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Apple should do secret shopper studies at Verizon Stores

A

AppleDroid

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 10, 2011
631
84
Illinois
So I went to a local Verizon store yesterday to check out devices, mainly the SIII and the iPhone 4s. What I was greeted with was a guy hell bent on selling me a "Razr Maxx".

I tried to kindly get away from the MAXX area but he kept trying to herd me back there. I explained I'm interested in the GSIII and the iPhone (Which was hidden along the back wall away from every other device). He then went on to tell me how horrible Apple's ecosystem is, how crappy the small screen was, that it's the only non-LTE device they sell and that I really, really want a MAXX because every employee has a MAXX! and he sells a million of them! MAAAAXXXX!!!!

The only thing he didn't do, and I expected him to at this point, was pull out lighter fluid, douse the area around the Apple section and build a moat of fire to keep me from it.

I understand they get commission and they are going to get a lot more selling me an overpriced $299 MAXX (which is about $90 anywhere else) but good lord that was uncomfortable.

Has anyone else had this or a similar experience?
 
Just to let you know that this sort of things happen around the world (not just Verizon or US). Companies usually have products that they 'push' to sell. Moreover, it's also users' responsibility to do their research before purchasing such expensive item. Don't always blame the salesperson because they work for their commission and following company's policies for pushing certain products.
 
You should have filed a complaint with Verizon. This staff is clearly not respecting you as a consumer and your decisions on being bent to buy an iPhone. Also, he seem to be giving false information and seem to be influencing you based on his thoughts! (Or maybe Verizon's? I have heard similar stories of Verizon steering customers away to LTE devices)

Why didn't he steer you to pre-order a Galaxy S3 though. (Actually, I'm not sure if its currently selling or just available for pre-order!) Its also an LTE device! In fact, its more pricey than a maxx so naturally they earn more.

Perhaps you should try visiting the same store again and make sure you state extremely clearly that you don't want a Razr Maxx and if they still continue to harass you, you should threaten to file a complaint for harassment or even terminate your contract altogether.
If not, perhaps you should just go to another store.
Any customer that walks into the store is a potential customer and if I was Verizon I would make sure that customer walks out with any device that would sure guarantee me a profit and a new paying customer. Period.

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gngan said:
Just to let you know that this sort of things happen around the world (not just Verizon or US). Companies usually have products that they 'push' to sell. Moreover, it's also users' responsibility to do their research before purchasing such expensive item. Don't always blame the salesperson because they work for their commission and following company's policies for pushing certain products.
Click to expand...

Agreed! The operator I'm on seem to push the iPhone 4S alot, followed by the Galaxy S3 then a bunch of Sony Xperia devices which I'm quite certain its Sony who wants them to promote it.

And I'll take back my point of complaining. Sometimes its just not the salesperson's fault. He would be caught in a awkward situation whether to obey the company or be friendly with customers. We consumers must also practice some tolerance and even some openness to such things.
 
It's happened to a couple of my friends as well.

It bothers me not because of the iPhone but because it breaks the trust between consumer and sales and it's what gives commission a bad name.
 
gngan said:
Just to let you know that this sort of things happen around the world (not just Verizon or US). Companies usually have products that they 'push' to sell. Moreover, it's also users' responsibility to do their research before purchasing such expensive item. Don't always blame the salesperson because they work for their commission and following company's policies for pushing certain products.
Click to expand...

As a former sales clerk I completely understand that but after it was clear I wasn't interested in it, and my wife really wanted to see the iPhone, he wouldn't back down then began blasting Apple saying they are a horrible company and listed the reasons. That was wholly inappropriate.

As an informed consumer (way more than he was led to believe, I just let him go on to see how much BS I could pick up on) I'd hate to be a normal consumer walking into that store.
 
