The reason Cingular might loose in the end
I am a knowledgeable person when it comes to Cingular. After having the service and formerly working for Cingular, I can say that so much good has come from Cingular. Despite the good, there is bad. I'm hoping someone important will read this and do something about it. One problem Cingular has is the upgrade policy. 21 months into the 24 month contract, the customer can upgrade. Most of of the phones that we sale probably won't make it to the full term, leaving the customer to pay a ridiculous price for their next phone. Next is the Customer service. I dealt with a different group of people when it comes to customers. I don't deal with Customer service. I do however hear complaints about CS. This must be fixed. Next is the price, cingular is...
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- Correction -
You Stated:
"I will say though, Unlimited Mobile to Mobile and Unlimited Nights and Weekends are a good feature that no on else can offer. You can talk to 51.1 million people for FREE."
However:
Verizon has what they call "IN" any Verizon user calling another Verizon user, 24/7, is free, uses no minutes, and can be long distance... They also have unlimited nights and weekends... (Of course you ONLY have about 42 million people to talk to on the Verizon system...)
~ TMBS ~
You Stated:
"I will say though, Unlimited Mobile to Mobile and Unlimited Nights and Weekends are a good feature that no on else can offer. You can talk to 51.1 million people for FREE."
However:
Verizon has what they call "IN" any Verizon user calling another Verizon user, 24/7, is free, uses no minutes, and can be long distance... They also have unlimited nights and weekends... (Of course you ONLY have about 42 million people to talk to on the Verizon system...)
~ TMBS ~
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Correction to your correction. You can talk to 47+ million people on the Verzion system, not 42 million.
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Correction
You Stated:
Verizon has what they call "IN" any Verizon user calling another Verizon user, 24/7, is free, uses no minutes, and can be long distance... They also have unlimited nights and weekends... (Of course you ONLY have about 42 million people to talk to on the Verizon system...)
However
VZW has NOW a cust base of 47.4 million custs. 😉
You Stated:
Verizon has what they call "IN" any Verizon user calling another Verizon user, 24/7, is free, uses no minutes, and can be long distance... They also have unlimited nights and weekends... (Of course you ONLY have about 42 million people to talk to on the Verizon system...)
However
VZW has NOW a cust base of 47.4 million custs. 😉
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Of course, none of that matters if the plans are too expensive. Cingular higher-ups are afraid to mention the 'V' word, yet our plans mirror theirs.
If Cingular wants to gain the upper hand once again, they need to go back to the original plans that were made available after the merger. Believe or not, there are customers who would like 19.99 and 29.99 plans, and unlimited mobile-to-mobile to all the customers in the world doesn't matter if you can't afford the 39.99+ plans.
As far as customer service, morale is at an all-time low in call centers, and as much as we tried to put it behind us to do our jobs, its gonna show over the phone. Reps are being underpaid, undertrained, and misinformed. Reps get frustrated trying to do their job...
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If Cingular wants to gain the upper hand once again, they need to go back to the original plans that were made available after the merger. Believe or not, there are customers who would like 19.99 and 29.99 plans, and unlimited mobile-to-mobile to all the customers in the world doesn't matter if you can't afford the 39.99+ plans.
As far as customer service, morale is at an all-time low in call centers, and as much as we tried to put it behind us to do our jobs, its gonna show over the phone. Reps are being underpaid, undertrained, and misinformed. Reps get frustrated trying to do their job...
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The thing is many carriers are raising their rates it is not just cingular. also with the 19.99 plans and 29.99 plans well they are not cost effective. if a company spends more to keep that kind of customer what purpose is to have that customer? that is what prepaid service is for. The upgrade thing you mentioned you failed to say this is for migration to the new cingular from the former attws. and it is not in all markets. but this is for discount pricing. If you look in the other forums you see people complain about the upgrade policies of their carriers. Over all most carriers are fairly similar to what they offer. Not exact but at the overall picture they are not all that different. Certain things may differ a lot but not everything.
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Your plans are going the way ours in Canada are... we pay for Caller Id, have to pay for voicemail etc. Plus Mobile to mobile is not that common. No LD for free at all. Less competition = higher prices.
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ConvergysSlave said:
Your plans are going the way ours in Canada are... we pay for Caller Id, have to pay for voicemail etc. Plus Mobile to mobile is not that common. No LD for free at all. Less competition = higher prices.
I know what we have I am in Canada 🙂 😎 I love to see ours improve maybe once we get LNP for the wireless phones it may happy we had for years on wireline phones
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Ever consider the possibility that the migration rules of 21 of 24 and 11 or 12 are in place to slow down migrations as opposed to make a buck?
Think of it... millions upon millions of customers all of a sudden being send new Cingular phones set up on rate plans, new activations and all the hassles that go along with doing so. It was just a matter of sheer volume and a need to slow the wave of migrations.
Rate plan pricing being raised could also be attributed to the huge increase in customers. You know sometimes more isn't always better. Especially when you dealing with billing systems plus being expected to provide customer service over the phone with a live rep and so on. Whats the sense of having 70 million customers if you...
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Think of it... millions upon millions of customers all of a sudden being send new Cingular phones set up on rate plans, new activations and all the hassles that go along with doing so. It was just a matter of sheer volume and a need to slow the wave of migrations.
Rate plan pricing being raised could also be attributed to the huge increase in customers. You know sometimes more isn't always better. Especially when you dealing with billing systems plus being expected to provide customer service over the phone with a live rep and so on. Whats the sense of having 70 million customers if you...
