🙄 Oh well so it's 49,999,999 instead.

lordrevan05 said:
🙄 Oh well so it's 49,999,999 instead.

lordrevan05 said:
🙄 Oh well so it's 49,999,999 instead.

thats ok, i just migrated a customer, who bought three new lines, so it'll be hard to replace her 🙄 🙄 😈 😈

🙂 lmao.. nice one

😁 Thank you.

go back and look at your FIRST bill dude, you were charged an activation fee. same thing, 'cept this time its a DISCOUNTED activation fee. and if you had a bit more fight in ya, you could probably get it waived. but go on and pay your new service those higher activation fees. 🙄

VERIZON HAS NEVER CHARGED A ACTIVATION FEE ON UPGRADES... 😁

You're about a few hours late to make that point. 🙄

new company dude, did you know it probably costs the company more than 18 dollars to move you to a whole new system and give you a phone for free which costs them at least 100$ or more 🙄

of course it costs to upgrade or to move to diff companies. i mean come on. everyone knows that.

true dat

i mean seriously lol.. i mean i could understand maybe they wouldnt becuase it was from att to cingular, but most of the time they charge more then 18 bucks. hey atleast they giving a free phone lol...

lol i understand why custs are sometimes not happy but cummon, get a grip, the people are not the only ones who have to pay n e thing

i know.. lol... thats very true. if i was cingular i would actually give free activation for att wireless customers.

but honestly i think it is the custs choice if they want the service pay the act. fee and dont complain and if you want the service it comes with all the costs if the people dont like it they can CHOOSE to stay with the att legacy plans

but dont the att wireless customers HAVE to go over to the GSM and cingular' plans? i mean it will all go to cingular anyway. (After the integration is completed)

They signed contract w/ att if they are still under contract no we can not force them to Migrate!!

so why do they have to pay the 18 dollar fee?

because it is two completely different systems, even though it is within the same company... The way the systems go, there is no difference from porting a number from verizon or doing an AT&T migration.

i dont care. its the same company. it should be free.

You think that Cingular is going to base it poilicies off of what you want? No they base it off of the majority of people... And of the 400 or so upgrades done in my store each month, I would say less than 1% complain about the fee... And normally the people who complain about it are the ones that can afford it. go figure.

i can understand about regular upgrades from cingular upgrading phones etc.. and from the activation fee from other carriers to them, BUT NOT from att wireless. thats pathetic.

Why? They don't go through a credit check... They get another discounted phone when they are not even through their intial contract... tell me why they have it so incredibly bad.

i just said. do i have to say 100 times?

No I would rather that you don't actually.

ok then 🙂

The reason they can afford it is because they complain, and ultimately get it waived (maybe not that fee, but with other things). I knew a girl that was going with a guy that would call up monthly to Sprint to try to get either more minutes added to his phone or credits on his account.

nextel18 said:
i dont care. its the same company. it should be free.

Its the same issue as if he was a tdma customer and got gsm service, if he was a blue customer(ATTWS)and stayed with ATTWS and went to gsm from tdma, or if he was a gsm customer and got a new phone or tdma and got another tdma phone , he paid for the equipment upgrade fee, its not a "migration fee" or anything else, just simply a equipment upgrade fee, att had $15.00 Upgrade Process Fee, and $9.95 shipping.

When you buy another phone, you are upgrading from what you have to what you are getting, and the upgrade fee $18.00 from cingular.Don't over complicate the issue, its not rocket science, customers have 2 choices, buy from the com...
(continues)

you already mentioned this before. you sound like a broken record. my argument was that why would someone who is going to be migrating from att wireless to cingular want to pay the fee?

nextel18 said:
you already mentioned this before. you sound like a broken record. my argument was that why would someone who is going to be migrating from att wireless to cingular want to pay the fee?

I'ts not a migration fee, too bad you don't listen when you igrate through customer care, migration team, or web offers through cingular.com you are buying a phone from the company, and you are paying $18.00 for the upgrade of the new cingular phone.

If you get a phone(cingular) on your own and then migrate, you don't charged the $18.00, i say it but you don't listen to it.

i never said it was a migration fee. didnt you say that you have to pay (as a att wireless customer ) $18 bucks to be with cingular?

Cing is offering free phones and as previously mentioned charges the $18 discounted act fee to compensate!!

they shouldnt charge anything for accounting fee.

if you dont want it dont take it duh 😁

but i heard they are forcing people to. duh!

no it is your choice, if you lost your phone you could always go to e bay beacuse i have advised allot of people to sell there phones on there

yea, thats true. shouldnt charge though.

whell you could say that cingular basically needs to do a local numberportability and then give you a free phone which costs them about 200+ dollars and they are also spending 1 million per tower and they are putting up 8000 of them a month for YOU, so mabe you should think that you are lucky because you only pay 50% of the activation fee

100 million per tower? its more like 300k per tower.

they dont make any money on their phones.

sorry. 1 million per tower? not even close.

Ebay or best buy!!
I don't agree with the $18 dollars either but it is something that they charge as an activation fee to get the migration complete and the phones activated.

There is alot more to the fee then the business asking for money. Most people think inside the box

exactly. good point.

i mean why charge? your a loyal customer, signing up for 1-2 years probably already on your contract. probably going to switch to cingular's network and extend your contract or renew it. why charge 18 bucks? its stupid.

I agree but it is not only Cingular that chrgs any other company wld chrg and activation fee. It is customers choice we are offering the price discounted we could charge it in full then really get a response!! 🙂

no no, i understand that. i am talking about from att to cingular.

