BGR article says Sprint insults iPhone customers to avoid subsidies to Apple

[S4GRU]

This article doesn't pass the smell test:

http://bgr.com/2012/12/24/sprint-salesman-iphone-customer-insult-266085/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheBoyGeniusReport+%28BGR+%7C+Boy+Genius+Report%29

 

Sprint has to meet sales numbers with iPhones. They are not concerned about Apple subsidies. They know they are on the hook for $15Billion of them to Apple. They will be happy to get rid of all of them as soon as possible.

 

Also, BGR is citing Tom's Hardware and created a story based on this without corroboration? Crazy. Seems like a hit piece to me.

 

And even if it was true, the salespersons motive would not be Sprint subsidies. Crappy journalism.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

 

[DaQue]

Yup, but the lone wacko salesman can't be ruled out. Could be one who had and iphone, got it wet and is pissed they wouldn't replace it etc... Still the article is bad in that it pushes the reader to believe its systematic when really they talking about one bad salesman who may be joining the ranks of the unemployed soon. For the record I had an Iphone once but in the end decided their app market and practices are just too locked down for me. Apple: "We created the perfect phone, use it the way we intended. Resistance is futile." Picture the borg in $200 black tee shirts...

[S4GRU]

Yup, but the lone wacko salesman can't be ruled out. Could be one who had and iphone, got it wet and is pissed they wouldn't replace it etc... Still the article is bad in that it pushes the reader to believe its systematic when really they talking about one bad salesman who may be joining the ranks of the unemployed soon. For the record I had an Iphone once but in the end decided their app market and practices are just too locked down for me. Apple: "We created the perfect phone, use it the way we intended. Resistance is futile." Picture the borg in $200 black tee shirts...

 

Definitely. I have met the rogue whacko salesperson before.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

[aliensporebomb]

Wackjob salespeople are possible in any industry but this smacks of an isolated incident with a salesguy who wanted his commission as high as it could go.

 

When I bought my iPhone5 I had no such problem and they paid me for my old phone too so I ended up walking out of the store with a 32 gig iPhone5 for a measly $127.

 

Before this transaction I also saw the guy in front of me buying an iPhone5 not having any problems getting his.

 

Some people don't much care for the Apple walled garden approach - there are other phones for those users but I would have loved to have witnessed the guy being told his fingers are too fat.

[themuffinman]

Definitely. I have met the rogue whacko salesperson before.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

Same here, nothing worse than the rogue salesperson. In my opinion something like this probably happened at a dealer store and not a corporate store. Some of the most bizarre sprint stories I have ever heard took place at dealer stores.

[S4GRU]

I thought new contract commissions were the same regardless of device. But maybe I'm mistaken. Can anyone of our numerous Sprint store employees confirm?

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

 

[themuffinman]

I thought new contract commissions were the same regardless of device. But maybe I'm mistaken. Can anyone of our numerous Sprint store employees confirm?

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

I never worked for sprint but I do have several years experience in commission sales. Base commissions are probably the same regardless of products but sometimes manufacturers may offer added incentives for pushing their product during a particular promotional period. Maybe this could have been one of those cases.

[ktulu909]

This is weird because I'm using tapatalk to make my forum "rounds". Just left a thread on saintsreport.com that stated that a couple was insulted to the point that they left at a local best buy because they wanted to trade in there droids for Iphones. There may be legs to this.

[irev210]

If I had to guess it is about the sales guys own personal commission.

 

 

Probably no points for selling an iPhone 4 but double or triple points for selling a GS3.

[userwhat]

I thought Sprint stopped selling the Iphone4 in their stores?

 

http://www.phonedog.com/2012/09/18/sprint-to-only-offer-iphone-4-online-starting-september-21/

 

Maybe they changed their mind..I haven't been in a Sprint store in a long time.

[digiblur]

To be fair I have heard the opposite, the sales guy was telling the person how unreliable android was. Just a matter of preference.

