Cell phone store suck (I'm so very tempted to write a complaint letter...)

[lupo pazzesco]

My cell phone is slowly dying, and I've been dragging my feet on upgrading. Today, while grocery shopping, I saw a store for my phone company a scant walk away from where I was, so I decided to go in, see if they had the two phones I'd been looking at online and ask the questions I had about them, and possibly upgrade at the store.

I enter, and all the of the employees are helping other customers, and none of them greet me. I wander over to the wall o' phones while I wait, and hunt for the two phones I'd been eyeing. Success! I find them! I start fiddling with them, getting a feel for them, and pull the little pamphlets out that describe the features, and various plans. I turn to look for an employee, but they're all still busy. I wander closer to the desk, intending to wait for the next available person who can help. Meanwhile, about 3 or 4 more people enter the store and start wandering around. One of the 3 employees (2 males, one female) finished with her customer, and I took a step forward...

...only to watch her approach another guy who had walked in behind me, and see if he needed help. She then starts devoting her time to helping him pick out a phone, a plan, etc, etc.

Ok, fine. maybe she thought I was standing in line for one of the other employees, I get that. I step back to wait again, this time very deliberately behind one desk, to show that I'm waiting in line for when this employee finishes helping his customer. About 5 minutes later, he wraps everything up, wishes the person he's helping a good day. Again, I go to step forward, smiling and saying, "Hi, I just had--"

And again, he leaves, though this time it's because still ANOTHER group of people who had walked in after me flagged him down, and wanted to look at the shiny 3G phones.

I quietly laid the pamphlets down on his counter and walked out. I just didn't feel like drawing attention to myself when I'd already been so blatantly ignored by 2/3 of the staff there.

I'm irritated and vaguely pissed, but planning on going to the website to upgrade there, or even calling the company itself, both to report what happened, and to see if someone in the customer service department can answer my questions and help me upgrade my phone. Aside from that bit of asstardery, I've been with this company since 2003 and had no problems, but damn!! Was I invisible?! I'm a big girl, kinda hard to miss! Was it because I LOOKED poor, standing there all scruffy and windblown, with a reusable grocery bag slung over my shoulder? I mean, seriously, WTF?!?! I just wanted to spend money on a new phone!! Gaaah.

Bastards...

[Andara Bledin]

Ooooh....

I'm way too snarky to let that sort of thing slide. I would have made a minor scene before walking out.

And I'd absoltely write an email to corporate about that behavior.

Why don't some sales people get that you can't judge customers by how they're dressed?

^-.-^

[JLG]

Was I invisible?! I'm a big girl, kinda hard to miss! Was it because I LOOKED poor, standing there all scruffy and windblown, with a reusable grocery bag slung over my shoulder? I mean, seriously, WTF?!?! I just wanted to spend money on a new phone!! Gaaah.

Bastards...

I have had that happen to be before and did let corporate know. I went to Target looking a little worn and waiting to buy the camera I went there to get. Only to get ignored for "better" looking customers. I would let them know about your experience.

[depechemodefan]

I had something like that happen in Wallyland.

Mom decides she wants a digital camera. So we go to the camera dept. I see two Wally asso. behind the counter and ask for help. The woman looked at me, and went back to her conversation.

I go back to my mom and nothice there is anohter woman next to my mom looking at cameras (with her son or husband, I don't know) and she goes up to the counter and ask for help. The femal Wally asso. put on her smock and went to were me, mom and othe woman with son are. I start to ask her something, and so did the other woman and the other woman looked at me like shit on her shoe. I tell her I was here first. She says, "I went to get her." And I said, "I went to get her." so the Wally asso. said she can help us both. The son said something rude to me and laughed and I dont' know what it was.

But I wish the asso. had said something, like "she was here first." Or had stopped talking to her asso. and helped me instead only stopping when the other woman came up. I can understand if she was talking to her asso. about something work related, but she seemed to either hope she didn't have to pick a side or just hoped the other people insult me enough for me to want to go away.

[LillFilly]

I had employees ignore me when I went to look at motorbikes. I had lots of questions and was intent on purchasing one. But half-way through showing me features, the salesguy left me 'for just a second' to help a woman & her son, which turned-into a half-hour and him ultimately selling her a bike. All the other employees sort of...stood around watching, and nobody else helped me. He could have easily steered her to a coworker, but I guess he smelled a sure sale. Needless to say, my $ went to someone who paid attention to me!