I know that. what i am saying is that if you migrate you are obviously lokking in to leaving att and Cing is offering the $18 fee instead og $36 anyways be backl in hour

by what i am saying is why would you want to pay cingular 18 bucks to just mvoe over to them? i dont get it. its pathetic.

good night 🙂

Because Cingular is very beneficial in most cases and the fee is there like I mentioned to activate the phones. When you think about i treally with the rollover mins you are saving mega bucks anyway. The $18 dollars will always be in dispute but is still a dicounted fee to migrate to a better company. The fee is a fee that allows you to port the same number and as my sup says people miss the point of convenience.

i guess. yea thats true.

well hey lets talk about this more tomorow i wanna get to sleep 🙂

night.

night! I will be here from 10pm est - 7am est

nice nice... you a rep?

Maybe, why?

just curious. becuase those hours are REP hours, so i just figured. not a problem.

nextel18 said:
nice nice... you a rep?

Yes I am a blue legacy rep

Another reason is that the majority of people on AT&T are under a contract that would technically be considered broken by what we are allowing them to do, so in the scheme of things $18 a phone is a whole lot better than $175 per phone.

but why do they pay antyhing? why pay the 18 bucks? its stupid and pathetic. if they are under contract no point of paying for the phone or paying the 18 bucks.

Why do I pay surcharges at the ATM, I should just be able to get my money for free? I think that's pathetic too, but it is a part of life, unnecessary fees.

yea, its pathetic. or maybe go to the right atm. maybe to the bank's atm. or maybe actually get cash instead of just using your debit card. or paying by check. dont be that stupid.

Okay then stay where you are, and then when you want to change MAYBE the policy is different... And as for the name calling, I think you are doing something that you claim you NEVER do. Look who is the picture perfect example of maturity today. 🤣

i am not doing name calling. when you start, then i finish.

You are so incredibly childish.. I did not call you stupid or anything like that... I said that you have a thick skull, which in my terms, means that you have a hard time seeing other peoples opinions. I just don't understand how I can say the same thing as someone else and you say that I am wrong but you "can see the logic" when someone else says it.

childish? another name. wow. very interesting. thick skull= insult. your opinions mean nothing becuase it attacks your former carrier so you are saying you are a liar, his fault etc... you dont have any logic, my friend. no soup for you lol.

nextel18 said:
exactly. good point.

i mean why charge? your a loyal customer, signing up for 1-2 years probably already on your contract. probably going to switch to cingular's network and extend your contract or renew it. why charge 18 bucks? its stupid.

Let's think back to just 1 year ago, if you were a ATTWS customer called in and wanted to upgrade your phone, you did, you were charged the cost, whether it was discounted or not, based on eligibility, then were charged a $15.00 Upgrade Process Fee and $9.95 shipping charge.

1 year ago a cingular customer wanted to upgrade they paid $18.00 Upgrade fee, and the shipping fee.

If you were a TDMA customer and were upgrading to another TDMA phone or ...
(continues)

by the way, if your a att wireless customer uprading to the cingular network you shouldnt pay any fee what-so-ever. i understand if your just upgrading phones, but not if you were going to be migrating over.

nextel18 said:
by the way, if your a att wireless customer uprading to the cingular network you shouldnt pay any fee what-so-ever. i understand if your just upgrading phones, but not if you were going to be migrating over.

The $18.00 fee is a equipment upgrade fee, if you were/are a "blue" customer and get a cingular phone on your own and migrate you can with no $18.00 fee, but if you buy a phone through the company via customer care, web offers through cingular.com or migration dept. you do pay $18.00 because i will say this 1 last time, its a EQUIPMENT UPGRADE FEE!!!!!!!!

alrighty. you can say it 100 more times if u want.

it shouldnt be charged. why would they do it? they dont need the 18 bucks. they are already getting another 2 years out of the contract.

1 or 2 yrs

still. cingular is still get probably 50 bucks per month per 12 months possibly more. why would they need 18 bucks? its stupid and pathetic.

CLEEVERIZON said:
VERIZON HAS NEVER CHARGED A ACTIVATION FEE ON UPGRADES... 😁

Ok I worked for VZW for 2 years, six months after I started there they began to charged for upgrade fees, calling it an esn change fee, so ALL companies have it, alteast one thing I have to give Cingular doesn't hide it under another name, which is why I now work for them. 🤣 🤣

We have been charging that fee for over 4 years, granted it was $20 before... I just don't understand the rationalization when it will cost you more to switch in most cases, but that's just me.

😛 People with cell phones don't take them seriously. They believe they have a toy in their hands that just happens to make calls. thusly, there should be no fees or charges associated with this neat toy that makes phone calls.

lordrevan05 said:
😛 People with cell phones don't take them seriously. They believe they have a toy in their hands that just happens to make calls. thusly, there should be no fees or charges associated with this neat toy that makes phone calls.

Well, there is some justification for being a little upset about repeated activation fees. With TMobile, activation is a ONE TIME fee. The line is only activated once, everything after that is maintenance on an existing line. Existing customers changing their acct features and such shouldn't be paying an activation fee, perhaps it ought to be called an "administrative fee" or something like that.

It is. It's called an upgrade fee. 🙄

Okay, but everybody's using the term "activation fee" and it doesn't sound right...

the customer said activation... We all knew what he meant though.

Ah, gotcha... different company, different terms... 😉

Yup! 😁

Aleq said:
Ah, gotcha... different company, different terms... 😉

Yes! very different, don't you even DARE compare....

