Hey guys,
We've seen a Telstra AMA and an Optus AMA, I think it's time for a Vodafone AMA.
I used to work for Vodafone Retail (for almost three years), so I've been there long enough to be able to provide some answers.
I don't work for them any more so can only answer questions based on my experience.
Please be nice!
Do you mean topping up customer's phone credit business or a recharge their phone when their battery is low business?
(not sure I can be of much help though)
^^
How many phones a year get stolen while someone is buying a phone in the shop?!
I've never encountered that incident myself so I wouldn't know, but one time I was serving a customer and then I turned around and he had cut off our display iPhone X and ran away with it. :/
How fast was the IMEI barred?
Relatively fast - we had to make a police report and our display phone IMEIs are registered on our system so barring could happen straight away.
Do you keep a straight face when people tell you how much the Telstra equivalent plans are like a professional or do you openly belly laugh creating a special bond with potential customers?
The latter. Tbh, more times than not, it is the customers walking in who lament about how Telstra's plans are so much more expensive than what we offer.
You get what you pay for. At my workplace it's always easy to spot the Optus/Vodaphone users because they're always the ones right next to the window while on the phone!
Ahhh, I think it depends where you're at. Vodafone covers the metro areas really well. I've never had any reception issues when I was on Vodafone, except for this one part of my train line that they didn't cover…
Couldn't agree more, I can't speak for Vodafone's reception recently. But I got my first real smartphone through Vodafone (HTC Sensation XE) after being with Three Mobile and being able to upgrade early as Vodafone bought out the Three network.
I didn't use the phone much for calls and texts (although these worked perfectly fine when I did use them). My massive gripe was with data connections and speeds. I take the train into the city for work and have spare time to browse on my phone for that time, I literally couldn't load anything during my trip. Voda blamed this on the speeds I was travelling at and I ended up going through the ombudsman to terminate my contract (handing my phone back in the process). I had many issues with data outside of my train trips too, it was utterly appalling. Given we lived within 20km of the Adelaide CBD.
I went to Telstra and got the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the difference was day and night. Data connection and speeds were lightyears ahead. Yes I'm paying significantly more for it, but what's the point in paying for a flagship phone and mobile service if you can't use it for it's intended purposes.
Telstra used to have a superior network. Not sure so much anymore. Calls over VoLTE just not working (straight to voicemail) and constant 3G congestion to the point that data and calls don’t work. Or at least that’s my experience in Brisbane CBD and south east side. It sure as hell isnt worth the premium they charge.
@kipps: I think all of Telstra, Optus and Vodafone are now pretty on par when it comes to metropolitan coverage, though Telstra does stand superior with rural coverage. I guess every telco has their own service that the other telcos don't have, which allows them to as much as they want to. It's good that we've got so many telco choices in Australia, which gives us as the customers more choices to find the perfect product for our needs. :)
Is there scope for bargaining on 24 month contract plans? And does it help that a customer has been with Vodafone for many years? Like 10+
Simple answer is no.
Vodafone's handset plans are actually no longer locked-in contracts any more, they're no lock-in contracts, meaning you only have to pay the phone out if you were to leave before your repayment period is up.
I think it goes without saying across all the major Telcos in Aus that your tenure holds no value. When I first started at Vodafone, we would be able to provide a monthly credit for customers depending on their tenure, but they have since scrapped that.
You do have more leniency over the phone - the sales reps are about to provide a 5% or a 10% discount off monthly access fees (note: this does not apply to the handset repayment cost). Store managers are also able to provide this discount, but store managers are encouraged not to, so store reps will most likely just hand you over to our customer service team over the phone.
Honestly though, with such competitive pricing from all the telcos nowadays, I would strongly encourage looking around for other options. You get so much more as a new customer than being a loyal customer.
Why do people still walk into a retail shop to buy a phone plan when you can just go online, compare the best deals, and checkout in 5 mins then wait for the phone to arrive to your door? Is the retail shopfront just a large advertisement? Do retail staff make a commission on phone plans they sign people up to?
I guess they like the ability of talking to a person who is knowledgeable in their field who'll be able to cater a provide perfect for their needs and being able to have their phone then and there.
You would be surprised to see how many customers who sign up for plans that are either too little or too much for their needs.
I'm also quite thorough in my work and do what we call a 'health check' and help customers to bundle their plans for more data at a lower price point. You just won't get this type of customer service online.
And yes, we do make commission based on products that we sell. At the end of the day, we're sales reps and we have KPIs to meet.
