Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Discussion

Mike_by_the_Sea

Quentin wrote: »

You and big al should get on just fine.

Google leads to lots of the uw videos - here's another shocker off youtube, training you on how easy it is to get more contacts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA01IudvaaU

All your gullible customers should beware giving you their relatives phone numbers to pester when there's a hidden camera in the room! Next thing, their numbers are plastered over the net, as well as video of Pat getting close on the sofa to Sonia!

Hi Quentin

What is the "shocker" element of the video? If it is the "relative's phone numbers", then fair comment. (This does assume that these were real numbers being given by a real person to a real uw distributor).

If it is the fact that somebody is asking if they know of anybody else that would like to benefit from a good deal, then where is the problem? I believe it would only be a minority of individuals that would find the concept of sharing contact information to be shocking. This is how the world goes round.

Finally, if it is the vision of Pat and Sonia being close on the sofa, then this is your personal hang-up and no more should be said on the subject.

It wouls be more useful if you could identify the individual aspects of the links that you post that you find so distressing, then we could use the specific theraputic processes to make you feel less distressed.

All the best

Mike

1carminestocky

LOL. Perhaps Quentin could be a guest on Pamela Stephenson-Connolly's next TV series?

Mike_by_the_Sea

1carminestocky wrote: »

LOL. Perhaps Quentin could be a guest on Pamela Stephenson-Connolly's next TV series?

LOL again. I was thinking of something less public.

Decado23

1carminestocky wrote: »

Anything missed/unintentionally embellished etc?

just a couple of points -

The broadcall package also includes 50 international destinations at 4.9p/minute. This includes the 10 'free global calls' destinations, so anyone with less than 4 services still gets to call them pretty cheap.

If your broadcall requires a new line installation then this is approx £25 cheaper than going directly through BT but signs you in to a 12 month minimum contract.

the discount for referring friends is limited to £250 (or the average of your referred friends spend, whichever is higher) per month. Membership fee and some other charges not included. If you happen to own more than one property, you can refer yourself :-) I believe the referral discount also applies if you refer small - medium business customers.

I'm not sure, but I get the feeling you've mis-understood the 'budget plan'. I could be wrong but would like to clarify - budget plan is where you pay a set monthly amount for your gas/elec, based on your expected usage for the year.


UW distributor

Quentin

Mike_by_the_Sea wrote: »

What is the "shocker" element of the video? If it is the "relative's phone numbers", then fair comment. (This does assume that these were real numbers being given by a real person to a real uw distributor).

Of course that's the shocker. Why do you ned to ask? I spelt it out for any uw reps who couldn't spot why it was a "shocker":

All your gullible customers should beware giving you their relatives phone numbers to pester when there's a hidden camera in the room! Next thing, their numbers are plastered over the net,

The same thing happened to the 2 spanish teachers who we were told were "real" prospects in the "how to sign bucketloads of new customers" video:

http://www.networkerplus.co.uk/videos/signing-customers.html

Not only do we get their full address, but names and phone number. And this is "certified" to be real life, not to mention the fact there is "very little detail" passed on to the unfortunate gullibles:

This particular customer sign-up was recorded live, warts 'n' all and took less than 15 minutes. Take note of Gary's polite, yet assertive approach and the fact that there is very little detail in his presentation

Mike_by_the_Sea

Quentin wrote: »

Of course that's the shocker. Why do you need to ask? I spelt it out for any uw reps who couldn't spot why it was a "shocker":

The same thing happened to the 2 spanish teachers who we were told were "real" prospects in the "how to sign bucketloads of new customers" video:

http://www.networkerplus.co.uk/videos/signing-customers.html

Not only do we get their full address, but names and phone number. And this is "certified" to be real life, not to mention the fact there is "very little detail" passed on to the unfortunate gullibles:

Dear Quentin

Are you naive enough to believe that this was done without their consent?

Best Wishes

Mike

jimexbox

1carminestocky wrote: »

So, you don't actively try and get your friends on the very best tariff by using the knowledge you have gleaned from here? Why not? Surely someone with your obvious moral fibre and sense of what's right and wrong would be the first to ensure all the people who you hold dear would not be paying a penny more than they should for their utilities? How many of your friends/family are paying over the odds for their utilities? Any idea?

