p3droid states limited supply at launch

[Neon01]

Problem with returning devices is the re-stocking fee...some of us are poor and cant just give verizon 35 bucks just because.....

When I was in the VZ store yesterday, they told me the restock fee on smartphones is $70, and $35 for non-smartphones. Of course, I thought this was absolutely absurd. $70!!

 

[PJnc284]

When I was in the VZ store yesterday, they told me the restock fee on smartphones is $70, and $35 for non-smartphones. Of course, I thought this was absolutely absurd. $70!!

Was it an actual corporate store or authorized retailer?

 

[msjohnson2868]

I think I need to market a shirt to AC members that states:

"Panda Says Relax"

+100 to this!

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[Neon01]

Was it an actual corporate store or authorized retailer?

Corporate store. Big one, too. I went in to sign up for a family plan, get a non-smartphone for my wife (Octane) and preorder the RAZR for me, and they wanted to give me the tiest phone they had in the store - some old and busted flip phone with no camera that was probably worse than the original RAZR in every way - to activate my line. I argued with her, stating that they should either wait to activate my line at all until I get the RAZR, or give me a phone that's actually representative of the phone I'm buying so that I can get an accurate picture of the service I'm paying for (this is my 14 day eval period for the plan, after all). She asked which phone I wanted and I told her the Bionic is probably the closest they have. She then asked her manager, and the manager (over the phone) agreed, but said he would "split the $70 restock fee to switch to the RAZR when it comes in", so I'd be out $35 just to use the phone until the preorder phone comes in.

I just backed away from the entire deal, saying I'd prefer to just wait or do it online. The woman did everything but bar the door to keep me in the place to sign up for the new account.

I also confirmed the $70 fee with the iphone "specialist" they had in the store.

Irrelevant story for this thread, I know, but it certainly indicates how the salesperson even confirmed it with her manager and it was verified by another rep in the store.

btw, what's with VZ stores not having live phones to try out? Coming from sprint, this is really a letdown. I expect that from Best Buy, but come on! No demo units in a dedicated VZ store? What the hell am I going in there for?

 

[TheDave]

btw, what's with VZ stores not having live phones to try out? Coming from sprint, this is really a letdown. I expect that from Best Buy, but come on! No demo units in a dedicated VZ store? What the hell am I going in there for?

+1 this

 

[greydarrah]

What the hell am I going in there for?

For me, it's not for the customer service (though I've never had anything but good cs), nor for the phones that they have. The only reason to have Verizon is for the best network coverage of 3g/4g data no matter where you travel. They simply cannot be beat. And no matter how cool your phone might be, if you can't maintain reliable coverage, it's worthless.

If you never leave your town and you have good coverage from another carrier, these reasons may not matter to you.

 

[PJnc284]

btw, what's with VZ stores not having live phones to try out? Coming from sprint, this is really a letdown. I expect that from Best Buy, but come on! No demo units in a dedicated VZ store? What the hell am I going in there for?

That sounds like it was an authorized/premium retailer and not an actual corporate stores. The non-corporate stores usually only have the fake plastic rip-offs. I ran into this a couple weeks ago when I went to the local Verizon store. It was previously a corporate store but apparently got bought out by cellular sales so they didn't have any real phones on the floor.

 

[Neon01]

For me, it's not for the customer service (though I've never had anything but good cs), nor for the phones that they have. The only reason to have Verizon is for the best network coverage of 3g/4g data no matter where you travel. They simply cannot be beat. And no matter how cool your phone might be, if you can't maintain reliable coverage, it's worthless.

If you never leave your town and you have good coverage from another carrier, these reasons may not matter to you.

Oh, I agree with ya 100%. I just meant "what am I going in [the store] for".

 

[Neon01]

That sounds like it was an authorized/premium retailer and not an actual corporate stores. The non-corporate stores usually only have the fake plastic rip-offs. I ran into this a couple weeks ago when I went to the local Verizon store. It was previously a corporate store but apparently got bought out by cellular sales so they didn't have any real phones on the floor.

Ahh, you might be right. It was a large store with nothing other than the "Verizon" sign up on a black backdrop, so I just assumed.

 

[916ninja]

Ahh, you might be right. It was a large store with nothing other than the "Verizon" sign up on a black backdrop, so I just assumed.

Got one of those here. Looks legit till you walk in and realize that everything is plastic.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[f12]

One question though, how would one know that a particular Verizon store is corporate or not? Do they have authorized retailer / premium retailer on a sign nearby?

 

[PJnc284]

Easiest way is to check Store Locator - Verizon Wireless. If it's not listed under the Verizon Wireless stores section, then it's probably not corporate. Usually they have something like "authorized/premium retailer" under the Verizon logo but the one I went to didn't. Knew something was up when they didn't have any real display phones though.

 

[humpagardengnome]

...I just backed away from the entire deal, saying I'd prefer to just wait or do it online. The woman did everything but bar the door to keep me in the place to sign up for the new account.

I also confirmed the $70 fee with the iphone "specialist" they had in the store

That had to be an authorized retail store. I've paid the $35 on occasion. I thought that's a bit steep to restock. Just the fact that they even mentioned $70 for a new customer is ridiculous to me. No doubt, that's messed up. Verizons got some questionable policies but the crap thet let retailers get away w/ is a crime. You definitely made the right choice to walk away. Make sure you deal w/ a corp. store if you sign a contract if you do go back w/ Verizon. BTW, It's rare to come across a "cellphone specialist" in a corp. store. It's next to impossible to find one working @ an authorized retailer, though.

 

[Neon01]

BTW, It's rare to come across a "cellphone specialist" in a corp. store. It's next to impossible to find one working @ an authorized retailer, though.

In truth, that's a bit of speculation on my part, but she was clearly dedicated to Iphone marketing, sales, and product information - they had her working this little section cordoned off for the iphone. I just asked her because she seemed like one of the only knowledgeable people in the store.