Questions about In Store purchase

[zachnelson]

Hey,

1. Did Verizon charge you an activation fee when you purchased at their corporate store?

2. Did the Verizon rep who activated your phone go through the setup process (including setting up the verizon contact backup service) before giving you the phone?

3. Would it be weird to ask just to get the phone without it being setup for me so I can do it myself? How would I go about doing that?

Thanks.

 

[fatboy97]

1. Yes, but I was a new Verizon customer.

2. No

3. No it would not be weird. I told her I was an Android user and I could set it all up. I was the first to touch it after she inserted the SIM card. I powered it up, and then set everything up myself.

 

[willymakit]

1) No

2)Yes, but I like to see what they know.LOL

3)Not weird,but they are having trouble getting Sim cards to work so it might be worth the wait to not have to go back to the Store.

 

[zachnelson]

1) No

2)Yes, but I like to see what they know.LOL

3)Not weird,but they are having trouble getting Sim cards to work so it might be worth the wait to not have to go back to the Store.

We're you a current verizon customer?

Thanks both of you for your input. I guess I'll just walk in and ask them to install the sim, and I'll handle the rest of the setup.

 

[bigpetefox]

1. Normally there is an activation fee, unless it's an upgrade

2. I've always set up my own phones, even before I worked as a tech

3. I've seen a few customers just take the phone to set up themselves.. Every now and then, there's the know-it-all who screws something up..

The SIM is easy to install, there's a drawer below the battery.. Just slide it up, put the card in with the notch facing left, close it. Add weak battery and enjoy!

 

[zachnelson]

1. Normally there is an activation fee, unless it's an upgrade

2. I've always set up my own phones, even before I worked as a tech

3. I've seen a few customers just take the phone to set up themselves.. Every now and then, there's the know-it-all who screws something up..

The SIM is easy to install, there's a drawer below the battery.. Just slide it up, put the card in with the notch facing left, close it. Add weak battery and enjoy!

Okay, so I could just be like, i would like to do the setup and installation myself, and walk out with the box like i would get in the mail?

 

[bigpetefox]

Okay, so I could just be like, i would like to do the setup and installation myself, and walk out with the box like i would get in the mail?

Indeed..

Sales reps need to meet a certain quota for setting up devices, or "setup-and-go" as we call it.. If it's busy in the store, either the techs take over (setting up email, if smart changing the defaults to save battery, contact transfer), or the sales rep used to give you a sheet with setup instructions. It's just signing in to Gmail, once it syncs send an email to the VZW server to "test" the sync. That's about it.

If you have Backup Assistant, it makes the process so much smoother..

 

[zachnelson]

Indeed..

Sales reps need to meet a certain quota for setting up devices, or "setup-and-go" as we call it.. If it's busy in the store, either the techs take over (setting up email, if smart changing the defaults to save battery, contact transfer), or the sales rep used to give you a sheet with setup instructions. It's just signing in to Gmail, once it syncs send an email to the VZW server to "test" the sync. That's about it.

If you have Backup Assistant, it makes the process so much smoother..

Ahh alright. I might just ask them to insert he SIM and then I'll do the rest of the setup myself.

 

[isdaako]

I suppose it's necessary to insure productivity with the employes. It would be a rough job at times.

 

[willymakit]

Yes I have been with them for a long time, and you are very welcome.

 

[FrankXS]

1) Yes
2) No
3) No

I was pissed about being charged an activation fee. I've been with VZW non-stop since they became VZW, always had a basic plan of $79/mo or more, and I was upgrading and I renewed to another 2yr contract. Yet still I had to pay an activation fee.

Is this something I should call CS and dispute?

-Frank

 

[zachnelson]

1) Yes
2) No
3) No

I was pissed about being charged an activation fee. I've been with VZW non-stop since they became VZW, always had a basic plan of $79/mo or more, and I was upgrading and I renewed to another 2yr contract. Yet still I had to pay an activation fee.

Is this something I should call CS and dispute?

-Frank

If they attempt to charge me an activation fee, I'm just going to walk out and buy online.

 

[Cory Streater]

Hey,

1. Did Verizon charge you an activation fee when you purchased at their corporate store?

2. Did the Verizon rep who activated your phone go through the setup process (including setting up the verizon contact backup service) before giving you the phone?

3. Would it be weird to ask just to get the phone without it being setup for me so I can do it myself? How would I go about doing that?

Thanks

This is why I stopped buying phones in their stores and started buying them on their website. Taking the phone out of the box, removing all the packaging, and powering it on for the very first time is sort of a ritual for me. When I've tried to do this in the store, I've almost had to fight with them to let me do all of that. And the last thing you want them doing is installing software (like task killers) or enabling backup assistant. Once backup assistant is configured on the phone, it cannot be turned off without a hard reset, which means it's sitting there running all the time.

If you're using Gmail, there is nothing you need to backup in the first place. All you have to do is sign into Gmail on your new phone, and everything you have gets pushed to the TB. If you're using something else, there are a variety of other options to get your old contact info transferred over as well. If they do touch your phone, the first thing I would do when I left the store is a hard reset.

I also pay full price for my phones and when they hear that, their entire demeanor changes.

 

[Sniperet]

1. No activation fee

2. I had to insist three times that the sales rep not set up anything beyond activation of the sim card. He kept asking for my gmail account and my corporate login info. After I finally told him I would just buy it online that he got the message I didn't want him messing with any of the phone's settings. Although he did say that he had to do the activation which I agreed to.

First time I've done an in store smart phone purchase. Next time I'll go back to doing it online, I was very uncomfortable with this guy handling my new phone. You only gain one working day by buying at the store anyway. Stupid me I just went to the store on a Friday to get a hands on feel for the Tbolt and couldn't walk out without one

 

[KingChicago]

Protip: Set the phone up yourself in the parking lot though. My first sim card for whatever reason didnt work in the store, so stay close so you can exchange it if something goes whacky.

 

[jm013]

I ordered over the phone. I'm glad I did not allow someone's grubby hands all over my phone. I had no trouble with the set up. This is my first android phone too.

I set up everything the way I like it. No vzw backup or anything. Everything went smooth through gmail.

 

[FrankXS]

My in-store sales rep went right through it in lickity split time and handed the phone to me. I asked why he didn't need my Google account or anything and he said they could bypass that. I took it home and set it up myself. Perfect.

It was so fast I even had to ask him "do I get a box with this phone?"

-Frank