It's called a captive market. The cell companies figure it's so incontinent to swap companies they run you around in circles. The phones ARE cheap!!! It's all profiteering. I'm all for making money, God, I'm in the car business. But I get beat up every day trying to make $500 on a $25k car and you all want to make $150 on a $300 phone. [They call us crooks] I wanted to get a razor for my girlfriend for Christmas, mid contract, I was told to fork up $499. That's outrageous!!! Other companies only 50 miles out of my area are giving away two with a new $40 per month contract. Lets do the math... 2 phones about $1,000 retail, free... so if they really cost that much it will take (1000/40 per month) almost 3 1/2 years to recoup their mone...
(continues)

Well- first of all, if you paid $449, then it wasn't another LG 6100- that would mean you upgraded the phone as well- sounds like a Razr or 710. The 6100 retail is 299.95.

Right on Jubes..finally someone who knows what their talking about!! bout time!

first of all bud, you dont work in this business, and you dont sound like you have any sort of college degree at all..let alone a business or marketing degree...you sell used cars, i think that pretty much wraps up the fact that you dont know the half of what your talking about..There are more costs in a phone, than the simple cost of purchasing one...shipping to uscc warehouse, paying workers to process those shipments, and distribute among regions, again paying more shipping, not to mention simple things such as the cost of boxes to ship them in.(yeah, sounds insignificant, but when you think about how many millions of boxes are packed and shipped a year, it adds up fast). so just bc u found a razr for $339 does NOT mean that is the only c...
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agents pay for the their own shipments of phones, the boxes are usually in the same factory box they recieved with the seal tape still intact... for the record that is the cost of the V3c. retail stores sell used phones at a higher rate than what was paid for them new, and the company makes money on the phones they sell at the retail price, the most costly policy is the 30 day return policy for agents, we still get rebates on about 2 or 3 phones. please do not throw stones in glass houses.

to be fair and correct your internet nemesis though the price he was quoted is with a plan, and it looks like a horrible price at that. that website lists the phones retail value at 499.95 but will not show me where he got that 339 figure because they are out of the us cellular razr.

Most corporate USCC retails sell used phones for 50% off full retail price, preowned phones (30 minutes or less of talk time) for 25% off. Did you have insurance? If not it would be wise to add it to your replacement phone for only $5.95/month you're covered if it's lost, stolen, accidently damaged for a $50 deductable + $10 COD if you don't pay the deductable over the phone with a credit card. In addition the insurance extends your manufacture's 1 year warrenty for an additional 4 years so if mechanical failure or defect, then $25 deductable. 😁

You could even take this arguement even further. If you buy the phone from motorola it doesn't mean it's activated. You'd have to go to a USCC and I'm sure that the cost of activating the phone into the network is going to cost money. There is your lost money.

JUBES is right. I manage 6 agent locations and 2 B2B reps. We are going through 600 - 1000 phones a month! Though I can't go into specific numbers for obvious reasons, I can honestly tell you that its costing the owner HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars PER MONTH to supply these stores.

It's not a scam everyone...

talk about bringing a thread back from the dead.

LOL Sorry I was just browsing.

Supply and demand economics. If it were sold for less, there would be a shortage of UX4750s. So, its not a matter of "ripping people off" if you have an elementary understanding of economics.

I understand that, I was just telling her to go to a store where they dont mark up a phone $160. to my understanding a phone could only be marked up $30 by us cellular standards. When my boss does not want to sell a phone because of a back order, we do not sell it. But I guess economics means more than customer service to some.

If you buy the insurance, can't you just pay a co-pay and get a new or refurbished phone?

I would think that would be your best option.....unless you did not opt for the insurance.

Lovellbird

it to late for him to get the insurance now. you have to have it before your phone gos bad

Jerry, I know that 🙂)

My point was that the reason USC offers phone insurance is so that if your phone breaks or is stolen, you don't have to shell out retail price to replace it.

So....it's silly not to pay for the insurance in the first place.

Lovellbird

It sure adds up over time though. Especially when you have multiple lines. Plus the deductible.

