MSE News: Energy salesman told to read !!!!!! to pump up for selling

frugalpam

A couple of years ago, I was visited by a door to door salesman from Npower. He was a nasty piece of work, trying to virtually bully me into switching. Note, 'trying' - I can more than hold my own with these people. He tried every tactic and met with a brick wall each time. I did report him to Npower, who needless to say never investigated my complaint nor got back to me. If they offered the cheapest tariff in the world, I wouldn't sign up with them on principle.

geckofabulous

The next step will be to get rid of the outbound, or telesales callers. These calls, as far as I'm aware, aren't recorded, possibly on the grounds that the person being called has to be notified about the call being recorded for 'training purposes' for legal reasons, and there's no reason to belive that the caller would make the person aware of this. This to a degree, makes the caller unaccountable. There's a real change in selling culture needed and perhaps even tougher regulation.

backfoot

geckofabulous wrote: »

The next step will be to get rid of the outbound, or telesales callers. These calls, as far as I'm aware, aren't recorded, possibly on the grounds that the person being called has to be notified about the call being recorded for 'training purposes' for legal reasons, and there's no reason to belive that the caller would make the person aware of this. This to a degree, makes the caller unaccountable. There's a real change in selling culture needed and perhaps even tougher regulation.

They are usually recorded.I was missold by Npower via telesales. I made a complaint and they traced the call. The caller was disciplined.

In my experience, energy telesales are just as bad as the doorstep sellers.

geckofabulous

backfoot wrote: »

They are usually recorded.I was missold by Npower via telesales. I made a complaint and they traced the call. The caller was disciplined.

In my experience, energy telesales are just as bad as the doorstep sellers.

Hmm, I'm honestly not sure that's the case you know from my experience

antenna

In "that" state can they still reach the door-bell...........or will they go straight for the knockers?

broxis11

What is the point in posting an unsubstantiated story about a supposed `event` that happened 9 years ago?

Consumerist

My golden rules for doorstep energy sales are :-

1. Don't show them either your meter or your bills.
2. Don't tell them who your current supplier is.
3. Advise your current supplier of the approach and confirm you don't want to switch at this time.

grahamm

Whilst I agree that there have been (and are still) some very shoddy tactics employed by energy salesmen (amongst other door-to-door sellers) I also have to agree with "Totality" that is the sort of nonsense you'd read in the Tabloids simply because they could get !!!!!! into the title to catch the reader's eye, not because it really has anything to do with the subject.

The idea that "reading !!!!!! desensitises you" has long been discredited and given that this story is from almost 10 years ago, bringing it up now just drags MSE into the gutter.

This is really disappointing from MSE, we expect better.

harryhound

As the GDP per head of this country is probably falling, while taxes and inflation rises; we are likely to see more and more people, especially the job less young, prostituting their integrity and ethics to make a fast quid.

As someone has already pointed out, financial services salesman can sign you up for something that may make you much more than a few hundred pounds a year of losses.

Any one with a "nest egg" needs to remember that large numbers of the population are actually in debt, and possibly feeling desperate.

The nastiest of these are the "boiler room" operatives, trying to sell "investments".

cepheus

We were not sent onto the streets for the benefit of the public. We were sent to sell. Morals were not natural compliments to this

You can become more of moral salesperson, but the brutal rules of natural selection in any competitive industry would make sure you aren't around for long.

The pressure to sell both corrupts and creates unnecessary demand. Unfortunately that's how sales and capitalism works. Unfortunately, most people don't really see this as a fundamental problem and believe you can make capitalism kind or moral. These people are deceiving themselves. You can't be moral and an efficient capitalist.