Archived The joys of Mobile Plus.

[AngryElec]

Long time electronics team member here, and someone who actively enjoys their job at that.

We're what? 8? 6? Months into the Mobile Plus changes now and I have to say that getting rid of marketsource in our store has significantly improved our lives and the guests lives.

For anyone fearing this coming your way, don't. You have to embrace what it is, and what it allows you to do. You have to have the mindset to allow new changes to come your way and realize that your leadership (SHOULD) be helping make the changes in the transition. From a conferance call I can say that I heard some leaders didn't understand how to allow their team members to get the work done and it came down to a simple thing of hiring a few extra team members in the department to split some of the owrkload on a busy day.

Tips:
Target provides almost no training on this, the training that is offered is almost entirely useless. To the point that our store does NOT allow new team members to take the exams as they seem to be quite dated. (The poa screens don't even exist anymore and the training dates back to the Iphone 5?)...so ask some questions from the current mobile members when you can, get to understand how their promotions work...and if you see this type of thing coming your way attempt to ask your Marketsource team member some questions because Procedure is almost absolutely not something given as training.

Take some time with guests (For those that sell consumer cellular). Fully set up their phones for them, and make sure you get them all logged in. I personally make them (if they are buying a smart phone) set up their own google/apple accounts. Some would say they don't have time for this and do it for them (I'm looking at you marketsource) but the problem becomes later down the line that they don't know any of their info cause someone set it up for them. Some of my elderly guests are quite savvy and know to write it down for them later, or I help them and do that as well.

Make sure EVERYTHING works before they leave. If you think this is taking up your time now, what happens when that guest has to come back 2 or 3 times because of your mistake?

Breathe! You can't always get everything done for the day because of mobile guests, and that's okay. If your leaders don't understand it, they should, and maybe you should explain it to them.


In conclusion I'd just like to say again that we are so much better off. We are able to bring a certain level of care that our old marketsource employees could not. Now I understand some might say they don't have bad ones (or aren't bad ones) but really I've had nothing but issues...and us being there from open to close allows us to ALWAYS be available for the guests instead of having to wait those few hours after open, and then when they decide to take two....three...five? lunches.

Your guests will appreciate you, and maybe I'm just like an old dog that likes being patted on the head every now and then but to some of these guests we are the best thing that has ever happened to them. We make their day, we help them through their problems, and their grattitude has been nothing but a simple joy to me.


Still...the angriest electronics worker there is though.

 

[MIRSlave]

Good advice. Fortunately my team leader took an interest into learning the processes as well so she's been great at stepping up to bat for us when an ETL gets salty because our tasks aren't getting done. Other stores in my area lost long time team members because the ETLs or team leaders were douchebags about the whole thing.

Some things I've learned about Consumer Cellular:

In most cases adding a line or upgrading an existing line takes about 15-25 minutes. Signing a guest up with a new account you can add about 5-10 minutes to that once you've learned the role.

When porting from another carrier make sure they have their account number (I usually just ask them to bring a copy of their bill), account PIN and make sure they know that their bill has to be current and they owe no money to the old carrier. Also, if a guest tells you that they have no PIN that they need to call their old carrier to set one up. Otherwise the system will not allow you to carry on with the number port.

Also, when porting a number, in most instances the phone will be able to make outgoing calls immedately. However the guest may not be able to recieve calls from 1 to 24 hours after the port. If the phone hangs up immediately after dialing the number just wait a few minutes. If after a few minutes the phone still won't make outgoing calls then call consumer cellular's support. There may be an issue with the port (sometimes you typo a number, or there's some other reason) and only they can fix it at that point.

When guests want to bring their own phone, and it's not an iphone make fucking sure it's an ATT, T-Maybe or a universal phone. The guest may swear up and down Verizon or Sprint said that their phone will work on any network- and sure it may be able to make a receive calls just fine. However smart phones may not be able to receive texts or data and I guarantee the guest will blame you for it.

90% of the time CC's support staff are pretty stellar, the other 10% of the time you either receive a newbie or someone that's "had enough of this shit™" Just be patient.

That's all I can think of right now.

