Shop Talk

Something I tell my customers when they start getting all, "I want more because I'm a customer, and I think I should get more..."

"You know this phone also comes with a gold-plated Rolls Royce for an additional $400,000. Would you be interested in it? It's a clear deal, as most gold-plated Rolls go for at LEAST $500,000."

Think about it.

The pricing on the phones is not rebated for new or existing customers, it's rebated for a contract. I realize this is going to sound rude but I don't know you so I have no reason to be mean or rude: Why should you get an additional rebate for being an existing customer? What have you done above and beyond your original agreement w/ them? You paid your bill on time and didn't complain? That is what you are supposed to do. They lived up to there obligation, are you gonna reward them? You are going to resign a new contract yes, but they are going to give you a discount on the phone. I don't understand why people think they are entitled to additional savings for doing what they are supposed to do. That's all.....I'm not trying to s...
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wow....that was so perfectly stated. Thats what I always think...I pay my electric and heating bill every month on time for 10 years and they dont give me anything for free. Why do people expect it from cell phone carriers? You said it so perfect.

Thank you for actually answering the question I was asking. This is exactly why I am asking here before calling in. Because I have never worked Care I do not know what IS reasonable.

I should also like to point out that I NEVER said I was going to cancel. I have no intention of even using that word, people who threaten to cancel to get free phones disgust me. If I don't get the discount I want I simply won't upgrade and my lines will stay outside of contract, leaving my options open.

Now to come back around and continue explaining... (and I really do love a good rolling debate by the way so if we can keep it on this kind of professional level I can go back and forth all day.)

My understanding, and the reason I detailed my plan a...
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you may have additional pull because what you do above and beyond normal customers is that you work for a BigPink call center helping their other customers

That may also work in the reverse and they may say no to what they would have said yes to for a normal customer because I'm expected to be able to deal with it.

Well go to an aagent A GOOD ONE in your area. normally you can work a deal with the right person for upgrading 2 lines. i used to work for big pink on the agent side if you get a good agent they can really work for you. what area are you in?

btw pay scale agents get payed isnt quite that. if a phone retails at 350 it cost 300 to the dealer.
normally there is a 100 dollar profit minimum per sale. upgrades pay about 150 or so to the agent so you might get a discount. maybe more now idk maybe 195 havent looked in so long 😛 if you did that and knew someone who needed another line you could give them an old phone and piggy back off that. Because dealers are payed very well on new not so much on upgrades.

I used to work for sprint and i only dealt with custys near the end of there contract typically they would be eligable for either a 10%discount or a 50 or 70 dollar credit if they resigned there contract in addition to the standard discount off the cost of a new phone. I do not know if the other companys have the same offers but why not call in and ask?

That's what I was going to say. I think that if she calls in and talks to someone then maybe they could work out something of a better deal.

And I intend to talk to them once I have come to some conclusions here however I have no intention of leaving the company I am with, I just need a new phone and know what I want.

Again, see what anb authorized indirect dealer offers before going to customer care. Because that's the only way to get anything substantial from customer care.

That's not a bad idea, we have a number of indirects in our area.

I'm always a little leery of indirect agents because I have heard and dealt with many horror stories however I think that as long as you are prudent and read all the terms on the paperwork and you're fine.

Use a reputable name.

We actually break even at month 7.

And I wasn't complaining, I just want a solid idea what Customer Care agents are looking at and what is reasonable (I keep saying that) to ask for.

The reason I detailed my plan so much is to try and explain that the company I have service with makes MORE profit off of me (and I have shown them that over the past 4 years) than they do off of many other customers because I do pay for quite a bit more than I actually use.

hereticcavi said:
it typically takes 13 months for them to break even on what they initially discounted off the phone.

Sonme phones less some phones more. But yes it takes anywhere from 7 to 13 months to make back the profit on the phone. And? How does that justify paying 300 dollars for a phone and getting 150 off if the etf is 200? Sorry, but that makes no sense. This is why indirect dealers offer better prices. Yes it will take them a year to make that money back, or etf, but they make it easier to sell the same phone that a direct store will charge 150 or more for.

And I keep saying, I don't want to go new, I just want to upgrade but you have got me thinking so here's a whole new series of questions for indirect dealers instead of Care agents, because, as I keep saying, I am willing to resign two contracts for one phone.

Indirects have a lot more flexibility correct? They can pick and choose what they want to discount. They get their commission based on the contracts they sign up and the renewals they get correct? So would the Two Contract thing have more weight when talking to an indirect store agent since they will get the higher commission for getting two contracts? It's something I hadn't considered.