Im slightly confused by the direction of your recent posts directed at me. I dont believe Ive ever claimed that I activly push tariffs on anyone, of course unlike UW salesman who we know do this purely out of altruistic motives. I also have never claimed to be stuffed with moral fibre, or be a champion of the oppressed energy user. If you wish me to comment on any posts Ive made, please feel free to quote me, so I can comment directly on what Ive wrote and not an assumtion made by yourself.

jimexbox

Decado23 wrote: »

From this can we assume you have a problem with sales people in general and therefore pretty much any company that sells things? Sales people are not unique to UW.

I have a problem with any salesman that deliberately misleads customers. The rep, Gary deliberately withheld information that about the alleged triple guarantee, namely that online and dual fuel tariffs were specifically excluded. Even though a few minutes earlier he signed up the couple to be billed exclusively online. Do you not find that a paradox?

He also claimed that online energy comparison sites did not place UW very high in their lists because they did not pay them a commission. So do you think that comparison sites deliberately mislead their customers? I would really appreciate it if you would answer the two points Ive raised.

Decado23

jimexbox wrote: »

I have a problem with any salesman that deliberately misleads customers. The rep, Gary deliberately withheld information that about the alleged triple guarantee, namely that online and dual fuel tariffs were specifically excluded. Even though a few minutes earlier he signed up the couple to be billed exclusively online. Do you not find that a paradox?

Not really. When you say 'deliberately withheld information' are you implying this was with the intention to deceive? In which case I'd disagree with you. If you think the intent was to simplify and avoid confusion, then it's possible. I'm sure I pointed out in a recent post that the information he 'withheld' is clearly printed on the page he showed them when going through the guarantee. It is in the same purple boxed section as the guarantee, making it obvious to anyone viewing the page that they are linked. If it was his intent to mislead or wthhold information, surely he would not have shown them that page.
You will also note that when the application changes from home phone to broadcall he mentions without prompting that there is a £50 cancellation fee if they leave within 12 months. If we're all such con men why bother mentioning this?
Are you suggesting that all sales people should sit with any potential customer for 2-3 hours and explain in detail all terms and conditions of any purchase? I can't think of any other company that does this, or many consumers that want them to.

All UW customers receive a copy of the full terms and conditions. They can cancel without penalty within 14 days. Since this seems to be considered sufficient for the rest of the industry, I guess it's sufficient for UW.

jimexbox wrote: »

He also claimed that online energy comparison sites did not place UW very high in their lists because they did not pay them a commission. So do you think that comparison sites deliberately mislead their customers? I would really appreciate it if you would answer the two points Ive raised.

far be it from me to make any accusations
You may find these articles to be an interesting read though.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/advice/money/tm_method=full&objectid=18175922&siteid=94762-name_page.html
http://www.fmtx.co.uk/press/uswitch-daily-mirror-03-06.pdf
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7766798.stm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/03/29/bt_uswitch/




With regards to all this hyped up 'controversy' over the training videos, it's important to realise that they do not exist in a vacuum. While gary may have glossed over the tvg somewhat in this video, that's because the purpose of the video is not to train distributors on the tvg - there is another video that covers this in more detail, along with instructor lead training available to all distributors. There is no one video designed to be the sole training for a new distributor, therefore you cannot expect any one video to entirely cover all aspects of the business - they are simply not designed that way.

Even if you were to look at all the available videos, this still fails to cover the training sessions, upline support, tariff guide & service brochure, extranet (with an 'infobase' covering most questions that are likely to arise, the UW code of practice and quite a bit of other info). All of this is available to all distributors. Much of it is available during meetings with potential customers, should any questions arise that the distributor may not be able to answer accurately from memory.



UW distributor

Quentin

Mike_by_the_Sea wrote: »

Are you naive enough to believe that this was done without their consent?

No private individuals would consent to having their name, address and landline phone number put on the net.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdZcBC0Kf9k

In the case of the video showing how Pat gets Sonia's family names and phone numbers as contacts she will be ringing, then uw should obviously have removed the personal details before uploading it onto the net - or are you naively expecting us to believe they gave their permission, to uw to publicise their names and landline phone numbers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA01IudvaaU