 

Sent from a little old Note 2

 

 

[MacinJosh]

I thought Sprint stopped selling the Iphone4 in their stores?

 

http://www.phonedog.com/2012/09/18/sprint-to-only-offer-iphone-4-online-starting-september-21/

 

Maybe they changed their mind..I haven't been in a Sprint store in a long time.

 

As far as I know, they only sell online, but for a while, they didn't even sell them online.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus running Paradigm 3.0 using Forum Runner

[Feech]

BGR is a joke. This was the original story from the consumerist.com

 

http://consumerist.com/2012/12/18/sprint-salesman-wont-sell-me-iphone-4-says-my-fingers-are-too-fat/

 

Still not a good look for Sprint but definitely puts it in the right perspective.

 

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[SGT516]

What do you mean I shouldn't get an iPhone?

 

[digiblur]

BGR is a joke. This was the original story from the consumerist.com

 

http://consumerist.com/2012/12/18/sprint-salesman-wont-sell-me-iphone-4-says-my-fingers-are-too-fat/

 

Still not a good look for Sprint but definitely puts it in the right perspective.

 

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

Probably all made up by some kid that is pissed another town got LTE before his ever important town did.

 

-- "Sensorly or it didn't happen!"

 

 

[pyroscott]

One of my friends recently switched from t-mobile to Verizon, and the salesperson at the Verizon reseller store was very condescending to him when he asked to see the iphones. He told him that the iPhone was garbage and tried to sell him the droid razr. My buddy's reaction was to leave, go to the corporate verizon store, and buy his iphones. The guy lost a sale because of his hatred for iphones.

 

For the record, I also told him that he was an idiot for not getting the galaxy nexus, but I wasn't in line for a commission.

[themuffinman]

Probably all made up by some kid that is pissed another town got LTE before his ever important town did.

 

-- "Sensorly or it didn't happen!"

 

LMAO!!!! Now this is funny.

[Jamal46409]

article is bs...as a former sprint salesperson, that's the last thing we think about.....we just focused on making a sale and getting commission...and the "better" the phone..the better the commission you would get...

[themuffinman]

article is bs...as a former sprint salesperson, that's the last thing we think about.....we just focused on making a sale and getting commission...and the "better" the phone..the better the commission you would get...

 

You really don't know if this article is bs or not, if it is I am sure it was probably exaggerated but I for one wouldn't be surprised if it is true to some extent. I have been with sprint now for 11 years and I have personally witnessed sprint reps say things that were laughable or simply not true at all. Now you may have been an outstanding employee and if you were then great but there will always be those select few that just don't give a damn and would do or say anything to make a sale and of course that goes for any commissioned employee anywhere.

[Jamal46409]

You really don't know if this article is bs or not, if it is I am sure it was probably exaggerated but I for one wouldn't be surprised if it is true to some extent. I have been with sprint now for 11 years and I have personally witnessed sprint reps say things that were laughable or simply not true at all. Now you may have been an outstanding employee and if you were then great but there will always be those select few that just don't give a damn and would do or say anything to make a sale and of course that goes for any commissioned employee anywhere.

 

 

I digress....you have a point..

[halcyoncmdr]

Wackjob salespeople are possible in any industry but this smacks of an isolated incident with a salesguy who wanted his commission as high as it could go.

 

Sprint's corporate commission structure (not sure if it is different for preferred retailers, RadioShack, Best Buy, etc.) pays identical no matter which phone you purchase. It has been this way at least since I started in 2007 as a sales rep. While the overall structure of the payout has changed, this fundamentally is the same. You could purchase a simple M400 flip phone or a 64GB iPhone 5, the commission paid to the sales rep is identical. Are there occasional manufacturer incentives to sell more of a specific device? Yes, but they are extremely rare and from my experience, most sales people don't care about them. They would rather get the customer into a phone that is least likely to have the customer come back into the store (angry, wanting to exchange, annoyed with it, etc.). The few times a customer comes into the store or calls Care, the more likely they remain happy, it's pretty simple really.

