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Those who work retail

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Apr 23, 2010
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Does anyone here work in retail, mainly a place that sells cell phones for sprint?

I had some guy come in today looking to buy sprint (i work at Radioshack), and he was asking about the Evo. Of course as a fellow evo owner, i told him about it like it was the back of my hand, and that it was the best phone i have ever used. Essentially doing a better job of selling it than sprint does ;).

I told him i didn't have any in stock, and i have none coming. and i also told him its practically impossible to get one unless you check with stores regularly. He then proceeds to ask me, "what do you mean you can't get it?" I just find it funny that people don't realize how hard this phone is to get, ha.
 
Does anyone here work in retail, mainly a place that sells cell phones for sprint?

I had some guy come in today looking to buy sprint (i work at Radioshack), and he was asking about the Evo. Of course as a fellow evo owner, i told him about it like it was the back of my hand, and that it was the best phone i have ever used. Essentially doing a better job of selling it than sprint does ;).

I told him i didn't have any in stock, and i have none coming. and i also told him its practically impossible to get one unless you check with stores regularly. He then proceeds to ask me, "what do you mean you can't get it?" I just find it funny that people don't realize how hard this phone is to get, ha.

i work corporate retail this has happened to me a number of times but i also dig a bit deeper and see what features they would actually use because about 80 percent of the time a hero would be a better fit for what they would actually use on the phone and we have those in stock, i call it the evo jr.
 
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That isn't how I would want my salespeople to operate. Offering him a solution that he won't be able to get doesn't do him much good. SWAT. Sell What's Available Today. It is rare when there is only one absolute solution to a customer's needs. Unless this happened to be one of those scenarios, I would have sold him something else.

So you would want your salespeople to sell him a phone that he probably wouldn't of liked, and eventually returned? Seeing how he was either sold on the Evo or Iphone 4, i doubt he would of settled for anything else. He looked at the other phones for 20 minutes in total, and even asked me questions about them all. So if you came into a store and you were looking for the Evo, and i offered you a hero you would just settle? I think not.

lol you spent all that time selling him a phone that you can't sell him? not making much commission are you?

Like i said, i would rather sell him something(or not sell for this matter) than sell it, and have it come back to me.

i work corporate retail this has happened to me a number of times but i also dig a bit deeper and see what features they would actually use because about 80 percent of the time a hero would be a better fit for what they would actually use on the phone and we have those in stock, i call it the evo jr.

See the first response, he was sold on the Evo or Iphone..and i think i narrowed it down for him ;).
 
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Does anyone here work in retail, mainly a place that sells cell phones for sprint?

I had some guy come in today looking to buy sprint (i work at Radioshack), and he was asking about the Evo. Of course as a fellow evo owner, i told him about it like it was the back of my hand, and that it was the best phone i have ever used. Essentially doing a better job of selling it than sprint does ;).

I told him i didn't have any in stock, and i have none coming. and i also told him its practically impossible to get one unless you check with stores regularly. He then proceeds to ask me, "what do you mean you can't get it?" I just find it funny that people don't realize how hard this phone is to get, ha.

It's funny? It's ridiculous. Giant fail on HTC's part no matter how you slice it. And you're saying "ha"? You work at Radio Shack - now that is "ha".
 
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That isn't how I would want my salespeople to operate. Offering him a solution that he won't be able to get doesn't do him much good. SWAT. Sell What's Available Today. It is rare when there is only one absolute solution to a customer's needs. Unless this happened to be one of those scenarios, I would have sold him something else.
Yeah, a good sales person sells a customer exactly what they don't want to make a sale!

Luckily as a former retail person, I always make sure to educate myself before I go shopping as most of the time the sales person will give you lines of BS and tell you anything to make a sale.

My word of advice, never believe what a salesperson tells you! They probably know less about what they are selling then you do, they just have a degree in BS!

Your comment about selling something else. I don't think at this time Sprint has another device that is on PAR with the EVO so trying to sell them something else would just be wrong!
 
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It's funny? It's ridiculous. Giant fail on HTC's part no matter how you slice it. And you're saying "ha"? You work at Radio Shack - now that is "ha".