Anxiovert said:

Aleq said:
Ah, gotcha... different company, different terms... 😉

Yes! very different, don't you even DARE compare....

Don't take it TOO personally 🤣

Anxiovert said:

Aleq said:
Ah, gotcha... different company, different terms... 😉

Yes! very different, don't you even DARE compare....

Considering how many Cingular customers I helped out with basic troubleshooting and other information when they'd get TMo customer care on a weekend I figure I have plenty of chops to say my piece. But yeah, I'm too polite to point out how incredibly antediluvian it is to have a large wireless carrier who only recently figured out that 24/7 customer care is a necessary thing. Thanks for setting me straight... 🙄

Just charge an extra $18 for the phones and don't have any "extra" fees if this money is so vital for Cingular's success. 🙄

but I suppose you want the discounts on new phones dont ya... subsidized phones = contracts and activation fees, phones at retail cost = no contract and still an upgrade/activation fee if you are going frome tdma to gsm

There is no upgrade fee when switching equipment/technology, unless you are extending your agreement and getting the subsidized price. That is at least true in the Texas area.

Not tryin to start nothin, but rather tell my story... May 26th 2004 I upgraded my (base) line, and outright bought my wife's (family talk add-line). My first bill after that i was charged 2 $18 upgrade fees and the CSR told me it was because she went from TDMA to GSM. So, i paid it and got on w/my life.

This is a case where Cingular needs to know to step it up. You should NOT have to pay that. You do not pay to change technology. I owuld call and get that taken off or credited to the next bill. I wish that everyone at Cingular knew everything. It makes everyone elses job harder, and makes a bad name for the company. I can't even defend that.

I know Cingular has its flaws. I understand that CSR's management are stats pushers. Its the suits that need to get a grip of reality and start "seeing the light". I love Cingular. I love my job. But even in doing so, you see flaws.. Flaws that you wish you could have adressed. The problem with a big company is that the suits are so hard to "reach" with advice or comments.

When you go into your favorite fast food joint, do you expect them to give you free stuff just because you frequent there? 🙄

Rathrok said:
When you go into your favorite fast food joint, do you expect them to give you free stuff just because you frequent there? 🙄

It's called subway points, collect so many and get FREE FOOD! DICKHEAD

moneyb said:

Rathrok said:
When you go into your favorite fast food joint, do you expect them to give you free stuff just because you frequent there? 🙄

It's called subway points, collect so many and get FREE FOOD! DICKHEAD

There's no call for that kind of language.

With that said, isn't that the same as stay for two years and get this much off the price of your phone, all you pay is the $18 processing fee to switch.

moneyb said:

Rathrok said:
When you go into your favorite fast food joint, do you expect them to give you free stuff just because you frequent there? 🙄

It's called subway points, collect so many and get FREE FOOD! DICKHEAD

That's why they let you get a good phone for a discounted price instead of paying full price for it. I pay my car note on time every month, i don't expect the dealership to give me a break on a months payment cause i pay my bills on time. Being a "loyal" customer means you pay your bills on time like you're supposed to do. It doesn't make you any more special then the other guy who pays his cable bill or car note on time.

Yet you still have to buy a pop to cash in Subway stamps.

Kinda like an upgrade fee huh? 🤣

good one

Actually it is not free..you have to buy a beverage in order to get the "free sub". Good job on the "dickhead" part though, I'm sure you strained your brain for that one.

Rathrok said:
Actually it is not free..you have to buy a beverage in order to get the "free sub". Good job on the "dickhead" part though, I'm sure you strained your brain for that one.

OooooooooOOOOoooo...I'm tellin'.

I understand that. I am just saying that most companies have the fees... That's just me.

Did you know that Cingular is a business? The purpose for a business is to make $M$O$N$E$Y$!If you've been driving Ford for 9 years, does that mean on your next new Ford car, Ford should not make you pay financing? Or delivery charge? Get real and get with the program.

🤣 HSD you da man!!

Why is it that when people have been with a company for a while they always wanna shout about how long they've been payin thier bill?

Guess what? You paid for service. That service was provided to you in exchange for your money. For this you don't owe cingular anything and cingular doesn't owe you jack!

If you don't want to pay the $18 upgrade fee (brace yourself for a novel idea) DON'T UPGRADE!!!

🙄 Right if your boiler bust do you call comed and tell them to knock off part of the price for the boiler?!

Mmmm....wise, this one is.

Hey, I have been buying pizza from Pizza hut forever... I want free pizza or I am leaving! 👿

Free Pizza?! You've been buying from them forever! Not not measly 9 years, you deserve so much more than a free pizza, come on now! 🤣

🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

disturbed1 said:
Why is it that when people have been with a company for a while they always wanna shout about how long they've been payin thier bill?

Guess what? You paid for service. That service was provided to you in exchange for your money. For this you don't owe cingular anything and cingular doesn't owe you jack!

If you don't want to pay the $18 upgrade fee (brace yourself for a novel idea) DON'T UPGRADE!!!

This is why TMobile is growing so nicely. We don't charge an arbitrary fee for upgrading, it's just the price of the phone and no back chat. Activation fees should be one time only, and administrative upgrade fees should be waivable for long time customers, it's just good business to...
(continues)

no major argument there. But what he didn't dig deep enough to find out (or rather politely ask about) is that that fee IS waiveable for long term customers. I don't claim that the fee is a great thing or that it should even be charged, but it is for whatever reason and if you want the service of upgrading you have to pay for it. Other carriers may not do that, but his does. If he wants to upgrade with his carrier then he'll have to either pay the fee, or calmly inquire about waiving it.

