Okay, your not going to believe this...

[coachingguy]

My wife has given me the thumbs up on getting an iPhone. We had Cellular One which was bought out by AT&T, so Yaay! So today, I call At&t to ask a few questions like:

1)I'm upgrading to an iPhone, my wife and I currently have two phones with shared minutes, she does not want an iPhone. How much will it cost me to have her carry a standard line w/ my iPhone and shared minutes?
Response... "Well the family plans are for 750 minutes for..."
I cut her off and tell her that I'm getting an iPhone and I know that the iPhone plans are different.
"What's an iPhone?"
I'm speechless at this point.
"The new phone from Apple that At&T is the only provider for"
"Oh, we have iPhones?"
"Uhm, yea."
"Where are you hearing this? I don't have it on my screen."
"I'm on the AT&T website right now" I say calmly.
"So am I." Says the C.S. rep.
"Why don't you search the term iPhone?" I propose
"Okaaay..."
Pause, Pause, pause.
"Oh, there it is. Yes, you were right. We must have just started carrying it..."
Me: "So how much will the plan be for one iPhone and another non-iPhone line sharing minutes?"
C.S. rep "I don't know, I'll have to ask, can you hold?"
"Sure..."
3 minutes goes by before she comes back.
"I couldn't find anyone who knew the answer here. They suggested going to a store or using the online chat thing at the website."
Me: deep breath. "Yea, okay. Thanks have a great day."
C.S. rep: "Why thank you! Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Me: "No, you've done plenty"
OMG!
So does anyone here know the answer to how much will we pay for one iPhone basic 450 minutes plan + a reg phone w/shared minutes?

Thanks again!

Coachingguy

 

[DuFFy]

I think the general cost at ATT is whatever the primary lines cost is plus 9.99/month for each additional line. Unless the other phone requires data plans or txt plans.

EDIT: with the iphone a family plan requires a minimum 700 shared minutes a month (if you are gettin a whole new contract) for 109.99 a month plus 29.99 for each additional iphone, but since your wife isnt gettin an iphone i would assume its the normal 9.99.

heres the link to apple if it helps: http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.html

 

[coachingguy]

thanks...

I'd already been to that site. But it's nice to hear that my wife will only cost me another $9.99

I still can't get over the fact that an At&t C.S. rep had no clue about the iPhone, and it did sound as if she were from the USA instead of Bangalore...

Coachingguy

 

[gkarris]

I'd already been to that site. But it's nice to hear that my wife will only cost me another $9.99

I still can't get over the fact that an At&t C.S. rep had no clue about the iPhone, and it did sound as if she were from the USA instead of Bangalore...

Coachingguy

They trained people on release day as far as store reps, but I think AT&T is just supposed to sell the phone, activation and any questions are supposed to be directed to Apple...

 

[TurboSC]

who HASN'T heard of the iPhone... Jesus every other commercial a few weeks before launch was an iPhone commercial lol..

My friends got so angry cause i was going to get one and a week before all we saw were iPhone commercials. lol

 

[motulist]

Your wife has given you the thumbs up? You shouldn't need her permission to make a not-huge purchasing decision for yourself. Whenever I hear a guy say something like what you said, it creeps me out. It makes it sound like she's your 'mommy.' If you're buying a car or some other huge financial expenditure, it's understandable that you'd want to at least consult your wife first, but in my opinion, if a husband is employed and wants to buy himself a $500 toy, then he shouldn't need permission from his wife.

But if you're happy with your marital relationship, then I guess there's no need to change, different strokes for different folks. But it still weirds me out when I hear people talk like you did.

 

[coachingguy]

Your wife has given you the thumbs up? You shouldn't need her permission to make a not-huge purchasing decision for yourself. Whenever I hear a guy say something like what you said, it creeps me out. It makes it sound like she's your 'mommy.' If you're buying a car or some other huge financial expenditure, it's understandable that you'd want to at least consult your wife first, but in my opinion, if a husband is employed and wants to buy himself a $500 toy, then he shouldn't need permission from his wife.