Sorry, would you like me to call htc and bitch them out? Whatever you can't control, you have to laugh at.

Yeah, a good sales person sells a customer exactly what they don't want to make a sale!

Yeah!

Luckily as a former retail person, I always make sure to educate myself before I go shopping as most of the time the sales person will give you lines of BS and tell you anything to make a sale.

My word of advice, never believe what a salesperson tells you! They probably know less about what they are selling then you do, they just have a degree in BS!

See, if i don't know something about what the customer wants/needs, i ask a coworker and if they don't know, i look it up to ensure they have the best answer possible. I don't want to be the guy that lies to everyone, i would rather make my sales based on trust and knowledge. Damn me.
 
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So you would want your salespeople to sell him a phone that he probably wouldn't of liked, and eventually returned? Seeing how he was either sold on the Evo or Iphone 4, i doubt he would of settled for anything else. He looked at the other phones for 20 minutes in total, and even asked me questions about them all. So if you came into a store and you were looking for the Evo, and i offered you a hero you would just settle? I think not.



Like i said, i would rather sell him something(or not sell for this matter) than sell it, and have it come back to me.



See the first response, he was sold on the Evo or Iphone..and i think i narrowed it down for him ;).

Yeah, a good sales person sells a customer exactly what they don't want to make a sale!

Luckily as a former retail person, I always make sure to educate myself before I go shopping as most of the time the sales person will give you lines of BS and tell you anything to make a sale.

My word of advice, never believe what a salesperson tells you! They probably know less about what they are selling then you do, they just have a degree in BS!

Your comment about selling something else. I don't think at this time Sprint has another device that is on PAR with the EVO so trying to sell them something else would just be wrong!

"Unless this happened to be one of those scenarios, I would have sold him something else."
 
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My co worker went to get an Evo from a corporate store, the saleman told her it was the worst phone ever with dropped calls and poor battery life. When I asked her what phone he was using she said an evo and he said he wished he could return it but he was past the 30 days return period. Note the store was out of stock on the evo and she was a new activation he sold her a samsung moment as the better phone....lol

Whats even more shocking is my Director had the samething happen a week before the evo launch ...same bad phone tactic before the launch date but after my advice and playing with my google i/o for a day he stood in the line and exchanged his four samsung moments for four evos on 6/4.
 
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I remember when the Evo was still just rumors, the Hero, Moment and the TP2 were the phones of choice for Sprint. I asked a sales person what they think of the Evo and if I can reserve one unit if it comes out. Told him that's the phone I'm gonna get and he proceeded to harass me to buy the Moment. I said no, but still tried to get a sale out of me. The second time, I thought he was a dick for trying to shove a product down my throat. If a customer know what they want no other product will suffice.

Different selling strategies work for different people. If the person did his research, he won't want another phone. If a person is just looking for a phone, then you can offer an alternative. Do not force a product. If he said NO, he means it.

I'd say well done to the OP.
 
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My co worker went to get an Evo from a corporate store, the saleman told her it was the worst phone ever with dropped calls and poor battery life. When I asked her what phone he was using she said an evo and he said he wished he could return it but he was past the 30 days return period. Note the store was out of stock on the evo and she was a new activation he sold her a samsung moment as the better phone....lol

Whats even more shocking is my Director had the samething happen a week before the evo launch ...same bad phone tactic before the launch date but after my advice and playing with my google i/o for a day he stood in the line and exchanged his four samsung moments for four evos on 6/4.


They only decent customer service you can find anymore is at smaller, boutique type stores. They tend to seller higher end equipment, however, and they aren't very competitive on price. They make up for it with a knowledgeable staff and great customer service. National chains and big box retailers have all taken the Wal-Mart model. Lower pay, fewer and less knowledgeable associates, lower emphasis on training, but lower prices as well. Hard to blame them, though, as consumers keep eating it up.
 
