The state of the union
On a macro scale, I've often wondered if we as VZW reps are witnessing the decline of the U.S. right here on our phone lines as we take calls from customers. With such an entitlement culture as we have in this country which has led to our quickening downward spiral VZW customers seem to be reflective of this sad time in our history.
To continue with my rant -- how many times have we heard some jerk customer say "well I've been a customer for x years and I'm ENTITLED to a an early upgrade to the Storm" (despite the fact that I just upgraded 6 months ago). Or even better... "since I pay my bill on time every month and have been with you for 2 years I DEMAND an early upgrade and I don't want to pay what all your OTHER customers have to p...
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To continue with my rant -- how many times have we heard some jerk customer say "well I've been a customer for x years and I'm ENTITLED to a an early upgrade to the Storm" (despite the fact that I just upgraded 6 months ago). Or even better... "since I pay my bill on time every month and have been with you for 2 years I DEMAND an early upgrade and I don't want to pay what all your OTHER customers have to p...
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With such an entitlement culture as we have in this country which has led to our quickening downward spiral VZW customers seem to be reflective of this sad time in our history ... should have been "With such an entitlement culture as we have in this country which has led to our quickening downward spiral *some* VZW customers seem to be reflective of this sad time in our history.
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Its like what chris rock said....
"people always wanna take credit for s$#t they supposed to do!"
Paying your bill on time should be the norm and your reward is a new phone every 2 years.
"people always wanna take credit for s$#t they supposed to do!"
Paying your bill on time should be the norm and your reward is a new phone every 2 years.
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Isn't it scary what kind of culture we are becoming? We are a nation of whiners! We have been trained to whine and complain until we get what we want and the cellular industry is a PERFECT example of this, in our trainings we are told to ALWAYS please the customer regardless of the situation, there have been many times when I am following policy and one of the higher ups will come in and overrule me, making me look like an idiot in front of the customer and just teaching them that if they throw a fit they'll get whatever they want. American consumerism is reaching new heights of greed and our culture is content to let it continue on. Nearly every day I see a young "tween" whine to their parents that they want a Blackberry even after I exp...
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I agree. There are too many Americans that just need to be put in their place, and the industry needs to stand up for its policies. I think we should not bend to the will of a customer, and stick to policy. Rules are rules! Good post 😁
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Perfect example of that (minus the giving in):
Chtismas Eve. Middle of the mall at my kiosk a man whom I've spoken with about billing issues on his plan shows up. Eerlier he was wondering about his $300+ bills each month. I'm assuming it was some sort of third party applications (like ThumbPlay or something) since nothing was showing up on his plan in the system I was looking in.
He returned wanting to disconnect a line that he deemed was "defective" they they had turned off. FIrst I couldn't access his wife's account because it was password protected and he refused to give me the password. When he himself typed it in, it was wrong.
I called my helpline to have the password changed and cancel the line. When I conveyed to him about...
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Chtismas Eve. Middle of the mall at my kiosk a man whom I've spoken with about billing issues on his plan shows up. Eerlier he was wondering about his $300+ bills each month. I'm assuming it was some sort of third party applications (like ThumbPlay or something) since nothing was showing up on his plan in the system I was looking in.
He returned wanting to disconnect a line that he deemed was "defective" they they had turned off. FIrst I couldn't access his wife's account because it was password protected and he refused to give me the password. When he himself typed it in, it was wrong.
I called my helpline to have the password changed and cancel the line. When I conveyed to him about...
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I really wish Verizon would give us indirects access to billing, like being able to see someone's bill instead of having to guess what their charges are or call into CS and deal with hold times. Verizon really prevents us indirects from servicing the customer fully and the indirect support line they gave us is a joke, the reps are poorly trained and have no idea what we have access to in eroes, I have had at least 5 reps tell me to look at the notes on the account before calling in...newsflash I CAN'T! Billing is the most frustrating part of being an indirect, especially in a market where there are NO direct stores to have a bill printed off...yes we can do the whole "My Verizon" thing, but it's not the same. Luckily I have a GREAT Indire...
