Radio Shack or Verizon Store?
JMGott
Radio Shack are much cheaper than the same phones at the Verizon store with the
purchase of a new plan.
The folks at the Verizon store have "warned" me that I can't get good support
from Radio Shack if the phone is wiggy, and that the Radio Shack phone may be
reconditioned or otherwise not new stock.
I've been unable to get a clear answer. The ST-7868 is about $100 less at
Radio Shack. Is it worth $100 more for the Verizon store "service" or piece of
mind? And if I need my software updated, must I go to Radio Shack to get the
phone serviced, or will the Verizon store do it since it's a cellular service
thing and not a phone thing?
Opinions, please. I'm confused.
MAF
news:20020215090511...@mb-fr.aol.com...
> The folks at the Verizon store have "warned" me . . . that the Radio Shack
> phone may be reconditioned or otherwise not new stock.
It's not unusual for a reseller to have lower prices than a direct store.
It may be a refurb, but probably not. Cingular here sells a nokia 5165 for
$80 with a two year contract, but radioshack has it for $30 with one year.
Best buy has similar price differences with AT&T stores.
Bert Hyman
news:FU9b8.40166$Re7.1...@typhoon.austin.rr.com:
Suppose I'm an existing customer and just want a new phone? Can Radio
Shack do the required mucking around with my account?
--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN | be...@visi.com
dispondent
OT but phoneshark.com is selling the Nokia 5165i as part of the AT&T
Free2Go Prepaid wireless plan. Phone, $25 card, and form for another
$25 card for $45 shipped. Nokia $50 brings that to -$5. Pretty
sweet... a better-than-free phone :)
nishka
news:20020215090511...@mb-fr.aol.com:
> The folks at the Verizon store have "warned" me that I can't get good
> support from Radio Shack if the phone is wiggy, and that the Radio
> Shack phone may be reconditioned or otherwise not new stock.
I'm sure it's fine.. What's really funny is a local radio shack store
here in CT. They are ADJACENT to the Verizon Wireless store... All you
see is Verizon wireless everywhere.. Ick..
One thing that drives me nuts is the push sales they've been pulling at
Radio shack. I went in to buy an audio cable for my stereo system the
other day.. The guy starts pushing cell phones on me, then tries to sell
me that BS MSN $400 rebate offer.. I avoid the place most of the time
because of the annoying sales pitches I have to endure.
MAF
news:Xns91B665B22A2...@news.visi.com...
> Suppose I'm an existing customer and just want a new phone? Can Radio
> Shack do the required mucking around with my account?
That I don't know. Just call and ask if they do phone upgrades there.
They could for GTE here, but that was, like, 100 years ago man.
Scott
consider though. The VZ store may be more apt to "deal" with you a little.
For example if you buy at a retailer it is unlikely they will do things like
waive the activation fee, etc. I was told at a Best Buy that I couldn't buy
a new phone from them since they made money off the activation fee. Good
luck.
"JMGott" <jmg...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020215090511...@mb-fr.aol.com...
Takla Saand
news:u6rcp0q...@corp.supernews.com:
> I doubt if it's a refurbed phone but anything's possible. One thing
> to consider though. The VZ store may be more apt to "deal" with you a
> little. For example if you buy at a retailer it is unlikely they will
> do things like waive the activation fee, etc. I was told at a Best
> Buy that I couldn't buy a new phone from them since they made money
> off the activation fee. Good luck.
Good luck is correct because I didn't get any of those concessions from
the Verizon store either. Only wasted an hour or so trying to convince
the fellow that CDMA and PCS weren't mutually exclusive things.
At the end of which no amount of coaxing or cajoling would make him
capitulate on the activation fee.
Or even throw in a free car charger without insisting on AAA membership.
Maybe he was just trying to get even.
I also recall having to sign into a big book and wait my turn for half an
hour because all reps were busy "dealing" with other customers who happened
to be a lot easier on the eyes than myself, I'll readily admit.
ChipState
<nishka...@hotmail.com> writes:
>
>One thing that drives me nuts is the push sales they've been pulling at
>Radio shack. I went in to buy an audio cable for my stereo system the
>other day.. The guy starts pushing cell phones on me, then tries to sell
>me that BS MSN $400 rebate offer.. I avoid the place most of the time
>because of the annoying sales pitches I have to endure.
