The Chosen Ones Phone Shop Idol

There are 24,000 mobile phone sales reps in the UK.

This programme contains some strong language.

And every year, the industry holds a competition to find the best one.

It's the Oscar for the mobile phone industry.

CHEERING

Get in there! Go on!

It's the same as it would be for a journalist to win the Pulitzer,

or for a writer to win the Booker.

It scares me about what my potential is.

From across the country, top sellers from all the major phone retailers

face a gruelling series of challenges...

What are the camera resolutions for the Samsung Galaxy A5?

13 megapixel camera on the back and a five megapixel on the front.

..in front of expert judges.

We are expecting to see people who could sell anything.

So, here we have a flotation device...

-BELL DINGS

-Uh...

-Oh, God...

I've written down one word and it says, "Painful".

They've been given the power of being judges

and I feel that it's really gone to their head.

After six months of intensive tests,

only the very best will win a place in the grand final...

I'd like you to line them up in decreasing battery size.

I'm not going to get my guns out just yet.

..and with it, the chance to change their lives for ever.

I'm proud of him and I'm proud of him... And, uh...

it seems like, you know, we've done a good job.

I'm emotional cos I'm passionate, not because I'm soft.

It's just so difficult. It's just so tough.

If stress is for you, sell mobile phones.

-ANNOUNCER:

-And the winner of Shop Idol 2015 is...

Christ on a raft.

Welcome to the world

of mobile phone sales staff.

Morning!

Where 18 million smartphones are sold every year.

And this locks me in to a two-year contract?

That locks you into two years, like always. It's always been like that.

Oh, God. I think that should be illegal.

Starting out in a mobile phone store is a tough gig

and you have to know a lot of product...

Doesn't want to play ball.

There are a few birds up there on those phone masts today.

..as well as being great at customer service.

-I need to log in...

-I've been here about an hour,

you've got customers walking out the shop.

The competition is about to begin

to find the best phone sales person in Britain.

LAUGHTER

A lot of these guys are working, not earning a lot of money,

but if they do this competition, it can be life-changing.

The whole thing starts with each retailer

having the honour of choosing their so-called "chosen ones".

The chosen ones are the very best in that company

that represents that particular brand,

represents what they think a good salesman should look like.

As Britain's biggest network, EE has over 3,000 sales advisers,

or as they like to call them, "High Street Heroes".

Top management have searched over 500 stores to select their best.

All I can say is, it definitely works for longer...

Meet Jonny Brown. MUSIC PLAYS IN CAR

# You're the best...around!

# Nothing's ever gonna keep you down

# You're the best...around... #

Jonny's been selling phones for over a decade,

currently out of the Golden Square shopping centre, Warrington.

I've worked with a lot of sales advisers

and I've never come across anyone who was like Jonny.

There's one that's really good - I don't know if you've heard about it - Shazam.

-I've got that.

-Have you already got it?

-It's really good, isn't it? Do you use it quite a lot?

-No.

Do you not?

If we had a shop full of Jonnys...

All right then, take care.

..imagine what the place would be like.

See ya.

EE are hoping Jonny's impressive technical knowledge

will win him the competition.

I know my stuff. I can mix it up with the best of them.

You can connect your laptop to your phone

using it as a personal hot spot. You wouldn't need to have your dongle then.

Jonny dedicated himself to his career after the break-up

of his relationship with the mother of his two kids.

We were together for a long time,

so it was the hardest time of my life, it was...it was horrendous.

It wasn't great.

Jonny's dedication has paid off.

He has already won the award for EE's Best Sales Associate of the Year.

He polishes it.

Now he's going to try and become the best of all the retailers,

the Shop Idol.

-INTERVIEWER:

-Do you think you can do it?

Without a shadow of a doubt.

Well, I've got the pedigree, haven't I?

I've won the EE award, the best sales adviser in the company,

so if anyone can win it, it's me.

While Jonny has been chosen to represent the industry giants...

Andy has been chosen to represent the little guy.

-See the little 3G there?

-Yeah.

When that turns off, usually that's a sign that that's...

-When, like, that's...

-Defunct.

Yeah, d-defunct, aye.

29-year-old Andy works for Fonehouse,

a small, independent chain with just 50 stores.

-That's it.

-Thank you.

