Former telecom sales staff describe pressure to sell customers products they do not need

Former sales staff at Telia, Elisa and DNA say commission structures and sales targets can encourage employees to push unnecessary services and use misleading price comparisons, Yle reports. The companies deny that their sales practices reflect a structural problem.

Three former salespeople and one former store manager told Yle that customers may be sold subscriptions or add-on services they do not need or cannot use. One example is a 5G subscription for a phone that does not support 5G. The article also describes an “apparent discount” under which a customer thinks they are saving money even as the price of their subscription rises.

The interviewees, who now work in sales for other companies, spoke anonymously. Yle said it knows their identities and verified that they had worked for the companies they discussed.

Telecom sales staff receive a base salary and commissions. Commission can account for as much as 70 per cent of monthly pay, according to the article. The sector’s collective agreement sets base salaries at 2,000 to 3,000 euros a month, depending on the role and location. The highest-paid salespeople can earn more than 100,000 euros a year.

A former Elisa salesperson said that although sales begin by assessing a customer’s needs, in practice the focus can be on securing the salesperson’s usual monthly income. A former DNA salesperson described the work as “not the cleanest sales in the world” and said the system can push staff towards deception or pressure selling.

The former employees said sales targets create pressure, and that store managers may overlook unethical practices when strong sales also benefit their own earnings. A former Elisa store manager said those setting targets and incentives focus on figures without understanding what sales staff can realistically do.

Finland’s Consumer and Competition Authority (KKV) has received about 1,500 contacts a year concerning telecom operators. The number rose sharply after 2024, increasing by 50 per cent in 2025. Figures for 2026 are incomplete, but contacts have remained around the previous year’s level. The numbers do not show the nature of each contact, though the authority’s consumer ombudsman rarely hears from people with positive feedback.

KKV receives the most reports concerning Elisa sales staff and the fewest concerning DNA staff. Elisa has a 38 per cent share of the mobile subscription market, while Telia and DNA each have about 30 per cent, the article says.

KKV’s report last spring on consumer problems experienced by older people, based on more than 500 customer feedback submissions from 2024, found similar issues. DNA-Kauppa chief executive Sami Aavikko acknowledged that some incentive structures can steer sales more than customer needs, but said this must not lead to wrongdoing. DNA says its own research shows that 90 per cent of customers are very satisfied with their sales experience. Elisa service director Ilkka Pohtola and Telia consumer sales director Sami Mökkälä also commented on the former employees’ accounts. The three companies deny that the sector has a structural problem and say they will address breaches of their rules.