Why you're getting a Droid in my store

[TheVerizonRep]

THIS IS NOT A TROLL POST!

Okay, trollish headline. All apologies. However, allow me to explain. There is a phenomenon that occurs when someone walks into a Verizon store looking for an iPhone. They talk to the sales rep and then he or she immediately leads them over to the table featuring all of the Android phones.

But you wanted an iPhone.

No you don't.

And it has nothing to do with device quality, or fanboyism or any of that.

It has nothing to do with you at all, actually.

The reason why you don't want an iPhone is...

New or upgrade primary line activation commission for an iPhone: $4
New or upgrade secondary line activation commission for an iPhone: $2
Data plan commission for an iPhone: $0
Feature commission for an iPhone: $0

New/upgrade primary line activation for any other phone: $15/$10
New/upgrade secondary line activation for any other phone: $10/$5
Data plan commission for any other phone: $5
Feature commission for any other phone: Varies (but more than $0)

THE IPHONE DOES NOT MAKE ME MONEY

Our sales reps hate it.

You may say, hey that's only a couple of bucks. But it adds up. That's what working on commission is all about. Adding it up. Why am I going to spend an hour on a sale that's going to net me $5 when I could spend that hour on a sale that will earn me $25 or $30?

I was curious if anyone had caught onto to this when they went to the store to pick up their iPhone. So I Googled around and yes, people had noticed. But they didn't know why? Of course this is not the same for every Verizon store. I work for a premium retailer; other franchises may different and I'm sure corporate has a different structure. But it is what it is. When you get paid minimum wage and every piece of food on your table is there because of your commission check, then you can bet your sweet iPhone-loving @$$ I'm gonna do what's best to make that paper.

Perhaps I should have made my user name "Former Verizon Rep" because that's what I will be shortly...

...but I'll be staying with Verizon for phone service.

And upgrading my Droid to an iPhone.

 

[zma21]

Ha, this makes a lot of sense on why some of the reps have treated me like that.

I've been actually called "crazy" for even contemplating the iPhone with all of the "great" droid competitors.

Good thing my droid x crashed during an over the phone med school interview! Peace droid!

 

[TheVerizonRep]

Ha, this makes a lot of sense on why some of the reps have treated me like that.

I've been actually called "crazy" for even contemplating the iPhone with all of the "great" droid competitors.

Good thing my droid x crashed during an over the phone med school interview! Peace droid!

The iPhone is probably the superior device IF you are comfortable with all the specs (screen size, no keyboard, etc.)

But I never felt like a total a-hole because I think the Droids have some really great features as well.

Now if I had been pushing them into a Blackberry......

 

[iCrank]

The iPhone is probably the superior device IF you are comfortable with all the specs (screen size, no keyboard, etc.)

But I never felt like a total a-hole because I think the Droids have some really great features as well.

Now if I had been pushing them into a Blackberry......

Now if you pushed them towards the bb. You'd be charged with crimes against humanity. Lol. It's really depends on the person. I wanted the iPhone and no rep or person had to convince me. I had android devices before and i will never consider it again.

 

[mlc331]

THIS is SO TOTALLY true. Not a troll post in my opinion. I am always looking at phones at our verizon store or corporate kiosk. REPS NEVER try to sell the iphone. I always wondered why... before it was simply because they couldn't offer it. Now that they offer it, it's NEVER pushed.

CRAZY. But the breakdown above makes it crystal!

Nice.... It's all about the paper!

 

[chunky]

Brave man for posting and thank you.

Ive had issues in the uk when getting a new phone.

I don't like contracts at all, the idea of being locked into something for 18-24 months makes me shiver !

As soon as the store rep knows I'm buying the phone on pay as you go, I can see the interest drain out of their faces... lol...

I get the sales pitch, 'why not get it on contract instead of paying such alot of money upfront'.

Well the payg tariff's are as good now as contract tariffs and sometimes are better. i say

As for paying up front........ I have the disposable income......... that usually ends the sales patter.

I once tried to buy a Nokia handset on payg. The sales rep gave me all the sales patter etc. I asked if they had stock in the store and he said yes. When he came to say have you thought about the tariff, and I said I want it on payg , the usual interest drained from his face and he started typing on his keyboard, and lo and behold the handset was not in stock, he had read the screen wrong and the phone was in stock in the holding warehouses but could not confirm when one on payg would be in.