I was actually in a store yesterday and my friend and I were looking at the 4S and messing around with siri and the sales person was near us with a customer, looking at none other than the razr maxx, and we said we didnt like android to our other friend and the sales person was like well the razr is currently the top selling phone at verizon. I said i knew that already, and my friend said we were waiting until oct for the new iphone, and he was just like, ya ok, pshhh. I was like wow, did that really just happen...
 
AppleDroid said:
As a former sales clerk I completely understand that but after it was clear I wasn't interested in it, and my wife really wanted to see the iPhone, he wouldn't back down then began blasting Apple saying they are a horrible company and listed the reasons. That was wholly inappropriate.

As an informed consumer (way more than he was led to believe, I just let him go on to see how much BS I could pick up on) I'd hate to be a normal consumer walking into that store.
Click to expand...

He flat out sucks. Not as a person but as a salesman. You NEVER disparage your vendors under no circumstances. I would have asked for a new salesrep at that point. He crossed the line and went into manipulation mode and you certainly don't have to pay for the right be be manipulated. Plenty of people that will gladly do it for free.
 
nuckinfutz said:
He flat out sucks. Not as a person but as a salesman. You NEVER disparage your vendors under no circumstances. I would have asked for a new salesrep at that point. He crossed the line and went into manipulation mode and you certainly don't have to pay for the right be be manipulated. Plenty of people that will gladly do it for free.
Click to expand...

Agreed 100%. A salesperson should always remain neutral. If their company wants them to push a product they should push it discreetly yet manage to convince their customers.

It goes like:

Oh, you're interested in the iPhone. Why not you take a look at some of our Android devices first? They run LTE, the fastest network speeds available. Particularly the Droid Razr Maxx. If not, I'm sure you would be happy with the iPhone 4S nevertheless. Like the Razr Maxx, its also one of the top selling phones. I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed with the razr though. I'll recommand you to just try the one that you like.

Something like that. I cooked that ^ in a minute!
 
nuckinfutz said:
It's happened to a couple of my friends as well.

It bothers me not because of the iPhone but because it breaks the trust between consumer and sales and it's what gives commission a bad name.
Click to expand...

At the risk of sounding horribly cynical, I would suggest that there is never any trust between customer and salesperson.

Especially in a commission situation, buying a car for example, the consumer and the salesperson are in an adversarial relationship. It is the salespersons job to sell the item for the highest price possible. It is the consumers goal to buy the item for the lowest price possible. As the goals are diametrically opposed, it is a zero sum game...one individual's gain is the other individual's loss.

In the situation where one phone earns the salesperson more commission than another, it is not a relationship of cooperation and trust, but rather an adversarial relationship. It is not really the salesperson's job, nor in their financial interest, to guide the consumer to an item where the salesperson "loses" money.

This is not in any way a condemnation of the salesperson, but rather a simple matter of their income.
 
AppleDroid said:
So I went to a local Verizon store yesterday to check out devices, mainly the SIII and the iPhone 4s. What I was greeted with was a guy hell bent on selling me a "Razr Maxx".

I tried to kindly get away from the MAXX area but he kept trying to herd me back there. I explained I'm interested in the GSIII and the iPhone (Which was hidden along the back wall away from every other device). He then went on to tell me how horrible Apple's ecosystem is, how crappy the small screen was, that it's the only non-LTE device they sell and that I really, really want a MAXX because every employee has a MAXX! and he sells a million of them! MAAAAXXXX!!!!

The only thing he didn't do, and I expected him to at this point, was pull out lighter fluid, douse the area around the Apple section and build a moat of fire to keep me from it.

I understand they get commission and they are going to get a lot more selling me an overpriced $299 MAXX (which is about $90 anywhere else) but good lord that was uncomfortable.

Has anyone else had this or a similar experience?
Click to expand...

Are you sure you're not over-exaggerating? Either you are, or you got a crazy VZW employee who is clearly an exception to the norm. I've never had an experience like that in a Verizon store, nor do I know anyone that has. Its really just the few stories I've read online about psycho VZW employees pushing people to Androids. The VZW employees I've asked about phones have been very helpful. Sure, they would say having a 4G-capable phone would be better (because 4G is better than 3G), but thats about it.

