Verizon employees clueless?

[Luke35]

I went to my local Verizon store this evening with my wife who was looking for a case for her Droid Eris phone. So I asked the customer service rep who greeted us at the door if she knew what the Pre Plus was going to sell for. Her response was: "We don't even know WHEN it is going on sale!" I told her that I already knew the date and she looked surprised and asked ME when! I guess they don't give out that information to the employees? Needless to say she could not tell me the exact date or price. But a fellow by the check in station heard us talking and he asked me when it was going on sale. I told him January 25th. He lifted up his coat to reveal a Palm Pre in a holster case and said: "Best phone I've ever had." I suppose he was a Sprint user looking to make the leap over for the Palm Plus.

[Tcub]

I noticed you're in Ohio.. I live near Cleveland. Which VZW store was it?

It's been a while since I've stepped foot into one so I can't really comment on the staff at the North Olmsted location.

I can however say the employees at the Sprint store in North Olmsted on Lorain and the store in Mentor on Mentor Ave. are AWESOME! Very kind, courteous, and when I had an issue with my Pre they not only take care of me but we also discuss things like PreWare and homebrew! Awesome!

[GoTitans]

Hey at least you store even knew what a Palm Pre was. Store I talked to didn't even know it existed.

[Darth Mo]

In all fairness, they probably get a crash course in an new device shortly before it's released. They sell dozens of different handsets so it's no wonder why they don't know the most intimate details of each one. To them it's probably yet another phone; it's probably several released every month.

[rc46]

They must be poaching sprint employees

[Luke35]

Originally Posted by Tcub

I noticed you're in Ohio.. I live near Cleveland. Which VZW store was it?

VZW in Sandusky. They are usually very knowledgeable and helpful, so I don't mean this to be derogatory (although my chosen thread title would seem so). It just took me by surprise, but I guess the fact that I've been waiting over a year to get a Pre makes it a little more important to me.

The Verizon employee I spoke to DID seem excited about the phone in general when I asked her about it.

[honda07si]

thats verizon for you..... it's all i can say i had verizon and their customer service sucks from their sales reps to the technicians on the phone

Originally Posted by Darth Mo

In all fairness, they probably get a crash course in an new device shortly before it's released. They sell dozens of different handsets so it's no wonder why they don't know the most intimate details of each one. To them it's probably yet another phone; it's probably several released every month.

to me thats no excuse... if you have a phone coming out soon EVERY sales rep. should know about the phone at least a month in advance to answer questions of current or future customers. end of story. When i got my advanced notice of the Pre from sprint i walked into a store and asked about it. They didn't know a lot but the sales rep. was able to explain the phone to me. Even the kiosk at the mall with high school students working at it new about the phone well in advance of the drop date.

[Darth Mo]

Originally Posted by honda07si

thats verizon for you..... it's all i can say i had verizon and their customer service sucks from their sales reps to the technicians on the phone

to me thats no excuse... if you have a phone coming out soon EVERY sales rep. should know about the phone at least a month in advance to answer questions of current or future customers. end of story. When i got my advanced notice of the Pre from sprint i walked into a store and asked about it. They didn't know a lot but the sales rep. was able to explain the phone to me. Even the kiosk at the mall with high school students working at it new about the phone well in advance of the drop date.

Eh, I guess we'll agree to disagree. If I have a customer in the store, I want to make a sale that day not concentrate so much on a potential sale weeks down the road taking a flyer on whether or not the person wants that phone or if he'll even come back to your store. There are always new and better phones coming out, what's the point of a store concentrating on what's available in a month? At that rate you'll never make a sale...

You have to consider your average customer goes into a store looking to buy a phone on the spot. Not everyone spends months on websites and forums anticipating the next hottest phone.

[honda07si]

Originally Posted by Darth Mo

Eh, I guess we'll agree to disagree. If I have a customer in the store, I want to make a sale that day not concentrate so much on a potential sale weeks down the road taking a flyer on whether or not the person wants that phone or if he'll even come back to your store. There are always new and better phones coming out, what's the point of a store concentrating on what's available in a month? At that rate you'll never make a sale...

You have to consider your average customer goes into a store looking to buy a phone on the spot. Not everyone spends months on websites and forums anticipating the next hottest phone.

but as a costumer i feel if somewhere it could be anywhere doesn't have to be strictly phones... it could be cars,computers,video games, ect..... advertise something even if it's weeks down the road the sales rep. should know something about it. If the company does not fully inform sales reps. of upcoming merch. then it's Poor Sales Quailty.

[patchs]

A friend of mine works for VZW (not in retail) and told me they started training last week. She said it was very thorough, that VZW is really behind the Pre.

[drjb74]

You have to keep in mind that a lot of these employees at the wireless stores are not necessarily career employees. Maybe you got an employee who was new.

