Stupid Customer Action of the Day...

[SCTelephoneMan]

These are the same pea-brained morons that think paying your bill through #PMT is as difficult as brain surgery. VZW should charge these wastes of oxygen $5 per payment.

[ParthG]

You know what would be a good idea? Stop selling subsidized phones. You want a phone? Go buy it for retail elsewhere. [Assuming manufacturer's start making unlocked/unbranded CDMA phones - with different profiles so you can set it to what carrier you want to use (to help with data authentication and carrier specific settings)]

This way, you won't have those cheapskates looking for everything for free, and the people that do pony up the money for phone (minimum retail usually starts at $150) will want to know how to use it well and actually learn to make use of the money they just spent.

Important life skill that is most in need in this country of all ^^

[dynasty82]

ahhh. the cheapskates that get the free phone, drop it and break it, then come to the store and escalate because we tell them its going to be 50.00 to replace it. Then you get the "i got the phone for free, why do i have to pay for anything now".

I had a good one today actually, since im on the board already i'll share it.

customer comes into the store to upgrade. So i go over some phones and prices with him and he picks the lg 8360. I start to talk to him about accessories and he says,
"last time i upgraded they game me a case and car charger for free".

i told him unfortunately i wouldn't be able to give them to him for free but i could take 25% off of a case and charger. So after trying to bargain with me, he pulls the.
"well ive been thinking about canceling my service with verizon and going to sprint since they offered me a free phone and free charger and case"

I told him if he wished to do so he was more then welcome to, but it would be disappointing to lose him as a customer.(i could have really cared less if he walked out)

At this point i start to realize that hes a cheap *** and is going to do whatever it takes to get something for free, so just to make him feel like he got something for free i threw in a wired headset for free.

So i take him back to the computer to ring him up and ask him if he would be needing anything else besides the accessories that we agreed on. He said no hes spending enough money as it was and thought it was bad business to not offer him the same that he recieved last time he upgraded. blah blah blah.
So i finish the transaction and transfer his contacts and even put the case on the phone for him. So he leaves the store.

Not even an hour later he calls the store yelling and screaming saying that he didnt know i charged him for the case and charger, i told him that our agreement was 25% off the case and charger and a free headset. He keeps yelling and asks for a manager.
Manager gets on the phone and he tells her that i charged him for the accessories and put them in his bag without him knowing. (like i said even put the case on his phone for him before he left the store and he put it on his belt)

Well the manager told him that if he didnt want the accessories he can come back to the store and we will refund him for the ones he purchased.
he says he doesnt want to come back to the store and wants a credit put on his account for what he was charged.
the manager told him we cant do that unless he brings the items back. he kept yelling and screaming and then finally hangs up.

the manager notated his account and not even an hour later customer service calls the store stating that this customer was upset and doesnt understand why we cant credit the amount he paid for the accessories to his account. the manager explained to him that everything was disclosed as far as pricing and that we will no credit him anything unless he returns the items. customer service says ok and hangs up with the manager.

So about 10 minutes later my manager looks at the account and customer service credited him for the case and charger, and also gave him a 50.00 credit for his troubles. total he spent less then 40.00 on accessories and ended up getting almost 100.00 in credits, just for being a complete moron.

God i hate when customer service does this crap. All it does is show the customers that all they have to do is yell and scream and they wont have to pay for anything. Sorry for the long post.

[JP Whoregan]

That or the customers that walk up to the counter and say "i just have a quick question" We all know that quick questions turn into a hour long conversation about there bill or there phone not working.

lol yep...you learn very, very quickly that in the retail phone business, there is absolutely NO SUCH THING as a "quick question". Its funny you bring this up, because I'm just now starting a policy that we are NO LONGER going to be asking waiting customers if they have a "quick question". Just greet, state that you will be with them at the next possible moment, and go back to helping the customer in front of you.

I've literally seen customers, who are getting impatient, starting to huff and puff, and you say "Sir, did you just have a quick question I can help you with while I activate this phone?" And then I've seen them LITERALLY STEP INFRONT OF MY CURRENT CUSTOMER to get in my face, ignore the current customer's presence completely, and start in on their tirade/*****/complaint. It's the classic "you give an inch, they take a mile."

[ParthG]

And they don't realize that if they have a "quick question" they could have just called CS and not waste the gas to drive to a store.
All you have to do is dial 611 from their phone and VIOLA you're connected to Verizon CS. Geez, how much easier could it get?

[JP Whoregan]

God i hate when customer service does this crap. All it does is show the customers that all they have to do is yell and scream and they wont have to pay for anything. Sorry for the long post.

this was also one of my biggest peeves when working for ATT direct retail. You note the account that "customer was explained reason for charges and overages, offered to adjust rateplan to fit his/her needs, customer declined; adv that any bill credits would be conditional on increasing rateplan; pls do not credit account w/o associated rateplan increase per store manager at location XXX"

then you look 10 minutes later, the whiny customer got every overage credited, and stayed on the same rateplan. Same w/ text messaging; I tell the customer, "well, I can get these text message charges credited, provided you agree to take the 500-message text plan so that we avoid these overages in the future." They agree, then 2 months later, I'm going through my chargeback report, and whammo, they've taken the plan off again. Then next month they're starting the complaint cycle all over again. It's always AMAZED me that customers would rather NOT take a $10 text plan that will help them AVOID $70 in overages every month. I mean, who has that kind of time to keep *****ing about overages?

