Why do customers think they are ENTITLED to a free phone??
I guess I don't understand this concept and probably never will. I mean, you don't go into a GM dealership and say "I think I've earned a free car because this is my 3rd GM vehicle". And you also don't walk into WalMart and say "I've shopped here loyally for 8 years, I think my purchases should be free today". You would be laughed right out of the store and righfully so.
So.....if anyone out there can logically explain this phenomenon to me, I would greatly appreciate it. âšī¸
So.....if anyone out there can logically explain this phenomenon to me, I would greatly appreciate it. âšī¸
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stand, clap, and applaud loudly. I couldn't agree more with your statement. I for one am sick of it too. Don't get me wrong, I love my loyal customers, but you are totally right. Great analogy!!!
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Its just that they see the competition giving away free phones with activation and expect the same from VZW. I just tell customers that they'll get what they pay for.
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because thinking otherwise would be using logic and sense, and that would be against the rules.
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WORD TO THE SMUG SALES PEOPLE
If the carriers are going to hold their customers hostage with contracts, then phones should be free.
I don't agree that someone should get a free replacement for a phone that they broke themselves.
I also don't buy the phone cost subsidizing reason for contracts either. If the carriers weren't sooo greedy and lowered phone prices then people wouldn't be asking for free phones.
If the carriers are going to hold their customers hostage with contracts, then phones should be free.
I don't agree that someone should get a free replacement for a phone that they broke themselves.
I also don't buy the phone cost subsidizing reason for contracts either. If the carriers weren't sooo greedy and lowered phone prices then people wouldn't be asking for free phones.
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How many people here got a free phone when they got a landline in their hose hooked up?
I see this as similar, you buy the service and have to buy the equipment to use the service.
You don't buy an XM radio subscription and get a free receiver. You don't buy broadband internet and get a free computer. I see cell phones as the same, you need to get the equipment to make use of the service, the service provider shouldn't be required to give you what you need. They're in business to make money, not just provide you with a convenience item.
FYI, once you buy the initial phone you can upgrade for next to nothing every 2 years. I bought an E-815 in July but only paid the tax on $50 of it since I had my $100 NE2 credit and the $50 mail...
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I see this as similar, you buy the service and have to buy the equipment to use the service.
You don't buy an XM radio subscription and get a free receiver. You don't buy broadband internet and get a free computer. I see cell phones as the same, you need to get the equipment to make use of the service, the service provider shouldn't be required to give you what you need. They're in business to make money, not just provide you with a convenience item.
FYI, once you buy the initial phone you can upgrade for next to nothing every 2 years. I bought an E-815 in July but only paid the tax on $50 of it since I had my $100 NE2 credit and the $50 mail...
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Actually had a customer come in yesterday who started service in Feb this year.
Said she had gotten mad and broken her phone, she wanted another one for free, we told her she was not entitled to a new one for about another 14 months, she got ticked off and said "I don't feel like I should have to pay for a new phone, I pay my service EVERY month!"
Than she said how Verizon is crap and she was going to switch to Sprint because they would have given her a new phone for free.
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Said she had gotten mad and broken her phone, she wanted another one for free, we told her she was not entitled to a new one for about another 14 months, she got ticked off and said "I don't feel like I should have to pay for a new phone, I pay my service EVERY month!"
Than she said how Verizon is crap and she was going to switch to Sprint because they would have given her a new phone for free.
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If I ever figure out the answer to this, I will let you know.
I had a customer call the other day, she and her son had gotten into a car accident. While I understood that she needed a new phone because that one was totaled, she wasn't eligible for a free phone. She brought her phone with her when opening the service in February, so I advised that she's eligible for 2 yr price since she signed a 2 yr agreement, then proceeded to give her the 2 yr prices on new phones.
She kept telling me "But I told you that I can't afford to pay for a phone. I'm broke because of the accident. You need to give me a free phone." I just had to keep telling her in a polite way that it's not our fault she got into an accident and is broke and can't affor...
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I had a customer call the other day, she and her son had gotten into a car accident. While I understood that she needed a new phone because that one was totaled, she wasn't eligible for a free phone. She brought her phone with her when opening the service in February, so I advised that she's eligible for 2 yr price since she signed a 2 yr agreement, then proceeded to give her the 2 yr prices on new phones.
She kept telling me "But I told you that I can't afford to pay for a phone. I'm broke because of the accident. You need to give me a free phone." I just had to keep telling her in a polite way that it's not our fault she got into an accident and is broke and can't affor...
