vB Easy Archive - tenured COR Reps

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tenured COR Reps
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Posted by: brat73

I just finished training and I am now in the store. I have an issue with a tenured rep who is one of the team leaders. I have found that whenever anyone asks him for help, he seems to respond like we are bothering him. Its like he is pi**ed us newbies are even there. I previously worked for a retail (CDMA) company and I was with them for 2 years. I am completely new to the GSM thing, and I have loads of questions. Its how I learn and I am sure someone must have taught this guy, so he should be sympathetic. I can understand him sort of being peeved off. I mean 2 new reps come into the store and that takes some sales from the people who already work there, but we were hired for a reason. What do I do about this???

Posted by: MrDumbDumb

Honestly, however you can do it just beat him in every metric possible, make him look like a fool. Learn some tricks or tips about 2 or 3 phones or services that he may not know about and when he says something to a customer about it say..."well that isn't exactly right, infact you can do that" For instance, most people know this by now, but I hate when an agent says you can't use songs from itunes, or you can't copy multiple vcards to a sync or their is no way to lock the touch screen while you are calling someone on a palm or 8525 or the CU5000 won't sync with outlook. On your freetime just go through learning edge and CSP and learn as much as you can.

"out wit, out sell, out class your competition before they stab you in the back"

Posted by: ivwshane

You are in a corp store and you should act professionally, interrupting his sales process is rude and I don't recommend you doing that. If he says something incorrect, either tell him when he is done or if it could seriously impact the customer in a negative way then pull him aside and communicate to him discretely.

Second, a "team leader", or a tenured reps doesn't mean anything other than having more responsibility without the pay increase to go along with it. Look at it from his perspective, he is a salesman and when he has to stop and answer questions you are taking money away from him, how would you feel if the situation was reversed?

What I recommend doing is talking to your manager, if the "team leader" is looking to move up then your manager will use this as a coaching experience and help him to understand the importance of helping the team out as well as trainging noobs. The last thing you want to do is cause tension in a new place of employment, working with people who dont get along is not fun and can have a serious impact on morale, figure out a way to make it work and you will be happier and enjoy your job longer.

Posted by: fivestarsss

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrDumbDumb

Honestly, however you can do it just beat him in every metric possible, make him look like a fool. Learn some tricks or tips about 2 or 3 phones or services that he may not know about and when he says something to a customer about it say..."well that isn't exactly right, infact you can do that" For instance, most people know this by now, but I hate when an agent says you can't use songs from itunes, or you can't copy multiple vcards to a sync or their is no way to lock the touch screen while you are calling someone on a palm or 8525 or the CU5000 won't sync with outlook. On your freetime just go through learning edge and CSP and learn as much as you can.

"out wit, out sell, out class your competition before they stab you in the back"

If one of my reps did that to another they would be in trouble, that is very disrespectful. I agree that it would be a great coaching opportunity and should be dealt with through his immediate supervisor.

Posted by: Telegraph

just buy him a round of booze...that always cheers SOME people up!

Posted by: MrDumbDumb

I disagree you have to put him in his place at least once or twice. I remember one of our tenured reps basically told this guy that we didn't have any pc cards that would work on the guys powerbooks from Apple, it was like 22 laptops he needed cards for. He just said go buy a Dell!! After the guy left I told him, that Apple upgraded their software to allow for the Sierra Wireless cards, and he still didn't believe me and told me I was a fool. Well, I took the guys number from him, with his permission called him up and the next day sold him 8 aircards and the next week sold him another 8. That rep felt like such a FOOL loosing 16 GA in DATA in 2 weeks. Fortunetly he is no longer with the company. Stand up for yourself even if you get knocked down, keep getting up until your dead or the other guy gives in.

Posted by: motoman9621

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivwshane

You are in a corp store and you should act professionally, interrupting his sales process is rude and I don't recommend you doing that. If he says something incorrect, either tell him when he is done or if it could seriously impact the customer in a negative way then pull him aside and communicate to him discretely.

Second, a "team leader", or a tenured reps doesn't mean anything other than having more responsibility without the pay increase to go along with it. Look at it from his perspective, he is a salesman and when he has to stop and answer questions you are taking money away from him, how would you feel if the situation was reversed?