Because people like me, go online, find the best deal, walk in-store, and pick the phone up in person.
Unless there's some benefit in ordering online that I won't get instore, I prefer to go in and walk out with a phone.
What sort of features does a Vodafone have, compared with Apple or Samsung? Asking for a friend.
This a joke? Vodafone is a company which sells various branded phones and phone plans. They do not make phones themselves.
Obviously a joke lol
You may have a phone, be it Apple or Samsung, but can you roam overseas in over 55 countries for $5 a day without a Vodafone plan?
And that was the best deal with Vodafone.
do you like chicken nuggets?
Yessssss!
Finally! Someone asking the REAL questions
Do you think fruit flies are healthier than normal flies?
I don't like flies.
You're evading the question.
I don't like fruit flies, them and their stupid vegan diets. They never shut up about it.
What sort of commission do you get on phone contracts? Surely if you convince some to lock in for 24 months you'd get something.
The commission structure changed quite a bit since I started due to plan changes as well. Like I mentioned above, VF does not have locked in handset plans any more. VF handset plans are now no lock-in contract terms for a period of 12 months, 24 months or 36 months. The only locked in contracts are sim only contracts, and the term for that is 12 months.
But before I resigned, we has commission based on how many new phone plans we sign up to, upgrades, prepaid activation, new tablet plans and NBN services etc. I'm not sure how it is with the other telcos, but as sales reps, we got individual targets and our commission was based on meeting minimum benchmark for our set targets for the particular month, which would vary depending on the month and how many hours we worked (I was part-time). If we didn't meet the minimum benchmark to unlock commission gateway then it was no commission that month. Commission for one year contracts/handset repayment terms was less than the two year contracts/handset repayment terms.
Store managers and assistant store managers got commission based on the store hitting benchmark, not individual benchmarks.
The commission structure when I first started was a lot better than after the no lock-in contract plan changes.
Also, this is based on my experience working in a company-owned store. The commission structure would be different in licencees and franchise stores.
I was with VF a while back and we got a text saying 2 of our 3 phones (halfway through their contracts) were cancelled and that top end iPhones were ordered in their place. Went to the store to rectify where we found out that someone had called up to order the phones and changed our address to send them to some property up for rent. We blocked it all, changed the pin and had a note put on our account barring any changes or purchases to our account done over the phone. The medicare number that was apparently used as ID was also changed.
Lo and behold, a couple days later, the same thing happens with our remaining phone so we go back to get an explanation. Turns out the call centre person ignored the note. I guess our efforts were all for nought… My question is, do you think this was an inside job given such quick access after a pin change (and how common is it in VF)? Are there any repercussions for the call centre person for causing us trouble despite our precautions? Was there anything we could have done more?
To top things off, VF still had the nerve to bill us for the 3 new phones (2k+) which took more time to dispute despite being assured that we wouldn't be billed.
Awwww, sorry to hear that! Unfortunately, as great as our security system is, the people managing these systems are human and sometimes even the most secure security system can be broken into.
Occasionally I did hear of or dealt with customers with fraudulent issues. On a store-front, we can only do so much. Any investigative work needs to go through the back-end team.
It could be, but I would doubt it as every interaction we make on a customers account would be attached to our employee ID and it won't bring on much gains for the call centre rep. But it also could be that someone mistakenly used your ID to access your account on your behalf and the rep on the phone could only do as instructed, if all provided ID matched the account. To get new phones, especially two high-end phones, you would need to meet the equipment balance on your account or otherwise run through a new credit check to see if that limit can be increased.
In-store reps and call centre reps must go through a stringent ID check before accessing an account. I've had so many customers huff and puff at me because I refused to access their account because they failed to provide me with their ID but know their PIN, or they know the PIN but the account is in their partner's name etc. Customers need to realise that at the end of the day, these security checks are as much for their safety as it is for mines. I'm only abiding with the rules, and if you fail to comply then it's not our fault that we can't help you.
What's the biggest 'trick' that customers can use to get a good bargain?
Occasionally when another telco released a really good deal (ahem Optus ahem), we were able to price match it and customers would choose to stay with or switch to VF because of the $5 roaming benefit, which I think is a pretty good bargain itself.
If you want a dollar discount though, you'll need to call up over the phone. They can give you either a 5% or 10% monthly access fees discount, which we have little leniency to provide in-store.