But if you're happy with your marital relationship, then I guess there's no need to change, different strokes for different folks. But it still weirds me out when I hear people talk like you did.

Yeah, that was meant tongue n' cheek. Geez. I've been waiting for At&t to take over my provider.

 

[Telp]

They trained people on release day as far as store reps, but I think AT&T is just supposed to sell the phone, activation and any questions are supposed to be directed to Apple...

Still, youd have to be living under a rock to not have even heard of an iphone.

 

[Small White Car]

Your wife has given you the thumbs up? You shouldn't need her permission to make a not-huge purchasing decision for yourself. Whenever I hear a guy say something like what you said, it creeps me out.

Dude, it's not a one-time fee. It's $20-$50 a month more than a regular phone. Where's the money going to come from? Buy generic brand food? Go out to eat less?

These are all options, but they're all things that will affect his wife. Why SHOULDN'T she have a say?

If YOUR wife came home and said "I downgraded our cable package to less channels so I can afford a manicure every month" you're telling me that you'd just say "Great! I sure wouldn't want you to check with me first...that would be creepy!"

I have a really hard time believing that.

 

[Cudadown]

Please tell me..

My wife has given me the thumbs up on getting an iPhone. We had Cellular One which was bought out by AT&T, so Yaay! So today, I call At&t to ask a few questions like:

1)I'm upgrading to an iPhone, my wife and I currently have two phones with shared minutes, she does not want an iPhone. How much will it cost me to have her carry a standard line w/ my iPhone and shared minutes?
Response... "Well the family plans are for 750 minutes for..."
I cut her off and tell her that I'm getting an iPhone and I know that the iPhone plans are different.
"What's an iPhone?"
I'm speechless at this point.
"The new phone from Apple that At&T is the only provider for"
"Oh, we have iPhones?"
"Uhm, yea."
"Where are you hearing this? I don't have it on my screen."
"I'm on the AT&T website right now" I say calmly.
"So am I." Says the C.S. rep.
"Why don't you search the term iPhone?" I propose
"Okaaay..."
Pause, Pause, pause.
"Oh, there it is. Yes, you were right. We must have just started carrying it..."
Me: "So how much will the plan be for one iPhone and another non-iPhone line sharing minutes?"
C.S. rep "I don't know, I'll have to ask, can you hold?"
"Sure..."
3 minutes goes by before she comes back.
"I couldn't find anyone who knew the answer here. They suggested going to a store or using the online chat thing at the website."
Me: deep breath. "Yea, okay. Thanks have a great day."
C.S. rep: "Why thank you! Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Me: "No, you've done plenty"
OMG!
So does anyone here know the answer to how much will we pay for one iPhone basic 450 minutes plan + a reg phone w/shared minutes?

Thanks again!

Coachingguy

I work for at&t. In the OSP Design Engineering dept. Although it is net my department, I would like to know if you could tell me the contact info for whom you spoke with at at&t mobility.
I am not interested in having anyone fired but I am worried that training is not being properly conducted in the field. I would place a call and have an apple rep and at&t mobility training staff head over there for a refresher course if needed.

 

[QuarterSwede]

Dude, it's not a one-time fee. It's $20-$50 a month more than a regular phone. Where's the money going to come from? Buy generic brand food? Go out to eat less?

These are all options, but they're all things that will affect his wife. Why SHOULDN'T she have a say?

If YOUR wife came home and said "I downgraded our cable package to less channels so I can afford a manicure every month" you're telling me that you'd just say "Great! I sure wouldn't want you to check with me first...that would be creepy!"

I have a really hard time believing that.

Pretty much what I was thinking. If my wife just decided to buy an iPhone without consulting me I'd be plenty pissed and no, we aren't poor. A $10-$20 DVD or CD every now and then is fine, but $20-$50 extra a month? That screws with the whole budget.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Well I guess the thumbs up is tongue in cheek, but even still in any marriage with joint accounts I would say that there should at least be a small amount of considering if the household is a two-income household whereby both adults contribute. I wouldn't be pissed really if I held a joint account with someone and they bought something big so long as that did not drain the account, I could still pay my bills, and I could do the same.

