Verizon Wireless sales staff allegedly dissing the iPhone

When Apple goes head to head with Android, it's vying not only for consumers, but also for the sales people who recommend the phones. According to Verizon customer Jeff Stern, Apple is losing that battle in at least one retail store.

Stern recounts a recent visit to his local Verizon Wireless store and mentions how the employees were down-selling the iPhone -- getting rather nasty about it, in fact. The sales associates allegedly said Apple "released the iPhone 4S because Steve Jobs died so they just threw in a couple more features and pushed it out."

One associate didn't like the layout of the phone and remarked that "every icon looks alike on your homescreen and it's really hard to find applications." And one was misinformed when he or she said that "Apple's servers are really small and when you use Siri it normally redirects to Google anyway."

My experience at my local Verizon store has been the exact opposite of Stern's experience. All the associates I've encountered praise the iPhone; they look at me quizzically when I pull out my iPhone and then ask about possibly switching one of my lines to an Android phone.

This isn't the only case of a carrier's retail team getting sideways with iPhone; BGR reported that AT&T's regional sales leads instructed stores to slow down iPhone sales in favor of other models. (AT&T issued a strong denial.)

[Via Daring Fireball]