I have four lines....I am used to paying for the insurance, I guess. It doesn't bother me, because I know that if one of our phones has a problem or somebody grabs one out of our car, it is not that big of a deal to replace it....just one of those things you have to tell yourself is important 🙂

Lovellbird

Yeah, i had it on my phone for a long time because im prone to loosing things, but i havent needed it in a year, and it wouldnt be a problem except for the price increase so i took it off the other day, especially since i can get another one for cheaper than $50

What phone can you get for $50.00, hook it up bro.

A lot of people complain about "Oh I always get insurance and nothing happens." Wouldn't that make someone WANT to buy insurance? otherwise they are basically saying that they want the item to break! Reverse logic....

there is no such thing as a entry level phone anymore. if you compare phone from 2-3 years ago to todays phones there is no comparison. like the new ones have a speaker phone color screen voice ativated dailing and can use our easyedge service. alot has changed like when you go and buy a computer you dont expect to buy something that isnt up to date why would you buy a phone that is not up to date? Its not like our phones are as expensive as verizons or cingulars!!
😁 😁

I think she was meaning that an entry level phone at retail price, which is the price you would have to pay if you didn't have insurance and weren't at least 80% through your contract, would be $180

Yeah, Cell phones, no matter how cheap/expensive to make have always been high priced, $180 is low compared to what they used to be. Either they are talking about renewals or someone is selling them a used phone and calling it new.

yes they can, don't get so combatitive with someone that probably hasn't been here in a month.

usccgrrl said:
get your facts straight. customers cannot pay the $150 bf just to resign with uscc.

hahahaha

yes they can...get your facts straight

silvabullit said:

usccgrrl said:
get your facts straight. customers cannot pay the $150 bf just to resign with uscc.

hahahaha

yes they can...get your facts straight

No, they can't....UNLESS they get the early disconnect waived by US Cellular Customer Service.

relations.

nice try?

i have people do it all the time

what planet are you working on?

us cellular really does not like that i know, which is why you just need to pay customer relations the money to void out the current contract.

Yeah, but even if you pay the $150 etf, you cannot reactivate for 90 days, according to the rules. If somebody is doing it anyway, their boss must be totally imcompetent. Its extremely bad business, and very very against the rules. I KNOW- I DID IT ONCE, AND BELIEVE ME, I WAS REPREMANDED FOR IT.

no, you no comprendo, we are not talking about cancelling, but buying out the contract, i am really starting to think you do not even work for us cellular. customer relations voids out the contract date and charges them whatever was discussed on the next bill. Nothing else, no cancellation, nada.

What some others (I won't name names) seem to think that there is such a thing as a "$150 buyout" -- however, there isn't. There is a $150 early termination fee (ETF), but as you (USCCworker) have correctly described, if they do this, it would absolutely cancel their contract and they can't come back for 60 days. Customer Relations isn't permitted to do this alleged $150 buyout -- there simply isn't such a thing. And again, as USCCworker has also correctly described, to allow someone to do this and then let them open a new account, would also create another no-no called Phantom Churn -- and CR is pretty quick to catch these too. I'm beginning to wonder if someone else actually works for USCellular based upon information and/or lack there...
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ok, what is your name and extension, i will call you and buyout my contract, then if you do not, i will tell you to actually get someone who knows what they are doing. If you worked for us cellular you would not be afraid of doing this.

true true.

relations will allow buyouts on a case by case basis. sometimes its $15, sometimes its $75. I'll admit, I've never heard of the full $150 buyout, because that just doesn't make sense.

Regardless, there are circumstances (how long you've been with USCC, how long you have left in your contract, whether you have signal or not) that determine the ability for a buyout.

BUT - its also true that if you do actually cancel, you shouldn't be eligible for new service until you've waited your 60 days....but that rarely gets followed. I've had customers cancel service with us (agent) based upon a retail store instructing them too (shady retail associate). They then went across the street and reactivated....same phone number and ...
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I have re-activate customers that cancelled within the 60 days though, mostly for people who ported out but cancelled immediately instead of future dated, but i'm sure they get special exceptions. one had to be a new account and a new number because t-mbile couldnt let go of the old number and the PRC could not add to the old account.