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If you understand your customers then you will understand why they fell that way. Seems like you do not take the time out for that. Customers feel like that because we have lusy reps that do not explain everything to them. You sell them a free phone but never tell them that if they break, lose, or damage their phone it will cost them xxx amount of dollars. These customers are new to wireless and some do not fully understand how we operate. So to them, its a free phone they feel it will always be free. Now if you tell them well mr/Mrs customer, this phone is free but if you damage the phone it will cost you xx amount to replace, then you will not have those customers wanting free phones when something happens to theirs. Also carefully explain...
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AGREED!!! I don't put the prices out on my phones. I keep a price list. I show them the FULL RETAIL right off the bat. That is the first thing I show. I explain this to them using the cable TV analogy. The old what if...what if you were looking at a TV that cost 200.00 and the cable company said that if you sign a two year commitment to keep your service with them, they would front you the 200.00 to buy the TV. Same thing here. This phone costs xxx.xx but if you sign a one year contract you can get the phone DISCOUNTED to xx.xx if you sign a two year xx.xx and so forth. This really clears up the confusion. I hate the dealers that you walk up to at the mall, or into at their locations and all you see is FREE PHONES 40.00 CAMERA P...
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great replay, thought I would get an angry rep but it seems you know whats going on....
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You completely missed the point. Re-read the original post. If you break your TV, your cable company does not have to give you a new one. The point is that it's the same way with Cell service.
And I do tell my customers about the replacement cost, and advise they should get a phone that they want to have for two years...all of my colleagues do the same thing.
Don't forget, it's also up to the customer to learn the terms of their agreement with us. By signing the agreement, they should know what they can and can't do. It's just like any other contract, just because you didn't pay attention and read the information, doesn't mean that you're not bound to that agreement, you are. You don't buy a car without knowing the exact terms of...
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And I do tell my customers about the replacement cost, and advise they should get a phone that they want to have for two years...all of my colleagues do the same thing.
Don't forget, it's also up to the customer to learn the terms of their agreement with us. By signing the agreement, they should know what they can and can't do. It's just like any other contract, just because you didn't pay attention and read the information, doesn't mean that you're not bound to that agreement, you are. You don't buy a car without knowing the exact terms of...
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reread my post and get back at me, seems like one person understood it so far
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I'll tell you why they are entitled to a free phone. Walmart shoppers aren't stuck in a contract. Verizon gives this to its customars to reel em back in for another 2 years. If this didn't happen Verizon would be screwed.
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How would Verizon be 'screwed', pray tell? Even with a 2 year contract, if the service was bad, people would jump ship at the end of the contract, and Verizon's churn numbers would be high despite the contracts. But they aren't, they're super-low, actually.
If your service is sub-par, a contract only DELAYS ppl leaving, it doesn't prevent it. đ
If your service is sub-par, a contract only DELAYS ppl leaving, it doesn't prevent it. đ
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So then if I buy a car and have a 5 year loan, I can come back in 2 years and get a free car? I don't think so....
We would be just fine even if we didn't require an agreement. Our service is reliable, we have decent phones, we have the best network out there. We would still have plenty of customers.
We would be just fine even if we didn't require an agreement. Our service is reliable, we have decent phones, we have the best network out there. We would still have plenty of customers.
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I don't work for any wireless carriers so my view is obviously customer slanted.
A little about me 1st. I have used cell phones for over 20 years, back in the days when the main unit was mounted in my trunk and literally took up 1/2 of the trunk! Back then phones were pretty cheap and you did not think about upgrading every 3 months because frankly there was no real upgrades to be had. Of course my monthly bill was like $800-1000 which, upon reflection was just fine with me and frankly, I do miss those good 'ole days! Today, the phones get smaller, the features are richer and of course the "coolness factor" (i.e. Razr) kicks in and everyone wants a new phone every other month!
As for your specific question though, we live in a world w...
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A little about me 1st. I have used cell phones for over 20 years, back in the days when the main unit was mounted in my trunk and literally took up 1/2 of the trunk! Back then phones were pretty cheap and you did not think about upgrading every 3 months because frankly there was no real upgrades to be had. Of course my monthly bill was like $800-1000 which, upon reflection was just fine with me and frankly, I do miss those good 'ole days! Today, the phones get smaller, the features are richer and of course the "coolness factor" (i.e. Razr) kicks in and everyone wants a new phone every other month!
As for your specific question though, we live in a world w...
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so you're basically saying you would prefer that all wireless companies eliminate contracts and simply sell the phones at full retail price?