Andy has built some of the best sales figures in the company...

-All right?

-See you later.

..with an almost supernatural ability to shift mobile phones.

I just watch him and go, "How did you do that?"

He'll just create a sale out of nowhere.

I'll tell you what I can do with that one,

I can get it properly all connected and I'll...

I can drop it off for you, or something...

When I approach someone in the shop it's just like...

I'm trying to already predict what they want

and predict what they're going to say.

What's the difference in price?

'It's just thinking two steps ahead.'

Like a game of chess, kind of thing, do you know what I mean?

And then it's a decision made, you know,

you'll just feel something in the air click.

It's a weird feeling, you know?

You know... You know when you've done it.

-Thanks very much.

-Nice to see yous again...

Andy is convinced he can win Shop Idol

and has the support of his sales colleague Danny.

-INTERVIEWER:

-Are you like best mates?

-Aye, could say that.

Who he's known since he was 11.

I don't really like him at all, to be fair.

I go to hold his hand in front of people...

No, no. That's not the wor... You know the worst bit?

The worst bit is in the car.

You'll be sitting in the car with him

and me hand will be on the gear stick and he'll go...

-DANNY LAUGHS

-And I'll go down to... There's no-one around.

It's not funny when it's just me and you, it's just awkward!

-He'll put his hand on me leg...

-I find it funny.

..and I'll go, "Will you get off us?"

BOTH LAUGH

No Fonehouse sales associate has ever won Shop Idol,

and this year they are going up against

one of Britain's retailing Goliaths.

Tesco Mobile have four million customers, but no stand-alone shops.

They have a pod or a section in 320 supermarkets.

They have chosen one of their chosen ones -

mum of two, Maria Cooper, from the Tesco Extra in Northampton South.

To be chosen, I mean, that's fantastic.

I'm almost expecting like a light to come down

and sort of sit above my head

every time someone says I'm the chosen one.

So I'm quite humbled by it, really. But, for me, it's what I do.

Since transferring from the checkout, Maria has focused

on customer service and making her phone area a welcoming place.

So, since we went for lunch,

I've got my team to put some pancakes out,

which has gone down really well with our customers.

Obviously, they like the chocolate variety.

Just a little touch that we do in the phone shop.

Our customers are like our guests.

The way I put it across to my team

is think of this as their party and...

-Thank you very much.

-Bye now.

..and every customer that comes in is their guest.

Hello, how are you?

'There's no point talking jargon.'

A very, very basic phone.

You know, it does what it says on the tin.

'It's not rocket science.'

-Have you got the flip or have you got the flat one?

-The flip.

'Right, just keeping it simple so they've got that full understanding there.'

At 47, Maria is the oldest chosen one in the competition.

It would be fantastic to win, it would be fantastic

to show that actually you don't need to be that young kid out there.

-Thank you very much for that.

-See you again, you're welcome. Bye.

'Age is irrelevant. Who you are is irrelevant.

'It's about being that...'

It's about being a Shop Idol.

Across the country, there are 32 chosen ones,

but less than half will make it through their first test.

Mike Dalloz became a Shop Idol judge ten years ago.

He's a mystery shopping mogul who runs a secret shopping empire.

We have thousands,

literally thousands of mystery shoppers that do activity for us.

He's about to send his team of secret shoppers in

to examine the chosen ones.

The camera is built into the tie.

You can see the lens just through there. It's just there.

Any customer who enters the shop over the next three months

could be any chosen one's secret shopper.

Just remember, that mystery shopper could be in any day now.

-Everyone's a mystery shopper.

-Everyone is a mystery shopper, yeah.

What I'm looking for in Shop Idol is the complete package.

I'm looking for somebody who is an absolute sales star.

They really understand the customer, they have incredible knowledge

and they have no fear of closing sales and where appropriate,

overcoming objections.

But in addition to that,

I want somebody who has a real affinity for giving great service.

I know that person's out there.

The secret shoppers have been unleashed.

And so have the management.

The companies are sending their top guns to mentor their chosen ones.

-How are you?

-Aye, sound. Aye, sound.

-Good.

-All happening, like, innit?

Susie from Fonehouse management helped choose Andy as a chosen one.

I know that you've got the talk and I know you've got that spark.

-Mm, aye.

-You have all that. So that's the stuff you can't learn.