Aleq said:

disturbed1 said:
Why is it that when people have been with a company for a while they always wanna shout about how long they've been payin thier bill?

Guess what? You paid for service. That service was provided to you in exchange for your money. For this you don't owe cingular anything and cingular doesn't owe you jack!

If you don't want to pay the $18 upgrade fee (brace yourself for a novel idea) DON'T UPGRADE!!!

This is why TMobile is growing so nicely. We don't charge an arbitrary fee for upgrading, it's just the price of the phone and no back chat. Activation fees should be one time only, and administrative upgrade fees should be waivable for long time custom

...
(continues)

Actually, TMobile doesn't HAVE to do ANYTHING. The company is growing nicely, is profitable, and in no danger of going backwards. We don't give away the farm, but we are definitely oriented toward customer service, because in the final analysis, that's going to be the front that the wireless wars are fought on. NOT coverage, NOT rate plans, NOT gadgets and whooptedoo phones. It's going to be all about how well treated a customer is, how quickly and thoroughly the company addresses and resolves customer issues and how valued the company makes the customer feel. TMobile is very oriented toward that goal, and it's working--just ask J.D. Powers. It's a given that networks will improve if you throw money at them, which all carriers do. It is...
(continues)

you would think after nine yrs of loyalty there wldnt be an upgrade fee.... wait a minute
there is no such thing as a free lunch

bigwille said:
you would think after nine yrs of loyalty there wldnt be an upgrade fee.... wait a minute
there is no such thing as a free lunch

That's funny, when I upgrade to Directv Unit with TIVO, IT was free, free install, and a new dish. What in return, one additional year commitment.....your telling me a cellphone cost more than a satelite reveiver? NOT Buying it......POWER TO THE PEOPLE GIVE US FREE PHONE THAT NOT SUCK! 😳

"That's funny, when I upgrade to Directv Unit with TIVO, IT was free, free install, and a new dish."

exactly.

I think you guys are looking way past the point.. It is a fee that a lot of companies charge... And yes we may not necessarily agree with it but we, as employees, don't have the choice to waive it in any situation.

no no . thats not what i am saying. i am saying is that why would a att wireless customer would pay 18 bucks to switch to cingular, even though cingular bought out att wireless. thats my question. i understand if you have to pay an upgrade fee if you have cingular to get another phone or migrating to another provider. but why have to pay money when your basically on the same company? (ie cingular/att wirless)

You have to cover costs... Don't fool yourself, during the Sprint/Nextel merger Sprint will have to find a way to cover the costs of putting so much money up... Cingular went with the upgrade fee... It's a regular business tactic.

If you make a huge expense you must have a way to recover some of that amount in a timely fashion.

i know, but to charge someone to migrate to that company? come on. they didnt put so much money up. they didnt actually put up the 30 billion dollars plus, becuase most of it was in stock. only 2 billion was actually cash vs cingular's purchase which was all done by cash. there is a huuuuge difference.

its a stupid business tactic. they should have the customer sign up for another 2 years, becuase they will be getting 50 arpu anyway. why do they need another 18? its pathetic.

Keep in mind though Nextel... We're not the only ones... Agree with it or not... Even Sprint will find a way to charge migrating customers... They'll use different tactics or maybe be blatant.

No, we didn't put up the majority... Our shareholders did... And our parent companies have already canned one CEO before... Do you really want to be the one to get canned after purchasing ATTWS?

I agree, there's alot of areas we could operate differently... But it really comes down to one thing... We are out to make a profit. The consumer will help us turn that profit.

We dont charge customers a fee to migrate their phones when moving from AT&T wireless to Cingular. We charge an upgrade fee when they upgrade and get a new phone. In the case of a customer moving from AT&T wireless (entirely their choice, we do not force them to do so), they are upgrading their phone because AT&T phones (and SIM cards) do not work properly with the Cingular billing systems. Again, the issue is choice. You may or may not decide to make a change, but it's up to you. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do.

belcorriko said:
We dont charge customers a fee to migrate their phones when moving from AT&T wireless to Cingular. We charge an upgrade fee when they upgrade and get a new phone. In the case of a customer moving from AT&T wireless (entirely their choice, we do not force them to do so), they are upgrading their phone because AT&T phones (and SIM cards) do not work properly with the Cingular billing systems. Again, the issue is choice. You may or may not decide to make a change, but it's up to you. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do.

Exactly, and you are a customer of the former attws, you would have the paid the same thing when you migrated from tdma to gsm, you had to pay that fee.

moneyb said:
Cheap is not my concern, it's CINGULARS unwillingness to work with me as a longtime customer!

What a whiner 🙄

Go on and change carriers, Cingular doesnt want you as a customer anyway. Go bother Verizon or something.

repCB said:

moneyb said:
Cheap is not my concern, it's CINGULARS unwillingness to work with me as a longtime customer!

What a whiner 🙄

Go on and change carriers, Cingular doesnt want you as a customer anyway. Go bother Verizon or something.

Seriiously who gives you the right to speak for Cingular? Exactly bud you are nobody. Cingular is obviously wanting new customers. Don't be so rude

Im a Cingular customer and wht you don't realize is te company owes you nothing for being a long term customer. Each month you pay your bill, they give you service. No one owes anyone anything.

You remind me of employees who get laid off and then claim how loyal they were. The company paid them. Thats why they stayed. Not loyalty.