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No, not really. In other words I would still sign a 1 or 2 year contract but if I wanted to upgrade/buy a new phone in that time period, don't extend my contract further or kill me on the new phone price.
Is $300 (depending on the phone) reasonable for an upgrade? Yeah, its competitive with eBay so I can live with that.
Again, eventhough my average montly bill is around $240, I don't expect anything for free just fairness.
Is $300 (depending on the phone) reasonable for an upgrade? Yeah, its competitive with eBay so I can live with that.
Again, eventhough my average montly bill is around $240, I don't expect anything for free just fairness.
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I wish everybody thought this way, most customers want a phone w/ speaker, bluetooth, flip, camera, video, small, v cast and everything I missed for free.
Today I pitched the 8100 for $99 to a customer and they laughed at me and said that $100 for a phone was redicilous, they said if I could get it under $50 they would consider it, my cost on that phone is $290! My point is that MOST customers EXPECT to get a top of the line phone for free/very little money.
Dont even get me started on when a customer looses their phone or breaks it and is not eligable for an upgrade, and you have to explain to them what phones cost full retail. đ
Today I pitched the 8100 for $99 to a customer and they laughed at me and said that $100 for a phone was redicilous, they said if I could get it under $50 they would consider it, my cost on that phone is $290! My point is that MOST customers EXPECT to get a top of the line phone for free/very little money.
Dont even get me started on when a customer looses their phone or breaks it and is not eligable for an upgrade, and you have to explain to them what phones cost full retail. đ
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Well, let me shoot myself in the foot, maybe, and say this about that. WHEN my contract expires and IF I have either not upgraded my phone from VZW or paid full boat for it if I did, PLEASE look at the monthly dollar amount of my business and please give me a really good deal on a new phone.
As for the features that you mentioned, don't even get me started! Sure, please give me BT, but save the camera, video, etc., etc, for someone else. I am old school and just want a phone with good battery life, BT and works in most places that I am.
As for the features that you mentioned, don't even get me started! Sure, please give me BT, but save the camera, video, etc., etc, for someone else. I am old school and just want a phone with good battery life, BT and works in most places that I am.
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infinitehorizon said:
so you're basically saying you would prefer that all wireless companies eliminate contracts and simply sell the phones at full retail price?
This is pretty much how it is in any other country. Phones are unlocked (and expensive) but plp don't have contracts.
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I think it's all in the advertising. Carrier A offers a free phone on all media formats. Customers will go for it because of the shear fact that "Hey, I getting something for free." Then other carriers follow suit with advertising and such till the market is flood with free phones (with 2 yr agreement in small print). So when when a customer calls in because their 15 yr old son breaks his phone just for the heck of it, the customer doesn't know the value of their phone, until a CS rep or store rep clues them in. VZW does a pretty good job as it's free phone are with a purchase. BOGO free or BOG2 or 3 free, etc. But then you get a stand alone line person who wants to get the 2 phones under the BOGO.
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Why dont you stop whining like a bitch and send me your customers, ill help 'em out...
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check around you can find free phones with verizon, just look at dealers or verizon's website. If you want just a phone you can find a free phone. If you want a camera/flip/color screen/ and so on these are additions to a phone and you should pay extra for that.Crap verizon's website has the 8910 for free, that phone is crap but it is probably one of the nicest "free" phones i have ever seen. look at the 8100 for 100 bucks, two years ago that phone would have been 500 bucks! crap i paid 250 for a moto 720 with a contract and that phone was garbage! people just need to be realistic đ
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I can see both sides of this. I can see why a customer would want and should get either a free or extremely discounted phone at start-up and at proper upgrading times.
However, I am also driven insane by people assuming that Verizon should be giving everything away because
a) They don't want to use their insurance
b) They have damaged/lost their phones
c) Wish they had a nicer phone
Verizon has a very fair upgrade policy and it is specifically based on the company's net gain from user ARPU. If we gave away phones at the rate that other companies are giving them away, we wouldn't be the only company running in the black. And I don't know about anyone else but I sure wouldn't want a free phone from a company that could file Chapter ...
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However, I am also driven insane by people assuming that Verizon should be giving everything away because
a) They don't want to use their insurance
b) They have damaged/lost their phones
c) Wish they had a nicer phone
Verizon has a very fair upgrade policy and it is specifically based on the company's net gain from user ARPU. If we gave away phones at the rate that other companies are giving them away, we wouldn't be the only company running in the black. And I don't know about anyone else but I sure wouldn't want a free phone from a company that could file Chapter ...
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