Sprint salesman refuses to sell iPhone to fat-fingered customer

[Hum]

We?ve known for a while now that some mobile carriers have been instructing their sales staff to start pushing their customers away from Apple?s (AAPL) iPhone and toward Android or Windows Phone devices. The reason is simple: carriers pay a lot more to subsidize Apple?s popular smartphone than they do with other devices and they?d prefer to have higher gross margins at the end of each quarter. But now a Tom?s Hardware reader reports that a Sprint (S) representative has taken pushing non-iPhone products to a whole new level and is actually insulting people who insist on buying the device.

When the customer told the Sprint representative that he wanted to get an older iPhone 4 for free as part of his upgrade, the representative called the device ?a piece of s?? that breaks too easily and is too small for many users.

Instead, the salesman recommended that the customer by a Samsung (005930) Galaxy S III. When the customer again refused, the salesman took things a step farther and told the man that his fingers were simply too fat to use the iPhone and that he?d need a larger screen to use a smartphone properly.

Needless to say, these up-sell-by-insult tactics weren?t exactly effective for the salesperson and the customer angrily stormed out of the store without buying a new phone.

source

[xendrome]

I love how these "stories" are picked up when A: you don't know if the story is true, and B: it then becomes news... anyone could write something like this, and claim it happened with no proof, and every news site would pick up on it and post it cause it draws clicks.

[Knife Party]

IMHO, what the? Both phones are great, but take the S3 :p

[Davo]

The rep was trying to prevent an inevitable exchange. Customers see free and want it, despite the fact that they might not know anything about the phone. You then either get someone coming in and complainging about wanting an exchange (where now you've wasted limited promotional supply of a device and time) or worse, they come in after the exchange period and demand you part the red sea.

[DavidM]

I love how these "stories" are picked up when A: you don't know if the story is true, and B: it then becomes news... anyone could write something like this, and claim it happened with no proof, and every news site would pick up on it and post it cause it draws clicks.

I have to agree here, an "unnamed" - customer, salesperson, store, date - with no real way to confirm, then the "source" is the third site linked. BGR from Tom's Hardware from The Consumerist? The "author" has posted 22 short "news" stories after the iphone one from the 18th of December.

[Doli]

Walking out because you felt insulted = salesman refused to sell ???

" Fed up with his attitude and tone of condescension, I walked out, no phone in hand. I?d rather have a broken phone than to have to put up with such a rude person."

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Sprint-iPhone-4-Carrier-Galaxy-fingers-too-fat,19970.html#xtor=RSS-980

[Growled Member]

When I go in to buy something I know what I want, and I ask for it. If they tell me I should get something else I just silently look at them. After a bit they go get what I want.

[Glassed Silver]

When I go in to buy something I know what I want, and I ask for it. If they tell me I should get something else I just silently look at them. After a bit they go get what I want.

I hate when salespersons are trying to start a lengthy talk with obvious nerds over things they barely know the 5 bullet points of the brochure about.

Glassed Silver:mac

[-T- Member]

I was once guilty of encouraging my staff to do that, and most thanked us for it as they really didn't know why they wanted an iPhone. If they were dead set on it, of course we'd give them what they wanted, but the majority just equate smartphone with iPhone

[Brony]

"Sprint salesman refuses to sell iPhone to fat-fingered customer"

It sounds legit.