You want to avoid reactivation fees sign a 5 year contract. Myself I stay month to month when my contract expires because there is no incentive to resign especially with LNP. (Free phones are not an incentive for me). But if you get a free or discounted phone theres your activation fee multiplied.

The days are over when Carriers have to offer the world to customers. People think they NEED cell phones an...
(continues)

Hey, an American that understands the concept of bills and why we pay them. That's something ya don't see everyday. 😳

NO I just get tired of people mistaking loyalty for greed. Loyalty is continuing to work for an employer who cannot afford to pay you.

Ther is no such thing as loyalty when both parties adhere to an agreement and are satisfied. With the other choices being VErizon and TEnn Mobile I do not think Cbgular is out of line not to give away the farm and actually act like a service company that offers a valuable service.

The wireless industry and its customers are adjusting to a new paradiam. The customer NEEDS the service but does not want the CArrier to know that. guess what? They do know it and as any business will do FINALLY make back some of the money it GAVE away attracting those customers.

I see the day when phones will not be free a...
(continues)

Did we give you a discount on the phone? The UPGRADE fee is a STANDARD fee charged to EVERY customer, regardless of tenure. You probably got a better deal on the phone price itself than a person that's only been with the company 2 years...

But, if you want to cancel about a measly $18, go ahead. You'll pay double that with any other carrier, and have NO tenure with them.

I have been going to the same doctor my whole life, and I have never seen a discount from him. I have had the same cable company for years, and my bill keeps going up. the grocery store I shop at has never given me a free rump roast for spending $400 dollars a month there. and nissan motor acceptance corp. has never sent me a letter stating " based on your good payment history, and multiple loans through us , please dont pay your payment this month"
How does this all relate?, you might ask. Cingular like these other businesses I just gave you examples of are FOR PROFIT businesses. you better belive that you will pay fees. the other 49 million customers do. just because you have been a customer for 9 years!! wooptie doo!! cingu...
(continues)

😁 Good post my man!

Bravo Man, Bravo

moneyb said:

HeroPsychoDreamer said:
It's $18!! Don't be so cheap!

You don't think you'll have to pay that if you switch carriers? YES, you will, and maybe even more than $18!

Cheap is not my concern, it's CINGULARS unwillingness to work with me as a longtime customer!

And you expect another company to extend you this benefit?
No one will, and you've said that you don't care if a competitor does or does not, so why would you cut your nose off to spite your face?

You only hurt yourself.

😈 Dude for the phone you will probably be getting $200.00 to $400.00 depending on the model, you will probably get this at a greatly discounted price depending on the length of term, two that $18.00 goes to all the little elves that make the lil box in your hand talk. Three and probably most important as HeroPyschoDreamer pointed out, this aint a non profit organization we're in the business to get paid. If you switch you will pay a higher activation fee because 😲 They aint non profit organizations either. WoW people paying $$$$ for goods and services don't life suck!!!!

Mainly just the phone though, just to get it at the discounted price.

right....that's what the new contract is for

yeah 😁

In the California market, we have a website for VIPS we log in and it tells us what we can offer them, We then select the option they choose and it applies it to their order and they can do everything in the store. Check your Vip lookup in CSP

And there's no guarantee that unlocked phone will work with our systems (sms/mms/internet)...

When it comes to Sony Ericsson's, they work flawlessly 😁 If you know how to set it up that is

😳 Wait a minute Sony Ericsson phones work?????????

Yes they do!

🙂 Hum called Verizon, told them of my concerns with Cingular, they offered to waive activation fee, two free phones, and offered a plan with more minutes for less coin per month..hows this porting over of # work?

I would be extremely careful with that. I have heard people offer the world and then never give it to the person... Especially when the person has no account with the company for them to note anything on. But do what suits your needs. Also which plan do they have that would work better than ours, just for my own information?

Yeah, and wait til you sign that contract, then they'll bill you for the activation fee and will pretend like they never promised a thing.

It happened to my cousin when he switched from Nextel, they said they'll give this and that... and they did. But billed him for it later, when he brought it up, they had noooo idea what he was talking about. I told him to go with Cingular but no, he had to do what was popular around here 🙄

It's easy, and free, advise both parties that you would like to port out the number, and they will process it from there. Remember, porting cancels your old acocunt.

Sure, I'll believe they'll do that when I see it. The sales rep might have said that, but there's NO proof for you...

As to porting, VZW'll need your account number, and they'll process it.

Wait a minute! You got pissed when you were told you'd have to pay an equip upgrade fee (most people hate that word/phrase, if it had been phrased or worded different to the cust this whole thread wouldn't exist 😁 ) because you obviously felt that with your loyalty and time in service you shouldn't be charged ANY fees let alone the same fees that every schmo has to pay... Now, you're falling for a Verizon deal that everybody can get off the street. I'm missing something... There's something that was not explained in the orig post... By the way, go with TMo, they need the numbers...

Nobody is asking you to stay with Cingular. You're more than welcome to go with any other carrier. The grass isn't greener on the other side. Good luck with whatever other carrier you choose. 🙂

The grass is greener over yonder because our grass is orange and tastes like schnozeberries 😁

Really?! 😳 "Schnozeberry? What's a schnozeberry?" 🤣 (I love that movie, and I can't wait for the re-make with 🤭 Johnny Depp!)

Na, I got the schnozeberry reference from 'Super Troopers'. Great movie 😁

Yeah well, schnozeberry is from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory too! Anyway, I like both movies!

