Droid Bionic Early Upgrade

[Mbaverizon#IM]

Every little bit help, i have done it for years the loyal thing. Paying on time, etc.... but again be cool and nice and keep trying. Might take a few days but youll find the right person.

 

[sensatti]

As a former VZW employee I can tell you for sure that playing the "I've been a loyal customer for X amount of years" is the last thing a rep wants to hear and will only make you seem like a prick even if that's not your intention. If anything that will only hurt your chances. Not trying to be rude or anything, its just the way it is.

As far as upgrade promotions go, I'm almost 100% positive there will either be some type of upgrade promotion for a 4g device or a cash back option like getting a rebate on full retail price that they normally don't do.

 

[moosc]

When this releases ill have at least 3upgrades available.

 

[DolfanCole]

When this releases ill have at least 3upgrades available.

Oh yeah! I'll have 4! But ... I'm only going to use one.

 

[Spaniard85]

This only works if you are on a family plan, but in the stores they will sometime let you set up what they call dummy lines. You add a line, buy and new phone and transfer the phone to your line. They are not supposed to do it, but they will do it. Once they do it you cancel the line, it shouldnt have a cancellation fee. Worst case, you can call and complain to customer service, if you ask for enough supervisors and leave bad reviews for on the feedback number you will get high enough up that they can just flip the switch on an upgrade for you.

How right and wrong you are all at the same time. All you'd be doing is adding a new line of service to your account. Once that line and accompanying phone are active, you've agreed to a 2-year agreement with a $350 Early Termination Fee. Once you've agreed to this, you can do whatever you want with the phone, but the contract must remain, no exceptions. You WILL NOT be able to weasel your way out of it. However, adding a line to an existing account to get a new phone is a pretty common practice and is not something that a "VZW rep isn't supposed to do." It a new line of service, which is growing the company, which equals money for him/her.

The biggest take away from this: don't tell people to cancel their new lines of service just to get a new phone. Their is literally no chance of getting out of the ETF. It's usually not a bad idea to add the line, though, as it's generally still cheaper over the life of the contract than buying a device outright. Sales reps hate selling a phone without a contract anyways.

...and if you're wondering, yes I'm a Verizon Wireless Sales Rep.

 

[HawaiianLaker]

My question is when the bionic drops in june/july do you think there will be any chance of upgrading early in order to take advantage of the new network. I've been a verizon customer for 8 years and have paid my bill on time EVERY month.

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As a former VZW employee I can tell you honestly that you being a long time VZW customer and paying your bill on time will mean nothing. I used to LOVE it when poeple would ask for early upgrades and say that BS(loyal cust, blah, ect.). I'm pretty sure if you walked into McDonalds and told them you had been a customer for 8 years and asked for a discount they would laugh at you just as I did and all the other VZW employees did on the inside. paying your bill on time means you held your end of the bargin is all. turn it around, if vzw asked you to pay more money a month because they had held up to their end of the contract for 8 years, im sure you would tell them to shove it. as far as you staying with them for 8 years, that means vzw as a company is doing there job. but, IMHO the best way to get anything "special" is kindness. do say bs like ive done this and that cuz that will have no effect on whoever you are talking to as it doesnt matter to them, but you being nice makes there job easier and then are more inclide to go out of their way to help you. hope this helps you.

 

[tmacfan4321]

How right and wrong you are all at the same time. All you'd be doing is adding a new line of service to your account. Once that line and accompanying phone are active, you've agreed to a 2-year agreement with a $350 Early Termination Fee. Once you've agreed to this, you can do whatever you want with the phone, but the contract must remain, no exceptions. You WILL NOT be able to weasel your way out of it. However, adding a line to an existing account to get a new phone is a pretty common practice and is not something that a "VZW rep isn't supposed to do." It a new line of service, which is growing the company, which equals money for him/her.

The biggest take away from this: don't tell people to cancel their new lines of service just to get a new phone. Their is literally no chance of getting out of the ETF. It's usually not a bad idea to add the line, though, as it's generally still cheaper over the life of the contract than buying a device outright. Sales reps hate selling a phone without a contract anyways.

