What are the benefits of a valued customer

[Vtpittman]

I have a complaint and recommendation.  I have been an AT&T customer longer than I can remember (since the early 80's w/home phone).  For the last 10 years or so (home phone, cellular, & internet), I've had a family plan with 4 phones.  Usually, no...not usually, but my daughter always upgrade her telephone every two years and sometimes in between time.  My husband, however,  usually keep a phone until he just must have a new one.  Well, he needs a new phone, but is not due for an upgrade until the end of the year (thanks to my daughter using one of his upgrades).  I went in to a store to purchase him a new iphone and was prepared to pay the $200, but i was told that I would also have to pay and additional $250 for an early upgrade.

My complaint!  What is the benefit of being a loyal paying customer for 30 years of more? And, when I need a phone I have to pay an extra cost because I'm a loyal customer.  However, Mojoe can walk off the street and get a new iphone for $199 and that's it.  No history with AT&T.  In fact, many customers go from carrier to carrier to take advantage of the discounted phones.

Recommendation!  After 3 to 5 years of loyal service why not allow customer to puchase a phone when they want.  Heck! AT&T ain't loosing money.  In fact, we'll continue to pay our monthly bill and spend extra purchasing new phones.  If there is no benefit to being a long term customer, why continue to stay with AT&T?

[wingrider01 ACE - Geek]

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Vtpittman wrote:

I have a complaint and recommendation.  I have been an AT&T customer longer than I can remember (since the early 80's w/home phone).  For the last 10 years or so (home phone, cellular, & internet), I've had a family plan with 4 phones.  Usually, no...not usually, but my daughter always upgrade her telephone every two years and sometimes in between time.  My husband, however,  usually keep a phone until he just must have a new one.  Well, he needs a new phone, but is not due for an upgrade until the end of the year (thanks to my daughter using one of his upgrades).  I went in to a store to purchase him a new iphone and was prepared to pay the $200, but i was told that I would also have to pay and additional $250 for an early upgrade.

My complaint!  What is the benefit of being a loyal paying customer for 30 years of more? And, when I need a phone I have to pay an extra cost because I'm a loyal customer.  However, Mojoe can walk off the street and get a new iphone for $199 and that's it.  No history with AT&T.  In fact, many customers go from carrier to carrier to take advantage of the discounted phones.

Recommendation!  After 3 to 5 years of loyal service why not allow customer to puchase a phone when they want.  Heck! AT&T ain't loosing money.  In fact, we'll continue to pay our monthly bill and spend extra purchasing new phones.  If there is no benefit to being a long term customer, why continue to stay with AT&T?

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contrary to what you believe - YES it is costing the carrier for that "199.00" iphone you want them to give you at any time, Apple, Samsung, HTC does not "give" the phones to any carrier out of the goodness of their heart, they carrier pay wholesale cost for the phone - which is not 199.00 for a 650.00 retail phone. Look at retail cost, not subsidized cost. Want a new pone anytime you want - pay retail for it and miss the 2 year commitment. Do a little researchm subsidized phones are costing carriers a pretty penny to let the custmer purchase at a reduced price.

Go to sprint or verizon - they have the exact same policies - no upgrade eligiblity., no discount.  You can duplicate that mojoe walking off the street when your signed agreememt is up and you finished the contract for the last heavily subsidized phone that they gave you and you so happily accepted for the subsidized cost with a 2 year agreement.

[21stNow]

To address your complaint, you were Mojoe (or Mojane) off the street at one point in time, and got a benefit that other existing customers didn't get at that time.  Now that time has passed, someone will get what you want; the next day, someone else will get what Mojoe wants, and the cycle will continue until upgrade time rolls around again.

Customers choose to play this subsidy/contract/upgrade game.  The key to playing any game is to know when you are losing and then select a different strategy to change the outcome.  Your daughter seems to have figured this out.

[BadBadLeroyBrown ACE - Warrior]

What are the benefits of a contract, then? Clearly, all 3 of the lines on your account must have been upgraded within the last 3 years (with your daughter seemingly burning through multiple upgrades). As has been stated, AT&T pays the manufacturer some wholesale price which is HIGHER than the subsidized price you receive, with the assumption that they'll make the subsidy back over the life of the contract (or via an early termination fee). 

This is not a failure on AT&T's part. This is a failure on YOUR part to manage your own account. Allowing your daughter to burn both hers and her father's upgrades has left you in a bind, and you expect AT&T to pick up the tab for it.

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Vtpittman wrote:

I have a complaint and recommendation.  I have been an AT&T customer longer than I can remember (since the early 80's w/home phone).  For the last 10 years or so (home phone, cellular, & internet), I've had a family plan with 4 phones.  Usually, no...not usually, but my daughter always upgrade her telephone every two years and sometimes in between time.  My husband, however,  usually keep a phone until he just must have a new one.  Well, he needs a new phone, but is not due for an upgrade until the end of the year (thanks to my daughter using one of his upgrades).  I went in to a store to purchase him a new iphone and was prepared to pay the $200, but i was told that I would also have to pay and additional $250 for an early upgrade.

My complaint!  What is the benefit of being a loyal paying customer for 30 years of more? And, when I need a phone I have to pay an extra cost because I'm a loyal customer.  However, Mojoe can walk off the street and get a new iphone for $199 and that's it.  No history with AT&T.  In fact, many customers go from carrier to carrier to take advantage of the discounted phones.

Recommendation!  After 3 to 5 years of loyal service why not allow customer to puchase a phone when they want.  Heck! AT&T ain't loosing money.  In fact, we'll continue to pay our monthly bill and spend extra purchasing new phones.  If there is no benefit to being a long term customer, why continue to stay with AT&T?

