Awkward Encounter w/Verizon Rep

[blairh]

My girlfriend was at my house and I was talking with a business associate on my phone. My doorbell rang and a Verizon rep was standing outside the door. My girlfriend answered the door and started a conversation with the rep. I was in another room however was listening to said conversation while still talking to my business partner.

The Verizon rep stated to my gf that he was in the area looking to switch people over to Verizon cable services (I have Comcast). He then began to ask my girlfriend how many TV's our home had, what of those were HD, how many DVR's, and finally how much our monthly bill came out to be.

My gf is too kind by default, and to my dismay she began to answer the questions honestly and even attempted to recall my monthly Comcast bill. I was going to stay in the other room with hopes that she would eventually say "no thanks" to this Verizon guy, but sure enough he asked to speak with me directly.

My gf comes and gets me. I get off my phone call and meet the guy at my door. He does his sales pitch, goes on about features, quotes the amount my gf said I pay monthly with Comcast, and wants me to switch providers that very instant and sign a contract with him.

I was disturbed by a few things. First off, I will acknowledge that my gf simply shouldn't have given this guy any answers which gave him some ammo if you will in our discussion. But at the same time I really felt his actions were very intrusive. I could understand a mailing or a phone call attempting to get me to switch, but this directness at the door was troubling IMO.

Secondly, what followed was worse. I explained that I had been with Comcast for almost 10 years and was very happy with their service in that time. His response was, "well, that's good that you are happy, that's important, but we can save you a lot of money". I then explained that my gf was wrong in her quoted numbers, that we had cable/internet/phone, plus a few premiums added to our cable. I was confident that I would not be paying much less, if at all, with Verizon providing me with the same service. Plus I truly had no desire to switch.

At this point I felt I was finally breaking him down. But I was steaming inside. I played it entirely cool but was reading to raise my voice and get serious if he insisted on pushing. Finally he just, "okay, thanks for your time" and walked away. Our entire convo easily lasted over 7 minutes and was incredibly annoying and awkward for me.

I really feel Verizon is pushing it with these door-to-door sales pitches. I wanted to tell the guy that even if I was debating switching I probably wouldn't given how weird this entire encounter was. I have serious problems with someone walking up to my door and asking someone how many TV's I have and what not. I also was displeased with how confident he was that I would be paying less with Verizon given that he had no clue what exactly I was playing and what services Comcast was offering me.

I'd be curious if any other MR members have had a similar experience recently with a home visit by a Verizon rep.

 

[Aeolius]

I live on a few acres and have a 1/2 mile long gravel driveway. That being said, I would tend to greet unwanted solicitors thusly:

 

[killerrobot]

I'd be curious if any other MR members have had a similar experience recently with a home visit by a Verizon rep.

I was hit up all the time in my last apartment complex by Charter. I just always said I wasn't interested and shut the door. Never felt bad about it because I was 100% honest in my reply.

 

[OutThere]

Sounds like an excellent way to find out how many high-value TVs you have such that they can return and....purloin....them.

 

[yg17]

I was hit up all the time in my last apartment complex by Charter. I just always said I wasn't interested and shut the door. Never felt bad about it because I was 100% honest in my reply.

Haven't had a Charter rep come to my door yet, but they mail me crap at least twice a week and have been doing that for the past year and a half since I moved into my apartment. What a waste of money and paper.

Had an AT&T U-verse rep come to my door to do a sales pitch despite the fact I already have U-verse. You think they'd have a list of who already has service before bugging them, so they could spend time selling to people who aren't yet customers.

 

[mscriv]

I think you're overreacting a little bit. Why let something simple like door to door sales get you so upset? They are looking for new customers and door to door is simply one way to do it. It's not the reps fault that your girlfriend engaged him in conversation or gave him inaccurate numbers. If you don't want the services or aren't interested in listenting then just politely say so and close the door. If you don't want solicitation at all then put up a small sign outside your door and don't answer it if someone knocks.

I have a part time job that involves sales and I'll never understand people who act like "sales people" aren't supposed to "sell" you. That's their job. They are supposed to be confident and excited about the product they are selling. The key is to be genuine about it and accept no without being pushy. A sleazeball sales person is one thing, but if the person is respectful then don't get all bent out of shape.