...and if you're wondering, yes I'm a Verizon Wireless Sales Rep.

You'll save $110 anyway if you just stick it out for 24 months.

 

[TinGodz]

So with all of these former/current VZW employees echoing the same sentiments Dave and I shared earlier in this thread, I can't help but laugh at the delusional folks who chimed in afterward against us thinking that it may actually help.

If you want the upgrade, then hopefully you had one before 17 Jan or you can hope they offer a promo (which is supposedly their reasoning for altering the upgrade policy) upon the phone's release.

Either way, screw the Bionic, man. Get the Bolt.

You'll save $110 anyway if you just stick it out for 24 months.

Yup, that's exactly what he said.

 

[DolfanCole]

You'll save $110 anyway if you just stick it out for 24 months.

I'm assuming that the $110 came from:

$10/mo for 24 months = $10 * 24 = $240 for the new line for 2 years.

Thus, difference in cost of adding a new line versus paying the ETF and getting new contract is, $350 - $240 = $110.

Back in July 2009, I added a new line to get away from my BB Storm. However, I needed a feature phone (or non-smartphone) to activate on the new (or old) line so I wouldn't get charged for a data plan on both lines (or effectively having the charge for the new line be $40/mo versus $10/mo). I'm not sure if they handle this the same way now, but this would be worth looking into to help get the full cost of going the route of adding a new line.

If they add the data plan for both lines for whatever reason, it would be cheaper to pay the ETF. And selling the old phone would help offset this cost.

It pays to hold on to a crappy feature phone. ;-)

 

[ClintRo]

I have upgraded every year with a new phone and it just takes a few calls and being calm and polite with the reps. This is what works for me.One the stores in my area are black and white. no upgrade window no new phone. They have told me time and time again the CS reps have more power for upgrades.

1.example of how I upgrade to the DX after only a few months on a bb.

Call customer service have them look up my account and I told them I wanted to upgrade to the dx. They stated I wasn't in an upgrade period. With a few pauses and sighs acting surprised I state all i wanted to do was upgrade to the dx and I know that will restart me 2 year contract. After looking at my family account with 2 lines they said hold on. Pause came back from holding and sure sir we can do that for you today you will have to pay the price of 200.00 you know that? Yes that would be fine and I bought the phone.

I did this with getting my bb too. It's a matter a few calls with the bb hitting the right rep sometimes. Being nice is all it takes.

This has always worked for me.

 

[downbeat4]

Verizon hates churn as much as they want new customers. So I'd say if you think they don't care about their current customers, you could be one of those people who come to the counter with a laundry list as to why you should have your balls licked. As much as I hate to say it, just keep calling customer service towards the end of the month (reps have goals to hit) and plead your case. Say things like, " I really want to keep my service, but want to take advantage of 4g" ( don't talk about paying your bill on time). Maybe bring up phones you like using 4g on other carriers (if needed). Remember, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". I've seen it work a million times. But, if you're on a plan that allows an annual upgrade and you're available just go into a store and help out your local VZW employee. F BB

 

[1812dave]

Verizon hates churn as much as they want new customers. So I'd say if you think they don't care about their current customers, you could be one of those people who come to the counter with a laundry list as to why you should have your balls licked. As much as I hate to say it, just keep calling customer service towards the end of the month (reps have goals to hit) and plead your case. Say things like, " I really want to keep my service, but want to take advantage of 4g" ( don't talk about paying your bill on time). Maybe bring up phones you like using 4g on other carriers (if needed). Remember, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". I've seen it work a million times. But, if you're on a plan that allows an annual upgrade and you're available just go into a store and help out your local VZW employee. F BB

actually, long term customers such as myself present a bit of a conundrum for them--while they want our business, we get a "loyalty discount" that they would LOVE to see disappear. New customers enjoy fewer "perks" as it were, fattening their bottom line. I've tried trading on my longevity to get additional deals, to no avail. (and my bill is paid every month--LOL! to the OP)

 

[TinGodz]

