Mystery Caller has always used phones made by HTC and is looking to get himself a new device. He wants it on a monthly deal for under £30 – what phones will the sales staff offer him and who can come up with the best deal?
5: Three
I tried to steer him in the right direction by saying I wasn’t a fan of Samsung and he asked why not. If a customer says they don’t want something, don’t try to convince them otherwise – just ask what they are looking for.
Manner – 1/5
Understanding – 1/5
Knowledge – 1/5
Helpfulness – 1/5
Clarity – 3/5
Overall – 1/5
Total – 8/30
4: Vodafone
I asked her if she thought it was good advice and rather than saying yes straight away, she said it wasn’t her job to give her opinion. Maybe not, but it was her job to sell phones.
Manner – 4/5
Understanding – 2/5
Knowledge – 1/5
Helpfulness – 2/5
Clarity – 2/5
Overall – 2/5
Total – 13/30
3: O2
He gave me a detailed description of how wonderful this new phone was without ever checking if it was within my price range. When he told me the price, I explained that it was way too costly for me.
Manner – 2/5
Understanding – 3/5
Knowledge – 3/5
Helpfulness – 3/5
Clarity – 4/5
Overall – 3/5
Total – 17/30
2: Virgin
She was still a little thin on the ground with details about why I should pick one device over another but at least she was trying.
Manner – 4/5
Understanding – 4/5
Knowledge – 2/5
Helpfulness – 4/5
Clarity – 4/5
Overall – 4/5
Total – 22/30
1: EE
I hadn’t really given Phil much information but he didn’t seem flustered. He asked a lot of questions and eventually queried my phone history.
Manner – 5/5
Understanding – 5/5
Knowledge – 4/5
Helpfulness – 5/5
Clarity – 5/5
Overall – 5/5
Total – 29/30
Summary
We wanted a new phone made by HTC on a pay monthly deal under £30, with an explanation as to why it was better than any other device from the Taiwanese manufacturer.
Three’s Dave was disappointing to say the least. He never asked me what phone I was after, only gave me his name after I asked for it and seemed totally disinterested.
Mimi from Vodafone was a lot nicer but needs to update her knowledge on HTC phones or risk looking unprofessional.
The guy at O2 never gave his name but did know a bit more about HTC devices. He was a little bit rude at first but, by the end, had improved a lot.
Virgin’s Anne was lovely but again fell short when it came to giving me specs for the devices. How hard can it be to pull up a website to find out the quality of a camera or size of a screen?
EE’s Phil seemed able to do that, or he knew HTC handsets well, as he had all the answers and that earned him the win.
Full article in Mobile News issue 593 (July 20, 2015).
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