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Let him hit you Sue, the he!! out of him, or let him hit you then you beat his a$$ in front of his kids, or just tell him to piss off and call customer service him self. We need to stand up for ourselves and not take the crap we get everyday...only problem is that if we stand up for our selves we most likely get fired. It is getting out of hand lately
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LOL. In a call center the people who aren't on the phones are always cheery because they don't have to take calls. If supervisors take an escalation they will give in no matter how unreasonable the request just to get off the phone. Then they go "Glad I don't have to take calls back to back anymore." Makes you feel REALLY special.
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The second he says " I will knock you into next week", figure of speech or not, I ask them to leave. They don't leave I call the police.
I do not allow that kind of abuse on myself or my team members.
I do not allow that kind of abuse on myself or my team members.
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Okay. Now I remember why I left retail. So anyway, I think I want to become a trucker. Dealing with customers like that stinks.
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As a long time customer myself I can say I see your points...but you also have to see ours....When I got my first cell phone, I got it from GTE Mobilnet. GTE was way more customer friendly than Verizon is, everyone I know who had GTE back then still miss that company.....plus, in my opinion, the phones were a lot better back then for people like me who really just want to talk, but also a lot more expensive.
The people who I have had help me at Verizon are excellent, but the managers aren't, at least in my local store here......Both my sister and I had the same problem with the Razr....my sister talked to the manager and got them to switch it for an LG, she was very happy and never had a problem again....I had to do the same 2 weeks late...
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The people who I have had help me at Verizon are excellent, but the managers aren't, at least in my local store here......Both my sister and I had the same problem with the Razr....my sister talked to the manager and got them to switch it for an LG, she was very happy and never had a problem again....I had to do the same 2 weeks late...
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What many customers don't understand (I'm not directing this towards you pilot 🙂 ) is that Verizon, T-Mobile..etc. don't make the phones. People love to complain to the cell phone company that they are responsible for replacing the phone. The cell phone industry is one of the very few service industries that allows the customer to purchase the equipment there too. My cable company doesn't allow me to purchase TVs through them let alone replace my TV when it breaks, it is my responsibility to do so or go through the manufacturer to replace it. Cell phone providers actually sell you a phone with a warranty and will do the warranty process for you so you don't have to go through the manufacturer like Motorola or RIM.
Just my two cents about...
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Just my two cents about...
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I see your points....but my cable company works with any tv on the market, not just the ones they decide are good enough for me....Plus they also have the same policies for everyone, not different ones if the manager likes you or not.
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Plus....my cable company doesn't load my tv with things I don't need or block features my tv comes with.
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And you don't have to use your cable company either. Cell phones are not a necessity.
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Unfortunately....in everyday life in 2008 I consider cell phones a necessity.
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Actually, your service WILL vary with your cable company depending on who you get on the line with with customer service. It's called humanity, and it varies no matter what.
Cable companies are also monopolies so yes you can use your tv with any cable company you want, but if you want to go from Comcast to Roadrunner you'll have to move.
If the entire northeast was verizon, the midwest ATT and the westcoast Alltell, you would most likely be able to use phones across networks (oh, nationwide roaming would not exist without significant fees)
The reason cable doesn't care what equipment you use is because they get exclusivity through monopolies. Their only competition is through Dish and Direct TV, companies that do have exclusive ha...
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Cable companies are also monopolies so yes you can use your tv with any cable company you want, but if you want to go from Comcast to Roadrunner you'll have to move.
If the entire northeast was verizon, the midwest ATT and the westcoast Alltell, you would most likely be able to use phones across networks (oh, nationwide roaming would not exist without significant fees)
The reason cable doesn't care what equipment you use is because they get exclusivity through monopolies. Their only competition is through Dish and Direct TV, companies that do have exclusive ha...
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DAMOBILEGUY said:
The cell phone industry is one of the very few service industries that allows the customer to purchase the equipment there too. My cable company doesn't allow me to purchase TVs through them let alone replace my TV when it breaks, it is my responsibility to do so or go through the manufacturer to replace it. Cell phone providers actually sell you a phone with a warranty and will do the warranty process for you so you don't have to go through the manufacturer like Motorola or RIM.