Keep in mind that a lot of these stores, especially in smaller markets are affiliate stores, and not actually corporate. Your Verizon store may sell Verizon, but they are not owned by Verizon.

I think that the forums here and info directly from the service providers are the best place for information.

I am a Sprint customer, but I have had Verizon for work, and let me tell you, it is just like anything else. Sometimes you get help from someone who is fantastic at their job, and sometimes you get someone who doesn't know or care about anything. It's a crapshoot when you go to the stores, especially if you are looking for information.

I recently upgraded to a new phone for work on Verizon, and the employee was taking so long to activate the phone that I asked him to simply hand it to me, and I would take care of the setup. It was simply a case that I was more familiar with the phone than he was.

No harm, no foul.

[Luke35]

Oh, I agree drjb. I was just going to say after reading some additional posts - the notion that a particular company and employees is awful from top to bottom or is flawless from top to bottom is pure hogwash. There is quality and substandard service in EVERY company in EVERY industry.

My first cell phone in 2002 was with Sprint. I had both positive and negative experiences with them. When I got engaged to my girlfriend, I moved over to Alltel so that we could have a single cell bill to worry about while we saved up for a wedding. I had both positive and negative experiences with them. When I was able to get a Palm Centro phone for free I made the switch over to Verizon, with my wife and step-daughter following shortly thereafter. I have had both positive and negative experiences with Verizon.

I almost always get my information online in user forums regarding any tech/gadget product. I don't necessarily fault the employee I spoke to at Verizon for not knowing the price or the release date -- she was REALLY enthusiastic about the phone in general.

But I do grow weary of the Sprint lovers/haters vs. Verizon lovers/haters remarks. Eh well. To each his own I guess.

[drjb74]

Luke - there are always people who feel very strongly about certain things. I have a Blackberry as well, and over on the Crackberry forums, there are always people bashing Sprint for their CS. I have been with Sprint on my personal phone for 10 years.

I have had my issues with them, but never more than I have with any other big company. I continue to use Sprint for a number of reasons:

1. Despite any issues I have had, Sprint CS seems to resolve issues in a timely fashion (at least for me, anyways).

2. The coverage and features they provide meet my needs.

3. I think they provide the best value for the price.

If one of those issues were to change in a dramatic fashion, I would consider changing providers to get what I need. Otherwise, I have been satisfied that I am getting what I am paying for.

[JJCook]

I also think that the VZW employees are supposed to keep the Palm Pre quiet. If you look at their website, they are still trying to sell other smartphones. There are revenue issues that they need to address and they can't be talking up the Palm Pre too early. I was in my local VZW store today and the woman had a lot of information on the phone and the number of units they were getting but couldn't commit to the price nor to putting my name on a "reserve list". I think they are getting the message to sell what they have now and don't put people off until the Pre.

[splitz]

Um, let's see. Does a clerk making $8 keep up with all of the new phones? Probably not. I had the same problem with Sprint when I got my HTC Mogul and Pre.

[gladesmellzgood]

Two verizon store's I have been to both know when the devices are coming and said they were trained on them last week. One dude said he knew the pricing but wasn't privileged to tell. Kinda weak but whatever

[Luke35]

Yesterday I was at the Verizon kiosk at the local mall and once again asked the pricing question. The clerk told me that Verizon doesn't release any pricing information prior to a phone's launch date. I didn't bother to ask her when that would be, knowing it was two days away.

[bdhu2001]

Okay kiddies. Computers, phones, and everything else doesn't have knowledgeable salespeople anymore. In an effort to make everything cheaper, they pay staff by the hour, not commission.

Stores like Circuit City went by the wayside due to internet sales, Costco and other cheaper sites. Those stores realized that people were using their staff to get the knowledge, then they'd go to the cheapest place to get the product.

Now you have to research for yourself and don't rely upon the counter person to know about your product or be able to compare it to other products.

That is why Palm sent out their own reps on launch day. For VZW, the PrePlus is just another smartphone. If enough of their customers buy it, it'll become a smartphone that they'll learn about and embrace. If customers don't flock to it, it'll stagger behind the droid.

We can't keep touting that we want cheap and reasonable, but then complain when people don't have the knowledge. You have to pay more for knowledge and American society has proven that, with the internet at our finger-tips, the knowledgeable salesperson isn't worth the added cost.

[playboy]

That maybe true, but if they're selling a product, especially a new one I would hope that the sales people are somewhat knowledgeable about the product.

[Complex Pants]

Originally Posted by playboy

That maybe true, but if they're selling a product, especially a new one I would hope that the sales people are somewhat knowledgeable about the product.

Correct me if I am wrong, but with semi major releases, normally employees get informed about such things and receive extra training. Considering Verizon showed up at Palm's CES presentation, I would assume the launch of WebOS devices would fall into that semi major catagory.