Newsagents have been advised new commission rates following the elimination of jenlist as the distributor on behalf of Optus to newsaagnets. rahtre than Optus sharing the benefits of the elimination of a middleman, newsagents have been stung based on correspondence from the company.
Anyone complaining to Optus was told to wait for an announcement form the company in a few weeks – curiously timed to come after we’re expected to sign up with the company.
I don’t plan on signing anything until there is clarity from Optus on margin. Right now we have anything but clarity.
The Business development manager at Optus who is responsible for our channel is busy meeting the associations. I have suggested he would be better off working with newsagents and with marketing groups which have commercial relationships with newsagents.
Right now, Optus is on the back foot taking the business over from Jenlist. They have big shoes to fill and newsagents rightly expect to have a more lucrative arrangement with Optus cutting its costs.
The decision by Optus to dump Jenlist is dumb and shows how out of touch Optus management is.
Jenlist provided excellent service, product knowledge and commitment to the brand and to the newsangency channel.
I have delt with the Optus owned Prepaid Services (PPS) and you will definetly not get the same level of service and professionalism that Jenlist offered.
I beileve PPS are incapable of servicing the newagency industry.
I will not be signing with them and would advise anyone against signing with them.
I wont be signing the PPS agreement. As outlined in another comment the returns policy is crazy and the attitude is indifferent. Another case of the bully boy bullying. The hassle of signing people and the paperwork does not warrant the commissions.
Perhaps if no one offered recharge for awhile we could get a better deal.
I told PPS I would not sign up with a margin cut and that their return policy was unreasonable for product on such slim margins. I’m waiting to see how we go about returning current stock at the expiration of the Jenlist contract and MAYBE then we will look at PPS if terms are realistic.
just spoke to PPS with some of the concerns listed above (thats why this blog is so important) have been advised they will be dropping the restocking fees, and will be mirroring jenlist with regards the recharge margins. I asked if they will be sending out new contracts reflecting the changed conditions, told that more news will be forthcoming in July ??, i said i will throw this paperwork in the bin and wait on the new contract. Told that if i want to access the free stock deal i had to have the paperwork back by the end of the month???? Lastest update, another call from pps (different person) telling me new contracts will be delivered by a rep in 4-6 weeks, and if i ewant the free stock deal i can put a line thru the parts of the contract i didnt agree with?? i basically told the guy he must be kidding and gave him some free advise about how not to run a business. hard to believe they are a large COMMUNICATION company, they sure are making a hash of communicating to the retail network
Rick that will be just the start of your problems if you deal with PPS.
Rick
On page 20 of the contract clause 16.8 states “Variation: This Agreement may only be altered in writing executed by the parties” I don’t think being told verbally to put a line through the bits you don’t like is going to cut it.
Another interesting clause is 5.2(d) on page 8 under General Obligations “The Retailer (must) provide to Prepaid Services within 3 days of the end of every calendar month a statement showing any information reasonable required by PrePaid Services, including the number and type Products which have been acquired by customers during that calendar month, and the sales price paid by those customers for each Product”. I would think most newsagents would have enough to do at the end of each month without making bullshit reports to Optus.
I do not understand why OPTUS are unaware that the associations these days only represent a minority of the retail newsagency industry. What good will it do anyone if this is yet another trough that the associations try and get their grotty little snouts into.
I also believe that uder the PPS contract “price protection” will only apply to product purchased within the previous 30 days.
It also appears that the contract tries to impose a penalty for late payment in clause 7.6(b). This clause may very well be legally unenforcable.
Clause 7.7 “Adjustment to Margin” is also unclear as to how this applies to product not yet sold. It may be interpreted that Optus could reduce the margin at a point in time, for products that the retailer has already purchased, and leave the retailer unable to return the products due to the returns policy.
Everything in this contract is skewed in PPS’ favour especially the stock returns. You can only return stock which has been received in the last 60 day’s so after you’ve held it for a few months and the expiry date is getting close it will be unreturnable. If you choose to return $100 worth of stock this month you will have to have purchased $2000 worth of stock last month to meet the 5% rule. Having met these condition you will be slugged a 25% restocking fee so your $100 becomes a $75 credit. I can’t believe anyone who has read this contract properly would sign it.
can optus really be that stupid?
To borrow their own advertising slogan…. “Yes”
To be honest i don’t really care about selling any phones or credit simply not enough in it for me to worry about ,we do sell recharge but thats about it , but i am still interested in the post and i have been reading all comments and i must say Paul that was pretty funny
I have just received a letter from PPS advising the new rates and what we need to sell to achieve them. If I dont sell 1 phone or sign somebody up with a $30 prepaid I will get 3% commission on topups. Dick Smith currently are offering 50% discount for the $30 product. (Perhaps I should buy from them rather than PPS) If my commission goes to 3% I will not offer the service and actively promote other companies against Optus. It is time we all stood up against people making use of our traffic flows and convenience.