Just my two cents about many customers in general.
WOW what a spin if I have ever read one.....Cell phone service providers "ALLOW" customers to purchase their equipment from them? Are you serious? they DEPEND ...
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Right on Avgjoe....nice to see that at least one person here, other then me, doesn't work for the cell phone companies or are fanboys.
Yesterday I went to the Verizon store, and I know I will get hammered for saying this....but the place reminded me of a used car lot....LOL
Yesterday I went to the Verizon store, and I know I will get hammered for saying this....but the place reminded me of a used car lot....LOL
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They do "ALLOW" you to purchase phones in the same place you can get service. Get an unlocked phone off of ebay and pop a sim into it and you are on your way NEVER have to buy one directly from at&t or T-Mobile. You can get phones from other sources for CDMA as well. Once again people don't realize that they don't have to provide the phone for you but they do. Once again, Verizon doesn't make the phones so when one breaks they don't have to be responsible for getting it fixed. Just like the cable company, they can tell you to go through your phone manufacturer to get it fixed not them. Read my post before you start to comment on it.
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Some people here are MAJORLY lacking any business sense. If you want to get down to the nitty gritty, no cell phone provider HAS to provide cell phones for their customer base, but it is by far in their best interest to do so. Having units to sell drives the customer base to your location to sign a contract. The "higher-ups" in your respective companies know this, which is why you sell phones. The notion that you are not responsible for fixing a phone you sell is absurd. You are 100% responsible from a legal stand point on what you sell, not to mention the one year warranty that you are supposed to honor in store. You are not selling the phone on consignment. Most phones have the carrier's logo on it. It is your product at that point, albeit...
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your scenario there is flawed. You signed a 2 yr contract when you got the Curve. The contract is there to make up for the loss on the price of the Curve. If less than a year later you come back and want to sign another 2 yr contract to get a phone for cheaper, why should we let you? You never finished your first contract, why should we give you another discount when in a few more months you're going to want to do it all over again....
and the upgrade fee is not a fee for you to sign a new contract. its becuase vzw is being nice enough to let you upgrade early. give and take my man. you want to be able to upgrade early, ok no problem, but you are going to pay for that convience (sp?).
and the upgrade fee is not a fee for you to sign a new contract. its becuase vzw is being nice enough to let you upgrade early. give and take my man. you want to be able to upgrade early, ok no problem, but you are going to pay for that convience (sp?).
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liquidfire said:
your scenario there is flawed. You signed a 2 yr contract when you got the Curve. The contract is there to make up for the loss on the price of the Curve. If less than a year later you come back and want to sign another 2 yr contract to get a phone for cheaper, why should we let you? You never finished your first contract, why should we give you another discount when in a few more months you're going to want to do it all over again....
and the upgrade fee is not a fee for you to sign a new contract. its becuase vzw is being nice enough to let you upgrade early. give and take my man. you want to be able to upgrade early, ok no problem, but you are going to pay for that convience (sp?).
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the one year warrenty is a manufactures warrenty, NOT a verizon warrenty. Furthermore, only stores with replacement phones avalable can honor it at that location, since warrenty phones are NOT new contract phones.
and as listed by liquidfire. If you signed a new contract to get the storm, verizon is eating the 200-300 discount they gave you on the curve in may for an additional 7 months of cellphone service (since your two year contract would go to may 2010, now it goes to december 2010). In addition to the 300-400 they are eating in discounts to get you the phone at the upgrade price.
So in total they are taking a loss of 700 dollars for 7 months of service. Let's even take out the loss on the storm since they will technically mak...
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and as listed by liquidfire. If you signed a new contract to get the storm, verizon is eating the 200-300 discount they gave you on the curve in may for an additional 7 months of cellphone service (since your two year contract would go to may 2010, now it goes to december 2010). In addition to the 300-400 they are eating in discounts to get you the phone at the upgrade price.
So in total they are taking a loss of 700 dollars for 7 months of service. Let's even take out the loss on the storm since they will technically mak...
