The Mystery Bag Phone Shop Idol

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

The same materials that are used in aeroplanes,

some of it is used in this phone.

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

It's the Oscar for the mobile phone industry.

-Aah!

-Aaaah!

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 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

-Oh, my 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 forever.

I'm proud of him, I'm proud of him.

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

I'm emotional because 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.

And the winner of Shop Idol 2015 is...

Christ on a raft.

100 started, but only

36 remain.

Let's get out of here.

And today is the first of two regional heats

in the search to find the nation's best phone sales rep.

I'm one step closer to winning the competition.

I'm stepping into the unknown,

this is me stretching from my comfort zone.

12 of the country's best sellers are heading for a top hotel

in London's Knightsbridge

where their selling skills will come under intense scrutiny.

I've got to be 100% on my game, I can't let anything slip.

At stake, just three places

in the competition's glittering national final.

I'm nervous.

Butterflies.

And for the losers, their dream of being a shop idol will be over.

But for one candidate, there's an unexpected return.

Oh, my God.

I got a call yesterday evening about six o'clock.

I've been brought back into competition.

Tesco Mobile's golden girl Maria went out in the last round,

but following a last-minute dropout, she's been given a second chance.

I've done no revision, I've had like 12 hours' notice.

It's like, wow, you know, all this happened so fast.

-M.

-A.

-R.

-I.

-A.

Yay!

At 47, Maria who works in Kettering is the oldest candidate

in the competition.

It would be fantastic to show that actually age is irrelevant.

Who you are is irrelevant.

It's about being that...

It's about being a shop idol.

# I want 100% publishing so I'm gonna DIY. #

Two of Maria's rivals are Ayyub and Kiet from South London

who've been in the industry for less than 18 months.

Oh, I'm not good mingling with nerves.

Mate, well, everyone's going to be nervous.

Whilst en route,

they're getting last-minute advice from their manager, Jason.

Mate, they're going to fire questions at you

left, right and centre.

They're going to make you feel like

you've just been fucking chewed up and spat out.

Guys, I've got gas. Sorry, I have to let it go.

Let it go, I've been farting all morning.

-Ohh.

-Oh, jeez.

Whoa.

For the winner, it's not just about a trophy.

Do you want to take a picture?

Previous champions have had their careers fast-tracked

and their salaries doubled overnight.

It's great.

I feel a bit VIP.

Hungarian-born Roland, who works for Three Mobile in Norwich,

moved to this country seven years ago

to start a better life for his family.

For the last three months,

his attention has been firmly fixed on one thing.

Shop Idol is something like...

I'm very passionate about this whole thing.

And I'm very curious - where is the limit? You know, how far can I go?

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

I'm feeling really high.

At this luxury five-star hotel,

the cream of the country's

six biggest phone retailers have gathered.

Today, I... A little bit nerve-racking,

walking into a room full of people

that are not wearing the same T-shirt as you.

It's kind of like walking into the wrong end

of a football stadium,

and you're wearing the wrong colours of the scarf.

They'll spend 12 punishing hours

being put through four demanding rounds.

-They're going to be really testing us and assessing.

-Yeah.

No, it's going to be tough.

And the judges will test everything from their selling prowess

to their technical knowledge.

The regionals is that first element

where the contestants get to see the judges face-to-face.

The guys have been scrutinised

in the comfort of their own store.

So we take them out of that comfort zone,

and we just throw them into this set-up

where they have to really sink or swim.

Christian Azolan works for iSellMobile,

the industry magazine which runs Shop Idol.

Think this should go here or here?

-I think it's fine.

-Are you sure?

Fellow judge Sunetra Chakravarti is the editor of Mobile Choice.

They are joined by mystery shopping expert Mike Dalloz.

I want to find out how committed they are to this,

what kind of ways they're self-improving,

what kind of sales approaches they adopt.

I want to test them in those areas.

Congratulations for making it to the regional stage of Shop Idol.

I really want you to think about why you're in this competition,

what do you want to get out of it

and why should I put you through to the next stage?

