Mystery Caller has lost his third phone to water damage in as many years and wants a waterproof or water-resistant device for below £30 per month. What can the sales staff come up with?
5: Virgin
Cherie asked me on several occasions when I called her if I was a Virgin customer. I told her I was not. Before ending my call, she double-checked I wasn’t an existing Virgin customer – just to be on the safe side!
Manner – 1/5
Understanding – 1/5
Knowledge – 1/5
Helpfulness – 2/5
Clarity – 0/5
Overall – 1/5
Total – 6/30
4: EE
Joe admitted he didn’t have a clue about how waterproof certification worked. He added that all I needed was to keep the ports closed and I wouldn’t have a problem. He took his Sony tablet with him to the bath
Manner – 1/5
Understanding – 1/5
Knowledge – 2/5
Helpfulness – 3/5
Clarity – 4/5
Overall – 2/5
Total – 13/30
3: Three
I told John that anything over £30 per month was far too costly for me. He told me that if I wanted unlimited data I wasn’t going to get it cheaper than that. He had already lost my business by not listening
Manner – 4/5
Understanding – 2/5
Knowledge – 3/5
Helpfulness – 2/5
Clarity – 3/5
Overall – 3/5
Total – 17/30
2: O2
Far from being the most informed, Shaheem knew a lot about waterproofed phones, and was able to answer correctly and quickly
Manner – 4/5
Understanding – 4/5
Knowledge – 3/5
Helpfulness – 4/5
Clarity – 5/5
Overall – 4/5
Total – 24/30
1: Vodafone
Laura was far ahead of her rivals. Not only did she know a lot about waterproofing, she also sold the device in a brilliant way
Manner – 5/5
Understanding – 5/5
Knowledge – 5/5
Helpfulness – 5/5
Clarity – 5/5
Overall – 5/5
Total – 30/30
Summary
Exposure to water has long been a problem for smartphones, but over the last few years waterproofing has become more common.
That’s why we wanted to see what the sales staff would offer when asked to provide a device that can resist exposure to H2O.
I’m not 100 per cent sure that Cherie understood the task but if she did, she didn’t handle it very well. She kept on asking if I was already a Virgin customer, despite the fact that I repeatedly explained I wasn’t.
Joe at EE wasn’t better as his laid back approach put me off buying from him.
John at Three seemed to know a bit about waterproofing but failed to listen to my requirements and find a suitable offer.
Shaheem from O2 was okay but not brilliant. He knew a bit but not a lot about waterproofing.
The clear winner was Laura from Vodafone who answered all my questions and was just lovely all round.
Full article in Mobile News issue 585 (March 30, 2015).
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