retail sales associate

Vodafone

A typical day for me presently starts around 8am going through the list of work that has been emailed into an amalgamated work queue from a number of different inboxes. Initially clearing the junk and spam mail that tends to slip through the gaps, it's straight into it.

Working with both internal and external customers of Vodafone, I'm dealing with enquiries relating to connection, hardware, usage, billing, network and everything in between.

As part of this with a changeover of team management to a different location I have also decided to monitor the "Failed Delivery Notifications" coming from emails that for a variety of reasons haven't got to where they are going, and raising feedback to both my colleagues and my superiors to make sure that the customer is not left hanging due to a missing email.

Over the past 7 and a bit years with Vodafone and a little over 2 years in my current field of work, it has placed an emphasis on managing ones own workflow. Prioritising enquiries, managing multiple requests from different sources to get them completed to the best outcome for both the customer as well as the business.

There are a few tough times where due to various launches SLA is nigh on impossible when the workload increases by a 4-500% overnight. The iPhone releases are a perfect example where we can go from receiving 75-90 requests overnight to in excess of 350 requests overnight. But there also the quieter times where you can really spend those few extra moments with a customer to continue to strengthen that relationship that has been built over several years.

Having the customer leave with a smile on their is what it really comes down to in the end.

And that's just what I do.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The benefits & making commission on too of hourly wage. Getting up to 40% off new Samsung products that come out each year, free SIM plan, Xmas parties that include free drinks. Depends on the store but I also loved everyone I worked with.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Honestly the management. During my employment had to deal with arrogant manager who expected too much of us without actually giving us tips to make sales. Didn't conduct monthly performance reviews properly. Left the company majorly because of that and wrote to HR, they got suspended and then left on their own terms. Really depends where you go, but if you have a good boss who conducts your monthly performance reviews properly and gives constructive criticism the right way, then it's not bad. And I'd say about 10% of the customers will be hard to deal with, but the rest are a treat and don't give you much trouble. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Pretty average, everyone's accepting and nice where I worked, we always talked with each other when store wasn't busy and shared stories. Environment could be better in terms of offering more help when afraid to ask, but overall was good.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Typical day at the company was checking new deals, going over customers' accounts, socialising with colleagues and sometimes doing backroom work such as processing in new stock or sending off devices for warranty repairs.

Originally the job was great, Pay was good, Commission was great, and the culture was fantastic. over the past 12 months Vodafone has been on the decline. Removing employee benefits, Increasing the workload and lowering commission. Excelling at your job no longer rewards you to the same degree, My pay was effectively cut by ~6-10 thousand a year due to kpi and commission changes. The company started enforcing questionable policies and Customer care began sending any issues they didn't want to deal with into stores. Despite stores having limited to no power. Forcing employees to spend less time fulfilling their sales duties (which is the only way to get commission) and more time on the phone trying to resolve issues for customers that the stores having nothing to do with. The one positive thing I can say is Most of the store managers and almost all of the Assistant managers are fantastic and actually care about their employees. I've had nothing but considerate managers who are understanding with personal and sick leave. Territory managers however are terrible and are out of touch, they will question your knowledge directly in front of customers, Inform the customer of something themselves only to realise afterwards they were wrong and leaving the stores to find a way to "make it work". Majority of Staff are friendly however due to the competitiveness of the job you'll get thrown under the bus by your co workers if they can advance the corporate ladder in any way.

Worked there for a year and half and overall Vodafone retail were such a disorganised, incompetent, demotivating and unsupportive organisation throughout my time it beggered belief. There seems to be a highly political culture within the senior retail management team and a lot preferential treatment and favouritism which hindered your progression. I saw so many people with less experience and skills getting promotions whilst I was always told I wasn't good enough because I didn't want to play their little political game and be a sycophantic. 

Waste of labour, poor training from sales coaches, lack of homogeneity in  sales and leadership processes and a glaring lack of structure to their everyday operations. 