 

Me personally, I never recommend Apple to anyone but older people looking for a smartphone. Why? Because quite simply the iPhone out of the box is limited by Apple by design and offers limited customization. For the older generation they have their apps and an easy to use interface that is hard to screw up because, well, you can't do much with it to begin with. In addition, Apple always leaves a desired feature out so that the next generation can be touted as being FASTER and add that missing feature that should have been implemented before (in the iPhone 5 that was NFC). There is absolutely no reason the iPhone 5 doesn't have NFC other than Apple chose to leave it out in case they can't get something better in time for the next gen. I would like to point out that the iPhone to this day still doesn't support full proper Bluetooth contact transfer profiles. The only reason for this I can think of is they want you to use iTunes (or iCloud now) for contact sync. Just like how when you setup a Gmail account the default way, it does not allow contact sync; but setting up as an Exchange server instead, or a manually adding a CardDAV account works perfectly for syncing Google contacts. Why can't Apple automatically add this CardDAV account when setting up a Gmail? Or utilizing Exchange instead of IMAP for email? (Yes I know Google is disabling Exchange support for new accounts starting January, that is beside the point in this instance).

 

There are simply too many things that Apple chooses to do that are decidedly NOT customer-friendly that I can't support them when asked directly.

[digiblur]

Very well said! And I appreciate the insight on things from a knowledgeable person in your workplace.

[Pillowsplat]

1st off a good salesperson works by crafting his opening to uncover his potential customers needs. Asking questions to uncover his Potential customers needs. Then a Great salesman WILL craft his 'questions' and 'close' to sell the things that make his company the most money. A major part of successful sales is the Gross Profit margin. A sales person has to move product and incorporate bottom line into his thought process.

I expect management doesn't tell its sales people how the deals are crafted between Sprint and Apple or Sprint and Samsung. But common sense would lead you to believe Apple's deal is not as good as Samsung's per unit to Sprint. Manufacture incentives on a specific phone probably doesn't make a lot of sense at the store level. The fact that the customer walked into your store is a huge buying signal. He/She has probably decided on Yellow. The Phone is just the tool to use yellow.

As for this incident. I have fat fingers. The salesman was probably doing him a favor by suggesting a bigger screen. Now maybe "since your a FAT SLOB you need a S3" might not have been the preferred ass kissing. The salesman probably just had to deal with the typical front line retail horseS^^%$ and snapped.

[JeffDTD]

The thing about apple... if someone has become a fan or if someone has sewed it into their skull that theyre going to get an iphone, the encouragement from other fruit fans is deafening and trying to reason with the person is next to impossible.

 

Sales are so much fun when someone cant make up their mind or is truly open to multiple platforms...if I were selling phones and someone came in wanting the fruit, id tell them all about it and put it in their hands as soon as possible and get them out the door. Better to give them what they want than end up being the asshole in the sprint store who "doesnt see how wonderful apple is".

 

And I can appreciate telling an older person that their iphone isnt as versatile (because its true) but my technological experience with older people has always inferred that most of them prefer familiarity over versatility. If they can see the screen (haha) the older user will have the smallest learning curve with the fruit once they understand how to use it.

[koiulpoi]

I thought new contract commissions were the same regardless of device. But maybe I'm mistaken. Can anyone of our numerous Sprint store employees confirm?

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

While Sprint's corporate commission structure is flat depending on sales of phones, many Preferred Retailers have their own, based on things like gross profit of the phone. Some Preferred Retailers pay their employees the same as corporate: per contract, not by type of phone. Some, however, give VERY different commission depending on phone model. Second hand experience (coworker who worked at one previously) has informed me that, at those, an iPhone is $0 (yes, zero), Android phones are ~$40, and a Phone Connect is $100. So, if that's how the store was set up, the employee has a pretty big incentive to steer people away from iPhones.

 

That being said, that's not Sprint's policy, that's the policy of the retailer.