Availability of NEW handsets/tablets/laptops at TM stores (or the lack thereof)

[AcidT]

So over the last few months i have picked up that there is a huge lack of specific hardware types at any TM stores. This includes almost all of the latest products from Sony, Apple and even Samsung but the wierdest of it all is when you ask questions about it you get the 1000 mile stare and that is followed by "Sorry sir we do not know but we can try to find out for you".

Now my question about this is why is it that almost all of the competators in the market offer the same NEW products on great deals and also have laptops and new tablets available as requested but not TM?

When you open a TM deal booklet or go onto their website you are greeted by adds and deals for ... wait for it ... Blackberry and Samsung....

Ok there is alot of great data and SIM only deals but why not bundel it with even greater hardware as well and offer something else than the latest Samsung tablet or phone on a data deal. Give the client a bigger variety please.

Feel free to comment and correct me if I am wrong...

 

[bromster]

Some of the best deals on the market at the moment, with the best overall 3g in SA I.M.O... But nobody in the stores seems to know anything about anything. Even this internet 5 renewal with the 10+10 for R199 has resulted with me arguing with people in the stores because they think I'm lying. Big room for improvement. Luckily the MyBB rep is jacked up

 

[AcidT]

Some of the best deals on the market at the moment, with the best overall 3g in SA I.M.O

Agreed but the issue I have is the hardware on offer to make use of it...

... But nobody in the stores seems to know anything about anything. Even this internet 5 renewal with the 10+10 for R199 has resulted with me arguing with people in the stores because they think I'm lying. Big room for improvement. Luckily the MyBB rep is jacked up

This is an even bigger issue as it seems the staff in the stores are not fully trained and informed of what is available on the network or even how most of the hardware basically function...

 

[Glingfram]

They also may be targeting a different portion of the market. People not interested in the latest gadgets, but want something affordable and "proven".

The staff problem is a general company problem, spanning not just the mobile portion.

I do find that people working in these stores can sometimes be the least passionate about what they are doing. It's like, if they had a choice, they'd rather use the old wind up phones. Especially the younger people.

 

[AcidT]

They also may be targeting a different portion of the market. People not interested in the latest gadgets, but want something affordable and "proven".

I see where you are going with this but one example for instance is the Sony Xperia Z tablet, Vodacom had stock issues for almost a month due to it's popularity but till today TM does not stock it at all. Reason given is due to software issues that they had with the Sony Xperia Go phone and comebacks on the handset. This comes from the staff in the store...

How can you base a decision like this on a handsets software that can be corrected?

 

[latro]

Had the exact same problem as the OP a few months ago. No variety at all. No HTC, one little crap Sony, quite a few crap BlackBerry's and 2 high end ones. Samsung S3 + S4 and a tablet.

Guess I should credit them for having the Samsung Nexus on display, even though the thing was terribly out of date, and they couldn't sell it to me because it wasn't on the system. Go figure.

It's a shame really, as their data products and services are superior.
But on the other hand, perhaps data is where they should keep their focus..

 

[AcidT]

It's a shame really, as their data products and services are superior.
But on the other hand, perhaps data is where they should keep their focus..

All good and well but a decent handset or tablet/laptop would be nice to use it on...

 

[RichardG]

Exclusivity pays a very important role = advertising, lots of factors vary.

 

[Piet Le Roux]

The last phone I got from TM was a Motorola mb525, that was many years ago now I get my phone cash or give the contract sim to a family member and put a TM prepaid SIM in the phone.

 

[kingrob]

The last phone I got from TM was a Motorola mb525, that was many years ago now I get my phone cash or give the contract sim to a family member and put a TM prepaid SIM in the phone.

I don't think you get the same value when just buying the phone cash.

Take my example, I'm on a Smartplan 150 a month, paying R299 a month.

Got a brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (32GB version), which new would cost me R6000.

So, R299 X 24 = R7176. So I'm effectively paying R1176 for 3600 anytime minutes and 120GB of data I will get during the duration of the contract.

Makes more sense to me.

 

[Piet Le Roux]

As I said : I buy cash or get a contract phone, depending on which is the best deal. I bought a Acer E2 duel SIM for R2611....you can't beat that.Then I got a Huawei P6 for R200 pm. Cash price is R4800 : so I'm paying it off interest free and a family member gets a free contract SIM....makes sense to me.