EDIT:
Just a second thought. I think the biggest bargain is just doing your own research and knowing what you want before speaking to a rep and just straight up asking them if they can price-match or doing anything better. The easiest thing you can do is just ask, which many customers just don't do. It also depends on which rep you speak to; I was pretty on-top of my work but I know some of my colleagues weren't. Some of my colleagues would sign customers up to a higher plan when in fact a lower plan was of better value but would need a promo code to be entered into the plan selection stage which they didn't realise because they didn't read their comms properly.
Can staff give discounts on monthly plans?
No, we have what is called 'saves' offers, which are either 5% or 10% monthly access fees discount, which are the discounts as mentioned in the above responses. However, staff in-store cannot provide this without manager approval, and managers are not encouraged to provide this. If you want a discount, you'll need to speak with the customer service team over the phone.
Employees get their own personal friends and family discount. It used to be quite a good discount offer, but they've since revamped the program and now the discount is no where near as good as it once was - it's an additional 5% off your plan monthly access fees.
Why did you resign from VF?
I have had horrid experiences with the retail store as well as back end teams. It was over 20 years ago but I will never forget them giving me a used phone, passing it off as new and then kept delaying me saying they could not find the color I purchased and was looking for a replacement. I accepted their word in good faith and ended up at tribunal after 12 months of delay. VF won as the time elapsed was considered to be too long - the crazy tribunal person said I should have taken them to tribunal earlier, but they did say VF was not acting ethically by passing off used phones as new.
I have been a telstra client ever since and have had very little problem. I pay their rates because of travel to country areas where telstra has reception and the other networks do not. And I have never received a used phone being passed off as new from them. In fact when I received a faulty sony phone and sony would not accept the problem was theirs the telstra shop agreed the phone was faulty from instore testing and offered me any phone I wanted on the spot. I ended up with a new iphone after spending a week on a dodgy android sony phone.
I resigned because I'm currently completing a summer vac program and we have a blackout period over Christmas where staff cannot take leave over the Christmas season (however you can purchase leave over Christmas provided that you have been with the company for a certain amount of years though. I think it was over three years, but I hadn't been there over three years yet so I wasn't able to do that). Also, there's conflict of interest between the company that I'm interning at right now and Vodafone. 😂 I absolutely adore my team and the work is relatively easy money. I wouldn't have left if I didn't have to, but I'm off now pursuing something that better aligns with my career goals.
Awwww, sorry to hear that! I can guarantee you that Vodafone has improved leaps and bounds since they acquired 3. I'm not sure what happened there to result in that incident, but I'm glad that you've managed to find a service that better suits your needs.
That is true, I can't deny that Telstra has better coverage in rural areas than Vodafone.
The processes for faulty phones would have changed since then. If there is a major fault with your new device within 30 days, known as an early life failure, and it can be verified in-store or through the warranty repair centre, you will get a brand new replacement like for like device. If the fault occurs after 30 days, under the Australian law you are entitled to a refurbished device replacement. You might get a brand new replacement device if you're lucky, but this is dependent on the manufacturer. If after three repairs and the fault still exists, you can get an alternative replacement device, but keeping in mind if it has exceeded the 30 days it will be a refurbished device.
Telcos are the resellers of mobile devices, essentially acting as a middleman for phone issues, but at the end of the day, faults are subject to the manufacturer's rules and regulations.
Thank you for the reply. Good luck with your studies and future vocation. I’m assuming you may have gone to Telstra! Lol.
I heard the retail hourly rate is good and the commission is really good. Is this true? Can you elaborate?
Hey there! Been following your Optus AMA (and you inspired me to make this AMA)! I'd say our hour rate and commission is pretty good, and would be on par with Telstra and Optus, but I wouldn't be too sure since I don't know what it's like at Telstra or Optus. Kind of sad that we don't get penalty rates for Saturdays and Sundays though. :( Not sure if I should be disclosing my pay rate though, but I can say it's very competitive - it's higher than other retail jobs that I've been in!
Commission was also not too bad, which I guess makes up for the lack of weekend penalty rates. Though, ever since we switched over the no lock-in contract plans, the commission that we were able to earn was lower than what we were able to earn for the previous plans. We got commission based on how many new phone plans we sign up to, upgrades, prepaid activation, new tablet plans and NBN services, accessories and insurance, subject to meeting minimum targets for the month. Earning commission was also dependent on the foot traffic of your store. When I first started, I started off at a lower foot traffic store and it was quite difficult for me to hit commission, but I then moved to a higher foot traffic store and found it easier to hit commission.
Also, bear in mind that I worked in a company-owned store; the commission structure would be different for licencees and franchise stores.
i'm thinking of starting a phone recharge business but i don't know how to go about it.. any tips?