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Yeah just not as many customers more like 52 or 53 million but yes that is part of the rules is to slow down migration as well.
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As far as the phones go, I have phones that are 4 years old that are still in working order, just no service because I upgraded to gsm, and when I did that my t68m is working just fine even to this day. CS has been hit and miss, mostly hit though, rate plans, yeah they are a lil pricy but what do you want in a network, a cadillac (cingular) or a hyundai (tmobile), and the last time I checked, cingular was a for profit company which means they are in it to make a buck. I think if the customer service/billing issues were fixed things would be a lot better.
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One customer ... agrees with original poster. Cingular locks the phone to their own network, right? Therefore, they should sell existing customers any phone desired at cost + $25 (pick a reasonable number) plus a six-month extension. After all, the customer is still committed and it's still monthly revenue.
The idea that a company's in business to make a buck is valid only to a certain point ... the point at which a competitor is willing to offer the same service for less. It seems to me that Cingular is missing this critically important caveat.
I like GSM, I'm grudgingly accepting of poor CS, and I've completely given up on any hope of a reasonable website (it's the worst I've ever experienced). My contract runs another 20 months, and...
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The idea that a company's in business to make a buck is valid only to a certain point ... the point at which a competitor is willing to offer the same service for less. It seems to me that Cingular is missing this critically important caveat.
I like GSM, I'm grudgingly accepting of poor CS, and I've completely given up on any hope of a reasonable website (it's the worst I've ever experienced). My contract runs another 20 months, and...
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To let you know. Cingular is not the only carrier to lock their phones. They all do. If you tried to bring verizon phone to Sprint they will not activate it. even though both are CDMA. If You want the GSM phone unlock from cingular. It can be done provided you paid full Retail price of the device or canceled service and paid the ETF. It makes absolutely no seance to take a loss on a device and sell it unlocked so you can cancel and use it on another carrier. also well these are private companies and have shareholders to answer to not to mention it is America and it America is all about Capitalism.
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Remember what I wrote, they should be willing to sell any phone at "cost + $25." That just means selling their locked phone at cost plus commission.
The Audi5600 is available on eBay, unlocked, for less than Cingular's price with a 2 year contract. You're deluded if you think Cingular is losing money on the higher-end phones.
You're also forgetting the part about competition. Shareholders expect a return, true enough. But pricing your product above the competition LOSES CUSTOMERS.
Guess what a declining share does to the shareholders? Shares drop in value very quickly ... another two quarters with competing carriers picking up more customers than Cingular ... your stock will be in the tank.
The Audi5600 is available on eBay, unlocked, for less than Cingular's price with a 2 year contract. You're deluded if you think Cingular is losing money on the higher-end phones.
You're also forgetting the part about competition. Shareholders expect a return, true enough. But pricing your product above the competition LOSES CUSTOMERS.
Guess what a declining share does to the shareholders? Shares drop in value very quickly ... another two quarters with competing carriers picking up more customers than Cingular ... your stock will be in the tank.
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You really are delusional! For starters phones on ebay are not all what they are cracked up to be. some are not locked some are not compatible because they are not 850 or 1900 not to mention many may be ripped off or used. You want to compare the cost look at the manufactures suggested retail price for the product. Also the stores do tend to sell the phones at below cost and tend to lose money on phones almost all the time. And AGIN CINGULAR IS NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO LOCKS THIER PHONES!!!!!!!!!!! this is an industry wide practice. So how is that all of sudden cingular is the bad guy on this? T Mobile does, Verizon does , Sprint does it. Profitability is the biggest factor in how well shares do. If cingulars business practices keep a decent cu...
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The audiovox 5600 is less than $250 (before rebate) or $200 (after rebate) on ebay? I wouldn't be surprised with either, but I can't look from work.
The audiovox costs my store $311 to buy, and I don't sell it for less than $361. Is a price like that something you would expect when purchasing a phone at full price?
The audiovox costs my store $311 to buy, and I don't sell it for less than $361. Is a price like that something you would expect when purchasing a phone at full price?
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they do sell phones at the no commitment price. we as sales people do not make commissions on selling phones outright, so the price you pay at full retail isn't far off of the cost. we do something better, we don't extend your contract when you do pay full price for a phone. and no you won't be forced to change your rate plan unless you want too, but that plan sucks cause it has no m2m or night and weekends.
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If a customer wants to buy a phone from me at full price there is no contract extension. They own the phone, and I think it's good for them. We also offer phones below cost if people are willing to sign a contract. I don't think that's too odd of a situation, but I think most people don't realize the actual cost of a phone.
Also, your plan should stay the same until you change it yourself. I've never heard of a Cingular plan that has an expiration date.
Also, your plan should stay the same until you change it yourself. I've never heard of a Cingular plan that has an expiration date.
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I have always suggested a one year contract other than a two year since the manufacturers warranty is only one year. Luckily, we FINALLY offer an extended warranty, and if you get out of my store without also getting insurance then you've turned it down after a lengthy explaination of what it covers.
I don't see any problem with a $4.99 data package to get the full discounted pricing. It should be on every printed add, and at least the discount is instant. Wireless phones are moving into wireless data devices, and this is a good way to introduce customers to it and give them a savings on the handset.
I don't see any problem with a $4.99 data package to get the full discounted pricing. It should be on every printed add, and at least the discount is instant. Wireless phones are moving into wireless data devices, and this is a good way to introduce customers to it and give them a savings on the handset.
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