Nikoletta said:
, I am willing to resign two contracts for one phone.

Why would one phone have two contracts? Rephrase please.

I have three total contracts. I would be willing to renew the contract on two lines to get a better discount on one phone. Since we use SIM cards it doesn't matter which line the phone goes on.

Oh gotchya. Another thing that indirects do differently than directs. You don't have to get one at 200 to get the other for free or 50 before mail in rebate or other bs. You can do them all free. What company are you using and what features are you looking for in each phone?

I have T-Mobile (I also work for them) and I'm only wanting to upgrade the one line... the other two users are happy with their phones and are not the kind of "power user" that I am... I use my phone for internet, e-mail, text messaging, and as a phone... the other two use theirs almost only as phones and for the occasional text message... so their phones don't get as much wear and tear as mine so theirs are in much better shape (the one line he barely even takes it from his desk, it largely lives on the table next to the couch.) I also want a UMA device that can take advantage of the Wi-Fi network that I have at home, at my parent's home, and at the college I will be attending next fall (the normal coverage is sub-optimal but the campus has...
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https://www.phonescoop.com/phones/finder_results.php ... »

uma tmobile phones. You can also get an unlocked uma gsm phone. You won't get any deals but you're not extending your contract either.

Oh yeah you want the pda devices..I have no idea why it lists crap like the 6085. The pda it lists will be able to do your wifi needs. The curve will give you a full keyboard for texting. Don't need a data addon to get them either, despite what the sales person says.

I know, I was sales for a while, now I'm web sales support, so I'm fairly familiar with all of the phones. Not a huge fan of the curve as it will still primarily be a phone, not a data device. The UMA is Wi-Fi for voice calls, so I can use the Internet network in place of towers to make calls.

voice over ip?

Well anyway I don't know how you would go about that on the nokia 6085 you'll have to explain that to me.

Yes, it's VOIP... kinda.

Only reason I recomended the curve is because of the qwerty keyboard since you mentioned you enjoy txt msging.

The Pearl also has the QWERTY but as SureType, I've tried it and like it quite a bit.

Um, it has nothing to do with your service. The contract is still with whatever carrier you got. The phone is the product you're purchasing from the indirect dealer. You don't want to save some cash that's your deal it's the same ****ing contract from the same ****ing provider.

K, so your totally not following my question.

I'm trying to ask, about indirects. Do they get the same commission (since that's how they are able to offer the discounts) for upgrades as they do for new adds and do they get that commission per contract or only when they sell a phone?

I'm curious, are you like bi-polar? I ask because you seriously go from being completely reasonable and intelligent to a total jerk in like five minutes and then back.

I am a 100% logical person. If you ask me a serious question I will answer seriously. Indirect make comission differently than direct. Some indirects, like walmart, do not make comission. Others do.

Nik,

To actually ANSWER your question: No, indirects make a lot more money on a new act than they would an upgrade. It's usually about double. That's why they rely on "false churn" to make their money. Remember; Even though you might get a better price on the phone you would still have to pay a new activation fee etc..
My best advice is to call care and threaten to cancel that line. Once you mention the word "cancel" they'll transfer you to saves and they are the only ones authorized to lower prices at all on upgrades. In this case, as much as I hate to say it, the squeaky whell gets the grease and you may end up getting the phone cheaper. The 8120 won't be free but you might save yourself a fw bucks at least.


Good nigh...
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averagewhiteboy said:
Even though you might get a better price on the phone you would still have to pay a new activation fee etc..

Wrong. This depends on the indirect. It depends on if they price them all the same or different for addalines/upgrades. It also depends on what specials they got going. We give a bill credit for each and every new activation. For some carriers during certain times we even have free activation, not even a credit needed. This guy is making a lot of inaccurate assumptions.

My best advice is to call care and threaten to cancel that line. Once you mention the word "cancel" they'll transfer you to saves and they are the only ones authorized to lower prices at al

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I also refused to use the crappy tactic of threatening to cancel, it just rubs me the wrong way.

I debated replying to this for a bit. First let me commend you on being wellspoken and on choosing not to go the churn route (a battle I fight daily). Second, my general response to customers is that, yes you have paid us x number of dollars per month but you received service in return. So the x number of dollars is not profit. It pays me, keeps the lights on and your calls going through. Last piece (already stated) is to shop your indirects nd ask the upgrade price. Some will be higher, some will be lower. Some are commissioned, some are not. I wouldn't expect a free BB, but a deeply discounted sale isn't out of the question. Goodluck.

wow....

sorry once a month i get a slow day its like my period sales wise...so you know, caffeine + internet

= crack right?