EDIT: Something else I just thought of-
Make a habit of announcing over the walkie when you're starting an activation when you're solo in electronics. That makes sure the LOD and other leadership is clued in if you need to get other people back there to help other guests.

 

[AngryElec]

To expound even further, use the ROC for everything that it is worth. As above stated CC line via ROC is stellar (I've had a few argue with me about stuff that is their fault. Like saying we can't use drawer Sims when we can).

Ultimately I wish we had a chat like Marketsource does for Mobile Plus employees to bounce random questions off.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Good job, folks! This info helps everyone .

 

[AngryElec]

For those unsure of how to help your guests with phones, or even those stores that do carry Consumer cellular but do not set them up because there is no mobile kiosk at all (Seriously why are these in existence? Poor Consumer cellular guests.)

The are 90% of our cell sales so focusing on how to deal with them efficiently, and effectively, is important.

A normal conversation in my store would go something like this.

Me: Shopping for a phone today? (Remember we don't say 'can I help you' anymore)

Guest: Yes, I've heard about that...cellular one? (They are mostly elderly and don't remember the name correctly, let's guess for them mm?)

Me: Oh, you mean consumer cellular? Sure! (Friendly, be their friend.)
*lead them over to the Consumer cellular spot*
Me: Who are you with currently? (Establish the information YOU will need)

Guest: <Insert random major company>

Me: Alright, cool, well how much are you paying for your bill right now? (Let's wow them with some information and hook them for the sale)

Guest: <Insert Number 80-160!>

Me: Oh wow, well I can cut that in half or more today for sure with Consumer cellular, what do you use your phone currently? (Got em.)

If Guest says: I just text and make calls

Me: Alright, well let's get you something that can do just that, don't want to overpay for stuff we aren't going to be using right? (Flip phone) (If you offer your guest a smart phone, and they don't need one, they ARE going to return it because they don't understand it. Remember our age group here. Some do enjoy their smart phones but not all, so establish EXACTLY what they need. You are not paid commission, do not oversell.)

If Guest says: I like to talk to my family on facebook <Or insert anything other than text/calling>

Me: Well I have these smart phones here, I reccomend this one, and this one <Insert the ones you sell that you consider good. This also can vary based on their price range. There are some to steer away from if you can like the Avid 556/559?> (After working on these phones for the months that we have, I know from setting them up which phones are bad and good and which ones they would have more or less problems with.)

OR

The guest would like to bring their phone, we then lead this conversation into making sure it's unlocked. (DO THIS FIRST, DO NOT START AN ACTIVATION WITHOUT MAKING SURE!!! You will spend an hour after trying to get this phone to work if you mess this step up.)

After this we start making sure if they want to keep their number they have their account or pin. (75% of the time it's two people that are visiting together, so one can begin calling for this info while you begin the check out)

We take the phone to the counter and get it purchased real quick for the sake of time (Remember, we also have work to do today, you can wait for the print-out but it's more time consuming.) and purchase it. Remember to push your Insurance plan because sometimes they really are pretty cheap here, though occasionally it's half the cost of the phone..

While walking to your kiosk thigns to ask for them to pull out: Drivers Liscense and AARP card. You'll need these in about 90 seconds so once again, streamline your work.

When you are activating their phone, occasionally it will ask you to put a SIM 2 in their phone (T-mobile....is this different for others? I don't think so.) I'm going to tell you now, there's something you probably should not do here, and Consumer Cellular has actually made this more difficult for us to do on purpose. If you have noticed that people are coming back often because of the t-mobile sim, STOP PUTTING IT IN. You can bypass by saying 'I'm out of stock' and CC can just deal with that, because you are mistreating your guests by giving them bad service. In our area, T-mobile is absolutely garbage outside of the main cities but the system thinks it's good coverage (I also have this theory that it's to force the guest to come back into Target....maybe I'm a bad employee here but I care about them being happy with their service so they don't come back and want to return it in frustration.) 75% of the time ATT is the better sim choice, so bypass it whenever possible.