It sure is isn't it. Waiting for Charlie to come out... its gonna be great cause I will see it for free 😁

I've seen some previews for it. It's no match for the older version. Seems alot wierder. 😳

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp... You expected... ?

And didn't Marilyn Manson help finance it? That would make it wierd alone. 😳

We looked at the first trailer on Yahoo, about 3-4 months ago. My wife looked at it, shook her head, and said, 'I'd rather watch 'Mystery Men'... 😳

Yeah but it's Johnny Depp. that alone is enough for me. 😁

How are you gonna do that? 😕

👿 The one thing I disagree with is "migration fees" we're charging people to move from one end of the company to the other?

There are no migration fees...it's an activation fee for a new phone...I should know. I'm in the migrations dept.

Its the same thing as the $18 upgrade fee.

Actualy companies lose money on the phones but make it up over the course of the first 9 months of a contract. It's called subsidized pricing. The companies buy the phone for $X then mark it down by $X with the unnderstanding that the customer will be a customer for X amount of months. The amount marked down will be made up during the first 9 months of the contract. Companies make nothing on the phone, they make thier money on the service. We could be like europe and not subsidize pricing on the phones and you are not locked into a contract, but then you would be looking at at least $300 for a new phone, and that is the low end phones.

I know that companies lose money on the phones...but companies lose more money trying to gain customers than trying to keep a new one (in most cases)...and I'm SURE that $18 is not making up the lost money on subsidizing the phone.

😕 No the $18.00 pays the people that make the phone work. How else does the damn thing get on. The guys that work the towers and network, the csrs, the store reps, the engineers, etc all have to split that measly $18.00.

Why do the guys who work the towers need a cut of an Upgrade fee? Isn't their pay coming from the monthly service charges? Same as the CSR's, the store reps, the engineers, etc. If they're ALL trying to get paid from an $18 upgrade fee, I feel REALLY sorry for them. Must be hard to get a raise. 😛

😈 Damn straight!

😎 Right a phone we sell for $149.99 on a two year probably actually cost us 3x's that much direct from the manufacturer. No carrier makes money selling phones it's the plans and features that make the carrier the money. You know who gets paid when you buy a cellphone? MOTOROLA, NOKIA, SAMSUNG, KYOCERA etc...

Darth_Ix said:
Actualy companies lose money on the phones but make it up over the course of the first 9 months of a contract. It's called subsidized pricing. The companies buy the phone for $X then mark it down by $X with the unnderstanding that the customer will be a customer for X amount of months. The amount marked down will be made up during the first 9 months of the contract. Companies make nothing on the phone, they make thier money on the service. We could be like europe and not subsidize pricing on the phones and you are not locked into a contract, but then you would be looking at at least $300 for a new phone, and that is the low end phones.

I dont think so. If the phones were available only ...
(continues)

As a salesman, I also think we should sell phones and service separately. The mark up would probably be between $20 and $50 per handset. Of course, if it was done this way I'd probably be working at Wal-Mart since it can buy everything so cheaply and undercut it's competitors.

ralph_on_me said:
As a salesman, I also think we should sell phones and service separately. The mark up would probably be between $20 and $50 per handset. Of course, if it was done this way I'd probably be working at Wal-Mart since it can buy everything so cheaply and undercut it's competitors.

Exactly Wal Mart would be selling phones at 5% above cost. The manufacterurs would lower costs as well since they are now selling to a fickle public instead of deep pocket carriers. Its win win......

Europeans know what they are doing in this instance. Month to month is th best way to go since the carriers offer no more minutes anymore. Just phones. You can buy a Sony 710 on ebay for a little above what the Carri...
(continues)

👿 Yes the power of the Dark Side is strong with VZW.

Your logic is flawed on this one.

First, the reason you can buy SE S710s on Ebay for cheap is because every employee who won one is dumping it there (same with the cheaper SE, the V551, V3 and soon the V635). It has nothing to do with the market forces you are describing. Second, the SE 710s is early in it's life cycle so the subsidy is not as high as as say a Samsung 427M which Cingular gives away free on it's website.

The "ideal" situation you are describing already exists. You say Wal-Mart would sell handsets for 5% over cost if your European model were here? Most stores already sell handsets w/o a contract for approximately 5% over cost (some even less). As big as Wal-Mart is they do not have the buying power of the carriers, ...
(continues)

See, this is why people should help fund PBS. We get more people like KF: informed, intelligent, and product conscious. If I were in retail, you would make my job easy. If I ever come to Vegas, I'll buy you a drink 😁

austin316 said:

She is getting a discount for the phone, plus that also takes into consideration things shipping, handling and processing of the upgrade.If they don't want to pay the upgrade fee, then buy direct from the manufacturer, they don't charge the upgrade fee,but they don't give you a discount either, you can't have your cake eat it then not pay for it.

T-Mobile offers a discount on a new phone as long as it's been at least a year since you received a discounted phone and you're on a plan that's 39.99 or higher, and agree to a new contract. It's offered as same as new customer pricing (well, same as new if you go into a T-Mobile corp store). There are 2 shipping options...free for regular whic...
(continues)

LilShorty said:

austin316 said:

She is getting a discount for the phone, plus that also takes into consideration things shipping, handling and processing of the upgrade.If they don't want to pay the upgrade fee, then buy direct from the manufacturer, they don't charge the upgrade fee,but they don't give you a discount either, you can't have your cake eat it then not pay for it.