Maybe you just forgot, that if an account was canceled because the number was ported out, you absolutely cannot port the number back on to the canceled account (it's canceled, closed -- gone, buh-bye) -- a new account always has to be opened whether the old account was canceled for 1 day, 10 days or 59 days.

And so here's what I don't get -- T-Mobile allegedly "couldn't" let go of the number that was formerly ported out, per the FCC they can't hold this number "hostage" -- and the number will snap-back to USCellular anyway and go back into the number pool...

taptaptaptaptap....

Homework is sounding better and better... Moto, got any thoughts on this one, or am I reading into it too much?

Nut.

From what I understand...Yes, its correct that once the account is cancelled (due to a port or whatnot) you cannot add new lines to it...a new BAN must form.

As for the TMobile thing - If the customer wouldn't ported the number back to us, they would've gotten it back, but since they cancelled with Tmobile first, Tmobile technically "owns" that number for a temporary time. No, they cannot activate it with a new Tmobile customer, and yes, it will snap back to USCC but it won't be added to the number pool for an additional 60 days past the cancellation with TMobile.

However, even though a new account was set up, with a new ctn, the customer name and address was identical I'm guessing. This is considered "downing" and is sort of against...
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yes, commissions are altered based on the circumstances, and it was PRC who processed this new account, over the phone.

I HAVE had a few customers pay the $150 to get out of their contract. This was awhile ago, before the Excellence Guarantee-sign-a-contract-whenever thing started. He had an older plan that he kept going over minutes on, and then we started offering the free call me minutes, and he wanted a new phone anyhow. Only 6 months into his contract. He paid the $150 because it would pay for itself over a few months since he was going over so much and the new plan was so much cheaper.

So yes, it can be done. it doesn't always make sense, but once in awhile it's the best option

people have bought out their contract multiple times through C.R. in my experiences, mostly during speedtalks beginning months, C.R. would allow numerous people to buy out their contracts, recieve a $150 or $75 (in some instances) addition to the customers bill and the contract date gets voided out, not a cancellation, per se. I have not needed to do it lately but in july, august, and september i maybe had 2 customers per month choose that option through C.R.

If they were allowed to "buy out" of their contract for $150 per line in order to get Speedtalk phones, they shouldn't have been. Plain and simple, there isn't any such thing as a $150 buyout and the $75 buyout is a last resort retention tool, is limited and has certain restrictions that go along with it that are only supposed to be offered by CR reps.

Just like now -- everyone wants those Motorola Razr phones (why? digital only folks, they aren't even tri-mode.....and don't get analog signals). If you're in contract, buy a used one, pay full retail, or wait until you can renew to get one.

If the customer simply wants Speedtalk/Razr phones/whatever, he/she should have been told to just buy them, too bad, so sad -- you signed a contr...
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Ok, but when a customer is threatening to cancel or go to another company because we won't allow them to just sign a new contract because they aren't eligible, we are supposed to do what we can to make that customer happy. We are advised by our AAE and store managers to go to customer relations as a last resort. That "too bad, so sad" attitude is definitely not going to provide the ICE, and pardon me, but isn't that what US Cellular is known for? We can't tell people we provide the ideal customer experience then say, "oh sorry, I guess you are SOL" without exhausting all the options. We DON'T promise the customer anything, but do offer to go to customer relations because they have the authority to make decisions that we do not. If a custome...
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50% of customer service reps say one thing and the other 50% say the other, if you get one that is smart and knows what they are doing, or one who is willing to ask someone who actually knows what they are doing, then they can do anything, but unfortunately it is a toss-up, and it all depends on the demeanor of the C.R. rep and your attitude towards them are the 2 factors in getting what us cellular offers at the "last resort" hence "if they like you".

I do agree that USC is known for the "ICE," but the customer also has to take some responsibility as well.