At the end of the entire transaction we turn the phone one, we make a call TO the phone, and FROM the phone, you can use your kiosk phone to call the new cell, and use the store number to call out form the Cell if you desire. Set the phone up ENTIRELY. Start it up, get them an apple/google ID, use Switch Mobile Transfer when applicable. DO NOT USE GOOGLE/SAMSUNG/APPLE BACK UP IF THEY HAVE A WORKING PHONE THEY ARE TRANSFERING FROM. IT'S NOT AS GOOD YOU LAZY PRICKS. If their phone is a fliphone, connect via bluetooth and send via namecard. If not able, pull out the sim in the new phone, and put it in the old phone and backup contacts to the sim card. If the size is different, pull out one of your CC sim cards and use it as a dummy switch (since it's a 3 sizes in 1).

The rest is pretty smooth, if all the information is correct the entire activation is VERY quick, and sometimes I wonder why my old Marketsource rep would take up to an hour with -every- activation.


Almost all my guests leave extremely happy and think I'm the smartest person in the store at that moment and demand they are going to see me and me only, (in which I remind them there are 5-6 others just as capable as I am)

 

[AngryElec]

Now, since Target is not providing us with the proper resources to help each other out. Who is interested in a Plus Mobile discord? Can be used on phone and pc afterall

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Sign me up along with the others reading your posts. Your stuff is easier to read than spot training version.

 

[AngryElec]

I've provided the link in my signature, as we get more people we'll sort it better and provide a proper channel. I advise everyone pass this on to Electronics Plus Mobile workers and all leaders associated, the more people in it, the more it works.

 

[MIRSlave]

Perhaps a good idea, but I'll have to pass on that personally. I try hard to have a descent work/life balance and seeing that I primarily use discord for gaming related things. I'd rather not have a reminder of work haunting me when I'm playing games with buddies.

 

[can't touch this]

In a way I kinda sorta miss working at the Connection Center at Walmart back in the day and blowing 80 year olds' minds by knowing how to change a ringer or volume setting on their Motorola clamshell. I will never forget the day that I made a 99 year old's day by showing him how to read and send text messages on his $19 Tracfone. He paid for a Tracfone card with a check and his photo ID literally said 1909 as his year of birth, which needless to say gave me a lot to think about when I went on break later. To that dude whose life literally overlapped with Civil War veterans, I have no idea where you are now but I can be 100% sure that your Tracfone did not outlive you.

 

[AngryElec]

In a way I kinda sorta miss working at the Connection Center at Walmart back in the day and blowing 80 year olds' minds by knowing how to change a ringer or volume setting on their Motorola clamshell. I will never forget the day that I made a 99 year old's day by showing him how to read and send text messages on his $19 Tracfone. He paid for a Tracfone card with a check and his photo ID literally said 1909 as his year of birth, which needless to say gave me a lot to think about when I went on break later. To that dude whose life literally overlapped with Civil War veterans, I have no idea where you are now but I can be 100% sure that your Tracfone did not outlive you.

I had a lady born in 1924 or something recently who owned a smartphone and wanted me to put service back on it. I was like....damn ok

 

[can't touch this]

I had a lady born in 1924 or something recently who owned a smartphone and wanted me to put service back on it. I was like....damn ok

I would've said it's kind of like sending a telegram via Western Union but better

 

[can't touch this]

It's such a shame that working electronics means being cashier trained which means cashiering on Black Friday, because it is fun to help people with my electronics knowledge. But please for fucks sake, one at a time and not during the November Blood Bowl

 

[AngryElec]

Actually, because I spear-headed this for my team, me and another guy do the Mobile for Black Friday now. Which was enjoyable and not stressful at all compared to the previous years where I watch in dismay as an entire group of people want to murder the rep

 

[can't touch this]

I just figure it would be a giant mob of Susans stabbing me to death with pink nail files for not honoring the $0 4K TV mistake in the Black Friday circular

 

[Targetelect]

Wait, is this gonna be a company wide thing? Electronics handling cell phones? That stresses me out because my store has the type of leads where regardless of the circumstances if you don't have your shit done, it's on you.

 

[tholmes]

When you are activating their phone, occasionally it will ask you to put a SIM 2 in their phone (T-mobile....is this different for others?

