Shop Talk
Have I been wrong all this time???
I just had a customer come in and want to upgrade to the V180. He said Customer Care offered him the phone for 19.99... WITHOUT a contract extension. I told him I'd never heard of such. (The phone was ultimately back ordered, so he was going to buy it from us, til he found out it was 99.99 + 1 year extension.)
Soooo.... he calls Customer Care. They told him that extending your contract is merely and option and that you can certainly upgrade the handset and stay in a month to month. So there, I was looking like a jackass. I called MY boss, and he said he'd never heard of such a thing. He has owned wireless stores since 1997. He thinks perhaps you can buy the phone without discounts and NOT have to extend; but if you receive the subsidized ...
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Soooo.... he calls Customer Care. They told him that extending your contract is merely and option and that you can certainly upgrade the handset and stay in a month to month. So there, I was looking like a jackass. I called MY boss, and he said he'd never heard of such a thing. He has owned wireless stores since 1997. He thinks perhaps you can buy the phone without discounts and NOT have to extend; but if you receive the subsidized ...
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Of course your boss is correct. The discount applies to contract plans. Get on the phone with the customer care and the customer at the same time and straighten it out. The customer simply misheard the basis for the discount.
It is common sense.
It is common sense.
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Ok I know with different companies if it has been at least 18 - 24 months since you had an discounted equipment upgrade then you can get a phone at the discounted price and not sign a new contract!!
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uhhhh.... i defy you to can ANY carrier and get that offer. Discounted equipment ALWAYS requires a new contract. I have worked for sprint, voicestream(tmobile), Cingular and I know the policies of other companies as well... You will not get a discount on NEW equipment without signing a contract.
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Should have mentioned Im with T Mobile if that makes a difference about what anyone knows. We are still stumped about this
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I am also with Tmobile and sometimes shady reps on the phone " fail to mention the contract extension"
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Yeah every carrier with contracts will require a renewal for any disc on new eqp. If they say you don't have to renew then someone is going to eat that cost. Sometimes there is a way to bill a customer call center for that type of offer. But I usually tell customers if they want that deal then they can get it from the rep who offered it to them and that all I can do is offer the deals at that location. Customers will usually respect that and if they don't they can't make you sell them the phone. Also Customers try anything to try to get a discount on a phone and not re sign an agreement.
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I've dealt with some real jerkoff CSR's . . . one whom . . . well, I won't go into details, but lets just say that after AT&T became Cingular, she was out of a job for what she did to me. Anyways, as I explain to the customer, who are you going to believe, the person standing here in front of you or the voice on the phone who just wants to get rid of you?
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i work in a call center and i know that a lot of store reps will tell the customer anything to get that commision and then we in customer service have to deal with it and handle the problems. the big issue is that not everyone is on the same page. if a customer gets a phone at a discounted rate, there is either a 1 or 2 year contract involved. if the customer does not want a contract the only options is to pay full price for the phone. now independent agents, such as radioshack, buy the phones from us and can sell them how they want to with whatever discounts they want to so customers may get 2 different answers depending on where they go.
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Very true. Some people just expect everything handed to them. I dont know any company that would give a discount without some kind of commitment that the customer will stay with them.
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T-Mobile does require the contract but man 100 bucks for a V-180 we give that for free on upgrades!!!
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Hrm, perhaps I am unfamiliar with the indirect dealer upgrade policy however with T-Mobile Direct Market there is NO REQUIRED CONTRACT EXTENSION if you qualify for the upgrade. After 11 months of service without a discounted purchase of a phone, with an account that's in good standing, on a 3999 or higher rate plan you are eligible for an upgrade.
As a dealer you have two options to click on
Extend Contract: Price W/ Activation (i.e. the cost of a phone for a new customer upfront, before rebates) plus ANY MAIL IN REBATES
No Contract Extension: Priec w/ Activation.
I'm sorry to have to dispute all of the people who've posted previously with their empirical reasoning (it IS sound) but unfortunately that is T-Mobile policy. For ph...
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As a dealer you have two options to click on
Extend Contract: Price W/ Activation (i.e. the cost of a phone for a new customer upfront, before rebates) plus ANY MAIL IN REBATES
No Contract Extension: Priec w/ Activation.
I'm sorry to have to dispute all of the people who've posted previously with their empirical reasoning (it IS sound) but unfortunately that is T-Mobile policy. For ph...
(continues)
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Buy phone at outright price there is no extension to your plan required. Any discount on the purchase of new equipment will require a contract extension. However, all the rules changed after WLNP/LNP and some companies may require a contract extension no matter what. A friend of mine wanted to drop from 600 to 100 minutes and they had to sign an extension.
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