[JP Whoregan]

You know what would be a good idea? Stop selling subsidized phones. You want a phone? Go buy it for retail elsewhere. [Assuming manufacturer's start making unlocked/unbranded CDMA phones - with different profiles so you can set it to what carrier you want to use (to help with data authentication and carrier specific settings)]

This way, you won't have those cheapskates looking for everything for free, and the people that do pony up the money for phone (minimum retail usually starts at $150) will want to know how to use it well and actually learn to make use of the money they just spent.

Important life skill that is most in need in this country of all ^^

I wouldn't want to stop selling phones in my store; I would however LOVE to stop selling subsidized phones. If we stopped selling phones altogether, there's no real reason to have a store anymore.

In fact, at my indirect store, on my price tags, the "Retail Price" is the BIGGEST price font on the price tag, and it's the first option I lead off with when starting the sales process. I say "Well, Mr. Customer, the Retail Price of this eNV2 is $329.99. At this price, I can activate you on a month-to-month agreement, which allows you to cancel service at any time without penalty or termination fee."

Most people, of course, decline this option. But what I've done right there is PLANT THE SEED in their (somtimes thick) head that NO, this phone IS NOT "just $100 bucks." It's ACTUAL VALUE is indeed much higher. So when they sign the 2-year agreement, they have been shown and told at least a couple times what the phone's ACTUAL value is. Sometimes, if they're especially dense, I'll actually fully explain to them WHY they're signing a contract, how subsized phone programs actually work, explain to them that I'm selling the phone at a very big loss, etc, etc,...you'd be amaze at how many laypersons actually still don't understand this concept, even after all these years of wireless.

And sometimes, people actually bite on the "full price" offer. In my market, it happens more than you might think. VZW doesn't like me very much for it, but quite frankly, **** them. I'd rather make my profit on the phone UP FRONT and reduce my exposure on the chargeback front. After my retail markup on the phone, month-to-month contract commission, and feature commissions, the profit is not only at least as much as eating the box-loss on a 2-year contract, but it's a SAFER profit chargeback-wise.

[jseah]

this was also one of my biggest peeves when working for ATT direct retail. You note the account that "customer was explained reason for charges and overages, offered to adjust rateplan to fit his/her needs, customer declined; adv that any bill credits would be conditional on increasing rateplan; pls do not credit account w/o associated rateplan increase per store manager at location XXX"

then you look 10 minutes later, the whiny customer got every overage credited, and stayed on the same rateplan. Same w/ text messaging; I tell the customer, "well, I can get these text message charges credited, provided you agree to take the 500-message text plan so that we avoid these overages in the future." They agree, then 2 months later, I'm going through my chargeback report, and whammo, they've taken the plan off again. Then next month they're starting the complaint cycle all over again. It's always AMAZED me that customers would rather NOT take a $10 text plan that will help them AVOID $70 in overages every month. I mean, who has that kind of time to keep *****ing about overages?

Every time I call CS, I get the courtesy "let's take a look at your usage to make sure you're on the right plan"......then they say....."well, you're on the 1400 minute a month family plan but you use less than 200 minutes a month". They're kinda taken by surprise when I tell them I know but I want to leave it. I just tell them that if I drop my plan, then the price point gets me below the threshold for VIP, so I'm perfectly happy with leaving it. My company pays my cell phone bill except for $20 a month so I don't mind paying more.

[SCTelephoneMan]

As far as I'm concerned, you should get NOTHING if you don't raise your plan up.

It's the cheapskates that are chasing $39.99....they're spending $100 to save $20...and they're idiots.

If you like to text, get the select plan and STOP BEING A TIGHTWAD.

[readability]

God i hate when customer service does this crap. All it does is show the customers that all they have to do is yell and scream and they wont have to pay for anything.

Thank you! Customer service keeps rewarding stupidity, selective hearing and utter ******** all the time. Glad to see somebody else is taking notice.

[veriztd]

Thank you! Customer service keeps rewarding stupidity, selective hearing and utter ******** all the time. Glad to see somebody else is taking notice.

Not trying to make an excuse for ignoring notes but CS is under a tremendous amount of pressure to get customer issues resolved as quickly as possible and to avoid transferring calls to managers when the CS rep can resolve the issue directly.

[fixxxer7]

Reading these stories really does take me back to being a CSR. Never a dull moment, lol!

[jigmasterx]

Customer comes in because of text msg overage...

After looking at bill...

Rep: You already pay $10 for messaging on various lines, for $20 more you can have the select plan with unlimited text messaging.

Customer: No thanks, just add the $20 txt plan on this other line.

Rep: But for the exact same price you can have unlimited for everybody.

Customer: Yeah i know, but i just dont want it.

IRRATIONAL!!!

[fixxxer7]

Customer comes in because of text msg overage...

After looking at bill...

Rep: You already pay $10 for messaging on various lines, for $20 more you can have the select plan with unlimited text messaging.

Customer: No thanks, just add the $20 txt plan on this other line.

Rep: But for the exact same price you can have unlimited for everybody.

Customer: Yeah i know, but i just dont want it.

IRRATIONAL!!!

I've seen that many times my friend. I would just look like a zombie and shake my head.

[JP Whoregan]

Had a customer on Saturday come in to pay his FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR (yes, that's $500). I open eROES, analyze the account, and discover that he's got five lines on a 700-minute Nationwide. He's the primary line, and he's using 1000 minutes per month..............BY HIMSELF!

Sales Associate:: "Mister Customer, if you raise your rate plan by $20 per month to the 1400-minute Nationwide plan, you would double your minute allowance, be qualified for the Friends and Family 10 plan, and would avoid these $300 minute overages that you're incurring every month. Would you like me to go ahead and raise the plan?

Stupid Customer: "Ahh.....nah, I'll think about it. Thanks."