I want to see impeccable product knowledge,

and I'm not interested in long-winded explanations.

There's over 25,000 people in the mobile phone industry.

You know, I'm really interested in seeing

your sophisticated sales techniques.

What makes you the best?

Months of preparation has come down to this.

It's time for the first round.

We believe a salesperson should be able to sell anything.

You will have one minute to tell us the key features and benefits

of a product that you'll pick out of the bag.

Kiet, would you like to go first?

The first round of the competition is a mystery bag.

The challenge is to pull something out of the bag

and give us directly, straightaway,

the unique selling points of that particular product.

Bring it to life, make it exciting.

OK, so, the benefit of having a wig

is on a Friday night, you can go out with your mates

and have some fun with this wig.

So, it will allow you to stand out to the crowd,

and it brings out a lot of personality in you as well,

-and it comes in different shades...

-BELL DINGS

This is a 16-quilt toilet roll.

Very efficient, very good in those messy situations.

Um.

Uh...

So, here we have a flotation device

that you can use in your bath...

Um. Uh...

Sorry, struggling here for a second.

Next up is Maria.

So, a ping pong ball is great

not only to play ping pong across the table,

provided you've got a bat.

What else could a ping pong ball be used for?

Oh, good question.

Oh, I don't know why I even ask that.

Where do go with a fucking ping pong ball? A ping pong ball.

I mean, we gave Maria the ping pong ball.

What did she do with it? Nothing.

So far, most of the contestants have failed to impress.

Right, we've got here, actually, chopped pork and ham.

But will Roland fare any better?

So, they actually look beautiful in the box.

Why it would be good for you

because it contains actually 90% of meat,

which is absolutely fantastic.

It's reusable, recyclable, so save the environment as well.

Feel passion about ham which I do not like, it was really hard.

He was pretty solid. You know, he spoke a bit too quickly...

And I could tell he didn't really know what Spam was.

But it was going right...

He was teaching himself as he was going through it.

-Yeah.

-But there's nothing wrong with that.

The phone industry is an ever-changing workplace,

and there are nearly 300 new products launched every year.

There are over 50 phones in the market and updates released weekly.

It is vital that candidates know their products inside out.

The next round in the competition will test how up-to-date

the contestants are with their knowledge of new products.

SX, SX H, Z3, M9 and the Apple phones, of course.

For Ayyub and Kiet, this, in theory, should be a strong round.

Throughout the competition, the lads from South London

have been able to draw on the expertise

of one of the industry's star managers.

"'The Maverick' Jason Appleyard wins Store Manager of the Year 2014."

"An inspirational manager."

And an inspirational human being.

Knowing what it takes to get to the top,

Jason has been drilling them with product knowledge.

My concern from the start of this was always going to be

their technical knowledge would let them down.

They have to learn loads in a short space of time.

So, he's written a product knowledge rap to ensure the facts sink in.

# Like a flower I have...in the summer I have sprung

# Thanks to the new Samsung

# Whoo!

# This fantastic LG G3

# With a 8-megapixel front-facing camera

# You can take a selfie with me!

# Wiki-wiki-wa-wa

# On this fantastic Lumia

# You can use our 3G even zoomier

# Wiki-wiki-wa-wa. #

Stop saying that.

But will the training pay off in the quickfire round?

We're going to ask you some questions

just to test your product knowledge

and to find out what you know about the industry.

On the Sony Xperia Z3,

how many megapixels is the front-facing camera?

Five megapixels.

On the Xperia Z3, how much exterior noise is blocked out?

Pass.

What is the name of the Sony customer loyalty and content app?

Pass.

What's the screen size on the Nexus 9?

Pass.

OK, thank you very much. Thank you.

A lot of the questions I did not know. A lot.

HE SIGHS

On the Xperia Z3 and Z3C,

how much exterior noise is blocked out?

98%.

Can you give me three key lifestyle benefits

of the Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact?

It's completely waterproof.

If you're using it in direct sunlight,

it's going to be easy to read

and the battery stamina mode.

