We all have a little “salesperson” in us no matter what line of work we are in and up-selling, a marketing term for suggesting higher priced products or services to a customer, could be a good thing.
One of the main reasons for suggesting the higher priced item or service is to inform the customer of different features and benefits. It can be described as an education process, so prior to the sale being closed, the customer has been made aware of all the options beforehand, resulting in happy customers and referrals which would be considered the greatest compliment any salesperson can receive.
Up-selling can be done in a professional way, or it can come across as being very annoying and obnoxious, a big turn-off for many people, myself included.
You’re probably wondering where this rant is going, right? It’s going to the ridiculous experience I had at Verizon when my Samsung Note 4, which I love by the way, was having issues with the battery draining very quickly. The salesman at the first Verizon location told me that the battery could die any day and I should think about the “new” Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+ which would be available in 2 days and I should get my name on the reserve list quickly. I would have to pay off the balance of my existing 16 month old phone and pay a monthly charge for the new phone. No more contracts, just “simply” pay monthly and at the end of 24 months I would have my new $756 phone all paid up. It’s like buying a car! By the time the item is owned outright, it needs to be replaced, if not before that.
After taking my phone “in the back room” for diagnostic testing, he told me that I only had 25% life left in my screen and there was nothing I could do about it. Death would happen any day! Hmmm, what to do?
A second opinion was needed so I went to another Verizon location. I was told that there is no such test for screen life and, yes, my phone was on its way to smartphone heaven. Since I told both yahoos about my Note 4 and how I couldn’t give up the stylus feature, the new S8 and S8+ wouldn’t work for me. My question was, “Is Samsung going to introduce a new Note smartphone?” and the answer was a definite “NO!”
I decided to do some google research (where would I be without Google?) and found that getting a new battery for $40 with a lifetime guarantee would be my self-medicated way to go. My phone now has a new life and I am a happy customer . . . of the Batteries+ store.
I also learned that Samsung will be coming out with a new generation of the Note Smartphone, hopefully, by the end of the year. Those salespeople were obviously keeping that a secret.
Would I recommend Verizon? Yes and no. I have been satisfied with Verizon as my carrier for over 20 years but I felt that the salespeople I spoke with were not educated and only interested in selling new phones, not finding a solution to my dilemma, or even suggesting that it might just need a new battery.
As consumers of products or services, doing our own research can be time-consuming but well worth the effort!
