Who sold you your phone?
Are you just so clever that the minute you see rumors about a new phone, you're already preparing your online order?
Or do you need Tim Cook and his questionably dressed co-workers to excite you about it from a remote stage?
Or might you be one of the remaining millions who go to a phone store looking for guidance?
I only ask because Louis has had enough. Louis from Verizon, that is.
I encountered Louis last year, as he revealed[1] some of the innards of working in a Verizon store. (Louis is, of course, not his real name. He strong-armed me not to reveal that.)
A Verizon veteran of more than a decade, Louis explained how times had changed. He described the parameters of his job like this: "In addition to meeting a sales quota, I also have to take bill payments, stock shelves, help grandma learn how to use the iPhone her grandkids forced her to buy and troubleshoot any and all warranty issues that arise."
He didn't survive by selling phones. Instead, selling accessories and add-ons was what kept him in a job, he said. As for his incentives: "Our commission checks are made by using a formula that essentially combines renewals and gross adds [new lines of service] multiplied by the percentage to our revenue target we are charged with."
Last week, Louis got back in touch. He'd just quit. He just can't do it anymore. All that selling of iPhones and Samsungs, well, he'd sold his last.
It's not easy for some to remember how much tech -- and how it's sold -- has changed.
"I personally lived very comfortably from 2005 till about 2013