What is the maximum distance Bluetooth can operate over?

A metre.

Ten metres.

I'll go with about 150 feet.

What is the ideal phone for someone

who wants to watch and stream TV and films on the go?

What? At the same time? Or do you just...?

Do you mean watch...? No, cos you can't do that.

Do you mean just either/or?

-I'm looking for one clear product recommendation.

-OK.

-I'll go with the S5 Mini.

-Maria, thank you very much.

Usually a star operator in her own store,

Maria's lack of prep time is counting against her.

That's not about serving our customers the best,

that's just being a technical geek.

I've written down one word, and it says - painful.

80% of all mobile phones are on Android now.

It used to be 75, but it's 80 now.

31-year-old Gemma who works for EE in Poole is one of the favourites.

That's my award for Shop Idol that I got presented on the night.

She entered the competition last year and made the top three.

The fact that I got so far, it just means a lot to me.

So, I had to have it next to Nan's photo.

She was always telling me to work harder and try harder.

This time around, she's started well again.

And was one of the few to score 100% in her mystery shop.

-Right, well, my name's Gemma.

-Gemma, thanks ever so much for that.

-That's brilliant.

-That's all right. Thank you.

-Bye-bye.

-See you later.

I'm going to up my game.

Be a little bit more ruthless this year.

I hope it's the year for me.

It's Gemma's turn to face the judges.

What is a unique feature of the HTC Desire Eye?

We don't actually sell Desire Eye.

I would say the BoomSound technology.

What's the screen size on the Nexus 9?

I'll say 7.9.

Which LG handset has a 5.5-inch, full HD, curved POLED display?

LG 4.

OK, thank you.

I'm OK.

Very hard. Very, very hard.

-SUNETRA:

-I expected more from Gemma.

She did really well last time.

She was top of the pile. Look at her scores now.

Confident from a successful first round...

HE GRUNTS AND CLICKS FINGERS

..Roland is ready to face the judges again.

Weee! Go, Superman!

He's on something, seriously.

Roland nearly cracked under the pressure

of the mystery shop round last week.

-Whose fault is that?

-Mine.

-It's your fault.

Sort it out, fuck off and get some lunch

or breakfast and sort yourself out.

Need to control it, this energy that I got, I need to control it.

And so he enlisted the help of a local drama teacher

to improve his performance in the competition.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Pleased to meet you.

Good, hold it for a minute.

-BOTH:

-Baa, bay, bee, bo, boo.

Maa, may, me, mo, moo.

-That's it.

-OK.

What is the ideal phone for someone who wants to watch

and stream TV and films on the go?

I would recommend Sony Z3.

The reason is why because it has vivid display,

so it gives a sharp display for the person.

It's very lightweight as well

and waterproof.

So, on the go, when somebody knock you,

you know, it can fall in the water.

It also has two days' battery life.

Also it's a 4G phone, so gives you, like,

streaming the music and the video is very, very seamlessly quick.

Yeah.

-Thank you, Roland. That's it.

-That's all right.

-Thank you.

That was a solid product recommendation, wasn't it?

-It is solid.

-Amazing.

-Awesome.

HE HUMS

Competition in the phone industry has never been more fierce,

and 3,000 phone shops battle it out on the high street every day.

I think it's very important to know what your rivals are doing,

what their offers are, what phones they're doing.

Because on the high street,

your rival may be across the road from you, three stores down

and they're fighting for the same customer you're fighting for.

Halfway through the regional heat,

and the next round taps into that spirit of competition.

The head-to-head round is really us testing

how much the salesperson knows about not only their company

but their rival's company they'll be going head-to-head with.

We cover 78% of the population.

78%? We cover 98%.

What we're looking to see is whether they know

the unique selling points of their own company that's better,

and they came promote to a customer than their rival's company.

We have an app where you can add and remove bolt-ons

every 30 days.

Ours is flexible. You can increase and decrease any time.

We don't actually charge for any capping onto the contract.

