Things you hate about phone salesmen

[thehustleman]

As many of you know I'm a phone salesman. I never knew how much people in my occupation were hated until I started working here, then watching coworkers I started to see why we are hated by many.

Here's what I noticed

1. Lying about product specifications
Not long ago a customer asked a coworker if we had the one, he said "not exactly but we have our own version of the one, it's the exact same processor, a better camera, better screen, bigger screen, better battery life of almost double the talk time" I've heard things like this and even worse from coworkers. I'd correct them but I'm not allowed to interject in another salesman's interaction with a customer no matter what lies they tell. When the customer walks away though, they are fair game. You don't have to lie to sell a great product


2. Not disclosing fees
If there is a restocking fee, let it be known at the time of purchase, if there's an additional ETF, disclose that. No one likes surprises when it comes to money

3. Trying to force overpriced accessories down their throat
If they are coming from a galaxy s to a Droid, why are you trying to sell extra 40$ chargers?

4. Trying to force pull through items (jet pack, home phone, converged solutions) on them



I think this is why I'm putting up high numbers because I don't pressure anyone or mislead anyone. I give it to them straight. Why can't my coworkers understand that

 

[lordofthereef]

I have honestly never been pushed one way or the other, though I have been with AT&T for ages now. I am always asked if I want to buy anything else, but I never felt pressured into buying anything. That said, I always come knowing exactly what I want. Same goes for car dealerships. I have researched the vehicle and often know more about the specifics of the vehicle than the salesperson. When I am teaching the salesperson about features he didn't even know existed, I think he finds it harder to try and push a sale on me.

 

[Bear]

To add to the list of issues with the salespeople, they don't actually know the specifications of the phones and don't know details about the phone plans that they should.

And also only trying to push the favored plan of the month even if they have one that costs less and fits your needs better.

 

[maflynn]

I've never had any problems with a salesmen. I ask about the fees, they tell me, and its written up in the agreements I sign so its no secret.

I tell them no for the accessories and I'm firm and they back off.

As for lying about specs, I come into the store knowing what I want and knowing the specs. I don't rely on someone looking to sell me something to be the one to confirm specs.

Basically as an educated consumer, I know what I want, and if the store I go in is giving me grief or headaches, I walk out. There's a bunch of other stores I can buy my phone from.

 

[thehustleman]

I've never had any problems with a salesmen. I ask about the fees, they tell me, and its written up in the agreements I sign so its no secret.

I tell them no for the accessories and I'm firm and they back off.

As for lying about specs, I come into the store knowing what I want and knowing the specs. I don't rely on someone looking to sell me something to be the one to confirm specs.

Basically as an educated consumer, I know what I want, and if the store I go in is giving me grief or headaches, I walk out. There's a bunch of other stores I can buy my phone from.

So true.

Some customers like the one from my example already knew the specs on the phone, he just asked the guy to see if he would tell the truth

 

[SMDBill]

In this modern era it's almost sad when people go shopping for an expensive product without doing the preparatory research ahead of time. I like to read reviews, compare prices if competitors exist, know about specials or rebates, understand accessories available and plan to buy or not buy, etc. We just have so much available at our fingertips these days that going anywhere to make a big purchase without the necessary research can lead to some costly mistakes and buy-in to false sales pitches.

I can say I've never gotten a "pitch" at a wireless sales location. They've always been very straight-up so I feel fortunate that I haven't had anything turn ugly (I'm not at all tolerant of someone lying to me).

 

[Oridus]

I wish I had time to talk about this right now, because this is an issue I feel strongly about seeing as I am a salesman as well. Later today ill post my experiences over the last 3 years as one.

 

[thehustleman]

I wish I had time to talk about this right now, because this is an issue I feel strongly about seeing as I am a salesman as well. Later today ill post my experiences over the last 3 years as one.

I'm looking forward to it.

 

[wordoflife]

Sometimes they are good, and sometimes not so much.
When I got my 4S, they added a bunch of BS services to my plan, and I got billed for it. I didn't have to pay for it, but it was an inconvenience so get all that garbage off my line. But the othertime we got an iPhone, we got a case and phone charger for a really good price.

 

[maflynn]

[MOD NOTE]
Stop the bickering and stay on topic

 

[cynics]

Lying or "guessing". If I'm there to buy something, anything I'd say 95% of the time I know more about that product then the person selling it too me.

So its very very annoying to hear a sales person say "oh it's this or that" and know that he is full of crap. I find it awkward at the very least.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

Here, I'll try again:

What I hate about phone OR MOST salesmen:

They are so desperate to make a commission, most will say anything for a sale.
Must be hard to do a job in which you pretty much have to change your story for each customer to make your pay for the day.

 

[Interstella5555]

Pretending that any of you actually have any interest beyond your cut.

 

[thehustleman]

Here, I'll try again:

What I hate about phone OR MOST salesmen:

They are so desperate to make a commission, most will say anything for a sale.
Must be hard to do a job in which you pretty much have to change your story for each customer to make your pay for the day.

Now I TOTALLY agree with you.

I've seen this in coworkers, yet they get jealous of me because I always outsell then in everything.

Why?


Because customers can usually spot a fake a mile away.


Their problem is they usually try to sell everyone the big dollar phone instead of hearing the customers needs when sometimes the best phone isn't the best for them.

Why sell them a galaxy s 3 or 4 when they don't need it because all they are doing is emailing, calling, and texting?

Or sometimes they don't even need a smart phone, just a feature phone.

But they will push smart phones because the commission is better in smartphones.

Many people try to push the free phones because contrary to popular belief, the big dollar phones don't make us big profit, it's the free phones that do it.