But the learning stuff, from my experience -

well, not my own experience, but from other people going through it -

-it's very, very much the tech.

-Aye.

-So just swot up on that, I would suggest.

-Oh, aye, aye-aye.

I do it anyway, to be honest.

I'm always reading about tech, you know, like a proper...

-a proper GEEK!

-Geek! Perfect.

Aye. You know, to a degree, to a degree.

-An exciting geek.

-Aye. Well, aye, an exciting...

An exciting handsome geek, you know. Aye.

I think he's absolutely great.

If I was a judge, that would be absolutely what I'd look for.

Someone that grabs you immediately.

And then he's charming and has some self-awareness.

Obviously, a real will to succeed - that's the whole package for me.

Andy's secret shopper is approaching his shop.

The secret footage will be evaluated by judge Mike

and at the offices of iSellMobile Magazine,

the company which runs the Shop Idol competition.

Head judge Christian was talent spotted by iSellMobile

after coming third in this very competition himself.

Now we really get to see them perform for the first time

on the shop floor.

We will find there's a lot of details -

the thing that you missed out, the tariff that you didn't talk about,

the service that you didn't sell or recommend.

So it's really tough and they could be having a bad day,

or a good day, but they're going to be judged on that shop.

Consumer champion, Sunetra, is the editor of Mobile Choice

and queen of technical specifications.

Why should I be forgiving about somebody who doesn't know

the products that they are selling?

I'm a judge, I'm not their mum.

If you put yourself up for a competition,

make sure you know everything, otherwise don't do it.

I've got to go, there's a customer here.

Now Andy is off the phone, the secret shopper will engage.

What smartphones have you got?

What are you thinking of doing, like? Are you thinking of...

Um, my granddaughter sends me pictures

of my great-granddaughter...

Your granddaughter sends pictures of your great-granddaughter?

-Yes, I'm a great-grandma.

-Aye? (You don't look old.)

-SECRET SHOPPER LAUGHS

-Thank you.

Andrew's using a little bit of humour.

"You're a great-grandmother?! How can that possibly be the case?"

We're always having a bit of a game with the customer,

but obviously, the customer, everyone loves to be complimented,

and Andrew does it really well.

So, this is the Galaxy Ace 4,

it's been out about four weeks, so it's something recent for you.

Andy's secret shopper scores his star quality at the maximum 100%.

He will also be marked on technical knowledge.

-Yeah.

-HTC have got their... It's called HTC Sense.

This is called TouchWiz.

Sony use one called... I'll find out, but, you know...

-SUNETRA:

-I like him.

-CHRISTIAN:

-I like that he went through it

but he didn't know the last one, but joked about finding out...

-I like him.

-..rather than making it up and thinking, "It's called this," and bamboozling...

He could say anything and the customer would believe him.

He just needs to do something about his product knowledge,

because, you know, humour will not cut it

-at the regionals or the finals.

-Yeah, when it comes to judging.

If you fancy yourself as a finalist in a national competition,

you need to know about the stuff you are selling.

Be an all-rounder, yeah. Yeah.

-SECRET SHOPPER:

-Thanks, bye-bye.

So, he's a bit of a cheeky chappie,

but actually does it with a professional veneer.

One of the key questions we asked - do you trust their advice

and would you buy the product

because of how they've recommended it?

And I think Andrew ticks a lot of those boxes.

-INTERVIEWER:

-He's a contender?

-I think so.

The contenders have a lot to live up to.

-ANNOUNCER:

-John Sherwood...

-CHEERING AND WHISTLING

I'll show you the trophy, it's fantastic.

A really good weight to it as well.

It took a while to get all the fingerprints off.

There's the bad boy. Nice and heavy. Stands for the phone signal.

A lot of people didn't know that.

I remember lifting it like this, wasn't it? I said, "Come on!"

-HE LAUGHS

-That was the real best feeling ever.

-Don't tell the wife that cos the wedding day was quite similar.

-HE LAUGHS

When John Sherwood won Shop Idol, he worked in Great Yarmouth

in a small independent mobile phone company.

I think John's a great example of somebody who is a hard grafter.

He's got great product knowledge, he's a nice person

and he wanted to take his career to the next level.

That's what we are looking for.

Within months of being crowned, John's life was transformed.