Verizon hates churn as much as they want new customers. So I'd say if you think they don't care about their current customers, you could be one of those people who come to the counter with a laundry list as to why you should have your balls licked. As much as I hate to say it, just keep calling customer service towards the end of the month (reps have goals to hit) and plead your case. Say things like, " I really want to keep my service, but want to take advantage of 4g" ( don't talk about paying your bill on time). Maybe bring up phones you like using 4g on other carriers (if needed). Remember, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". I've seen it work a million times. But, if you're on a plan that allows an annual upgrade and you're available just go into a store and help out your local VZW employee. F BB

As far as wanting my balls licked goes, that has nothing to do with being a realist. I'll go on the record and say I have enjoyed my service with VZW. I have tried all of the national carriers except T-Mobile and have loathed them all due to their poor coverage and customer support. I have never had any troubles with VZW customer service other than the time I tried getting the leaked data discount promo. I have had several billing errors where I was overcharged or something was just royally F'd up. Every time I called, I was always able to straighten things out. Hell, a year ago I ported my line over to AT&T to try the iPhone. Four days later, I ported back to VZW. The sales rep. in the store hooked me up with the promo price for my OG Droid when I had expected to pay full retail. Never paid an ETF either.

So my point is that I like VZW and will probably stick with them for a while unless they royally decide to F us. However, being a realist, it is quite clear that all of these companies do not care about its existing customer base as much as its potential customer base. To reiterate what I said a few pages ago, this is why everything is targeted at new customers. This is also why they start to bend to your will as you near the end of your contract. Once you are locked in, however, you are a mere afterthought in their collective minds because now you have to give them your money. And that is all that matters to them -- your money.

 

[corymcnutt]

don't expect special treatment just because you pay your bills on time. good luck with getting the Bionic ASAP--I'll be eligible long before it comes out.

Same here, Dave...I have been getting text & flyers about upgrading to a Droid Pro for $179.95, but my NE2 (Last One) will be up in June so I hope it is out by then. I still can't decide between Bionic or Thunderbolt; and thoughts?

 

[corymcnutt]

please remember this if you remember anything, BE KIND and PROFESSIONAL!! These reps and supervisors goes through a great deal of butheads daily, so being kind and caring will get you alot farther than you think. If they turn you down a 100 times keep trting and be nice no matter what, you will find the right one that can help. Remember you get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar.

Good advice, I work on a help line all day and when you get someone with an "attitude," you still have to help them, but you're not willing to break any rules to help them; you can get more bees (and flies) with honey, just remember, you can get stung once in a while!

 

[anon(19759)]

I was only six months into my renewed 2 year contract with the droid incredible, but had to have the droid pro, so I called cs and explained my need for a bb style keyboard, and within a minute my subsidized droid pro was on the way. I was polite and honest and the rep was as nice as can be. If they say no, deal, but it can't hurt to ask.

 

[1088933]

I was only six months into my renewed 2 year contract with the droid incredible, but had to have the droid pro, so I called cs and explained my need for a bb style keyboard, and within a minute my subsidized droid pro was on the way. I was polite and honest and the rep was as nice as can be. If they say no, deal, but it can't hurt to ask.

This gives me hope to do anything.



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[1812dave]

Same here, Dave...I have been getting text & flyers about upgrading to a Droid Pro for $179.95, but my NE2 (Last One) will be up in June so I hope it is out by then. I still can't decide between Bionic or Thunderbolt; and thoughts?

Hi, Cory!

For the moment, I think the Bionic gets my tentative vote, but I NEVER decide on a product until I give it a good workout in person and read pretty much everything there is to find on it; especially the "cons". I'm always on the lookout for "gotchas" that would render an otherwise good product (for me) a non-starter. Right now it's premature to claim that "for sure" I'm getting it, but then again, it's in the number one slot on my want list.

 

[moosc]

I can say with out a doubt ill be online at midnight and ordering mine with a one year contract.

 

[1088933]

I can say with out a doubt ill be online at midnight and ordering mine with a one year contract.

Me as well. Technology moves too fast for two years especially with their new program.

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