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Feel bad recommending iPhone

D

DotCom2

macrumors 603
Original poster
Feb 22, 2009
6,423
6,019
I feel really bad recommending the iPhone to someone who even had to pay an EFT to Verizon to come over to the iPhone which I thought she would love. I didn't really think about how I primarily use my iPhone for just about everything else except a phone. While her primary and mosted needed function is a working phone. My bad. She lives in Southern Calif. in a major city so there is no excuse really.
AT&T service she said, is just horrible there. She could possibly take a dropped call now and then, as she could just re-connect, but the horrible "gurgle" and voice cut outs during a conversation are just to much to take! She will be turning the iPhone 3Gs. :-(( She had no problems with her Moto Q and Verizon.
I feel so bad that she had this cost due to my recommending it to her.:(:(:(
 
The path to hell is paved in good intentions ;)

I'm joking (I don't even believe in hell :p), it sucks that it didn't work out for her but you recommended a great device, don't feel so bad. The call quality can be terrible though, can't knock her for not being able to deal. Just wasn't meant to be.
 
I understand you feeling bad. But didn't she also investigate coverage in her area? Maybe talk to some people she knows who might be on ATT or who were and had bad service?

While I'd feel bad - ultimately, the decision was hers to make.
 
analytical44 said:
The path to hell is paved in good intentions ;)

I'm joking (I don't even believe in hell :p), it sucks that it didn't work out for her but you recommended a great device, don't feel so bad. The call quality can be terrible though, can't knock her for not being able to deal. Just wasn't meant to be.
Click to expand...

If she just wanted a working phone. Then yes the iPhone is a bit to much. It's more of a pocket pc than a phone. But you recommended a great device. And she must have known what she needed/looking for in her phone
 
there is no loss really, she can just return the phone and get the money back...there is a return period

If she ended her contract with Verizon early and pay tons of fees....then it's her problem
 
I live in a major city in Southern California, and my phone service is fine. But I knew that before I bought it. It was her responsibility to check those things out before she spent the money. Don't feel too bad.

I also switched from Verizon to AT&T, btw. I didn't get the 2G because I knew that EDGE service here was below par. But 3G is really good. I have had no complaints since I got the 3G, and now with the 3GS. 3G towers are still going up in the region, though. I know in Huntington Beach (about 15 minutes from me) there was only EDGE until maybe October or November, but now it's blanketed in 3G.

But if it's really not working for her, she can switch back, which I'm sure she knows. If she's an adult, don't feel bad.
 
Coverage is tough to estimate, and if she's still within the 30 day window, I'd recommend canceling the contact.

For the record, I think its generally a poor idea to recommend canceling a service and paying a fee, but rather waiting till the contract expires. In any event its not your fault that ATT coverage is poor in her area.
 
No matter how much you want a new handset it's always best to let a contract run its course to avoid any early termination fees.

It is a shame that you recommended the iPhone for her and that it didn't work out but at least now both you and she know not to go for it (yet).

I don't fully know the coverage situation in the US but I do hope it gets better for her and that she could get her iPhone in the end.

If you don't mind me asking, how much is she out of pocket?
 
Thanks everyone.
I feel better just having posted this.
I don't know how much she actually paid in EFT but I know if I offered to pay for it she would refuse.
I think I'll take her out to a nice dinner next time I am in her town. She is still within the 30 day, so she can just return. We both did know that Verizon had better service in her area, but she didn't know just how much worse AT&T is! I sure know that the next time someone asks me how I like my iPhone I'm going to be truthful and say I JUST LOVE IT!....BUT..........:rolleyes:
Thanks again everyone.
 
Let her get an iPod touch and let her keep her current phone. She'll have most of the functionality of the iPhone without all the money hemorrhaging.
 
I agree with farmboy1.

You recommended a great phone with some nice software infrastructure which was sadly let down by the network.

Network exclusivity is possibly one of the iPhones biggest flaws for some.
 
My AT&T coverage is terrible at my house. I literally can not carry on a conversation inside the house. I have to step outside or the call is dropped. But I'm willing to put up with this because of the iPhone. It's probably the only phone that I've ever had that I'd be willing to do this for. I've talked to the AT&T folks numerous times but no luck at all in getting any improvements in signal quality. Every time I see those AT&T ads about how good there network is supposed to be, I just laugh.
 
DotCom2 said:
next time someone asks me how I like my iPhone I'm going to be truthful and say I JUST LOVE IT!....BUT..........:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I had someone I work with today asking me all about the iPhone. Another iPhone user had sort of talked her into it and this colleague of mine was sort of going "well it's only £8 more a month than my current contract and the plan's really good, I'd like the minutes"

And I was standing there thinking the iPhone plans are ***** unless you seriously use the internet, which you don't. Saying that the payg prices are so high you're not even considering them and I don't want to tell you to reconsider buying it outright and using a different plan because the price of the payg 3G is the same as it was this time last year which is a joke and complete rip off.

The iPhone is the best phone I've ever had, but I have serious problems recommending it to people. :(
 
Yeah, I hear everybody's complaints, but I have no problem recommending the iPhone to anyone. If it's just for the 30 day trial, at least they know they can return it at anytime during the first 30 days without a hassle from AT&T or Apple. And if they live in an area where they get great 3G coverage they are definitely gonna' love the iPhone...:cool::cool::cool:
 
I live in San Diego and do a lot of contract work in the OC and LA and I have fantastic coverage with AT&T...I imagine there are some holes in the coverage but in my experience I have not had many dropped calls at all...
From what I have read and been told by AT&T, the 3G service has been rolling out in Southern California in a big way since fall of 08...I have complaints about AT&T but the 3G coverage in Southern California isn't one of them...
 
DotCom2 said:
I feel really bad recommending the iPhone to someone who even had to pay an EFT to Verizon to come over to the iPhone which I thought she would love. I didn't really think about how I primarily use my iPhone for just about everything else except a phone. While her primary and mosted needed function is a working phone. My bad. She lives in Southern Calif. in a major city so there is no excuse really.
AT&T service she said, is just horrible there. She could possibly take a dropped call now and then, as she could just re-connect, but the horrible "gurgle" and voice cut outs during a conversation are just to much to take! She will be turning the iPhone 3Gs. :-(( She had no problems with her Moto Q and Verizon.
I feel so bad that she had this cost due to my recommending it to her.:(:(:(
Click to expand...

I guess the lesson here is to listen to her needs and to not assume that you know it all. In the end, she made the decision.
 
I think the lesson here is make it clear when you're talking about a phone versus the network it's on. I love the iphone and have no problem recommending AT&T in the Boston area, but I do make it clear that I can't speak to coverage in most places.
 
She can get her money back if she goes back to verizon within 30 days. And wont pay AT&T anything.
 
All may not be lost, when I left verizon, they offered a lot of incentives to come back and her coverage with them was good, I'd recommend is have her try to wheel and deal with them to come back to the fold.
 
DotCom2 said:
I feel really bad recommending the iPhone to someone who even had to pay an EFT to Verizon to come over to the iPhone which I thought she would love. I didn't really think about how I primarily use my iPhone for just about everything else except a phone. While her primary and mosted needed function is a working phone. My bad. She lives in Southern Calif. in a major city so there is no excuse really.
AT&T service she said, is just horrible there. She could possibly take a dropped call now and then, as she could just re-connect, but the horrible "gurgle" and voice cut outs during a conversation are just to much to take! She will be turning the iPhone 3Gs. :-(( She had no problems with her Moto Q and Verizon.
I feel so bad that she had this cost due to my recommending it to her.:(:(:(
Click to expand...

If you really felt that bad you'd reimburse her the money. Anything else is just BS.
 
CocoaPuffs said:
Guess you're not getting in her pants afterall.
Click to expand...

Now, THIS is a funny comment.

But seriously... ask her to go and complain at the AT&T store. She will likely get a different iPhone, because this could be an issue with the device itself. My husband's first iPhone dropped calls every 2 minutes; some areas on the way from office to home he knew he would lose a call, and it drove him crazy. He took it to the store and they exchanged it; no problems ever since. I am not saying it will fix your friend's phone, but it's worth a try.
 
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