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[kinghdmi]

Lets understand a few things here.  Her daughter used the upgrades so yes......At&T is not to blame.  A smartphone might list for $550. for Joe Shmo but AT&T, Verizon or anyone else buying that model in lots of 10,000 units at a time is going to get it for half or less than half of retail.

[drumn_bass]

Nope, AT&T and Verizon pay Apple the full retail price, no wholesale discounts of any kind. The same with any other phone as far as I can tell, carriers don't sell devices for profit.

[kinghdmi]

Really ?  AT&T site for government offers discounts of 25% off EQUIPMENT.  So then they take a loss out of the goodness of their heart ?  Verizon doing a  2-for-1 is benevolent losing money ?    Your telling me that Samsung gets full tilt for a skyrocket no matter who buys it but yet I was able to buy a $2300 Samsung TV for  $1230.  Obviously the vendor still made a profit off me or he would not be in business.  And the TV was manufactured  1 month before I bought it so it wasn't left-over junk.  The relationship between a carrier and a manufacturer is mutually beneficial or there is no relationship.  The first rule of business is everyone is in business for themselves !

[Psionic_Avail]

The question here is what benefit does someone receive from AT&T after 30+ years of business.  The answer is: none.  AT&T doesn't care one whit how long you've been with them nor how much money you've handed over.  They are a large corporation so you, as an individual with an excellent history with them, don't exist.  Rather, you are looked at like any other person who isn't eligible for an upgrade currently, end of story.

There is nothing you can do about this currently.  You can only keep your daughter from using up the upgrades in the future and she will just have to deal with it.  I wish you could get some consideration for having such a long and profitable history with them but that just isn't how the system works.

[21stNow]

What about the multiple years of service you have received from them?  Are the customers giving AT&T gifts for providing the service that was already agreed to?  Yet, customers expect gifts from AT&T because they spent the money that they agreed to pay.

AT&T Mobility is a separate division of AT&T.  The OP didn't have 30+ years with AT&T Mobility because they haven't been around that long.

[Moonbaseone]

If your really need a new phone fast go get a go phone and swap Sim cards. I do it all the time. I have 3 other phones on my account no contract because I dont renew just to get a phone for $199 or whatever. As much as ATT screws us over, this one I cannot blame them for. Contracts, despite the "Unlimited" Data fiasco, are still contracts, no matter if you've been a customer for 2 years or 20. Also, try ebay(I have luck there), get a phone that will hold out until your are able to upgrade. Good Luck.

[wingrider01 ACE - Geek]

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kinghdmi wrote:

Really ?  AT&T site for government offers discounts of 25% off EQUIPMENT.  So then they take a loss out of the goodness of their heart ?  Verizon doing a  2-for-1 is benevolent losing money ?    Your telling me that Samsung gets full tilt for a skyrocket no matter who buys it but yet I was able to buy a $2300 Samsung TV for  $1230.  Obviously the vendor still made a profit off me or he would not be in business.  And the TV was manufactured  1 month before I bought it so it wasn't left-over junk.  The relationship between a carrier and a manufacturer is mutually beneficial or there is no relationship.  The first rule of business is everyone is in business for themselves !

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curious have you ever heard the term "loss leader" in relationship to retail sales?

Buisess are do not exist to be not for profit. They are in business to make a profit, ever stop to consider the benifet that verizon gets for the "2 for 1" offer they make - think about it, the answer is very simple and straight forward.

You 2300 dollar samsung tv for 1230 is probably a model that as being phased out or been onthe market for a long tie and the price reduction is to get rid of inventory or overstock

the only thing I agree with on your entire statement is that everyone that is in business is in business for themselves, if not they will be pulling a chapter 11 liquidation real fast.

 All business relations ship are based on being mutually benificial - the manufactures sells the carrier the phones are normal cost, the manufacturer makes the money for selling the product to the carrier, the carrier turns around and subsidizes the majority of the cost to the end user at a loss then recoups the cost in the required contract length.

No the businesses don;t take a loss from selling to the goverment out of the goodness of their heart - goverment contracts are some of the most lucrative low risk forms around

[andKaimana]

Well said, Wingrider.

[drumn_bass]

"25% off EQUIPMENT" with 2 year contract. Carriers sell service for profit.

[sddjd]

Short answer- NONE. This is not a company that believes in customer service or quality of service in the field (ie: 4G that isn't, but really is because it's marginally faster than their old 3G even if it's not in the same ballpark as true 4G). 

30 months since my last contract renewal (smarphone since 2005) and was just offered "special" pricing of $650 to upgrade to a 4S. 

Sorry, but that's almost retail, and even creative math can't present an argument for how my nearly $80/mo fees for light usage barely allow ATT to break even over two years. 

Lies, <word filter evasion> lies, and statistics

[jamileh]

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sddjd wrote:

Short answer- NONE. This is not a company that believes in customer service or quality of service in the field (ie: 4G that isn't, but really is because it's marginally faster than their old 3G even if it's not in the same ballpark as true 4G). 

30 months since my last contract renewal (smarphone since 2005) and was just offered "special" pricing of $650 to upgrade to a 4S. 

Sorry, but that's almost retail, and even creative math can't present an argument for how my nearly $80/mo fees for light usage barely allow ATT to break even over two years. 

Lies, lies, and statistics

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I've just responded to your other post. There are many factors that can impact upgrade eligibility, please see your original post and send me a PM when you have a moment.