Upgrade Charge Rant

[KathyArlene]

Just need to vent here.

A few weeks back I was perfectly happy with my little Nokia and my AT&T service.

Then came the intermittent service, dropped signals, the friends and family asking "Are you there?" while I listened and they couldn't hear me... went to the local AT&T store... oh right we upgraded the towers, you need a new SIM card, but we'll be nice and not charge you the $25 to upgrade the card.... by the way if you still have trouble you'll probably need a new phone (more $$$ in AT&Ts pockets). Went back the next day because of course I needed a new phone (I hadn't bought one in a few years so it was about time wasn't it?). Then I logo on to AT&T to pay my monthly bill... wow shocker, upgrade plus taxes puts my bill over the hundred mark... upgrade charge so I'm locked into another 2 years with AT&T.... so let me get the facts straight about AT&Ts business strategy...

1. change the signals so certain phone will have problems causing customers to...

2. find out they need a new sim card, but graciously "give" them an upgraded card, because AT&T knows the customer will be back...

3. to buy a new phone and "upgrade/renew" their AT&T contract at the customers' cost... so you end up paying to be a AT&T customer? Wow!!!

4. Customer is now "locked" into 2 more years of service, so AT&T can move their sights to other unsuspecting customers and secure their business for 2 years...

You may not care for what I just wrote, AT&T, but basically I'm infuriated by this modern sales tactic. I know you'll use your standard, fabricated munbo-jumbo marketing reply to make me look like an silly but I really don't care. I'm certain most wireless services do the same thing - doesn't make it right, does it? If it weren't for that tower upgrade made by you, I wouldn't have needed a new anything. And buying a new, improved phone is one thing, but the fact that every couple of years I get to "?upgrade?" my account so I can stay your customer for 2 more years does not make sense.

What would make sense is that you would reward loyal customers with great service and not feel the need to keep charging an upgrade fee to keep them.... but I guess common sense and business sense aren't the same thing.

I'll stay your "loyal" customer for the next few years, but I'm not too certain about "upgrading" again in 2014.

Rant finished.

[funbobby76]

Kathy -

I feel your pain.  I just stormed out of Verizon and switched over because I was so frustrated with the sales methodology you just described. What I found was that the collusion between the 4 major companies is just shocking. They have the same exact costs, the same 2 year service agreements, the same everything.  I wanted the cheapest phone possible and they sold me a phone that 2 days later I realized was completely unuseable because of the tower upgrades.  They gave me a new sim card and fortunately mine worked. However, it is tremendously frustrating how these wireless companies get away with what effectively amounts to price fixing. [Per Guidelines:  Keep it Relevant and Appropriate].

[JFizDaWiz]

2 year contacts are options, you can always buy a phone at full price or even on Ebay for a bit cheaper.

[Reinimake]

Well said.  I'm in full agreement that "common sense and business sense aren't the same thing."  Common sense says reward those who stay with you through all of the crap you put your customers through, while business sense says screw those who stay with you because they don't know any better and everyone else is doing the same thing."

[Reinimake]

Gotta love how you try to stick up for your company. Yeah, you can pay AT&T $400-700+ for a phone without signing a 2 year contract. But if you do that not only are you out the money for your phone, you'll still have to pay AT&T's outrageous fees and jump through all of their hoops.

[JFizDaWiz]

I'm not sticking up for att, IM giving you options