I entered another store and asked for an honest answer and they said that simply they did not earn as much commission on payg deals, so they wanted to hold onto stock for contracts !

I even seen the payg cost crossed out with a black marker pen in one store !

Recently I wanted to buy the iphone4 on payg. Well the usual interest drained from his face, but this time I pushed for the sale. I knew they were in stock. A new excuse here- 'oh sorry the systems down, please come back in an hour or so and I'll try again'.

I walked out of the shop and went round the corner to the same network shop, and within minutes I'm holding my new phone. On asking if the systems were down the answer was no !

Its getting to the stage where I love the challenge !!

 

[gray_mouse]

I have for long time now been looking down upon sales reps. If you a sales rep, you are not my friend.

 

[iJeff]

Great post Verizonrep, at least you put the facts out there for everyday consumers to understand why Verizon reps push the droid so hard. If i was a Verizon rep, i would push what ever made me more money as well. The name of the game at the end of the day is MONEY, nothing more nothing less. My hats off to you......

 

[OJsakila]

Wonderful post. Makes perfect sense.

The real irony is that you shouldnt listen to those boobs anyway... By the time I finally walk into the (any) store I know perfectly well what I want. All I need the robots to do is ring it up without screwing my account up in the process..lol.. Which they seem to do quite frequently anyway..

 

[LiamGTR]

lol at working on commision, unlucky.

 

[iCrank]

Wonderful post. Makes perfect sense.

The real irony is that you shouldnt listen to those boobs anyway... By the time I finally walk into the (any) store I know perfectly well what I want. All I need the robots to do is ring it up without screwing my account up in the process..lol.. Which they seem to do quite frequently anyway..

I agree.

 

[TheVerizonRep]

Most of the people I work(ed) with were pretty knowledgeable actually. But you gotta do what you gotta do. Perhaps it's arrogance on Apple's part that the retail device can be priced that much higher (so the margin is that much lower for the seller), or that Verizon feels like it doesn't need to pay it's franchises to sell the iPhone -- that it "sells itself."

It doesn't.

I've had dozens of people come in looking for the iPhone and I strapped them into a Droid. We control the sale, most times. I know if you're on a message board dedicated to smartphones then you have some knowledge on the subject. Most people don't, even if they already own one. They walk into the store ready to be educated. The sales rep, however lowly he may seem to you (or perhaps even be in reality), the sales rep controls that education, which is ultimately driven by the commission paid.

Glad I can put that behind me. Whoever said it was right: Commission is a horrible way to make a living.

 

[chunky]

Some retail outlets have pooled commission.

I truly hope any recent purchaser reads threads like this and think , hey that's what happened to me, and promptly return to the store, and choose what they wanted, and not what the sales rep wanted to peddle.

 

[OJsakila]

Commission is fine. The harder you work, the more you make. It's the Invisable Hand Therory. It is the the very essence of Capitalism.

But if youre an uninformed sheep with money burning a hole in your pocket, then it is quite easy to get taken advantage of.. It's the nature of the beast...

Buyer beware. You are right that the sale is manipulated to the salesman's prefrence..which valadates my "boob" comments..lol

It is a shame, no doubt. I wonder why verizon has done this..?

 

[TheVerizonRep]

Commission is fine. The harder you work, the more you make. It's the Invisable Hand Therory. It is the the very essence of Capitalism.

But if youre an uninformed sheep with money burning a hole in your pocket, then it is quite easy to get taken advantage of.. It's the nature of the beast...

Buyer beware. You are right that the sale is manipulated to the salesman's prefrence..which valadates my "boob" comments..lol

It is a shame, no doubt. I wonder why verizon has done this..?

Apple would be to blame on this one. It's the cost of the device + (I don't know this for a fact but suspect that) Apple is not paying as much to Verizon for each device sold (or Verizon is paying Apple more in order to carry the device...however the relationship works, it's farking expensive).

Verizon doesn't make money on the device, the stores don't make money on the device. It trickles down and the sales rep gets $4 for a new line/data/text/hour in the store with a clueless customer/etc/etc/etc...

BTW can I officially change that to Former Verizon Rep? Jumped the gun a bit with the ole name it seems...