Mystery Shopper: Southampton

Mystery Shopper is looking for a handset for his little brother, who is a little erratic with his usage so a price cap is a must, as is a free, modern handset. With a limit of £20 a month, what can the retailers offer?

6: EE

Product range – 4/5
Product knowledge – 2/5
Airtime knowledge – 1/5
Questioning ability – 1/5
Sales ability – 2/5
Shop appearance – 3/5
Total – 13/30

5: O2

Product range – 2/5
Product knowledge – 2/5
Airtime knowledge – 2/5
Questioning ability – 2/5
Sales ability – 2/5
Shop appearance – 5/5
Total – 11/30

4: Vodafone

Product range – 2/5
Product knowledge – 3/5
Airtime knowledge – 4/5
Questioning ability – 3/5
Sales ability – 3/5
Shop appearance – 2/5
Total – 17/30

3: Carphone Warehouse

Product range – 3/5
Product knowledge – 3/5
Airtime knowledge – 3/5
Questioning ability – 4/5
Sales ability – 4/5
Shop appearance – 3/5
Total – 20/30

2: Phones 4U

Product range – 2/5
Product knowledge – 5/5
Airtime knowledge – 5/5
Questioning ability – 5/5
Sales ability – 3/5
Shop appearance – 4/5
Total – 24/30

1: Three

Product range – 5/5
Product knowledge – 5/5
Airtime knowledge – 5/5
Questioning ability – 4/5
Sales ability – 5/5
Shop appearance – 4/5
Total – 28/30

Summary

While cost caps seem to be a thing of the past with Vodafone, O2 and Orange, it was good to see two brands still offering it.

There is surely a market for this and the way Karol at Three described how to apply the cap put me at ease that there would be no bill shock.

Phones 4U’s Alek put in a good performance but lacked the ideal product.

EE’s assistant had the tariff available but didn’t offer me a very enticing prospect, while Carphone’s Emma offered a good plan but lacked the handset wow factor.

A plan with Vodafone or O2 could have proved very expensive.

Full article in Mobile News issue 537 (April 22, 2013).

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