T-Mobile offers a discount on a new phone as long as it's been at least a year since you received a discounted phone and you're on a plan that's 39.99 or higher, and agree to a new contract. It's offered as same as new customer pricing (well, same as new if you go into a T-Mobile corp store). There are 2 ship

...
(continues)

bizkitsngravy said:


First off, I don't want to sound like a meanie, but I don't think this is an appropriate forum to kick off a sales speil for anothe company. (and I work for T-Mobile)

Thank God someone said it...

That fee (migration or activation) is going into the pockets of the people who sell and maintain your service. That's why store reps get money from, say it with me now, activations. Good job class.

Are your monthly service charges not enough? Is an $18 UPGRADE fee going to keep Cingular afloat rather than the new contract that you would have the customer on? If this guy quits b/c of the upgrade fee, that not all carriers charge, then you lose that precious $18 PLUS the revenue you would be generating from his monthly charge when he signed for a new contract.

Our goal is not to 'stay afloat'. We could probably 'manage' without the $18 upgrade fee... But there's no reason to be ashamed of it... We want to turn a profit as well as staying a float... A very nice profit at that.

The upgrade fee helps us cover costs and turn a profit. Yes Cingular like other wireless carriers wants to make money from their customers... Why is there any reason to apologize for that?

😈 Was the monthly service charge enough for AT&T wireless? Where are they now?

Why is it sooo hard for people to understand that this is what businesses do, make money!

Like I said earlier, do people complain about delivery charges for their new cars?

"I'm already paying $18,500 for my car, why do I need to pay $200 delivery charge? My fee should be waived because I've owned a Chevy for 40 years!!" Does Chevy care how long you've owned a Chevy? NO! Do they care if you buy another one? NO! And why not? Because if you don't, one of the many, many citizens of the United States of America will. And not just one, many. Because I doubt the majority of people out there are going to whine about $200. If they're throwing down $18,500, how could they possibly complain about $200? If $18K is no problem, $200 shoul...
(continues)

Deal breaker for me is a company that's never charged me a "upgrade" fee on either of my two lines every now suddenly does. I remember a copy that would offer "extra minutes a month" as perks no longer does that.

BOTTOM LINE IS THIS: ALL THE THINGS THAT KEPT ME WITH CINGULAR OVER THE YEARS SEEM TO BE GONE. MIGHT AS WELL CHASE THE DAYS BEST RATE PLAN.

BTW...If you pay the $200 delivery charge your an idiot! With almost all services we use (Other than GAS & Electric and Postal Service) you have service options.

Do your homework and your dollars go alot further. Call it cheap, I call it being an educated consumer. That's how I found you guys 😉

$200 was a random figure off of the top of my head.

You don't sound like an educated consumer tome though. Cause your obviously going to go with what'll cost you more. LOL

Nextel will let you up grade at ANY time and as often as you like with NO fee and give you the same price as a new customer gets for the phone just re sign a two year contract got the i736 Dale Jr phone and then the with two year contract and the next month the i830 came out call in they said you still have 23 months left but if you renew it today and you will have 24 months instead of the 23 we can up grade you 😁

stephen5688 said:
Nextel will let you up grade at ANY time and as often as you like with NO fee and give you the same price as a new customer gets for the phone just re sign a two year contract got the i736 Dale Jr phone and then the with two year contract and the next month the i830 came out call in they said you still have 23 months left but if you renew it today and you will have 24 months instead of the 23 we can up grade you 😁

yeah, right... 🙄

call tham and ask them they will tell you it is true 🙂

stephen5688 said:
Nextel will let you up grade at ANY time and as often as you like with NO fee and give you the same price as a new customer gets for the phone just re sign a two year contract got the i736 Dale Jr phone and then the with two year contract and the next month the i830 came out call in they said you still have 23 months left but if you renew it today and you will have 24 months instead of the 23 we can up grade you 😁

ATT used to do that, look where it got them.Nextel has phone that cost next to nothing to make, so they can afford it, the GSM phones are hell of lot more expensive!!!!

What makes the GSM phone cost more and besides the iden phones are muche better built phone not that Nextel service is worth having trust me I know 🙄

stephen5688 said:
What makes the GSM phone cost more and besides the iden phones are muche better built phone not that Nextel service is worth having trust me I know 🙄

I know all about Nextel, i was offered twice a job to work for them.The Tech, the frequencies for use both domestic and internationally, the abilities and features.

IDEN is not there compared to GSM.

I am talking about just the phones, moto seems to build the iden phones better for Nextel than they do for others 🙄 I am not saying that iden is better than GSM, just talking about the build of the phones 🤣

speedy_ames said:
The reason why Cingular charges this $18 upgrade fee is to pay people like me, who get the calls for customers wanting to upgrade. You are making it seem like we are complete monsters because we are charging a lowly $18 for you to upgrade. Do you realize that these phones cost us anywhere from 200-700 dollars? We don't get the phones for free, but we turn around and give them to you for free. We wouldn't EXIST anymore if we gave everything away for free. If it's really that big of a darn deal to you, call customer care and complain. Maybe they will bow down to you and waive it for you. 😡

NO please don't call customer care! According to Cingular "protocol" we cannot waive the fee...
(continues)

actually that's not true... according to the "value the customer" protocol a manager can and will waive it. just depends on the manager being asked.

heyyyyyy i work in a retail corporate store and have not had a problem yet with my work environment......we make work fun here and when a customer does come in we make it an enjoyable environment for them that they will have fun as well and most of them do....i like where i work and the customers that come into see us have just as much fun here as we do except for when we have a crabby one come in

😈 Come to the hell that is a CINGULAR call center! And you will be tainted by the DarkSide as well young one. Here we get cussed out, stomped on, spit on, and told by Quality assurance to take it with a smile. I'm really surprised no one in a CINGULAR call center hasn't gone postal yet.