If this customer waited until day 44 -- why 14/15 days past the 30-day service guarantee period and not within the correct time-frame? He signed a contract, he knew he had 30 days to return or exchange (which he can do one time within that first 30 days) that phone. Wouldn't it have made more sense that he would have known that he "didn't like" the 8910 within a few days or even a couple of weeks of getting the phone that he would have decided that didn't like said phone? Or... was there something else?

~Nuts.

I believe he was not happy with the reception because of the area that he lived in. I do agree with you that he should have taken responsbility but a lot of our customers in this market refuse to do that and make everything the store's fault. He thought since he gives us a few hundred bucks every month that he should get what he wants. I always let the customers guilt me into doing stuff because I hate disappointing people. Maybe that's my issue.... we always just have people threaten to go to Verizon or wherever. So then I feel bad, and do whatever I can to make them happy. Any suggestions for standing up for myself/the company?

that is every carrier, in every market, that is a cell phone thing.

you cannot stand up for yourself in the cell phone business, that is against company policy, no matter what carrier, again.

well, all my co-workers can be rude and put the customer in their place without sounding rude. i can't do that. i get super defensive and you can tell that i am totally f-ing pissed. can you nicely tell the customer they have to take responsibility for themselves? How do you say no, when it's clearly not something the customer deserves or can even get? We have a guy who has 9 months left in his contract and threw a fit today bc relations offered him a $50 buy out. He wants it free. How does someone handle that?

i believe the most rational response would be to punch him in the face.

First off -- just ignore Alejandro, which isn't difficult to do.

Typically, in this case -- this is the fault/responsibility OF THE CUSTOMER -- that part is clearly obvious.

The customer knew that he wasn't getting reception within the first few days that he took the phone home and had problems with it, right? So why wait 44+ days to bring it back to store? That's the part that baffles me. Because by then, he's going to have to pay the $150 ETF, not to mention if he signs a separate contract with an agent location, he may have to pay an additional contract break fee with an agent location as well.

SO -- if the phone wasn't working the way he wanted it to, why not just bring it back to the store within the first week or two an...
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they do not own the phone, i do not know how retail stores do it, but if they charge back they have to return the phone.

It sounds to me, that not many of the people responding to this question work, or have ever worked in the Retail wireless industry. Personally, i work for USCC, and have for quite some time. First of all, USCC buys phones at a price that averages $32 less than the retail cost charged to customers. which means, the company makes little to no money off these type of transactions. Secondly, A CUSTOMER MAY NOT CANCEL AN ACCT. AND REACTIVATE just bc they broke their phone. There is a term for that, it is "Phantom Churn". anybody with a business degree would know that..If a cust. cancels a line, they must wait 90 days to reactivate, and take a huge change in losing their CTN(phone number). Most of you on this reply need to get their facts straight...
(continues)

then you need to call your customer relations department, because obviously you do not know how the business operates either. and NOBODY said anything about cancelling their line and signing up a new line.





Nobody. Not one person, wether i disagree with them or do not, nobody said they do that, and nobody said we have ever done that.

your games are getting really old.

USCCworker said:
It sounds to me, that not many of the people responding to this question work, or have ever worked in the Retail wireless industry. Personally, i work for USCC, and have for quite some time. First of all, USCC buys phones at a price that averages $32 less than the retail cost charged to customers. which means, the company makes little to no money off these type of transactions. Secondly, A CUSTOMER MAY NOT CANCEL AN ACCT. AND REACTIVATE just bc they broke their phone. There is a term for that, it is "Phantom Churn". anybody with a business degree would know that..If a cust. cancels a line, they must wait 90 days to reactivate, and take a huge change in losing their CTN(phone number). Most of you on this r

...
(continues)

Hey Nut, who does he say you are the same person as? Me?

MotoLuvr said:
Hey Nut, who does he say you are the same person as? Me?

My guess is that he saw that post from USCCworker and he thinks it is ME, because the very next post from him was "your games are getting old."

~Nut

nutnhoney said:

MotoLuvr said:
Hey Nut, who does he say you are the same person as? Me?

My guess is that he saw that post from USCCworker and he thinks it is ME, because the very next post from him was "your games are getting old."

