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nateo200

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Feb 4, 2009
2,906
42
Upstate NY
So I went to the Verizon store today to get my data plan upped to 10GB's instead of 6GB's....well I had my T-Mobile SIM in my iPhone since I was in an area with no Verizon coverage or Verizon roaming. Anyways the lady freaked out when she asked to see my iPhone! She said she didn't believe that I bought the phone through Verizon....finally I explained that I simply put in another SIM card and then she accused me of flashing my phone and saying it was illegal to illegally unlock my phone..my IMEI and ESN were in the system too....I told her that all Verizon LTE devices are pretty much mandated to remain unlocked....and her sales associate explained that Verizon doesn't sell any unlocked phones....she then called Apple and Verizon to make sure my "warranty wasn't voided because I used a 3rd party SIM"....Isn't it crazy that not only do these associates not know what they are selling but that they are completely unfamiliar with the technology? Then one of them demanded to know what I was using a T-Mobile SIM for (as if thats there business!)...They still refused to believe that they sold unlocked phones....I almost grabbed a display phone and put my T-Mobile SIM card in LOL...then they call tech support and these guys are only slightly less clueless...this time saying its illegal for me to put a T-Mobile SIM card in my "Verizon" iPhone. The lady said she had never heard of anyone using non-verizon SIM cards, and I explained that its very common for people to travel and use local SIM's and she said that they offered roaming plans but the devices were still locked...I hate the teleco business....monopolists and people think thats the norm...ah well! That's my story....soooo much ignorance it hurt!
 
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C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,390
19,458
More out of curiosity than anything else, was it an official corporate Verizon store or an indirect reseller one? Not that it's somehow better one way or anther, or that there aren't people who don't know what they are doing who work in either one of those types of stores...in fact they exist in most industries across the board unfortunately.
 

Jades

macrumors 6502
Oct 15, 2012
317
51
Idiots. Reminds me of when I tried signing up for the new prepaid LTE plan to test out the service. The guy went on about how they don't do prepaid LTE. Asked for a manager and showed them Verizon's website. She then just looked on her ipad for the option and it was there. Idiots. They need to experiment before they speak. They can't just talk without knowing.
 

poorcody

macrumors 65816
Jul 23, 2013
1,306
1,518
You're lucky she didn't call Homeland Security!

I was in an AT&T store a few months ago for my iPhone service, but with my Verizon iPad that had one of the free T-Mobile SIM's in it. When I explained I was doing that to the rep, instead of freaking out, he seemed really worried I wasn't happy with AT&T and went out of his way to try to find me a deal that would make it worth switching the iPad to AT&T.

Having been with Verizon for many years, and now AT&T for many years, I would say our two experiences were both very typical for me from each company.
 

nateo200

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Feb 4, 2009
2,906
42
Upstate NY
More out of curiosity than anything else, was it an official corporate Verizon store or an indirect reseller one? Not that it's somehow better one way or anther, or that there aren't people who don't know what they are doing who work in either one of those types of stores...in fact they exist in most industries across the board unfortunately.
Authorized reseller so not official but prior to Verizon selling off the majority of its corporate stores this particular one used to be a corporate one. I do not understand how you can have a job if you don't know what your talking about.

Idiots. Reminds me of when I tried signing up for the new prepaid LTE plan to test out the service. The guy went on about how they don't do prepaid LTE. Asked for a manager and showed them Verizon's website. She then just looked on her ipad for the option and it was there. Idiots. They need to experiment before they speak. They can't just talk without knowing.
Yeah I'm supposed to go back on friday to get my mom a new iPhone 5S so I might just grab one of their display models and put my SIM card in...LOL.

You're lucky she didn't call Homeland Security!

I was in an AT&T store a few months ago for my iPhone service, but with my Verizon iPad that had one of the free T-Mobile SIM's in it. When I explained I was doing that to the rep, instead of freaking out, he seemed really worried I wasn't happy with AT&T and went out of his way to try to find me a deal that would make it worth switching the iPad to AT&T.

Having been with Verizon for many years, and now AT&T for many years, I would say our two experiences were both very typical for me from each company.