The only reason I suspect that VZW would push people toward Androids is because they've got their pre-installed VZ-crapware on them (VZ Nav, VCast, VZ Videos, etc). That would answer why the iPhones would be hidden near the back of the store, but wouldn't explain employees pushing customers away from iPhones (what have they got to gain by doing that?).

People say commission is a factor, although I'm not sure that whole thing is true. The 4S is $199/$299. The Maxx is $299. The S3 is $199/$249. I've heard (directly from a VZW employee) that VZW employees don't make much commission off the phones themselves, but rather from the accessories and insurance. And iPhone users are notorious for buying cases/chargers/screen protectors/etc (because lets face it, we do baby our iPhones).
 
Last edited:
ritmomundo said:
Are you sure you're not over-exaggerating? Either you are, or you got a crazy VZW employee who is clearly an exception to the norm. \
Click to expand...

I honestly wish I was but sadly no. When I started touching a Galaxy Nexus he went on to tell me how he has barely sold a handful of them because people keep buying the Razr Maxx. No matter what I did it went right back to that device. I was then told that every employee there has one and they love them and all recommend them because of how wonderful they are. It just so happens to be the most overpriced device they sell. :rolleyes:
 
AppleDroid said:
As a former sales clerk I completely understand that but after it was clear I wasn't interested in it, and my wife really wanted to see the iPhone, he wouldn't back down then began blasting Apple saying they are a horrible company and listed the reasons. That was wholly inappropriate.

As an informed consumer (way more than he was led to believe, I just let him go on to see how much BS I could pick up on) I'd hate to be a normal consumer walking into that store.
Click to expand...

Don't blame the guy, blame Apple. As many people on this forum like to say when explaining Apple policies - Verizon's primary responsibility is to maximize the profits of its shareholders. This means selling phones with lower subsidies. Since Apple demands the highest subsidies for their phone, they get the proper treatment. It would be criminal for Verizon not to act this way.
 
AppleDroid said:
I honestly wish I was but sadly no. When I started touching a Galaxy Nexus he went on to tell me how he has barely sold a handful of them because people keep buying the Razr Maxx. No matter what I did it went right back to that device. I was then told that every employee there has one and they love them and all recommend them because of how wonderful they are. It just so happens to be the most overpriced device they sell. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Actually, the iPhone 4S (64GB) is $399. Just sayin... Link
 
AppleDroid said:
So I went to a local Verizon store yesterday to check out devices, mainly the SIII and the iPhone 4s. What I was greeted with was a guy hell bent on selling me a "Razr Maxx".

I tried to kindly get away from the MAXX area but he kept trying to herd me back there. I explained I'm interested in the GSIII and the iPhone (Which was hidden along the back wall away from every other device). He then went on to tell me how horrible Apple's ecosystem is, how crappy the small screen was, that it's the only non-LTE device they sell and that I really, really want a MAXX because every employee has a MAXX! and he sells a million of them! MAAAAXXXX!!!!

The only thing he didn't do, and I expected him to at this point, was pull out lighter fluid, douse the area around the Apple section and build a moat of fire to keep me from it.

I understand they get commission and they are going to get a lot more selling me an overpriced $299 MAXX (which is about $90 anywhere else) but good lord that was uncomfortable.

Has anyone else had this or a similar experience?
Click to expand...

Complete opposite out here. I have heard multiple salespeople pushing the 4s on people at verizon and AT&T. most of the Verizon employees had iPhones on them too as personal devices.
 
ritmomundo said:
But if it was about commission, as you mentioned, then wouldn't that make more sense? Since you've already shown interest in the iPhone?
Click to expand...