~Nut

Hmm. In his 6:18 post Alejandro refers to someone as "motoluvr". Me thinks he needs a vacation. A LOOOOOONG vacation.

Hmm. In his 6:18 post Alejandro refers to someone as "motoluvr". Me thinks he needs a vacation. A LOOOOOONG vacation.

Either that, or he's already on "vacation" for apparent reasons.

it doesnt show up on your credit report.... If you never paid it and it went to collections then it would show up on your credit rteport

and if customer relations likes you they can pro-rate your ETF if you are just signing up again, but thats a secret.

The prorated buyout depends on several conditions (as well as the mood the relations agent is in)...payment history, how long the customer has been with USCC (if its thier first contract prorated buy-outs are much more unlikely), how many months are left in the current contract, and obviously the condition of thier current phone.

yeah, customers that try that get a 50/50 result.

Also... I actually laughed out loud when I saw this... Customer Relations DOES NOT prorate break fees -- not for any reason, not because they like you, not because they don't -- there is ONE MARKET in Iowa where CR must prorate break fees based upon a decision with the Iowa Attorney Generals office, but that is it. Other than that, the break fee is $150. Period. There is no secret to it -- Alejandro, if you are a USCC employee, you need to get your facts straight.

if i could remember the 3 customers names that actually did it, i would give them to you.

while you just became a member as of today according to your profile, if you are trying to prove a point for the sake of an argument, then you have issues. perhaps you are another one of those that uses multiple member names for the sake of arguing with yourself or others. i hate to break it to you though, but unfortunately, you are indeed wrong and alejandro is correct. i have had buyouts range from the full etf to $75 to $50 to even $15.

now quit pretending to be more knowledgeable than those that are. this industry has no time for nitwits.

"this industry has no time for nitwits."

Then how come you get to stay?

Let me get this straight... so, saying that Customer Relations prorates ETF's because "they like you" qualifies as a non-nitwitical (I just made that word up), intelligent statement -- but an actual fact that Customer Relations must prorate ETF's in Iowa based upon an Attorney General's decision qualifies me as a nitwit. LOL -- okay. I see what I'm dealing with. Thanks for pointing that out.

~Nutnhoney (but not so sweet)

you were the one who wanted to be combative with wrong information, you wanted to insult people even though you were wrong. I do not care if you had one fact that was not the topic of discussion in the first place, nobody challenged that, you were challenged on everything else you said. So to be ironic, "if you work for us cellular you need to get your facts straight."

That's funny coming from someone who doesn't even work for USCC. You are the king (or should I say queen) of off topic discussions.

I especially love it when you post to say I don't know the answer. That kills me. If you don't know then don't post!

if you are referring to the mobile phone tools question, that is because nobody else was answering, i at least acknowledge people, i know you have never helped anyone with a question so you wouldn't know about common courtesy but it is something i try.

Lead by example amigo.

Kill yourself wah, you are being argumentative and insulting just to it. You and your buddy nutlover are morons. alejandro is the correct one in this situation.

wah_wah_wah said:
That's funny coming from someone who doesn't even work for USCC. You are the king (or should I say queen) of off topic discussions.

I especially love it when you post to say I don't know the answer. That kills me. If you don't know then don't post!

Right on brother !!! Put Alejandro/Fauxdemon in his/her place !!!!

I couldn't take it, I have to reply. For the record, from a current CR rep, there is no black and white answer to any question to us. All calls are dealt with on a case by case basis. Its very difficult to deal with people when someone incorrectly sets an expection that we cannot or will not meet.

Thanks for jumping in -- we appreciate your input here! 🙂

However, we realize that all calls are dealt with on a case by case basis and that there are guidelines that CR reps do have to deal with, but -- isn't it true that starting back in September of 2004 that US Cellular stopped waiving ETF's in nearly all markets, except one in Iowa?

I've been told over and over and over that there is no such thing as a $150 buyout. That if the customer pays $150 to buy out of their contract that they would, in effect be canceling their contract and would not be able to continue service, and wouldn't be able to come back to USCC for 60-90 days? Because if they did this, then started new service, wouldn't that be Phantom Churn?