He was headhunted by the electronic giant Sony

and offered a job as an area development manager.

I got a company car, so I sold my old car,

so I used that bit of money for our holiday, which was fantastic.

I've got a company fuel card, I get all the gadgets, which is amazing.

Suddenly the postman's gone, I go to the post office,

pick up a new smartwatch.

I pick up a new tablet and things like that.

Well, obviously, it's for demo purposes as well,

but it's just fantastic having this as well.

100% it's changed my life. Shop Idol's been brilliant for me, yeah.

Now I'm doing the job that I love

and sometimes I may stop here to do a bit of admin,

so this is my office.

There's lots of space here, which is cool. So...

Oh, look! I left my trophy in here as well!

What's the chance of that being in there?!

If you win this award, you've got to follow your dreams, yeah?

You've got to push on. Cos if you don't, you've just wasted such a good opportunity.

What is remarkable about John is that he wasn't even a chosen one.

He was a different sort of contestant.

He was a self-nominator, and now, there are lots of sales associates

who want to follow the John Sherwood path.

What you can do is, if you haven't been chosen by your company

and you think, "Actually, I'm a good salesperson, I can do this,

"I can do this competition and I want to stand out,"

you can then enter yourself into the competition.

I find, personally,

that challengers who put themselves forward have a little bit more

drive and determination and passion to do well in the competition

because they're really putting themselves out there.

Hundreds have applied but only the most popular will get to join

the chosen ones in the competition.

They have to persuade people to vote for them.

You will see my picture. There will be a Samsung background there.

And there will be a guy with a beard, OK?

And a baseball cap like this, smile like this, like I'm winning,

you know, obviously!

The whole thing is for me to move forward within my career,

like catapulting my career.

And that's the right word,

because catapulting means you're from somewhere, there.

You don't go within, you're from there to there.

Hungarian Roland Ratval moved to Britain seven years ago

in search of a better life.

He started out by cleaning toilets at Butlins before becoming a Three

sales associate in Norwich, where he lives with his wife

and their baby son.

Phone Shop Idol!

ALL: Phone Shop Idol!

INDISTINCT

CHEERING

HE SPEAKS HUNGARIAN

'I'm always buzzing and people can feel it.

'Even on the shop floor they can feel the vibration.'

The customer leaves with a smile, you know?

And they say to manager, "That was an amazing service.

"Thank you so much. Thank you."

This is Roland Rat. Actually, my name is the same - Roland Ratval.

So Rat and V-A-L. Roland Rat! Cool! I'm loving it!

Roland Rat Superstar.

There you go - it's happening.

Rat rapping. Oh, rat rapping - that could be good.

TINNY RAP MUSIC

For Roland, success in the Shop Idol competition would mean

recognition in his adopted home.

I'm very passionate about this whole thing

and I'm very curious where is the limit, how far can I go?

'I'm very driven. Feel the passion, you know?'

Yeah!

I'm feeling like... I can reach everything I want at the moment.

I'm feeling really high.

Roland's not the only one

who's hoping Shop Idol can transform his career.

Friday is here but it's actually a Saturday.

Every day is a Saturday - we know this.

I want legendary performances.

Your numbers will answer that for me at the end of the day.

Rookie sales reps Kiet

and Ayyub are also entered in the self-nominee category.

Give me some star jumps! I want to feel your energy! Come on, guys!

Their boss Jason runs the most successful Three store

in the whole of England.

Let's get you outside on the shop floor.

Go, go, go, go! Yeah!

He trains his staff to follow his own approach to selling.

Go, Kiet, go! Yeah!

Yeah, I'm crazy.

Passionate about being the best

and just not being the same as every other fucking robot out there.

'Have some fun, be crazy, get customers to remember you,

'and remember you for the right reasons.

'It's all about the theatre.'

All I need to do is take my top off!

'Bring that handset to life.

'To get the best experience from the handset, it's a two-year contract.'

It's not as long as my marriage lasted, but...it's a long time.

Jason recruited Kiet and Ayyub via a charity for unemployed youngsters

and he's turned them into the top salesmen in the store.

Going for the Note 4 is like going for a Ferrari.

I call him my second dad.

My first dad wouldn't love to hear that, but...

Yeah, he is, literally, he's...