What I recommend doing is talking to your manager, if the "team leader" is looking to move up then your manager will use this as a coaching experience and help him to understand the importance of helping the team out as well as trainging noobs. The last thing you want to do is cause tension in a new place of employment, working with people who dont get along is not fun and can have a serious impact on morale, figure out a way to make it work and you will be happier and enjoy your job longer.

or like i do i politely tell the customer excuse me mr/mrs blank let me help him/her real quick! then i explain to the custoomer that their noobs.

Posted by: edmund

it depends on situation and the way you approach them. I've been in both situations. If it's busy and a new rep is constantly pulling me away from my own sale/customer and asking me questions, it gets pretty frustrating, put yourself in their shoes. The tenured rep is still getting paid to sell and truthfully probably doesn't have a much higher base (if any) than you do. They are still dependent on their personal sales to make their living. That being said, if they always have a bad attitude, ask that person first and try to handle it with them without going to a manager first. If that leads to nothing, speak to a manager, as one other person said, if they have any aspirations of moving up, the manager should be able to let them know what is expected of them.

Try not to annoy the tenured rep too much though, they have to make money too!

Posted by: brat73

Let me clarify one thing. The "tenured rep" wasnt even waiting on a customer when I asked him for help. He was playing a game on yahoo games. The other times I asked him for help, he was emailing people. I NEVER and WOULD NEVER interrupt him when he was with a customer. I agree that would be rude! So ivwshane, I never interrupted his sales process and why did you even assume this????

Posted by: bbdamon

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrDumbDumb

I disagree you have to put him in his place at least once or twice. I remember one of our tenured reps basically told this guy that we didn't have any pc cards that would work on the guys powerbooks from Apple, it was like 22 laptops he needed cards for. He just said go buy a Dell!! After the guy left I told him, that Apple upgraded their software to allow for the Sierra Wireless cards, and he still didn't believe me and told me I was a fool. Well, I took the guys number from him, with his permission called him up and the next day sold him 8 aircards and the next week sold him another 8. That rep felt like such a FOOL loosing 16 GA in DATA in 2 weeks. Fortunetly he is no longer with the company. Stand up for yourself even if you get knocked down, keep getting up until your dead or the other guy gives in.

hi mrdumbdumb, how do u set up the sierra card with mac?? i was trying to run the software, it gave me an error. Do i need to download some special software or upgrade?? thx!

Posted by: ivwshane

Quote:

Originally Posted by brat73

Let me clarify one thing. The "tenured rep" wasnt even waiting on a customer when I asked him for help. He was playing a game on yahoo games. The other times I asked him for help, he was emailing people. I NEVER and WOULD NEVER interrupt him when he was with a customer. I agree that would be rude! So ivwshane, I never interrupted his sales process and why did you even assume this????

It was in reference to MrDumbDumb post, not yours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by motoman9621

or like i do i politely tell the customer excuse me mr/mrs blank let me help him/her real quick! then i explain to the custoomer that their noobs.

You sir are the biggest noob I've ever seen

Get back to work!

Posted by: suthurnlatino

At least your problem is limited to one rep. I have to work with a bunch of backstabbing immature girls.

Posted by: brat73

I hate working with girls too. They are the the WORST. Put me in a shop with a bunch of men anyday. I am a girl (wife and mother) and I admit, girls and women are the worst.

Posted by: NukuCamui

Quote:

Originally Posted by suthurnlatino

At least your problem is limited to one rep. I have to work with a bunch of backstabbing immature girls.

You too? Scary.

Posted by: Telegraph

Quote:

Originally Posted by brat73

I hate working with girls too. They are the the WORST. Put me in a shop with a bunch of men anyday. I am a girl (wife and mother) and I admit, girls and women are the worst.

funny, i'm a male and for some reason i wouldn't mind working with a bunch of backstabbing young attractive girls.....

guess its just me

Posted by: ivwshane

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telegraph

funny, i'm a male and for some reason i wouldn't mind working with a bunch of backstabbing young attractive girls.....

guess its just me

Trust me, it gets old quick.

I dont mind working with women (1 or 2 at the most), its just that when there seems to be more than a couple working in a small group (like at a corp store) its almost like you are in your own "real world", just a lot of behind the back stuff and a lot of annoying emotions and everyone has to tippy toe around each others feelings and watch what they say and how they say it.

Posted by: Telegraph

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivwshane

i.e sexual harassment, high school drama kind of b.s? true....but don't they bring in cute friends?

Posted by: ivwshane

Mostly high school type drama but work related.

As far as their "cute" friends, I'm married so that doesn't matter to me and if I wasnt married it still wouldn't be worth it.