[TelephoneAngel]

I once went with my friend to look at some entertainment centres, he was unshaven, wearing jeans which had seen better days and generally scruffy, but he said, hey I'm on holiday, who cares.

When we got to the shop theemployee was very condescending, didn't let him finish asking for what he wanted - "I'm looking for an entertainment centre........"
and started saying, "there aren't many bargain ones, and they use a lot of electricity",


we walked out and went somewhere else to spend the £20,000 pounds he had allocated for the centre.In the end he got a massive tv and cinema surround set with various accessories which could have been a commission for the first salesman if he hadn't been so rude.

[spookysonata]

Ooooh....

Why don't some sales people get that you can't judge customers by how they're dressed?

^-.-^

The ones who have never seen "Pretty Woman"!

"Are you on commission? Big mistake. Huge."

[lupo pazzesco]

Mind you, I don't know if I was being judged by how I looked, but the fact was, I was straight up ignored, multiple times. I don't like that feeling, especially not when I'm planning on spending money AND when i'm at a store representing a company i've been a part of for many years.

I'm probably going to go to their website, and write a feedback email, once i figure out how to word it right.

[fma_fanatic]

If the company starts with an S, I honestly am not surprised. I upgraded my phone and I did it over at Best Buy after we were pretty much dissed at our carrier's store.

Better service, and we weren't treated like we were just another couple of browsing customers.

[poofy_puff]

The irony is that when you go somewhere just to browse, you get salesperson after salesperson asking if "you need help finding anything today".

(that's the general "you" not "you" as in a particular individual on this forum)

[Chromatix]

I've heard that Porsche have a policy of *not* judging customers by what they happen to be wearing to the showroom. A lot of their best customers turn out to be entrepeneurs who are focussed on getting things done, and don't dress up just to go and look at a car.

[wolfie]

Smart move by Porsche. I've heard a story about the owner of a tractor factory being ignored by the salespeople at a Ferrari dealership because he didn't look like the sort of person who would buy a Ferrari. He got fed up, and built (more likely, paid someone to design and build) his own sports car. The tractor factory is now better known for another product it now builds - Lamborghini sports cars.

[Magpie]

There's a lot of Mennonites around here, and we have horse-and-buggy to the more "conventional" ones and everything in between. One of the local conservative Mennonites was doing quite well for himself in plastics manufacturing. He and his sons weren't being taken seriously by the car salesman (something about seeing clothes that you expect to see in a buggy), so they went to another car lot to buy their three trucks. (With cash, due to their rules regarding banks, so I'm sure that the dealer didn't miss them that much, but still).

[the lawsmeister]

Smart move by Porsche. I've heard a story about the owner of a tractor factory being ignored by the salespeople at a Ferrari dealership because he didn't look like the sort of person who would buy a Ferrari. He got fed up, and built (more likely, paid someone to design and build) his own sports car. The tractor factory is now better known for another product it now builds - Lamborghini sports cars.

There's an urban legend in Aus about the staff at a ferrari dealership ignoring a scruffy looking bloke standing outside until a junior member of staff asks "what's Lachlan Murdoch (Rupert Murdoch's son), James Packer, <insert your choice of rich celebrity here> doing waiting outside"
Junior staff member then lets them in and gets a sale with massive commission.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

The ironic thing is that if I go into a department store (you know, where some snobby women go to work) dressed in baggy jeans, slip-on shoes, rumpled hair, and loose fitting shirt, that is the signal to an intelligent person that I am a woman with money to spend.

You know why? Because I am planning on running in and out of fitting rooms and throwing my clothes on and off A LOT. I am about to blow a lot of money on new clothes, and it ain't impulse shopping. I show up sloppily dressed, that is some premeditated shopping, right there. My hair will be messed up and I am wearing clothes that go off and off quick.

Alas, that is the sort of clothing that invites scorn from the "I'm just a working stiff, but I like to pretend I'm better than you because I work at frigging Belks" set.

Ironically, you go into a Coldwater Creek, which really IS an upscale shop, and you get the best attention, ever. Maybe they think I'm actually a potential shoplifter if I'm dressed like that.