesales, corporate stores and authorized dealers, etc at the expense of the customer. When I have to call in to customer care for something we can't do in the store, 6 out of 10 times I get someone who actually knows what they're doing and the rest of the time I get people who don't have a clue what they're doing. So it's really just a lack of communication between the different parts of the company, not the actual agents themselves.
And I used to work for an affiliate market, and was told from day 1 we cannot do upgrades or activations on out of market numbers. After a few months I found out that our store didn't do them because y...
(continues)
And I used to work for an affiliate market, and was told from day 1 we cannot do upgrades or activations on out of market numbers. After a few months I found out that our store didn't do them because y...
(continues)
...
That makes no sense. If your company does not make comish on an out of state activation why would that make you mad? It means if you do it and give the customer a discount on the equipment your company loses money. If they don't get the comish then you can't pass the savings on to the customer and you have to send them down the road. The only option would be if the customer would pay cost for the equipment. Why would a customer do that when they can drive an hour down the road and save $????
...
It makes great sense...As an agent (especially for a national carrier) you should be allowed to do national activations. There is a reason they came into the store and if you can fit them with a product they want and need you should get paid for it. Regualarly agents are restricted on what they can and can't do, what they can and can't sell. I understand most of the restrictions are great, but denying a customer because they live outside the state is crap, I deal with it regularly here...
but I do see where viva is coming from..
but I do see where viva is coming from..
...
