(no subject)

[reldnahkram]

Why do we bother torturing our prisoners? Sending them to the Verizon store would be cheaper, easier, less controversial, and more effective.

I'm entitled to a phone upgrade at the 2-year contract price because I've been with VZ for long enough and my phone is old enough (vintage 2003, I think). The only reason I'm even bothering is because I just picked up a really cheap bluetooth headset and think that will be easier to use (and remember to use) in the car. And if the new phone is no good, I'll go back to the old one, assuming they let me.

So I tried the VZ store on City Line Ave. No matter what they say, the prices are different online than in the store. And the discounts are bigger online. And not mail-in. There's a big number on the display, and a good bit of small print for each phone. The big number is the cost of the phone, less the mail-in discount, plus (in many cases) a feature package. So all bluetooth phones are shown as costing more than they "should" because they include the bluetooth pack, which is a car charger and a headset, or something like that. Needless to say, I'm glad I looked at the online website, where the phones cost less and there's (hopefully) less hassle to order - because I'm on a family plan I need authorization, or something like that, to get a new phone.

I just want a phone that makes it as easy and as convenient as possible to talk to other people. I don't want to text. I don't want to take pictures. I don't want to listen to music. I don't need a design that turns heads. I should be the easiest sort of customer to satisfy. So why is this so difficult?

This icon may never be more accurate.

Comments

[prisminawindow.livejournal.com]

You have my sympathies ... I went through this recently and ended up ordering online (though still with a fair amount of hassle). Let me know if you're still struggling with their website (it was terribly designed enough that it took me a while to figure out how to get it to let me purchase a phone for my existing number). Also -- a word of caution -- you can transfer your contact list more or less for free, but only if you sign up for something on your old phone before you activate the new one (I, foolishly, didn't realize this until after I'd activated my new phone) ... anyway, learn from my mistakes.

[reldnahkram.livejournal.com]

Thanks - that's a good tip. It's the backup protection, or something like that, right? Unfortunately, I don't think that's available on my phone.

[prisminawindow.livejournal.com]

I hadn't thought that it was called that, but TSOR suggests that backup assistant must be what I was thinking of. If it turns out that your phone can do it, they'll give it to you for free if the primary account holder for your family plan has an online account set up. Sorry that it sounds like it's not available for your phone though. FWIW, if you need to pay for the contact transfer, the Verizon stand in 30th St. station once transferred my numbers for $5 instead of $10, but I have no idea if they were just being nice (to make up for my being annoyed) or if that's standard there (or, for that matter, if it used to be standard and no longer is) ... seemed worth mentioning though.

[crystalpyramid]

I don't think it works for the SCH-whatever-I-have, if it makes you feel better. Too primitive to be able to transfer its contact list places.

[reldnahkram.livejournal.com]

Which SCH do you have, out of curiosity? How do you feel about it?

[crystalpyramid]

SCH-a360. It was free 2 years ago. It works, has never had any problems, seems to still have a respectable battery life. It has no features. Among features it lacks is that one where you can upload your address book and download it to a new phone, but I'm not sure they'd invented that when they invented the phone, which is presumably why. Some phones get more signal than it does, but it's perfectly adequate. I'm not sure why I would want a new phone.

(Because of when I added my family plan, my "new every two" phone comes up several months before everybody else's on the plan, which is the other reason it's even an issue.)

[sonatanator.livejournal.com]

I have the same philosophy when I got a phone. My dad kept asking me to pick the one I wanted, I said I didn't have strong feelings, and he harped on the fact that it was going to be my phone so I needed to decide. And so I picked a mundane model that had what I wanted (phone, alarm), and then he told me not to get it but to get the razor because it's full of all these features. Honestly.

I still have little opinion, and since it was free, I have it.

[reldnahkram.livejournal.com]

Right - thing is, I don't need a new phone, it's one or two little features that's driving this decision. It shouldn't be hard to find a phone that adds these features but is otherwise simple and easy to use, but apparently, it is.

[uncleamos]

It turns out that texting is awesome, like if you're at a concert or something.

[reldnahkram.livejournal.com]

One of the things about playing trumpet in an orchestra is that there's a lot of down time, and you sit all the way in the back. I've definitely sat through rehearsals where the other trumpet spent much of the time texting. But that's probably not what you meant.

[crystalpyramid]

Oh, good, someone is on the same cycle as me and can tell me how this works. Is the new every 2 phone specifically linked to my account, or can I give it to ivonova, who broke hers about a month ago?

[reldnahkram.livejournal.com]

I believe how it works is that the primary number on the family plan gets some amount of credit towards a new phone (when you re-up for another two year contract) and other numbers can get phones for whatever the current two-year contract price is (good luck with that one - I'm hoping to order one online this evening, I'll let you know how it goes and what the process is). I'm pretty sure it's also possible to, say, get a new phone and pass the old one down; it may be possible to simply pass the new phone down.

I'd try calling VZ customer service, rather than going into a store. Because customer service at least has a secondary objective of helping you, whereas the store reps only have the primary objective of selling you something.