People come to my door from time to time and I just tell them I'm not interested. One time a young boy was selling magazines for a "college scholarship". When I said no, he said, "thanks a lot mister, don't you want me to go to college so I can get a good job!" I give him kudos for trying the guilt trip approach and thought it was kinda funny, but I know that others would probably think he was rude. Trust me, door to door sales people are not worth getting upset over.

 

[wordoflife]

Don't take this the wrong way, but I tend to blame your gf. I do agree with you though, they really shouldn't be selling door to door. I can't believer Verizon would stoop that low. If they lower their prices and competitive, the rest will fall into place for them.

 

[Aeolius]

One time a young boy was selling magazines for a "college scholarship". When I said no, he said, "thanks a lot mister, don't you want me to go to college so I can get a good job!"

That's when you are supposed to break down in tears and start sobbing "BUT I CAN'T READ!!!". That tends to slow them down for a bit.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Honestly this really should not bother you that much. My guess is Verizon just recently got the area hooked up. I know AT&T did that with Uverse in some areas and hell that is why my parents switch over to them. It was what pushed them over the edge on it as they knew I had it and I really liked it.

They did some other areas as well. It is a good way to drum up business. They only tend to do it when it is new in the area as most people do not learn about it other wise. They check when they first move in then never again.

 

[renewed]

I would like to know what the OP does for a living. If it has ANYTHING to do with sales than I don't see how this should be an issue.

 

[nospeed411]

When I have some "unknown" come to my door I usually take off my shirt and answer door with a resounding..."WHAT?" All while wearing my chest holstered .50cal Desert Eagle....seems to pretty much take care of em.

Really scared the crap out of a girl scout last year....YES I bought a ton of cookies from her and apologized profusely.

 

[Aeolius]

When I have some "unknown" come to my door I usually take off my shirt and answer door with a resounding..."WHAT?" All while wearing my chest holstered .50cal Desert Eagle....seems to pretty much take care of em.

Really scared the crap out of a girl scout last year....YES I bought a ton of cookies from her and apologized profusely.

I remember the day when the Charles Chip man delivered potato chips to houses in the neighborhood, glass milk bottles were left in the milk box, and we got occasional calls from knife and encyclopedia salesmen. Alas, those days are long gone. If you knock on my door and I do not know you, you better have a badge.

As for the cookies... were they made from real girl scouts?

 

[senseless]

You can put up a sign that says "NO PEDDLERS OR TRAMPS". However, I didn't mind the Verizon sales guy and actually signed up and have been very happy with FIOS service.

 

[Svend]

They probably just hooked up service in your area. He was trying to sell you service or at least let you know Verizon is in the area. One way of selling something is to show your product is a better value than the competitor. Hence, why he asked what services you had and how much they cost. It doesn't seem like a big deal at all. Odd are, several people didn't know Verizon was even in the area until the rep came around and switched.

My girlfriend was at my house and I was talking with a business associate on my phone. My doorbell rang and a Verizon rep was standing outside the door. My girlfriend answered the door and started a conversation with the rep. I was in another room however was listening to said conversation while still talking to my business partner.

The Verizon rep stated to my gf that he was in the area looking to switch people over to Verizon cable services (I have Comcast). He then began to ask my girlfriend how many TV's our home had, what of those were HD, how many DVR's, and finally how much our monthly bill came out to be.

My gf is too kind by default, and to my dismay she began to answer the questions honestly and even attempted to recall my monthly Comcast bill. I was going to stay in the other room with hopes that she would eventually say "no thanks" to this Verizon guy, but sure enough he asked to speak with me directly.

My gf comes and gets me. I get off my phone call and meet the guy at my door. He does his sales pitch, goes on about features, quotes the amount my gf said I pay monthly with Comcast, and wants me to switch providers that very instant and sign a contract with him.

I was disturbed by a few things. First off, I will acknowledge that my gf simply shouldn't have given this guy any answers which gave him some ammo if you will in our discussion. But at the same time I really felt his actions were very intrusive. I could understand a mailing or a phone call attempting to get me to switch, but this directness at the door was troubling IMO.

Secondly, what followed was worse. I explained that I had been with Comcast for almost 10 years and was very happy with their service in that time. His response was, "well, that's good that you are happy, that's important, but we can save you a lot of money". I then explained that my gf was wrong in her quoted numbers, that we had cable/internet/phone, plus a few premiums added to our cable. I was confident that I would not be paying much less, if at all, with Verizon providing me with the same service. Plus I truly had no desire to switch.