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I do not work in the cellular industry, so I have to make some assumptions. If vzw would let me do an early upgrade after one year, I would have to go out on a limb and say that they would have recovered their loss on the phone I bought a year ago. That would only make practical business sense. On that notion, the loss isn't as great as you make it out to be if I got my phone in May and it is now almost January. That gives vzw 75% of the first year of a contract in recovering the cost of my phone. If the new 2 year contract on the storm will pay for the phone itself, then vzw is only "out" a very nominal sum. If that nominal sum will satisfy a long time and loyal customer, not to mention lock them in for 2 more years, it is a win-win situati...
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I think everyone here is taking all this the wrong way. As a customer I don't expect ANYTHING free from anyone....what I DO expect is for Verizon to treat me the same as the customer next to me.... Which in many instances it hasn't, why?...I have no clue. ☹️ , I guess I am just not as likable as the guy next to me?... 🤨
I owned a service based business for many years, and if a customer ever threatened to hit me (which happened once) I would be calling 911 in a heart beat, or waiting for the first hit to fly...so I could finish him off and have it be considered self defense... 🤣
I owned a service based business for many years, and if a customer ever threatened to hit me (which happened once) I would be calling 911 in a heart beat, or waiting for the first hit to fly...so I could finish him off and have it be considered self defense... 🤣
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fspilot1971 said:
I think everyone here is taking all this the wrong way. As a customer I don't expect ANYTHING free from anyone....what I DO expect is for Verizon to treat me the same as the customer next to me.... Which in many instances it hasn't, why?...I have no clue. ☹️ , I guess I am just not as likable as the guy next to me?... 🤨
I owned a service based business for many years, and if a customer ever threatened to hit me (which happened once) I would be calling 911 in a heart beat, or waiting for the first hit to fly...so I could finish him off and have it be considered self defense... 🤣
NO CARRIER delivers FREE phones. Only in Print.
Those phones are paid for a few times over with ser...
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we don't charge an upgrade fee, most stores don't charge that fee. The only time I've ever seen it charged is if the customer is an ahole the entire time the verizon rep is making an exception so they can upgrade early. If you want your contacts transferred, that is $10, but it is a service fee, not an upgrade fee.
They allow annual upgrades on high end rate plans only. This means you are paying more per month for service, you also need to have on time bill pays as well as several other qualifiers in order to get this. They "make up the costs" because it is a higher end plan.
Furthermore (at least around here) your annual upgrade is typically the 1 year upgrade price, not the 2 year because while you are signing a 2 year contract...
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They allow annual upgrades on high end rate plans only. This means you are paying more per month for service, you also need to have on time bill pays as well as several other qualifiers in order to get this. They "make up the costs" because it is a higher end plan.
Furthermore (at least around here) your annual upgrade is typically the 1 year upgrade price, not the 2 year because while you are signing a 2 year contract...
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Maybe I'm just "lucky", but my local vzw store tried to force me to pay it. I've worked retail from the bottom to being a GM, and I fully know how to present myself. I did all of my research before I went to the store to buy. When my name was called (there was a short line to wait in), I said "I'd like to buy a Curve please". He tried to make me pay $20. The reps in my local stores are complete a-holes. I asked to speak to a manager, and I was told no manager was on then. He also didn't want to honor my corporate discount. I had to call *611 while I stood in front of my wonderful salesman to get my discount, and get the $20 waived. I am not saying every vzw retail person is bad, but I absolutely hate dealing with them. They force me to have ...
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Are you going to a corp store? sounds like it from the line story, which doesn't make sense why they couldn't see the discount.
I know as an indirect, I can see access discounts, but I cannot see anything about phone price discounts or the like.
I know as an indirect, I can see access discounts, but I cannot see anything about phone price discounts or the like.
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Yeah, it was a regular corp store at the local mall. I don't know if the reps there get more of a commission if they screw you out of your discount, but it is always a battle. I literally had to argue for an hour to get the discount my company gets. When they finally agreed to a discount, they tried to start me at 10%, and I had to work up from there.
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I don't know how it works there, but around here, even at corp stores. most discounts are the price of the phone after rebate, just no rebate.
For accessories, we discount 25-30% if the customer has an access discount since we can't see their acc discount directly.