I 100% agree with this. The POA has been asking us to do this so often that we ran out of SIM 2 cards in the drawer, plus they never even improve the service. I've taken to automatically ignoring the recommendation for a new sim and telling the guest that AT&T has the more reliable service overall even if T-Mobile might have better coverage for their zip code. (Also, T-Mobile is SIM 2 nation wide for CC)

Start it up, get them an apple/google ID, use Switch Mobile Transfer when applicable. DO NOT USE GOOGLE/SAMSUNG/APPLE BACK UP IF THEY HAVE A WORKING PHONE THEY ARE TRANSFERING FROM. IT'S NOT AS GOOD YOU LAZY PRICKS.

I mostly agree here. However, I've found in some cases that Switch Mobile will miss stuff like contacts and pictures that the Google/Apple transfer won't (but Samsung's transfer is trash, imo) Also, the Google/Apple backup is a really good option for the CC customers to have, especially if they're going to be signed into their accounts and writing down passwords old-school, it's a good failsafe. In my experience, it's good to start with the Google/Apple backup restore if they're moving from iPhone to iPhone or Android to android, then check with the guest that everything they need is there (this is also a good way to show some of them around their new phone to let them get comfortable). If anything got missed, use Switch to get anything that didn't move.

 

[tholmes]

One tip on using SIM cards to transfer numbers on flip phones: be very careful about doing this if it's one of the Doro devices. The older ones tend to lock up if you change the SIM out and require an unlock code from CC

 

[AngryElec]

I mostly agree here. However, I've found in some cases that Switch Mobile will miss stuff like contacts and pictures that the Google/Apple transfer won't (but Samsung's transfer is trash, imo) Also, the Google/Apple backup is a really good option for the CC customers to have, especially if they're going to be signed into their accounts and writing down passwords old-school, it's a good failsafe. In my experience, it's good to start with the Google/Apple backup restore if they're moving from iPhone to iPhone or Android to android, then check with the guest that everything they need is there (this is also a good way to show some of them around their new phone to let them get comfortable). If anything got missed, use Switch to get anything that didn't move.

We might have to agree to disagree on this one. I've never had it miss any contacts, it's also unfeasible for switch to miss a contact. The only situation in which a the Google/Apple restore is useful is when they have damaged their phone.

 

[TL bound]

I'm not super active on this site, but just came across this thread. I'm a former marketsource lead, turned CTL. This thread is awesome to have and I'd be happy to contribute if anyone needs help!

 

[biomeh]

Wait, is this gonna be a company wide thing? Electronics handling cell phones?...

I hope not! We normally have only one tech "expert" on the floor at a time and one to two mobile techs on the floor. I've seen mobile spend over an hour with one guest, with multiple guest waiting. Mornings will be especially difficult with zone, outs, truck, entertainment, and reshop.

 

[tholmes]

I hope not! We normally have only one tech "expert" on the floor at a time and one to two mobile techs on the floor. I've seen mobile spend over an hour with one guest, with multiple guest waiting. Mornings will be especially difficult with zone, outs, truck, entertainment, and reshop.

I honestly prefer the plus mobile over having Marketsource any day. I know some stores have good reps, but it's so much better for accountability and availability of reps with electronics doing it. Plus, as long as the TL overseeing the area is willing to stand up for mobile, it's actually been pretty doable to get everything done now that toys and sporting goods aren't on modernized electronics plate.
My only worry is for high volume mobile stores because of how much payroll Marketsource is already putting into those stores and how that'll translate to the electronics TMs.

 

[Budweisered4]

I honestly prefer the plus mobile over having Marketsource any day. I know some stores have good reps, but it's so much better for accountability and availability of reps with electronics doing it. Plus, as long as the TL overseeing the area is willing to stand up for mobile, it's actually been pretty doable to get everything done now that toys and sporting goods aren't on modernized electronics plate.
My only worry is for high volume mobile stores because of how much payroll Marketsource is already putting into those stores and how that'll translate to the electronics TMs.

I can’t wait till we take over Mobile it will be better overall for the store and the guests. We tend to have 3-4 techs from market source on at time and the majority of the time they are there they are literally sitting down chair or counter or so involved on everything going on their phone you have to loudly get their attention. We have had many complaints about them but nothing on the marketsource side has changed our SD & even our DSD have gone up the marketsource chain. Another thing they do which annoys many people is when 1 goes to break/lunch they all follow even if they literally just got there.