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See the first response, he was sold on the Evo or Iphone..and i think i narrowed it down for him ;).

and why exactly was he sold on the evo or iphone? 99% of customer that walk in my store dont know why they want an iphone the response always is

"it does gps" or "i wanna download apps"

so like I said he probably wouldnt use the features on the evo that the hero does not have
 
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and why exactly was he sold on the evo or iphone? 99% of customer that walk in my store dont know why they want an iphone the response always is

"it does gps" or "i wanna download apps"

so like I said he probably wouldnt use the features on the evo that the hero does not have

He was sold on the evo because of the lower plan rates, and more he could do with it without extra work (he mentioned jailbreaking).

Read previous posts on why i didn't recommend the hero, i'm not repeating myself.
 
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Kudos to the original poster! I managed Radio Shacks for 11 years, and you should never shove something down a customers throat, or BS them into buying something they do not want. It will always come back to you one way or another! When I left The Shack, I worked part time for Circuit City. That was the biggest BS barn I ever worked at! I heard so many of the sales people giving customers crap and half truths trying to sell them products. I still shop at Radio Shack to this day!
 
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Kudos to the original poster! I managed Radio Shacks for 11 years, and you should never shove something down a customers throat, or BS them into buying something they do not want. It will always come back to you one way or another! When I left The Shack, I worked part time for Circuit City. That was the biggest BS barn I ever worked at! I heard so many of the sales people giving customers crap and half truths trying to sell them products. I still shop at Radio Shack to this day!


There was nothing in the OP that indicated that the Evo was the right solution for this customer. Too often, sales associates are biased in what they offer their customers. It is as if they need to justify their purchase by getting others to purchase it too. The advertised and flagship models are always at the top of a consumers list of questions, no surprise that he asked for the iPhone and the Evo. Judging by how overzealous the OP was with sharing his story about how awesome he told a customer the Evo is, I struggle to believe that any of the other options got a fair amount of attention. It sounded more like an Evo lovefest. In very particular instances, you can share the enthusiasm about a product with a customer as a fellow owner, but 9 times out of 10 the most respectable and trustworthy approach is to be completely unbiased. The good sales people sell to the customers needs and can do so with a wide variety of brands/models, while your typical salesperson sells to whatever he/she is comfortable with.

To answer your question "backdown": Would I have settled for a Hero? Probably not. I overspend with electronics all of the time. Excessive gadgets and home theater equipment is my weakness. My wife, however, DID settle for a Hero. She wanted the Evo. Quite a bit, actually. But the $10/month and the $170 up front cost was unjustified for her, so she got a Hero. Your point?
 
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There was nothing in the OP that indicated that the Evo was the right solution for this customer. Too often, sales associates are biased in what they offer their customers. It is as if they need to justify their purchase by getting others to purchase it too. The advertised and flagship models are always at the top of a consumers list of questions, no surprise that he asked for the iPhone and the Evo. Judging by how overzealous the OP was with sharing his story about how awesome he told a customer the Evo is, I struggle to believe that any of the other options got a fair amount of attention. It sounded more like an Evo lovefest. In very particular instances, you can share the enthusiasm about a product with a customer as a fellow owner, but 9 times out of 10 the most respectable and trustworthy approach is to be completely unbiased. The good sales people sell to the customers needs and can do so with a wide variety of brands/models, while your typical salesperson sells to whatever he/she is comfortable with.

The main reason the guy wanted the phone? The size of the screen, recording capabilities (he has a 6 month old son), and a good quality output for said videos.

You're right, i didn't post it in the OP but here it is. So you are telling me you are not biased? Of course i offered what i think is best, why would i offer something that i didn't like myself?
 
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Radio Shack basically 'advised' me to pre-order an Epic instead of trying to get an Evo.

Ok bye. Bought my place in line at Best Buy and am just waiting for Evo #3 to arrive.

See, if someone comes in wanting a phone..i don't try to sway them somewhere else, unless its essentially the same match. I want to make a sale, but i don't want to sell them something i wouldn't sell my own family, or how i wouldn't treat my family.
 
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Not sure if this is why it has been difficult, but it's believable.

EVO charging port - HTC EVO? 4G (Sprint) - Android Forums - HTC Community

Anyways, she asked me what was the problem with my phone, I told her about the usb going bad, "oh yeah, thats a known issue" she replied, went on to comment on how the HTC evo supply was held back about three weeks so that they could repair the problem.

shrug.

Seems like it has been in very short supply.
 
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