For accessories, we discount 25-30% if the customer has an access discount since we can't see their acc discount directly.
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My local store tried to give me 10% after fighting that I should get 25%. They said there was no discount for anyone on micro SD cards. I think they just have crappy people at the two corp stores closest to me.
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Micro sd cards are sold at a much lower profit than something like a case or a car charger, so i could see them not being as willing to discount them as much.
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Although that may be true, I was told I would get my discount on everything else I bought as an accessory. The local store tried to sell me at $129 woth no discount. I called *611, and they sold it for $99 less my discount, so I ended up paying around $75. A $45 difference is a big deal on that item. If there is a lower profit margin, say the discount excludes sd cards. Don't tell me one thing, and then have me get in for almost half off through *611.
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DAMOBILEGUY said:
They do "ALLOW" you to purchase phones in the same place you can get service. Get an unlocked phone off of ebay and pop a sim into it and you are on your way NEVER have to buy one directly from at&t or T-Mobile. You can get phones from other sources for CDMA as well. Once again people don't realize that they don't have to provide the phone for you but they do. Once again, Verizon doesn't make the phones so when one breaks they don't have to be responsible for getting it fixed. Just like the cable company, they can tell you to go through your phone manufacturer to get it fixed not them. Read my post before you start to comment on it.
More BS..Cable companies WILL replace the hardware THEY ...
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do the cable companies allow u to get service without a contract?
also avgjoe, have u seen those zeitgeist movies? you can watch them on movie6.net.
i would like to see your opinion on them, you tend to view things from a different angle from most.
also avgjoe, have u seen those zeitgeist movies? you can watch them on movie6.net.
i would like to see your opinion on them, you tend to view things from a different angle from most.
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Some do, but they also charge you money to take their equipment back. and they are local monopolies meaning there is only ever 1 cable company offered in an area, which is why they don't care much what equipment you use because you'll most likely be using it on their network unless you go for dish or do without any tv service.
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Right, cable companies also have draconic monopolies over the areas they service. As in, if comcast is in one area you CANNOT recieve cable from another carrier. You either need to get their service, get dish/directtv, or do without.
Would you really like that avgjoe? no nationwide coverage, insane roaming rates if your phone workd at all.. prices that go up every three months for no reason at all just for the convenience of using whatever phone you want on the system? that is, assuming, it is compatable with the "converter box" (network in a phones case)
Yeah, cable companies have AMAZING customer agreements. 🙄
as companies move to LTE, you'll see unsubsidized unlocked phones available for purchase. but a majority of c...
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Would you really like that avgjoe? no nationwide coverage, insane roaming rates if your phone workd at all.. prices that go up every three months for no reason at all just for the convenience of using whatever phone you want on the system? that is, assuming, it is compatable with the "converter box" (network in a phones case)
Yeah, cable companies have AMAZING customer agreements. 🙄
as companies move to LTE, you'll see unsubsidized unlocked phones available for purchase. but a majority of c...
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That's essentially the problem at hand with a lot of companies. There are policies to follow which are there to protect the customers as a whole and the company. Then, an exception is made, and another and another. From here there are "lucky" customers who get these exceptions, and "unlucky" ones who get the brick wall of the policy. It will always be this way because you have a certain number of employees who will make an exception based on if they like you or not, not your account status. And, on the flipside you have a lot of customers that abuse the exceptions to get what they want when they don't need it meaning that someone who does need it might not get it.
It's like that person that works under the table so that they can get unemp...
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It's like that person that works under the table so that they can get unemp...
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by VivaBeavis Today, 12:26 PM
Some people here are MAJORLY lacking any business sense. If you want to get down to the nitty gritty, no cell phone provider HAS to provide cell phones for their customer base, but it is by far in their best interest to do so. Having units to sell drives the customer base to your location to sign a contract. The "higher-ups" in your respective companies know this, which is why you sell phones. The notion that you are not responsible for fixing a phone you sell is absurd. You are 100% responsible from a legal stand point on what you sell, not to mention the one year warranty that you are supposed to honor in store. You are not selling the phone on consignment. Most phones have the carrier's logo on it. It is ...
