Would you like fries with that?

[geekgrrl-ca.livejournal.com]

I guess this is more directed to the people who support extternal customers. Any of you folks expected to sell products to the people you support?  They brought that in for us a few years back and I can't help but feel like I'm asking if they would like fries with their burger.   I don't mind asking because I get extra money for asking but I tell you if I didn't I more than likely wouldn't.

Comments

[falnfenix]

i did when i worked for Apple. it sucked...i had a lot of "almosts" and never made my quota because i just can't push the sale.

the ridiculous thing was it was NEVER in the job description...they just tossed it at us as an afterthought, then every benefit/pay increase would be based entirely on sales.

not closed tickets, not satisfied customers...sales.


*edit* oh, and if you didn't meet the quota but had the strongest support numbers in the building they'd still fire you because you didn't meet quota.

[tallanvor.livejournal.com]

My company wants us to try and sell things like additional modules or upgrade services, but I don't worry about it. I figure that since some of our customers have spent $1 million or more on our software, they can decide for themselves if they need to spend more money. I might care a bit more if I made a commission, but seeing as how it would just go to the salesperson who finalized the sale, it does me no good to push them to spend more money.

Besides, I tell people straight out that I'm a technical person, not a salesman.

[pisceandreamer.livejournal.com]

The only thing they leaned on us to sell was tickets to the user conference for our software (expensive!) - I threw a link to the conference info on my email tagline and that was it. Told management that people were either going to attend or not attend, and it wasn't going to be based on what I had to say. (Also asked, "Isn't this why we have that overpaid marketing department?")

[kageneko.livejournal.com]

Not my company. In fact, we were told to no longer make any product recommendations to the customers, even if they've been sold the wrong product for their environment.

[reynardo.livejournal.com]

We were encouraged to sell "upgrades" to our customers, and at one stage were given bonus points in our reward scheme based on how much we'd been able to sell. I'd ben happy to suggest it to a customer, but I wouldn't push it.

The close of every call would have to have the phrase "Is there anything else you'd like me to help you with?", which was colloquially known as the "Would you like fries with that?" ending.

[ravenshrinkery.livejournal.com]

When I first got onboard with Gateway in late 2003 they said no sales were required, although they gave bonuses for techs who made a $3 RPC target. Being a salesperson by nature I beat this easily through sheer honesty. When I left at the end of 2004 the sales target was now a minimum $3 RPC to avoid disciplinary action, $6 as expected, and $10 as their goal. It got much nastier as time went on, and while I always did hard-sell to some extent (look, your hard drive's busted, without a new one you're not going anywhere. sure you can get it somewhere else, but i'm right here to tell you what you need and if you buy it from us we'll help you put it in. deal?) it got ridiculous. Then there was the issue with the India call center, which had no trouble selling registered modules to suckers that didn't know what they were buying (that contractor was fired before long).

Just before I signed on with that desk I was selling accounting software with a $40 RPC target; granted, these were sales calls and we were explicitly told not to provide technical support (sell them support and let someone else do it, even if it was a one click fix, to a business it's worth that $300). The atmosphere around that floor was just cultish - all everyone talked about was how much they sold, about how they got a sale, about numbers, as if their work were the most important thing to their lives and to the world. It was creepy; and then I saw that environment coming over to the Gateway desk. There's a point where it's no longer about people, and when the bottom line becomes greater than providing people what they want said bottom line falls out.

[ravenofdreams.livejournal.com]

I've quit places for asking me to do that. My big rule is that I will not shill something to the customer that I don't honestly believe they need. (RAM upgrades are a big one these days - some people need them, some don't.) It always pissed bosses off because, if required to meet a quota to keep my job, I'd do so in the first week or so of the month, then simply stop.
I've worked as an Apple Genius, I've worked at a uni, I've worked in-house tech - and I'm currently working at a small (6-body) shop, making less money than ever before, but not expected to sell things people don't need, and happier for it.

[katballou.livejournal.com]

We support extended warranties for one of the big electronics stores. When I started here we did tech support for hardware only.
Then we started doing software support but we had to charge for that.
Now we also have to try to sell stuff to our customers from our client's store.

I'm just glad I don't really take calls anymore as I really suck at sales.

[trayce.livejournal.com]

Isn't that kind of thing illegal? I mean if it isnt in your position description or contract ,how the hell can they fire you for not reaching a target you didnt want as part of the job!? wtf.

[brothersterno.livejournal.com]

Some places have done that, but mostly, it's been a "sell stuff and we'll give you a bonus" or some crap. There was one position where I was compensated for low churn and high revenue, so I did everything I could to sell stuff at full price to my existing customer base and keep them happy so they wouldn't cancel. It wasn't a hard sell, and it wasn't a quota, but I managed to increase my pay by a not insignificant amount by doing this, as well as getting kick backs from sales agents to whom I flipped solid leads.

There's no reason why this can't work, but it needs to be in the best interest of the support agent to sell appropriate stuff, and there needs to be guys in sales who can benefit too. If the company is trying to save money on sales staff and you don't own the customer relationship as a support rep (i.e. all your sales come right back to you to install and support!) then this is a recipe for bad support and bad sales.

[falnfenix]

1 - Maryland is an at-will state when it comes to employment, and they merely said "you can leave anytime you want"

2 - there was no contract, and it was mentioned in training as an aside. they never described just how important it would be.

i left after 4 months of hell. oh, technically they fired me because i didn't show up for 2 weeks (when i showed up with a doctor's note saying i had been sick that entire time).


i WILL say this was not Apple corporate - this was a contractor for Apple. they lost the contract a couple of years after i left.

[kerberos.livejournal.com]

I do Web,mail,domains and get a bonus on my pay in accordance to what I sell.
I don't activly push stuff to clients, but gives them the best solution I can get for them. Not the most expensive one.

It has over the years given me a nifty sideprofit, but on vacations I miss out on bonuses, often going back 500$ in the process.

Still last 2 months I sold 179% and 149% of my "salesquota".

Would be nice though if the company acknowledged it more.

[canray.livejournal.com]

It was probably their idea, and is why they got bonuses. "We just got eleventy billion salesmen for NOTHING!"

[canray.livejournal.com]

Had the same issue with Anti-Virus software. We were supposed to advocate the software that had signed a contract with us (It wasn't Norton, at least!).

I advised, "But I cannot stop you from seeking alternatives." "What does that mean?" "It means I. Cannot. Stop you from seeking other alternatives on your own." "Huh? ... Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Gotcha."

My supervisor looked at me, and shrugged.