Sorry I'm trying to figure out where you're going with this but yes? Also he didn't try to sell us that model. My guess is that he gets a much bigger commission on "Droid" devices.
 
AppleDroid said:
So I went to a local Verizon store yesterday to check out devices, mainly the SIII and the iPhone 4s. What I was greeted with was a guy hell bent on selling me a "Razr Maxx".

I tried to kindly get away from the MAXX area but he kept trying to herd me back there. I explained I'm interested in the GSIII and the iPhone (Which was hidden along the back wall away from every other device). He then went on to tell me how horrible Apple's ecosystem is, how crappy the small screen was, that it's the only non-LTE device they sell and that I really, really want a MAXX because every employee has a MAXX! and he sells a million of them! MAAAAXXXX!!!!

The only thing he didn't do, and I expected him to at this point, was pull out lighter fluid, douse the area around the Apple section and build a moat of fire to keep me from it.

I understand they get commission and they are going to get a lot more selling me an overpriced $299 MAXX (which is about $90 anywhere else) but good lord that was uncomfortable.

Has anyone else had this or a similar experience?
Click to expand...

I thought that was funny. :cool:
 
I've been discouraged at Verizon to get an iPhone before, and what did I observe......what appeared to be something like 5 out of maybe 9 or 10 employees carrying or tinkering on their own iPhone. They'll push whatever they have to. Other than that they really do push accessory bundles and cases/holsters like crazy.
 
IMO and I used to work pt in sales at Office Depot unless you're old and grey headed the only thing you should need a salesman for is to go get your product from lockup or behind the counter.

With the Internet you should be able to get all the info you need for big ticket items. Go into a store to put hands on it and have the sales guy go fetch it.
 
This is why I buy from Apple stores. To avoid just that.

My last trip there they had no idea what they were doing and to add insult to the injury they were telling me to buy an Android... Then after I bought it they told me that I was going to regret it...
 
Here is the real reason why the OP as well as many others have this experience. BTW I used to work as a salesperson at one of these cell phone stores. First of all- salespeople don't make commission on the sale of phones. They only make commission on the activation of new lines of service. That said, they do have "pushes" that give you incentives to push certain phones. So for example the salesperson that sells the most of phone x that month will get a tv or a vacation or some cash, etc. The reason they are pushing that phone is this: Samsung Galaxy just came out. It's new and hot and will move on it's own for now. Give them a month and they will be pushing it hard as well. The iPhone won't be updated until fall so there is no need to push it now. You can bet they will be shoving the iPhone 4/4s down your throat a few weeks before iPhone 5 comes out. The reason they push Android so hard vs the iPhone is because the iPhone is updated once per year. That makes its shelf life a full year. There is a new and "hot" Android every few weeks. A company like Verizon has to buy millions of units. Then they have only a couple of weeks to sell them until they become free paperweights that they can't give away. Thus they have to sell them fast and hard since the value of an Android drains faster then its battery. And that's why you have that type of experience.
 
Just ask the sales rep why the razr max and droid razr and galaxy nexus are so far behind in Android updates.

If Verizon has a pledge that their current products get the latest android OS within 3 months of google releasing the source to the public than you will buy the device.

If they can vouch for that. You will buy the phone. And it has to be over the air update or some other simple non root/hacker rom update USB update.

That will stop them dead in their tracks abot recommending the android devices or at least they will stop trying to convince you.
 
this is just how commission based sales work. It's not fun for the customer. Which is why I never go in to the ATT stores.

I am 100% positive they get secret shopped. But Apple can not tell verizon how to market their devices. They can give the employes incentive to sell iPhones, but why? The iPhone is selling very well as it is. Every time I have ever been in a cell phone store in recent years the salesmen (that's what they are, just salesmen) are always pushing Android phones. I have never seen them push iPhone or Windows either. Blackberry is all but dead. I don't know why, but they always focus on pushing Android. Sad thing is most people that don't need 50% of the features end up buying in to it.
 
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