Customers think they are cheating is out of commission when is the other way around

 

[Applejuiced]

I don't like when they try to push accessories or warranty service on you or other things that one does not want or need.
I don't like having to say no I'm ok with that and have to repeat it 10 times.
Yes but what if that happens or if you drop it or this or that.
It gets annoying, I know they're trying to make money but I guess my patience level is low.
That's why I like shopping online instead. I know what I want and everything that needs to be asked I can find out myself online.
Thank you.

 

[darster]

The only time I have been in a Verizon store was years ago when I first signed up. Haven't talk to a phone salesperson since. Not saying they are bad, because I would not know. All my upgrades, changes to plans and phone purchases have been done online ever since.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I hate phone salesmen who pretend to be totally impartial on all devices, but then lead you towards their preferred product which either gives them more commission, or is just the one in their pocket. When I was buying my iPhone I knew what I wanted and the salesman was trying to put me off by promoting the phone I already owned (he didn't know at the time). He clearly didn't like the iPhone which wasn't constructive so I walked out.

I also hate it when you buy a device and they try to push their own insurance on you which is anything from £8 to £15 a month on top of your contract. Most home contents insurance policies these days have smartphone bolt on options that are vastly cheaper than any mickey mouse insurance a carrier will offer.

Then again in the UK phone salesmen jobs are two a penny. It doesn't require any particular skills and as long as you are good at conversation and own a shirt and tie, you're likely to get a job in Carphone Warehouse. Jobs like this tend to attract school leavers who use it as experience before moving on to bigger things. I used to package mobile phones when I first left school as a summer job whilst now most of this is done in far eastern countries. I have nothing against phone salesmen as a profession, they serve their purpose when you need a service and its just about standing your ground and making them give you the best price. Always be prepared to walk away as the market is so saturated you can pretty much get what you want at the price you want.

 

[dukebound85]

i prefer phone salesmen to NOT handle my phone after I buy it. I want to unwrap it and all that

 

[hafr]

That they're trying to sell me stuff. I love walking into a specialised store since more often than not the people who work there are really interested in what they're selling, and you can talk with them and ask them questions, try stuff out and so on without ever getting the feeling that their end goal is to make a sale.

That makes me more comfortable in taking my time to choose and make sure I don't spend too much, or too little, or get something that I don't need.

I remember a salesman from way back that sold my dad speakers. My dad knew what he wanted but the salesman just simply asked him which amplifier he had and then told him to come into the back. He had a next to empty room in which he connected the speakers my dad wanted into the same amplifier he had and played a vinyl (For those about to rock, by AC/DC ). Then he plugged in a pair of speakers for something like a third of the price and asked him if he noticed any difference in sound.

My dad left the store having spent way less than he intended to, and the salesman didn't tried selling him anything else (other than the "will that be all" question by the counter). Those are the kind of salesmen I prefer.

 

[Michael CM1]

In the realm of smartphones, I really don't need a salesperson "helping" me. If I'm at a store to buy a phone, I wish I could flash a badge that says "I probably know more than you because I watched the keynote where this was released and read tons about it for two weeks, K?" So basically a good salesperson should start out by gauging the customer's expertise.

It's hard for some salesperson at a place that sells tons of electronics to really be any sort of specialist. If you work at a phone store, it's got to be hard to know all the ins and outs of all the phone models. If you work at Best Buy, it's probably even worse because of all the different carriers.

In my past experience, I have known exactly what I wanted going into the store. In January I knew I wanted a black iPhone 5 for my mom with an extra Lightning connector and a Lightning car charger. I had to sit there forever so they could activate the damn thing in store after the one guy on duty did whatever for a previous customer. I had ordered the thing online for in-store pickup, so I really hated that experience. I have activated numerous iPhones myself so I had no understanding of why he had to do it.

Thankfully he didn't pull the "PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE BUY THIS EXTRA PLAN THAT WILL LIKELY BE USELESS FOR YOU" schtick. I can't remember the last time I bought one of those and it actually helped me out. Apple's standard warranty has covered problems with that iPhone 5, my iPad 3 with a dead pixel and an optical drive and display on my iMac. Apple fixed all of them without charge. When my MacBook Pro died, it was 4 years old. I don't think I've ever heard of a warranty covering a 4-year-old computer.

 

[Ste Nova]

tbh I only deal with saleswomen, I always know what I want but if they want to hard sell me something they can try at least I have something nice to look at

 

[Jimmy James]

Pretending that any of you actually have any interest beyond your cut.

What do you do?

 

[mlmwalt]

I spent 5 years working in retail sales, hawking PowerPC and G3 Mac's and Win 95/98 PC's. It was hard work, but fun. We had to at least pitch the extended warranty. It made sense in some instances considering the short warranties and poor level of QC from the PC manufacturers back then.

As an aside, I made more on a per computer basis selling Mac's, but the Mac users were much higher maintenance. It was like PC users expected their computers to be buggy and problematic and Mac people would come marching back in when they screwed up their talk network or SCSI scanner.

 

[Interstella5555]

What do you do?

Professionally? I work for a philanthropic investment company.

 

[cynics]

A salesman that doesn't produce is useless. Could be their job on the line. At least politely decline their up selling.

Who knows maybe they will offer you something you are interested in and didn't know about.

I have it so burned into my brain to not buy warranties and such that there have been a couple times I regretted it. For example I just bought about 2k in office furniture. For 99 buck I could have got a 5 year warranty on defects AND damage I caused, if I didn't use it at the end of 5 years I get it back as a store credit. It's almost a win win for everyone. But me being so used to not liking salesmen I instantly declined it.