Culture of lazy staff which isn't helped due to unnecessarily high number of staff being utilised. Just one of many examples of poor resource utilisation hence why Vodafone are in so much debt now as well as the poorly conceived 36 month plans they thought was a good idea. 

Real shame because Vodafone as a brand is fantastic perhaps just not the same In Australia.

The network is very unpredictable, thus working in the "NOC" is full of surprises. The average day at work deals with monitoring of alarms, resetting mobile sites remotely and also via ASR routers. Escalation of faults to Resolver groups and also to Downer Engineering if a site visit is required. Notifying the business of the progress of the faults.  Learning is an ongoing process because of changes in technology ( FUN and interesting ). Previous management was great, with new management time will tell, so far things have been smooth. My co-workers are good people to work with, because of shift rotation we develop a strong bond, because we can relay on each other. I cannot really point to anything specific being difficult about the job. It is like being in the 5th gear, once you in cruise mode it is smooth sailing all the way. Learning new technologies and applying it to the job. I love to learn about new technologies.

Urgency is there most of the time and the time spent for evaluation of better methodologies experienced in most of the other organisations is not seen.
Team work is minimum and general managers are going in different directions. Many delays in decision making and still the decisions do not seem to work properly.
Most of the other employees seems to be capable, however, they are not motivated sufficiently to deliver their best. Most of the middle mangers lack soft skills.
Co-workers in the same section are easier to work with. Workers in some other areas are extremely difficult to work with and it is normally the hardest part of the job.
Most of the functions are out-sourced and most of the time is spent on governing the out-sourced parties, though it is challenging it is the most enjoyable part of the job.

I learnt many new skills in terms of social skills and customer service that has effectively boosted my confidence whilst improving my everyday interactions at a professional level. My work days at Vodafone started at a gradual speed and gave me plenty of time to fit in and assort myself accordingly within the team. The supportive colleagues and exciting atmosphere made work seem much more enjoyable and comfortable. Hardest part of the job is maintaining a smooth attitude and presenting yourself appropriately to each and every customer. the most enjoyable part of the job would be the satisfaction of achieving goals and completing tasks to ensure success.

During my time working in sales with the team at Maroochydore, I found it extremely rewarding to my goals and my personal self, with a positive and cooperative team that would support you in every way, involved management, and opportunities for further career advancement. Sometimes I filled in at Kawana, and it was the same experience there.

I would recommend working here if you wanted to get into sales, especially for telecom. The company's approach to achieve KPI's is delivered respectfully, and ensures a open and respectful conversation with the customers, unlike what staff from Optus and Telstra have shared to me during my time there, where accessories and phones are pressured.

Vodafone is a great company, even if (from a surface glance) the prices are not as competitive as they used to be. They are worth checking out, especially the Maroochydore team!  

I enjoyed the work environment and i enjoyed my time with other workers, but really drained towards the end when I left. I liked to help customers but not to practice unethical practices such as pushing someone into signing something they dont need. However, the management often felt disconnected. Many managers lacked the ability to lead effectively, with poor communication and unclear expectations becoming a regular frustration. Decisions often came down as last-minute mandates, leading to unnecessary stress. There was little room for upward feedback, and initiatives to improve the workplace were often sidelined. It felt like the higher-ups were stuck in their own bubble, unaware of the day-to-day realities.

As one of the top retail sales professionals, I sold mobile phones to customers from all backgrounds in a busy CBD location. I was always patient and courteous to all my clients and always acted in a professional manner. My role required me having an intricate knowledge of all the products we sold, including the plans we offered. My other roles included cash handling, balancing the register and opening and closing the store. During my time at the store I built and maintained strong business relationships with management and my clientele. My success and ability to easily meet targets led me to becoming one of Vodafone’s top sellers in the state of Victoria. I was also known as ‘queen of the up - sell’ in store.

Working at VodafoneThree: Company Overview and Reviews

VodafoneThree

VodafoneThree Ratings

Popular jobs at VodafoneThree

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected