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Loyalty means nothing !!
- Thread starter Superman041
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Ain't that the truth. I've been with Sprint since the late 90's and had to pay the $36 activation fee on my wife's iPhone 5.
Ridiculous
I love it when people in the UK complain about rate plan prices. I'm with Telus in Canada and I use an iPhone 4, pay $60/mo and get the following:
Evenings/Weekends at 6PM
10 buddies unlimited talking Canada-wide
1GB
Call Display
Voicemail
Unlimited Text Canada-wide
I haven't got any minutes, so I pay 35c/min when I use those, and $35 act fee after an upgrade. And when I got my regular SIM switched to Micro (from 3GS to 4) they made me pay $40 just for the SIM card. Thankfully their Interac machine muffed up and refunded me my money.
Oh and I'm on a 3 year contract with no upgade at 2.5 years like most carriers. Gotta wait until the contract is completely up.
I'm with Telus in Canada and I use an iPhone 4, pay $60/mo and get the following:Evenings/Weekends at 6PM
10 buddies unlimited talking Canada-wide
1GB
Call Display
Voicemail
Unlimited Text Canada-wide
I haven't got any minutes, so I pay 35c/min when I use those, and $35 act fee after an upgrade. And when I got my regular SIM switched to Micro (from 3GS to 4) they made me pay $40 just for the SIM card. Thankfully their Interac machine muffed up and refunded me my money.
Oh and I'm on a 3 year contract with no upgade at 2.5 years like most carriers. Gotta wait until the contract is completely up.
I agree that loyalty is likely gone for good. And by "loyalty" I mean from the consumer end as well as the company/supplier end. Companies don't give long term customers much loyalty anymore. But we consumers don't exhibit much loyalty anymore, either. We ordinarily shop where we get the best deals, as well we should in this day and age.
We used to purchase from local mom/pop stores that didn't ordinarily discount items on a regular basis because they didn't have to. Then came the big box stores that purchased products from the manufacturer in huge quantities and passed the discounts they received for ordering in volume on to the consumer. And now, with the advent/proliferation of the internet (thanks Al Gore), many consumers find what they like in the stores and then order the product online where the prices and/or taxes may be less. And in some cases, the consumer will do this just to save a few bucks on a $100 purchase (pointing finger towards myself).
We consumers have become savvy at finding the best deals possible for products we want, and switching "suppliers" at the first opportunity when prices are lower. Companies have become less loyal to the consumers and have adopted a "numbers game" approach. There's no telling which came first, the consumer ditching loyalty to the company or the company abandoning loyalty to the consumer. But it's likely here to stay.
We used to purchase from local mom/pop stores that didn't ordinarily discount items on a regular basis because they didn't have to. Then came the big box stores that purchased products from the manufacturer in huge quantities and passed the discounts they received for ordering in volume on to the consumer. And now, with the advent/proliferation of the internet (thanks Al Gore
), many consumers find what they like in the stores and then order the product online where the prices and/or taxes may be less. And in some cases, the consumer will do this just to save a few bucks on a $100 purchase (pointing finger towards myself). We consumers have become savvy at finding the best deals possible for products we want, and switching "suppliers" at the first opportunity when prices are lower. Companies have become less loyal to the consumers and have adopted a "numbers game" approach. There's no telling which came first, the consumer ditching loyalty to the company or the company abandoning loyalty to the consumer. But it's likely here to stay.
Huh AT&T does it all the time up to 3 lines per 18 months of upgrades, so every 18 months we upgrade and they waive the fee after only 6 years?
I had too much trouble with Sprint's service and vz's customer service was the pits for me, AT&T has been near perfect
For about two years they would regularly cut me off and send regular spiel email about possibly tethering etc which I was never doing I just use a smartphone as a smartphone not a 'i'm scared to use it phone' and I had to contact an agent and wait up to a few days sometimes same day for data again.
Recently they introduced a max per day not sure exact maybe 1GB an hour/3GB a day or something but how do you then judge how long to wait before deciding to use the internet again? It's a grey area. I am now on 3 and never worry I use about 5-10GB a day just through general use which is:
Podcast
Itunes Match
Netflix
Web
Other apps which consume data and pictures.
Icloud data
I also tether while at work but mainly use that for iChat and PDF usage.
GiffGaff for data users is not the answer I hated leaving as I was getting regular payback and was active in the forums but it has become a lost cause unless you don't need much data then it is a good deal.
Although many will disgree, it's down to the price that Apple charge their handsets to the networks. I presume you can get "loyalty" discounts on other handsets- e.g. Samsung Galaxy SIII . Is Apple to blame for the exhorbitant prices ?
they will you just have to know when to do it. most people think best leverage is when they are coming of contract or recently out of contract. the best leverage is one week into contract becasue they will take an absolute bath on costs if they lose you one week into new or renewal if you timed contract and new phone at the same time.
I activated four new phones and got no activation fees. and it is on my account notes I will get none-- and that is on heavily discounted plan already.
You know, I've been shopping at the same grocery store for 11 years, and spend about $300/$350 a month for food... I don't get any perks for doing it.... And being a loyal customer. Just because I chose to shop there for 11 years straight doesn't mean they owe me free items, does it?
The idea of business is to make money, and it just baffles me that people think these companies owe them something because the consumer chose to stay with them. *smfh*
The idea of business is to make money, and it just baffles me that people think these companies owe them something because the consumer chose to stay with them. *smfh*
Just looking at the price of the sgs3, it's £329, therefore its bound to be cheaper on contract.
I left Orange after something like 7 years as they refused to upgrade me to the nokia N95 for the same price as a new customer. The person on the phone couldnt understand why i wasn't impressed!
Sim-free is the best option IMHO. Whilst i may not get top dollar for my old phones, mazuma have been stellar at paying out the next day on every one i have sold.
I left Orange after something like 7 years as they refused to upgrade me to the nokia N95 for the same price as a new customer. The person on the phone couldnt understand why i wasn't impressed!
Sim-free is the best option IMHO. Whilst i may not get top dollar for my old phones, mazuma have been stellar at paying out the next day on every one i have sold.
Everyone's experience is different. I've always heard AT&T is a stickler with policies and the like. But, we've been with them for 7 years and since we've been with them they've been more than happy to waive fees( activation, overages, etc.) AT&T cares that we've been with them (even though we pay through the nose for all 4 services tv, cellular, home Internet, home phone) but Apple does not seem too caring about it's loyal customers.