I've also been...
(continues)

this is the last time i am going to say this for you


they were not cancelling, they were paying a fee to buy out their contract so they could renew, and most of the time wanted a lower price on the etf buyout because they completed almost all of their contract.

but still not enough to get a contract voided before their 80% because the phone would be in disrepair.

i at least want your name so if i ever call customer service for help and i hear your name i know to hang-up and try again.

i ussulay have to call customer relations not customer service for a buy-out as my manager once told me customer service cant do crap for you call relations 🙂

i know, i call customer service so they can transfer me, i have never taken the time to actually find their direct number.

I call prc for the most part, but it is a shame that only 75% of the people know what they are doing, i had someone try to tell me i programmed our home SID in wrong when i just wanted him to transfer me to tech team because their number was putting me in a loop of infinate hold time. "I KNOW HOW TO PROGRAM A KYOCERA! There is something wrong with the system!"

i know for us customer service is option 2 tech team option 3 and customer relations 5

it has been my experience that customer relations doesnt like talking to employees, they usually would rather speak to the customer, so i use *611 to have the customer tell them what they want.

Let me put it to you bluntly, because I know what I am talking about here. And if you doubt what I am posting here, call the Tulsa Customer Care Center, ask to speak to Customer Relations -- they will tell you what the guidelines for contract buyouts are. There are 3 pretty significant criteria -- and there is not one called the "$150 buyout" -- but there are three others.

If you are making a habit of calling into CS and hanging up on reps, that's not cool because that's hitting the call center numbers twice -- but, I'm sure you knew that and you wouldn't hang up just because you didn't like the sound of someone's voice, now would you, hmm?

And again... I did not say that I work for USCellular, so please stop wasting time asking for...
(continues)

i already said you do not because you do not know what you are talking about, i just wanted to further insult your lack of knowledge, i do not make a habbit of hanging up on people, but we do hang up on one specific person in the business department because they do not know what they are talking about, on the off chance you do work for us cellular, i want to add your name to the list.

LMAO.... How about you give me your name and the name of your manager?

you first.

nutnhoney said:
LMAO.... How about you give me your name and the name of your manager?

Nut, you are dealing with an incompetent psycho here so you can't win. Almost everything he says is incorrect. Keep up the good work Nut. And don't back down from harmful people like Alejandro!!

what was one thing i said in here that was incorrect?

Nut, you are dealing with an incompetent psycho here so you can't win. Almost everything he says is incorrect. Keep up the good work Nut. And don't back down from harmful people like Alejandro!!

LOL Moto! I think I figured that out, oh about 100 posts or so ago. Do you think there's a record on the number of his own self-contradictions in his own posts? Dios mio! I gave up counting in that last one alone.

Winning isn't everything... it's how you play the game, right?

Back to homework hell. 😁

Nut.

MotoLuvr said:

nutnhoney said:
LMAO.... How about you give me your name and the name of your manager?

Nut, you are dealing with an incompetent psycho here so you can't win. Almost everything he says is incorrect. Keep up the good work Nut. And don't back down from harmful people like Alejandro!!

I feel like I ought to back up alejandro here. while he tries to be an @ss sometimes (sorry alejandro), he DOES generally know what he's talking about. You, on the other hand... 🙄

I second that. Major @$$, but he has posted a lot more, and seems to have a level head on his shoulders.

fauxdemon was everman.

nutnhoney said:
Also... I actually laughed out loud when I saw this... Customer Relations DOES NOT prorate break fees -- not for any reason, not because they like you, not because they don't -- there is ONE MARKET in Iowa where CR must prorate break fees based upon a decision with the Iowa Attorney Generals office, but that is it. Other than that, the break fee is $150. Period. There is no secret to it -- Alejandro, if you are a USCC employee, you need to get your facts straight.

You need to get you facts straight actually. After the first year CR generally cuts the ETF in half. They consistently approve early buyouts for customers. And if this forum was secured I could send you 10 bans right now of cust...
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