Oh they will. THEY WIIIIILLLLLL. 👿 😈 👿 😈 👿

lordrevan05 said:
😈 Come to the hell that is a CINGULAR call center! And you will be tainted by the DarkSide as well young one. Here we get cussed out, stomped on, spit on, and told by Quality assurance to take it with a smile. I'm really surprised no one in a CINGULAR call center hasn't gone postal yet.

I've gone postal at Circuit City. But that's a tale for another day. When I'm in prison and can't be indicted for talking about it.

Tell us Tell us. This must be heard

muchdrama said:
I've gone postal at Circuit City. But that's a tale for another day. When I'm in prison and can't be indicted for talking about it.

And would this have anything to do with your recent absence from this site? 😳

NO I think he was on vacation... 😕

jramossteel said:
NO I think he was on vacation... 😕

Darn! And I was having such fun picturing him freaking out and threatening everybody in the store with a popgun or something...

Ah, the mundanity settles over my lovely fantasy life once again, sigh... 🙄

Aleq said:

jramossteel said:
NO I think he was on vacation... 😕

Darn! And I was having such fun picturing him freaking out and threatening everybody in the store with a popgun or something...

Ah, the mundanity settles over my lovely fantasy life once again, sigh... 🙄

No. I wasn't on vacation. I enjoyed a short banishment.

Oh... ☹️

"The same reason EVERY company charges an upgrade fee. To recoup costs when we gave you a $150 phone for free."


i'll type this again: Cingular is the ONLY company that has an upgrade fee. they don't exist anywhere else.

the $18 is not an upgrade fee it is a discounted activation fee.. Any other company would charge at least $36

In the past I've worked for AT&T wireless Cellular One, LA Cellular Powertel VoiceStream T Mobile and now Cingular ALL OF THESE COMPANIES HAVE CHARGES THAT RECOUP MONIES FROM THE CUSTOMER. In areas such as roaming and airtime above their plans the customer pays thru the nose. Wake up we are all dirty on this one 😉

Darth_Ix said:
I just paid a 15 dollar upgrade fee with Verizon. They do in fact charge for upgrades.

no you didn't. you're either misinformed or lying. i work for verizon. they don't charge upgrade fees.

LanceUppercut said:

Darth_Ix said:
I just paid a 15 dollar upgrade fee with Verizon. They do in fact charge for upgrades.

no you didn't. you're either misinformed or lying. i work for verizon. they don't charge upgrade fees.

So have I and yes they do but they call it an esn change fee

wow, another person who is flat out wrong or lying. vzw has no fees for changing phones. never have.

Ouch. We're at $2.06 here in Tulsa, but it was up to $2.19 last week...

You know what Tulsa is backwards??

hahahahahah lol.

nextel18 said:
hahahahahah lol.

He knows 😉

yes, i do. lol. i wonder, who made that name? lol

Leverage when did a company need to beg people to actually be with them, and that just treating them fairly isn't enough, People have got this idea that if you stay with a company forever that you should just bend over and kiss there @ss...but it is a give and take, we provide great service you pay your bill....we are not buddies, friends or anything else, we are provider and payee , we are bought and paid for, you get nothing for free, just ask that corner street prositute that say oh yes buy one hour give you one free I DON"T THink so.

tadams said:
That's what I was thinking. You would think that he has upgraded before..... um, yea, he had to of. Bet that time they just didn't tell him and paid it and didn't even know it. 🙄

I say suck it up and fork over the dough.

Cingy has only been doing the upgrade fees since 2002 I believe, so if the last time he upgraded was before then he wouldn't have paid one.

It's still cheap.

ralph_on_me said:
Cingy has only been doing the upgrade fees since 2002 I believe, so if the last time he upgraded was before then he wouldn't have paid one.

It's still cheap.

...and so is he 🤣

Hey now, he needs that $18.

He promised his wife a silver plated cubic zirconia ring.

🤣

cz rings are actually expensive. i really don't think you'd get one for $18 🙄

the one i got for my gurlfriend was like 300 😳 its 8k

ralph_on_me said:
Cingy has only been doing the upgrade fees since 2002 I believe, so if the last time he upgraded was before then he wouldn't have paid one.

It's still cheap.

Depends on the market. Cingular has been doing 10.00 upgrades since 2000. Many of those were waived to appease customers.

Yes, Cricket doesnt do upgrades, hence no contracts. I already know what his response would be...

moneyb would say:
I've never paid for a phone before and I am not planing on starting.....SEE YA! 😛

Yeah but you have to love it. He is straight to the point and says what most of us can't figure out the words to say.

I'm in love!!!


Beautiful... Just Beautiful!

Me too. 😛

Another Springer fan... I wake up to that every morning... 🙄 Blaring Tv, and I watch the spanish version, it's called Laura... Crazy, right?

😕
Laura? Eh...ok....

I'm actually a former Springer fan, I used to watch it all the time when it was popular in '98.

repCB said:
😕
Laura? Eh...ok....

I'm actually a former Springer fan, I used to watch it all the time when it was popular in '98.

I have to listen to it every morning... My husband and father like to watch it... I tmakes me crazy

lol so true the challange is to make it longer 😈

Longer, you say? 😳

oooooo ahhhhhhhh longer, i say longer and longer and... 😈