It's got an optical processor. That means it's got eight brains inside.

'He's been a big help.

'Before I started working at Three, I never had much confidence.

'Now I'm that kind of person where'

people like me for who I am.

'People deserve a chance,

'and I think with my guys going forward for Shop Idol,

'it will help them

'not just to achieve great things in their work life, but it will help'

them achieve great things in their personal life, as well.

As a chosen one, Maria, from Tesco Mobile,

is already through to the first test.

She is determined to be ready to meet the secret shopper.

-Good morning!

-Hi, there!

What kind of makes you more...unique?

I don't know, I'm just me, really.

'Most of the people who work in our phone shops'

have come from another part of Tesco,

so they're used to working on the tills, working in bakery.

So they come at phone selling like they come at anything,

which is, "How do I help the customer?"

I've got a job in a nursery but I needed an extra income

and I got a job direct selling through a very well-known, um...

..lingerie/marital aid company...

If you can sell there, you can sell absolutely anything.

It's about understanding your customer,

exploring their needs and finding them the right product.

The secret shopper is on the move.

Let's have a look at Maria Cooper from Tesco.

-Hello, there!

-Hiya.

-How are you?

-Very well, thanks.

-Good.

-How can I help?

-I'm after a phone for my daughter.

-OK. So, um...

-How old is your daughter?

-15.

-Oh, OK.

What sort of budget do you have in mind?

'It's good that she asked me about the budget, does she have a phone?'

OK, we do a capped contract for your daughter,

which gives you the peace of mind...

He hasn't shown him any phones yet!

She has, like, three leaflets about iPhones.

She just needs to say, "These are the five phones within your budget.

"This is what each of them do. Which one would you like?" Quite simple.

Mm.

£20 on credit, and then we would triple that,

-so she'd have an extra £40, so she'd have £60 to use.

-OK.

But that's not actually going to go very far.

What?!

SHE LAUGHS

£60 won't go far?!

-That's a lot of money!

-£60!

I've got a magazine brochure here.

'She's more comfortable now.'

She's sitting down, she seems a little bit more together.

She doesn't look like a salesperson. She's acting like a shrink.

"How can I help you? Sit down. Would you like a leaflet?"

Although Sunetra dislikes Maria's performance,

the secret shopper may save her.

-Have I answered everything for you?

-Yeah, very helpful, thank you.

He was won over by her star quality

and wouldn't hesitate to recommend her.

If I could just get you to vote -

it takes two minutes - story of my life!

-In the...

-No, it's on the tablet.

Can you vote for me?

Time is running out for the self-nominees.

They are doing everything they can to get votes.

-CHEERLEADERS:

-..Phone Shop Idol He intends to stay

He'll make it to the top

And blow the rest away!

WHOOPING

That's the guy, with the big smile!

High-five! Great!

Getting a new voter!

Whoever walks into the shop, basically, we'll get them voting,

and then, that... I'm getting ruthless with it. Ruthless!

He's on it today.

No prisoners.

-I'll make it free, so you pay nothing.

-OK.

Yeah? But I just need one vote.

The Lewisham team have just taken the lead from Roland.

LOUD YAWN

I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't handle the stress.

-I can't handle it.

-HE LAUGHS

At the moment, I've got 351 votes, which is not bad.

The other guy, from Three... Oh, my God!

It's too much now for me, you know, to follow!

So, you know, let's just shut this off, yeah, I think.

EE's chosen one, Jonny, has still not been secretly shopped.

And this is not his secret shopper.

This is Deirdre, EE's director of retail.

Out of her 3,000 sales associates, she chose Jonny to be her chosen one.

Superstar status. How's the pressure?

-It's all right. I'm coping quite well.

-Yeah?

Not letting it go to my head.

I think Jonny is... Look, he's just such a superstar.

Are you keeping the old nerves? You're all right?

-Not getting too nervous about this?

-Not really, no.

Boy, can he sell! And, boy, can he attach things

and sell multiple sales and all that,

but it's always what is right for the customer.

-We're going to win, aren't we?

-Yeah.

-What do you think?

-THEY LAUGH

-Yeah?

-Definitely!

-All right!

I feel all pumped up, ready to go.

I got a fist bump off her, so that's a power bump.

-Jonny...

-All right, then.

-..thank you so much.