I know I heard the cyber police sirens coming down the road! Anyways they gave me an extra free gigabyte of data when I told them I got poor verizon service in Milwaukee, WI (where I'm from and visit allot) and parts of Upstate NY that I frequent. I would laugh so hard if they locked my phone somehow, I'd be on the phone with the Attorney General or the civil section of the US Attorney's office so fast they'd be throwing unlimited data at me! I even showed one lady an article citing that devices on the 700c band must be unlocked and she just stared at me with this empty headed look...lol
 

Applejuiced

macrumors Westmere
Apr 16, 2008
40,672
6,533
At the iPhone hacks section.
You're lucky she didn't get you arrested:D
lol
That's why I hate dealing with customer service reps. Most of them are clueless and think they know everything and they insist when they have no idea about something.

----------

I would laugh so hard if they locked my phone somehow, I'd be on the phone with the Attorney General or the civil section of the US Attorney's office so fast they'd be throwing unlimited data at me!

It's not possible for them or anyone to lock a verizon LTE iphone even if they wanted to or tried to.
 

AxoNeuron

macrumors 65816
Apr 22, 2012
1,251
855
The Left Coast
That's why I hate dealing with customer service reps. Most of them are clueless and think they know everything and they insist when they have no idea about something./QUOTE]
They generally do know a lot more than the vast majority of customers calling in for help. Don't forget, the average person calling Verizon tech support likely couldn't tell you where the power button on the phone is.
 

cristianpodar

macrumors newbie
Jul 29, 2014
10
0
MI
I work for T-Mobile, and I don't understand how these reps from Verizon have no idea that the iPhones they sell are unlocked. We get people that switch from Verizon quite regularly, and they're shocked as well that they can use their iPhones on our network. They're being told by Verizon that T-Mobile is illegally tampering with their devices :rolleyes:
 

Chatter

macrumors 6502a
Jun 10, 2013
724
479
Uphill from Downtown
Thanks for the laugh! :)
And sorry for the reps. Next time, walk into a Target and spend time with their kiosk people. Trust me, they make this Verizon lady sound smart.
 

Strax

macrumors member
May 4, 2013
89
0
If I want to change my plan I just use the AT&T app on my phone. If I couldn’t use that for some reason I'd just do it online. I like to keep other humans out of the equation. Easy peasy. I can't remember the last time I actually had to go into a provider's store.
 

T5BRICK

macrumors G3
Aug 3, 2006
8,313
2,387
Oregon
Back in October, I had Apple employees at two different Apple stores tell me that only the T-Mobile model they sold was unlocked. They claimed that the Verizon model could only be used with Verizon and the AT&T model could only be used with AT&T, even if purchased at full price. :rolleyes:
 

rockitdog

macrumors 68030
Mar 25, 2013
2,721
1,238
Verizon doesn't make money by selling phones, they make money from keeping you locked into phone service/ data plans. There's no incentive for them to tell their employees that their devices come factory unlocked. It's not a shock that an employee wouldn't know this. What is a shock is how professional they acted in this situation.
 

risk235

macrumors member
Oct 17, 2011
88
10
I had a somewhat similar experience with a clueless rep. I was ordering an iPhone through telesales. My line had an upgrade available and was going to transfer the upgrade to a different line. The lady was processing my order when she notice I had unlimited data. She told me if I use the upgrade I will lose it. I told her I'm not activating the new iPhone on my line. It's going to a different line. She was insisted I was till I finally told her I know what I'm doing. She finally processed the order. Anywho I still have unlimited data and my daughter is enjoying her new iPhone.
 

SpyderBite

macrumors 65816
Oct 4, 2011
1,262
8
Xanadu
Why didn't you just change your plan online? It takes 3 minutes including logging in to MyVZW.

I think sometimes people make things difficult for themselves on purpose.
 

CrAkD

macrumors 68040
Feb 15, 2010
3,180
255
Boston, MA
Order online or Apple store. NEVER under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES will I deal with a carrier employee....any of them. their all uninformed commission based sleazeballs.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,390
19,458
Order online or Apple store. NEVER under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES will I deal with a carrier employee....any of them. their all uninformed commission based sleazeballs.
In situations like plan and feature changes that's more on the carrier side of things. Just that some representatives are better (or worse) than others, as is the case in pretty much any business.
 

zorinlynx

macrumors G3
May 31, 2007
8,148
17,481
Florida, USA
Why the heck is a Verizon rep acting like a police officer and accusing you of wrongdoing? You're IN THE VERIZON STORE. You are trying to SWITCH TO VERIZON, from T-Mobile. They should be kissing your feet, not throwing around accusations.

What the hell kind of company mistreats someone who is coming to them from a competitor? I'm really wondering what this idiot rep was thinking.
 
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