At this point I felt I was finally breaking him down. But I was steaming inside. I played it entirely cool but was reading to raise my voice and get serious if he insisted on pushing. Finally he just, "okay, thanks for your time" and walked away. Our entire convo easily lasted over 7 minutes and was incredibly annoying and awkward for me.

I really feel Verizon is pushing it with these door-to-door sales pitches. I wanted to tell the guy that even if I was debating switching I probably wouldn't given how weird this entire encounter was. I have serious problems with someone walking up to my door and asking someone how many TV's I have and what not. I also was displeased with how confident he was that I would be paying less with Verizon given that he had no clue what exactly I was playing and what services Comcast was offering me.

I'd be curious if any other MR members have had a similar experience recently with a home visit by a Verizon rep.

 

[blairh]

There are too many of you to reply to so I'll just keep this general and this will be my last post on this specific thread. I feel what he did was very invasive. Not necessarily rude, but invasive. Yes, my girlfriend is at fault in part, like I said at the start. However he made things awkward for me. Perhaps you needed to be there to fully understand his tone, the way he pushed on, etc. I've dealt with countless customer reps in my days plus have worked in sales years back. There is a friendly, knowledgeable, nice way of doing things. And then there is the awkward stare from the rep when you say you simply aren't interested at this time.

I don't think the Verizon rep should have asked such questions in the first place. Yes, he's trying to get an idea of what my setup is, my bill is. However even with those initial answers he has no idea what my bill is and what additional channels, etc, that we have. In fact I'd have to go print out a bill and break it down with him to even get an idea if I were to save by switching to Verizon. To just proclaim, "oh yeah, we can lower your bill", is ridiculous. He has no clue if Verizon would cost me any less with the exact same service. Furthermore if I really wanted to lower my current bill I'd just call Comcast then switch to Verizon. A better question from him would have been, "Are you happy with Comcast and their service?" Did he ever ask me that? Of course not.

Anyways clearly I disagree with the people here who don't see it my way. I thought some of you would similar stories but apparently not. I've shared this story with my friends and they in turn agree that this guy was pushing and they did have similar stories to share.

I'm done on this thread so if you want to add to it, just know I won't be reading it. Cheers.

 

[iJohnHenry]

He obviously crossed over the line of personal space, and unless the posters here were actually witness to the events, it's unlike they will feel exactly the same.

I'm with you. Bye.

 

[Dmac77]

There are too many of you to reply to so I'll just keep this general and this will be my last post on this specific thread. I feel what he did was very invasive. Not necessarily rude, but invasive. Yes, my girlfriend is at fault in part, like I said at the start. However he made things awkward for me. Perhaps you needed to be there to fully understand his tone, the way he pushed on, etc. I've dealt with countless customer reps in my days plus have worked in sales years back. There is a friendly, knowledgeable, nice way of doing things. And then there is the awkward stare from the rep when you say you simply aren't interested at this time.

I don't think the Verizon rep should have asked such questions in the first place. Yes, he's trying to get an idea of what my setup is, my bill is. However even with those initial answers he has no idea what my bill is and what additional channels, etc, that we have. In fact I'd have to go print out a bill and break it down with him to even get an idea if I were to save by switching to Verizon. To just proclaim, "oh yeah, we can lower your bill", is ridiculous. He has no clue if Verizon would cost me any less with the exact same service. Furthermore if I really wanted to lower my current bill I'd just call Comcast then switch to Verizon. A better question from him would have been, "Are you happy with Comcast and their service?" Did he ever ask me that? Of course not.

Anyways clearly I disagree with the people here who don't see it my way. I thought some of you would similar stories but apparently not. I've shared this story with my friends and they in turn agree that this guy was pushing and they did have similar stories to share.

I'm done on this thread so if you want to add to it, just know I won't be reading it. Cheers.

I've read through all the comments in this thread, and at first didn't think it would be worth replying, but your new post has made me rethink that. You are really overreacting to the situation. I mean why couldn't you have just shut the door in his face if you wanted to end the conversation that was so "invasive" and "awkward?" Was he inside your house? Was he sticking a foot in the door? From what you've described the answer to both of those questions is no. So again I ask, what prevented you from simply closing the door and moving on with your life? You act like a salesman at your door was a traumatic experience.