What are your experiences from carrier store employees on the M8 vs the S5?

[bigoldthor]

Are they generally objective and showing both of them with pros and cons of each? Or are they favoring one over the other? I've always contended the stores have a HUGE impact on which phones sell, since 90% of the people who go in there know very little about the actual devices...only what they see in advertisements or the anecdotal evidence they get from friends and family.

And FTR, I personally don't care which phone people get, so long as they are happy with their choice and it hits their sweet spots. I just believe everyone, not just HTC and Samsung, should be given a fair shake at the stores. (Of course, I bought mine direct from HTC unlocked.)

 

[calvin35]

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. Unfortunately for HTC, store employee's don't really care what phone is best or what they sell, they just want to make the sale and will sell whatever is easier to sell. It's just easier for them to sell the Samsung so that's what they'll do. The vast majority of employees at these stores are not techies, they're just average people trying to make a living. Most couldn't care less.

 

[snobrdr2324]

I've asked 2 employees now and both of them without hesitation suggested the M8. I am glad to see that since the Galaxy phones don't really need to be pitched anymore where HTC really needs the recommendations from store reps to get the brand more out there.

 

[B0WIE]

I find that all they know is Apple and Samsung. When I asked to see the M8 they didn't know what that was. And, when I said it was the new HTC, they said they'd see if there was a new HTC out yet. That's two different stores, same experience.

 

[ffejjj]

I asked about the new HTC one they showed me the old one. I said "No the M8" blank stares. It was literally 5 feet away

Sent from my EVO using AC Forums mobile app

 

[trekk]

Here in Canada both Telus and Rogers suggested me the HTC one M8 over the S5.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[bigoldthor]

I asked about the new HTC one they showed me the old one. I said "No the M8" blank stares. It was literally 5 feet away

Sent from my EVO using AC Forums mobile app

I've asked 2 employees now and both of them without hesitation suggested the M8. I am glad to see that since the Galaxy phones don't really need to be pitched anymore where HTC really needs the recommendations from store reps to get the brand more out there.

This is sort of what I thought. When I took my unlocked M8 into my AT&T store to get the nano-SIM and get it provisioned, the girl who waited on me was really amazed at the device. In her defense, she had actually seen the demo version in the store and decided that's the one she wanted. But she still didn't know an M8 from an M16, lol.

 

[dtblair24]

I have definitely seen a bit of favoritism leaning toward the samsung devices. Nothing necessarily wrong with this because Samsung is literally what's trending. Samsung is the Apple of our Android world.

 

[bryanmsi]

AT&T store. Was told the S5 was the only way to go because of the camera, screen, and water proof. The guy then admitted the reps had been trained on the Samsung but not on the HTC.

So glad I bought the HTC, but if I was relying on the sales guy, I would have walked out with the Samsung.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[IAmSixNine]

I picked up mine at a local TMO store and they had 5 units shipped. Over double that were sent to the same store for the S5.
When you walk in there is so much more marketing material for the S5. HTC had none.
The rep was familiar with it, and when she took me to the floor unit it had not been set up. LAME..
But yet the S5 were all ready to go. LOL

 

[ugxvibe]

But she still didn't know an M8 from an M16, lol.

ROFL

 

[ugxvibe]

If HTC was smart, since there advertising budget is kinda bleh, they should include certain incentives to salespeople at these stores when they sell a an M8. Maybe a couple extra bucks per sale.. would be well worth the investment to actually give them a fair chance against the widely known phones.

When the M7 came out Verizon actually had a wall sized lit up advertisement of the phone.. When it came time for the M8 there was not an advertisement in sight, just the M7 and M8 sitting next to each other looking all lonely.

 

[karmamule]

When I went in to a local t-mo store last Friday the sales guy was very curious why I chose the M8 over the S5. I went through the primary advantages for me (liked the screen more, listen to lots of music so better headphone sound was key, prefer Sense to TouchWiz, as someone who takes pics primarily to post on social networks the camera and features like Zoes & Highlights really work well for me, design & hand feel).

He didn't try at all to dissuade me, said thanks for the info & that it'll come in handy when helping other customers decide.

On the other hand, the store had two S5s on display and the M8 was nowhere to be seen.

 

[buckifvr]

When I went to my local Corporate Verizon Kiosk at the mall, the sales guy was all about HTC M8. He was very well versed on its features and said that he personally liked it better than the S5. Despite that, I did not buy the M8 from him, because they only had the gunmetal grey and I wanted the glacial silver. I picked one up across the street at a Corporate store. The sales guy there commented that he really liked the M8 as well.

 

[ugxvibe]

When I went to my local Corporate Verizon Kiosk at the mall, the sales guy was all about HTC M8. He was very well versed on its features and said that he personally liked it better than the S5.

He is one of us, you know, phone aficionados. Kinda rare in the phone sales world.

You are more likely, I think, to get a real phone loving guy in a corporate store/kiosk than one of those satellite places.

 

[khughes6]

I've asked 2 employees now and both of them without hesitation suggested the M8. I am glad to see that since the Galaxy phones don't really need to be pitched anymore where HTC really needs the recommendations from store reps to get the brand more out there.

When I purchased my m8 from best buy the sale associate did not try to convince me to purchase a different device, which in the past has normally happened. Even two other sales associates noticed my purchase decision and even went as far as to endorse my decision.

Posted via the One successor to the One

 

[buckifvr]

He is one of us, you know, phone aficionados. Kinda rare in the phone sales world.

You are more likely, I think, to get a real phone loving guy in a corporate store/kiosk than one of those satellite places.

I think at the Corporate stores the sales folks are either really into the tech or are just lazy and could care less.

Sent from my HTC One M8 using Tapatalk

 

[ab304945]

I asked about the new HTC one they showed me the old one. I said "No the M8" blank stares. It was literally 5 feet away

Sent from my EVO using AC Forums mobile app

That's why HTC shouldn't of kept it just the HTC one, it just confuses people.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Cyberdelia]

They didn't know crap about the phone where I bought it. Best Buy was like huh? New HTC One? I was like yea, the one that's sitting in front of us.

I ended up getting the phone at a corporate store, and was looking at the Lumia Icon as well. The sales guy was clueless about everything. Didn't know how to multi-task on the Windows phone (said it didn't exist, until I showed him otherwise), said Windows mobile had no visual voice mail (incorrect, I showed him the app). He thought there was no visual voice mail on the One, then said that since I was coming from an iPhone that messages were on different servers and I'd have to set it up again (incorrect), etc.

Sad, really.

 

[tippmann15]

When I went in to look at the s5- the sales rep basically asked if I am a power user (which 5 I am), he showed me the s5 because of the removable battery. Which was great for my perspective since battery power is the most important thing to me.

Removable batteries ftw

Note 3 ~ 5s