Reviving this old thread to answer some questions...
My ATT Next Every Year plan came eligible for upgrade this week, and I wanted to update from iPhone X to XS Max. I had some concern that there might not be devices available - I checked when the new models were first released, but I had 3 more payments before eligibility (Grrrrrrrr..... last year Apple was late, PLUS Next is rigged so that the eligibility date will slip by a month every year anyway... NEXT year, I am not eligible until December) Any, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were no extended availability dates.
I was careful this time to navigate the awful ATT UI and figure out how to select Next Every Year. (No, they do NOT automatically keep you on the same plan you already have... The default is New Every Two, and it's a bit of a pain to figure out how to select New Every Year. Last year I erroneously switched from Every Year to Every Two, and had to go to the ATT Store (phone reps were worthless!) to work it out. They had to refund my purchase and re-sell me the phone. Initially, they wanted me to turn the phone in, and sell me a different one out of stock! Took nearly an hour to do the paperwork, with the poor in-store rep dealing with an incredibly laggy app on an Android tablet...)
Anyhoo, I noticed an option "order by 7PM, and get free same-day delivery and optional setup. So I decided to try it, at least if the agreement was screwed up, I figured I could just refuse it and try again.
So, I checked the box, and got a3-5PM delivery window. I wondered how they were going to do this - UPS/Fedex with stock in a cage? Send a courier from the closest store? And - since the website didn't ask if I wanted setup or not, how the heck do they deal with scheduling efficiently? I noticed that "an adult over 18" had to be present to accept the delivery. I was going to be home anyway, so no problem.
I went to a late lunch, and was nervous I might not get back by 3. I had gotten an email confirmation, and there was something in it about "Enjoy", so while I was waiting for lunch I did some Googling, and some of the questions that came to my mind were answered - ATT works with a third-party company - Enjoy - to provide this service. I read a few articles, about the company and it's founder. (Ron Johnson, who implemented the retail Apple Store concept when he was at Apple.) It seemed dubious to me that this could ultimately be a successful business, and was unclear from the articles just what the revenue model is.
Finished my lunch, decided to stop at the credit union next door anyway (was 3:15 by this time), I figured if I was contacted by the courier, I could let them know I was running late and they could go to another customer first. Around 3:30 I got a text letting me know I'd be getting delivery between 4:30 and 5:00 but might be late due to traffic.
Around 4, got a phone call, letting me know there was one customer ahead of me, and she would probably arrive after 5, due to traffic. I gave her some advice on best route to avoid traffic, let her know I would not need setup "if that helps you to know", and asked where she would coming from. "Lakeside". Oh, geez, poor woman, that's like 30 miles from downtown San Diego! I was not ASKED if I needed setup, but volunteered so that she could plan.
The conversation then took a turn that got me a bit annoyed. When I said I didn't need set up she said "OK, it will just take 10 minutes or so to check ID and enter the transaction into the system and transfer to your account. I reiterated that I really just needed her to hand me a box, I would do my own setup, I was working and didn't have a lot of time available and so would set it up over the weekend. We finally established that she would not need to activate the phone and I could continue to use my old phone (trade-in) until I set up the new one. I had to press the matter first, with the usual "well, maybe I should just cancel this" and the usual misinterpretation of "OK, so you want to cancel?" She finally was clear that she did not need to activate the phone.
I questioned to myself the need for 10 minutes to complete a delivery, but, OK, I remembered my one-hour experience at the ATT Store the year before. I figured just another awful, slow, ATT website!
Got another text confirming projected arrival time, and she did indeed arrive at the time she said, around 5:15.
I got a call saying that the callbox at the elevator (how did she get in the building? I guess she tailgated or somebody let her in...) was giving a busy signal. (Turns out it's broken....) anyway I went down and met her in the lobby. She asked for ID which I provided, she did some fiddling with an app on her phone, and I signed for it on her phone. It did actually take about 10 minutes due to some waiting (I supposed for Enjoy's systems to talk to some slow ATT API, par for the course with ATT...) so I asked her a few questions while we were waiting. (Finally! You will get answers to questions after suffering through my verbosity!)
- Enjoy is paid by the companies they work with. They do not purchase and resell the products
- They keep stock that belongs to their partner companies until the transaction is completed
- If you buy a drone, they will go out and fly it with you and give "flight instruction" (DJI is a partner)
- To my question "why do the partner companies pay you for this" - it reduces fraud A LOT (most fraudsters are unwilling to engage in a face-face transaction) and brings in customers intimidated by the technology.
- She acknowledged that ATT's messaging is vague, and they get "a lot of complaints" that ATT''s website is a lot less clear than those of other partners
- I was not subject to any upsell, other than "is there anything else I can do for you". There was no pitch for setup/repair services (the company also offers a "Geek Squad" type service which apparently includes some additional products for $99/hr) and I was left no promotional literature. But she knew I was a bit annoyed, and just needed delivery.
From the articles I'd read:
- The reps are employees, not "gig economy" contractors, and receive benefits
- The reps have training, under a model where the reps basically train each other. They have to be approved to deliver/setup each specific product, and they are tested by a peer before they are approved for a product.
- The operation is largely office-less, reps set out from their homes without checking into an office. (Obviously, they have to get stock from time to time, I didn't ask how that worked). They generally meet in public places for training, etc.
We talked about about the business model and my doubts. I commented that I understood the appeal of setup, though, and offered that "if you ever cover Detroit - which I'm sure you never will - maybe I could convince my sister to give up her flip phone...". To my surprise, she told me that Detroit is, indeed one of their markets!
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Still skeptical. Especially the part about sending people 30 miles from one appointment to the next! But they are trying to establish a beachhead, and these well-venture-funded companies DO NOT CARE about making a profit, they will figure that out "eventually" (e.g. Uber hasn't made a profit yet...) and I think I'd prefer the unneeded carbon emissions vs. the *^%$#! scooters littering the streets right now.
And, yes, I talked to my sister, and I inched her one little bit further away from her flip phone. She mentioned that she "tried to take a picture" the other day with her flip phone (that she's had for YEARS) but realized that she didn't know how. I told her, "well, they will show you how!"