However, it does not shock me that they did not know of the iPhone yet. I mean, I'm learning that depending upon what time and day you call many people at AT&T aren't well informed. Good luck with the phone that is great that you can finally have one due to the recent buyout.

 

[hxe3333]

I had family plan till september, one with iPhone and another regular phone, and it was the same price as regular family plan + $20 Data for iPhone. I'm not sure if the data and sms were shared with the other phone cuz I ask them to disable it. I used to hate being taken to internet without intension when I had per kilobyte charge.

Your wife has given you the thumbs up? You shouldn't need her permission to make a not-huge purchasing decision for yourself. Whenever I hear a guy say something like what you said, it creeps me out. It makes it sound like she's your 'mommy.' ...

I have many mexican friends like you. They feel they have to show ppl that they are the boss at home, not to be called maricón. If they really are like that at home or not is a different story , but they are cool to hang out except that.

 

[coachingguy]

I work for at&t. In the OSP Design Engineering dept. Although it is net my department, I would like to know if you could tell me the contact info for whom you spoke with at at&t mobility.
I am not interested in having anyone fired but I am worried that training is not being properly conducted in the field. I would place a call and have an apple rep and at&t mobility training staff head over there for a refresher course if needed.

She said her name was Ashley.

 

[motulist]

Just a follow up to those who responded to my wife-permission comment.

To those who said it was a macho pig attitude, you misunderstood. I think it's just as wacky when a wife feels like she can't make any not-so-important purchasing decisions without getting her husband's permission. It's not a dominant man vs. dominant woman thing, it's an independent human being thing. Just because you're married and become an "us" doesn't mean you cease to be separate adult individuals capable of making your own decisions.

To those who said the man should consult with his wife about a purchasing decision to buy himself a toy that would result in her having to give up a shared luxury like cable, or brand name food, or even worse to screw up the whole budget entirely, here's my response. If any of that were the situation then the man or woman should be responsible enough in his or her role in the marriage to not want to make such a terrible purchasing decision in the first place.

In summary, each person in a marriage should be able to make their own purchasing decisions for themselves without permission from their partner, because they should be responsible enough to not make any purchasing decisions that would hurt their partner.

 

[Lartymarf]

What a great thread... hilarious! What creeps me out is that
$20-50 a month can screw with someone's whole budget. I guess
that's why there are free phones? LoL!

Have a great day folks.. just go on out and enjoy our iPhones if
you have one. Life's too short.

*marimba goes off in the background*

 

[josielinnea]

wow this surprises me. Can't one just do something to be NICE? I'm not married but I'm living with me boyfriend, and just making sure it's OK with the other person is just that. If he would go and buy a new whatever-toy for that kind of money it would be a lot easier if he would just check with me first. Same goes for me.

 

[synth3tik]

I think that CSR was Miss Teen South Carolina.

 

[coachingguy]

The point was...

To tell a funny story, not start a blog on family economics and marital dynamics. The $20 isn't a killer, I just wanted to know what people are paying. Under Cellone, I would have had to pay another $65.00 per month on top of my cell phone bill to have the Palm data plan ($780 more per year). If it was going to be that much more, it wouldn't be worth it to me.

The follow up, though, is almost as good. I went into an AT&T store (Which had been a Cellone store) in Duluth and posed the exact same question. The salesperson began to give me the exact same "The family plan is.." spiel. I had to explain that the iPhone plans are different. Salesperson wanted to argue with me, I handed them their own brochure, to which they responded with "Oh." Finally they told me to call customer service. I thanked them politely and left.

But funny how this thread took on a life of it's own.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Coachingguy

 

[powerbook911]

So are you already on AT&T?

If not, go out and get 2 free or nearly free phones or order them on AT&T website. Sign up for the Family talk 450 plan at $59.99 for both lines. Then when you plug iphone into itunes, just select to replace your phone, your old phone will turn off, and the iphone will start working, and add $20 a month to your bill.

 

[GuillaumeB]

ok I'm gonna get divorced now...thank you! LOL