We give our customers a whole package

rather than just one or two items, so when they're on the move...

So, putting all their eggs in one basket.

So if one fails, they all crumble together?

But when the candidates face a rival within their own company,

like Gemma and Mark who work together in Poole,

instead of singing their store's praises,

they have to sing their own.

I really look into the detail

of what that customer in their lifestyle choices

and their hobbies...

I like to get more one-to-one with them,

so you actually know everything about that person,

what makes them tick.

Who's higher on the sales?

-Me.

-Me.

-Me.

-Me.

If you look at our figures in the last three months,

-I'm higher than you.

-OK, thank you.

I'm still shaking, but I feel more positive and hopeful now.

Guys, this is the head-to-head round.

Who is the better salesperson?

Ayyub has been paired against Kiet

who is not only his work colleague

but also his friend of ten years.

Remember this is a competition.

I think I'm a better salesperson

because I connect to all my customers.

Is that it?

It's not just about knowing the customer, yeah,

it's about building that lifestyle.

With me, my customer service is reflected on my NPS.

You talked about NPS which is your objective measure

-of customer service.

-Yeah.

-Who's got the higher NPS score?

-I've got 85%.

You may deliver a better service, but I do more sales.

Ayyub, what's more important? Sales or service?

Service.

And you're accepting that Kiet delivers better service than you?

OK, guys, thank you.

Fuck.

For me, Ayyub just doesn't have the enthusiasm.

He's got just such a dour way about him.

I'm just still trying to digest what just happened.

I was expecting more from Ayyub, to be honest.

I don't know. I don't know.

For Peckham-born Ayyub, selling phones is his first job.

I was searching for jobs left, right and centre.

Every time I received an e-mail back, I didn't even read it.

I just searched for the word 'unfortunately'

and just deleted the e-mail.

He eventually found employment through a charity

which works with Three.

I didn't think he was going to amount to much

because he weren't interested in school.

But Ayyub's father is yet to be convinced

that he has chosen the right career path.

You should've gone on to do the A-level, you dum-dum.

But, no, mate, you don't need qualifications. So, here you go.

His experience gives his sisters a level of measurement.

But they've surpassed him by miles, so I don't know.

HE SINGS IN ARABIC

He'd say to me, "You're going to end up on the streets."

I want to prove that I can make him proud and...

..I can be successful.

After nine gruelling hours of testing,

there's just one round left -

one final chance to convince the judges

they've got what it takes to be the Shop Idol.

Where are you? Where is he?

Ayyub and Kiet's boss, Jason, has been unable

to stay away from the venue.

Mingle. Mingle. Go talk.

Get your face out of your phone.

Having learned Ayyub's been struggling...

-Smile.

-..he decides it's time for a pep talk.

Fucking stand up.

Put your personality out there because right now

I don't think they know why you want to be here.

12 months ago you had nothing and then now not even within 12 months

you get into Shop Idol.

I want anger, I want fucking fire in your belly.

All or nothing, triple or more, go hard or go home.

Yeah?

There are just three places in the final at stake.

-Why should you put me through?

-HE SIGHS

It's a tough one.

And in the last round,

the sales reps have to sell themselves.

I actually get up in the morning thinking to myself,

"I've got to make people happy."

I've been looking at my strengths.

My top three are compassion,

enthusiasm and efficiency.

-Cos I like...

-Enthusiasm?

-Yeah.

-I didn't see that today.

-Did you not?

-No.

Maybe because I...

Well, actually, no, I disagree with you,

-I thought I was quite enthusiastic today.

-Are you for... Really?

That's my level of enthusiasm there. I was enthusiastic.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

They've been given the power of being judges,

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

Cos I think they've been dreadful in there,

they've been really horrible in there.

The reasons why I entered Shop Idol

is because I want to take my career into the next level.

How would you feel then if you didn't make it through

to the next round?

Hopefully, I get into the final. Hopefully, I make it through.

-Thank you.

-Thank you so much. Thank you.

I got the feeling I might go through.

They love me. I think they love me.