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Some people here are MAJORLY lacking any business sense. If you want to get down to the nitty gritty, no cell phone provider HAS to provide cell phones for their customer base, but it is by far in their best interest to do so. Having units to sell drives the customer base to your location to sign a contract. The "higher-ups" in your respective companies know this, which is why you sell phones. The notion that you are not responsible for fixing a phone you sell is absurd. You are 100% responsible from a legal stand point on what you sell, not to mention the one year warranty that you are supposed to honor in store. You are not selling the phone on consignment. Most phones have the carrier's logo on it. It is ...
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I'm posting from someone else's laptop. It froze up and I didn't think the first post went through. I would erase one if I could. My deepest apologies.
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Lol the only reason customers are loyal is due to the contracts. Not many would cancel and pay the ETF. Good points though.
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VivaBeavis said:
by VivaBeavis Today, 12:26 PM
The notion that you are not responsible for fixing a phone you sell is absurd. You are 100% responsible from a legal stand point on what you sell, not to mention the one year warranty that you are supposed to honor in store.
Sorry, wrong. The manufacturers are responsible to honor their warranties.
Most phones have the carrier's logo on it. It is your product at that point, albeit by way of a third party manufacturer.
Placing advertisement on a product doesn't make it you're responsibility to service/repair that product. It is merely advertising. So why do carriers offer service and repair? Because they have an agreement with...
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mycool- Thank you for the good post. I like it when someone can be logical and speak in facts. You made some good points, and I am glad to see more specific figures than what I was guessing. When I updated to my Curve in May, I didn't get two free lg 5400, or any other phone for that matter. The other 2 lines kept their old phones, so that does change the math a bit.
I still don't see how you can say that the phones you sell aren't yours. I'm not trying to be a smartass here. I genuinely want to understand. I understand that there is not a verizon factory somewhere with elves that is cranking out lg, moto, and rim phones. They come from other manufacturers. Tell me this: If you bought a Dell computer, and you had a problem with your intel...
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I still don't see how you can say that the phones you sell aren't yours. I'm not trying to be a smartass here. I genuinely want to understand. I understand that there is not a verizon factory somewhere with elves that is cranking out lg, moto, and rim phones. They come from other manufacturers. Tell me this: If you bought a Dell computer, and you had a problem with your intel...
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VivaBeavis said:
mycool- Thank you for the good post. I like it when someone can be logical and speak in facts. You made some good points, and I am glad to see more specific figures than what I was guessing. When I updated to my Curve in May, I didn't get two free lg 5400, or any other phone for that matter. The other 2 lines kept their old phones, so that does change the math a bit.
Yes it does. Although, I'm too tired to redo it, but you can easily add back in the costs taken out.
I still don't see how you can say that the phones you sell aren't yours. I'm not trying to be a smartass here. I genuinely want to understand. I understand that there is not a verizon factory somewhere with elves...
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If you find any of those good employees, please send them to central NJ. We are in dire need in this market. Thanks again for having intelligent things to say.
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That's pretty hilarious to hear, not to mention I can vouch to its trueness due to having worked for VZW as a customer service representative and manager.
The best thing about being a manager was telling people who said: "Since I pay my bill on time every month and have been with you for 2 years I DEMAND an early upgrade and I don't want to pay what all your OTHER customers have to pay..." that unfortunately they were requesting to be PROVIDED a service that they pay for monthly. We don't give you free phones every 20 months because you pay your bill on time. We give you free phones every 20 months WITH A NEW 2 YEAR CONTRACT because that's how we're able to give them to you at these remarkable prices! The waiting time till your next upgra...
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The best thing about being a manager was telling people who said: "Since I pay my bill on time every month and have been with you for 2 years I DEMAND an early upgrade and I don't want to pay what all your OTHER customers have to pay..." that unfortunately they were requesting to be PROVIDED a service that they pay for monthly. We don't give you free phones every 20 months because you pay your bill on time. We give you free phones every 20 months WITH A NEW 2 YEAR CONTRACT because that's how we're able to give them to you at these remarkable prices! The waiting time till your next upgra...
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