Posted by: IseeOrangepeopl

I'm the only girl at my store and I pray everyday it doesn't change. My old store (I transfered 8 months ago) was all girls and one guy and I swear there was so much stuff going on it wasn't even funny. People weren't talking to each other, they were sulking in the corner, backstabbing each other... I got the sales while they were busy fighting but I couldn't take the stress, especially when they tried to bring me into it.

Now I'm one of the guys, no cat fights, and sales are good. I wouldn't go back if you gave me the manager spot at that store!

Posted by: motoman9621

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivwshane

Mostly high school type drama but work related.

As far as their "cute" friends, I'm married so that doesn't matter to me and if I wasnt married it still wouldn't be worth it.

you know you still look haahaha

Posted by: drewyehboi

You paycheck when you are done with training is all that really matters. Learn as much as you can while shadowing and anything else you can't figure out is at your fingertips.

Posted by: Always Mobile

I'm the most tenured rep in my store and I gotta tell you... it gets annoying at times. We had 3 new start at the same time. It was a constant tap on the shoulder, ahems and excuse me's whether with a customer or not. It's understandable that the newbies get flustered with issues or opus etc.. but it drives me crazy that some problems they don't try to work out themselves. When I tell you to call customer service for something it is because that in itself can be a lesson. I hate it when they get all pissy at you for not dropping your life to run to their aid immediately over a voicemail reset. Call cs once in a while!
For those of you that think it's not hard training a newbie.. poo to you. Do you know what it's like to wait on customers but have to keep one ear open for what they are doing? I've heard newbies tell customers that a tower's range is 30 miles, prepaid minutes don't roll over, 450 plan is for family talk, no upgrade fees, tdma with upgrade fees, rebates aren't for upgrades etc, etc, etc..
I actually had my own customer overhear a newbie sales pitch and tell me to go set him straight. My customer actually said to me "I guess knowing how to use a cell phone isn't a qualification to get a job here"
Don't get me wrong, when I am not wrapped up in my own dealings I will help teach anyone that needs help. But when with customers and you have 3 new people standing in line behind you waiting for your help, makes your life a bit crazy.

Posted by: ivwshane

Quote:

Originally Posted by Always Mobile

I'm the most tenured rep in my store and I gotta tell you... it gets annoying at times. We had 3 new start at the same time. It was a constant tap on the shoulder, ahems and excuse me's whether with a customer or not. It's understandable that the newbies get flustered with issues or opus etc.. but it drives me crazy that some problems they don't try to work out themselves. When I tell you to call customer service for something it is because that in itself can be a lesson. I hate it when they get all pissy at you for not dropping your life to run to their aid immediately over a voicemail reset. Call cs once in a while!
For those of you that think it's not hard training a newbie.. poo to you. Do you know what it's like to wait on customers but have to keep one ear open for what they are doing? I've heard newbies tell customers that a tower's range is 30 miles, prepaid minutes don't roll over, 450 plan is for family talk, no upgrade fees, tdma with upgrade fees, rebates aren't for upgrades etc, etc, etc..
I actually had my own customer overhear a newbie sales pitch and tell me to go set him straight. My customer actually said to me "I guess knowing how to use a cell phone isn't a qualification to get a job here"
Don't get me wrong, when I am not wrapped up in my own dealings I will help teach anyone that needs help. But when with customers and you have 3 new people standing in line behind you waiting for your help, makes your life a bit crazy.

lol good stuff

Posted by: VMV702

I hear ya, but I would rather a green pea ask me a question than MAKE UP an answer to a customer. That will just make it more difficult for YOU if u get the customer the next time lol....I dunno WHATS going on in training classes these days. It seems as if they're not educating as they used to when I was new....But keep in mind, we gotta work with them and we were ALL new at one point.

Posted by: pdirish1953

Quote:

Originally Posted by VMV702

....But keep in mind, we were ALL new at one point.

Yes we were all new at one time. Don't forget it. Before releasing a new rep to the lions, a manager should have them shadow other consulants and "listen", not to just what they say, but how they say it. Not all associates will have the same delivery. You should, of coarse develop your own.

If there's a tenored associate that doesn't give you the time of day or seems imposed upon, They're a putz. In any store, regardless, agent or cor, they should develop a team. If a store manager can't create a team effort, they are not managing (coaching). It's to their benefit everyone gets it and that tenored reps help the new ones. It's very simple to do.

If a manager or a tenored rep can't get this done, perhaps someone should tell them, "there might be a better job for them somewhere else".