So, Gemma, I would have expected 100% score

on your product knowledge.

Last time I remember you were one of the top ones.

I know I've buggered up on my knowledge,

and that's going to haunt me for a long time.

But my personality and the way I am, that I'm that passionate,

and that I want it will be enough to get me there.

Thank you.

I'm so angry that I didn't know it, and that I flustered.

Next up is Ayyub.

Ayyub is struggling cos he's too nice.

Hopefully, he's got that little ball of passion there

that he will go and unleash in the final round.

If you asked me 11 months ago where I'd be,

if I'd enter Shop Idol, I'd probably say no.

-Why?

-Cos from where I've come from...

Tell me, where have you come from? Where have you started?

I've come from nothing.

Like, a place with no opportunity, lacking in confidence.

11 months ago I wouldn't have been able to

look you in the eye and speak to you.

Who do you want to prove yourself to?

Mainly my dad.

When I was younger in school I didn't study well,

so he thought I would never amount to nothing.

I just want to show the world that you can come from nothing

and make something of yourself.

Are you proud of yourself?

-I hope you are.

-I am. I'm very proud.

-I'm proud of you.

-Thank you very much.

There is a lot to improve on.

I'm really happy to be here and...

I'm very humble right now.

-Ayyub, thank you.

-You're welcome.

-CHRISTIAN:

-I just know exactly how he feels

and, you know, the reasons behind it

and to prove his father wrong just hit a nerve with me.

It's about giving people opportunities

and changing their life for the better.

And it's just so tough.

Well done, yeah.

Jason's given him an opportunity, and he's changed his life around.

He just talked about where he was 11 months ago, it's just so much.

If they don't get through to the finals,

then the judges have got a problem.

If I was a judge, I'd put them through

for what they've learned, what they've achieved

and what they've done.

Is he telling me they're not shop idols? Behave.

The first regional heat of Shop Idol is over.

Right, let's shoot then. Bye.

See ya.

But the sales reps face an agonising wait

before they hear the results.

One week later and the judges have made their decisions.

For some...

SHE SHRIEKS ..it's good news.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

But for others...

-Nope, I didn't make it.

-..it's the end of the road.

"Unfortunately, you didn't make it to the grand final this year."

-OTHERS:

-Ohh. Ahh.

Oh, don't do that.

Gemma's colleague Mark and Kiet in Lewisham

have both been given a wild card

and must fight it out for a place in the final.

Next to find out is Ayyub.

Didn't make it.

I made it this far. I'm happy with that.

HE SIGHS

You've gone through the toughest, gruelling process

that there is to go through.

You got through that. You've done it.

And now you can take anything on.

I think by next year you're going to be an assistant manager.

-I don't want you being all miserable.

-I'm not.

Yeah, be proud. Hold your hands up high. Be a Lewisham legend.

Say the fucking mantra.

-We were born brilliant.

-We were born brilliant.

-We were born to be the best.

-We were born to be the best.

-We are amazing.

-We are amazing.

-We are exceptional.

-We are exceptional.

-We are Lewisham legends.

-We are Lewisham legends.

-You're amazing.

-No, you're amazing.

-You're amazing, you're exceptional.

-You're brilliant.

-You're exceptional.

You're fucking brilliant, yeah?

Don't ever fucking forget it, do you understand?

Do understand, yeah? I'm so proud of you.

Last to hear is Roland who's away in Hungary visiting family.

-Hello!

-And here's the result from his manager.

I don't know how to break this to you man, but...

Eh-hey-hey!

CHEERING

Let's get fucking out there.

To get into the final would be something else.

With just eight places left to fight for...

-Boom.

-Are you the finished article?

-Yes.

..it's do or die at the final regional heat.

-We've got the biggest and...

-You're the most complained about network.

It's a bit like willy waving.

I think it's actually a cock, if I'm honest.

-But who will survive?

-What's happening?

-It sounds really rehearsed that.

-I do find that offensive.

I am passionate about what I do.

Total nightmare.

# 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! #