'They're pinning a lot of hopes on me,'

so, hopefully, I can do everyone proud.

This is Jonny's secret shopper entering the shop.

-Who's this - Jonny?

-Jonny, EE.

-WOMAN:

-Where am I best looking for something

with quite a decent screen? You know, for a lot of internet?

-Which?

-How do you mean? As in the size of screen?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-'No!

-There wasn't really a meet and greet, was there?'

If you work in retail, you should at least be able to crack a smile.

So that's the 5S.

'But he's got a very monotonic voice.'

And he's not really expressive in terms of his body language.

You get 4GB of data and unlimited minutes of texts, then, as well.

'I'm not sure about him.'

There's no joy.

No happiness.

'It's just...'

..so tedious even to watch.

-SECRET SHOPPER:

-Right, thanks.

The secret shopper wasn't so harsh,

but did say Jonny failed to deliver a fond farewell.

The decision as to which of the chosen ones have been chosen

to go through to the next round is about to be posted online.

Just checking my score, see how well I've done, or how well I haven't.

I think you'll have done well.

Aw, no, I'm really nervous now. Actually, I don't know if...

Shall we just not bother?

-Shall we just leave it and wait and see?

-We should do it.

Andy scores 96%.

He's straight through to round two - the regionals!

What a belter! An absolute belter! Yeah, I can't believe that, like!

You just missed out.

Damn!

Jonny scores 87%. He's not gone through.

I'm a bit gutted about that.

And Maria?

Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm!

Maria scored 85%. She has also not gone through.

No.

Oh, here we go. "I felt that every piece of advice Andy offered

"was given with an altruistic desire to help and inform,"

which is exactly what I go for. When I wake up in the morning,

I always think "altruistic", you know(!)

-That's the first thing I think!

-LAUGHTER

"Had I been a genuine customer,

"I wouldn't have hesitated to go back or recommend her."

So, do you know what? 83%? Uh-uh - 100%.

Happy days!

Happy...days!

Touch me, baby!

-LAUGHTER

-I can't believe we just did that!

As many of the chosen ones exit the competition...

..it's time for the most popular of the self nominators

to enter the competition.

Christian is about to ring the self nominees to let them know

who has got through and will face the mystery shopper.

RINGING

TELEPHONE RINGS

Hello, it's Roland! Roland on the line, hello? Speak.

Hi, Roland, it's Christian calling from Shop Idol.

-'I'm just ringing to let you know...'

-Yeah?

'..that you've made it to the next round.'

LOUD CHEER

Yeah, high-five, yeah! Amazing, guys! I love you so much!

Well done, man! Well done!

Man! Aw!

Sorry, yeah, yeah, just having an emotional moment. Sorry. Yes!

MUSICAL RINGTONE PLAYS

Hello, Jason speaking.

It gives me great pleasure and loads of pride to say that, er,

-you are going through to the next round.

-Thank you very much.

-Yeah?

-So, a little party time tonight after work?

-Whoo, whoo, yes!

There's no easy way of saying this. Um...

But unfortunately...

you've made it through to the next round.

HE LAUGHS

Well done.

PARTY POPPERS SNAP

I'm going to get you back, man!

-When did you start working with Three?

-The 16th of June, 2014.

So, not even a year and you're in Shop Idol?

That is something to be proud of.

You go home tonight and you tell your friends, tell your family,

then you walk around with a spring in your step,

a smile on your face, and be proud of what we've achieved.

We just need to get to the final now and then win the final.

It gives me great pride and loads of pleasure

to announce that we've got two sales associates in Shop Idol

that have made it through to the next round.

POP!

CHEERING

Get in there!

Go on!

LAUGHTER

Boom! Two questions!

-Next time...

-I'm not happy! I'm not happy at all!

..all hell breaks loose...

Whose fault is that? Your fault! Sort it out, fuck off

and get some lunch, or breakfast, and sort yourself out!

..as the underdogs join the race to make the regionals.

We think it's been mystery shopped.

-But who will stand?

-Not a very good score at all, if any points.

-And who will fall?

-I'm nervous.

It's there, it's there.

# Do what I want cos I can and if I don't

# Because I wanna

# Be ignored by the stiff and the bored

# Because I'm gonna

-# Hate to say I told you so

-All right!

# Come on! #