>
>
You familiar with Warner Bros stores? Yeah, the cartoon people. When I want
to shop without being pestered by salesmen, I wear the Daffy Duck tee shirt
that has a pissed off Donald on it with a large subtitle "AND YOUR POINT IS?"
Very effective!
~~~ Philip ~~~
Try new things!
Remember... the Ark was made by amateurs
while the Titanic was made by professionals.
ChipState
<vri...@nospam.excite.com> writes:
>Good luck is correct because I didn't get any of those concessions from
>the Verizon store either. Only wasted an hour or so trying to convince
>the fellow that CDMA and PCS weren't mutually exclusive things.
>At the end of which no amount of coaxing or cajoling would make him
>capitulate on the activation fee.
I opened a Verizon account thru and "authorized retailer" named Mobile Telesis
this past December. They provided a "free" Nokia 5180 dual band which I was
soon to discover was out dated. Anyway, 6 weeks later I had reception problems
with the phone and the Verizon techs decided I needed to have the Nokia 5185i
triband and that I should have never been given the 5180 in the first place.
Since the Mobile Telesis store did not have any 5185i phones on hand, Verizon
told me to go to a genuine Verizon store to make an upgrade. The cost was $20
at the store and Verizon credited me with $20 on my current bill. So, it was a
wash.
I've been very much impressed with Verizon's intention to solve the few issues
I've had with as little inconvience to me as possible.
Mike Cook
employees!
"nishka" <nishka...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns91B6B5BCC676Bni...@216.166.71.230...
Rapmac2002
>Telesis
>this past December. They provided a "free" Nokia 5180 dual band which I was
>soon to discover was out dated.
The same exact thing happened to me but the "authorized retailer" was the one
and only horrible RADIO SHACK..the antenna broke on my motorola and when i went
to radio shack to see about gettin a replacement phone, the old geezer didnt
know crap abotu anything, he even told me to go to the verizon store, which i
did and was told radio shack sold me a no good out of stock out of date phone
and replaced it and reset my plan and got me the phone for $120..antenna has
broken off of this phone , motorolaV120c...i like the phone totally, except for
the external antenna, next time ill go with that new nokia one with the
internal antenna
jdoe
as it can get. Pushy and rude not knowledgeable either. Actually bought mine
at RS to avoid the vz store. Of course now that I find the 510 is crap no
one knows me especially LG. I don't know if I would have gotten more support
from VZ if I got the phone from their store all I know is I feel pretty
reamed (mostly by LG) but by VZ and RS too. At least the lady at RS was
polite and took time to explain everything including the out of date plan
she tried to activate ;-8 The worry free guarantee isn't worth the paper
it's on either. Again my past experience with US Cellular is light years
better (from a support standpoint) than VZ. In the years I had USC I never
ran into a cross, mean, or rude employee in person or in store. They also
knew answers to questions and if they didn't they got them for me. In
contrast the people in I"ve run into at the VZ store should wear green
checked coats orange pants and white shoes ;) They sure made me feel like I
walked onto a used car lot :0
While I like VZ for coverage and call quality their end user and product
support and sales tactics are the pits, not a whole lot better than Sprint
PCS in my book. If US Cellular came up with a way to RELIABLY deliver calls
in roaming markets i.e. Chicago, MN, etc. I"d pay the $350 cancellation on
my lines and go back.
Here's an idea for a "worry free guarantee" if you can't make the customer
happy don't keep them bound by your stupid contract period!
Larry
ChipState
writes:
>The VZ store in Rockford IL (especially their mall kiosk) is about as bad
>as it can get.
Well.... they're in Rockford... Illinois yet! I'd be cranky and pissed off too
if I was stuck there! LOL
MAF
news:7xsb8.76$j32....@paloalto-snr2.gtei.net...
> The worry free guarantee isn't worth the paper
> it's on either.
How about calling back and quoting that, in case the rep forgot that they
are supposed to keep customers happy.
jdoe
are supposed to keep customers happy."
Did that. The contract and the guarantee are there to protect VZ butt more
than the customer. At present the Illinois Attorney General is investigating
the deceptive practices of cell phone companies especially the confusing
contracts and gotchas. Perhaps they'll make some inroads. Major thing for me
now is to somehow unload the LG 510 and get something that works properly.
It is what gripes me the most. I'm not sure what to make of this AC plan and
the loss of regionals. Apparently I will not be able to change my regional
plan to a different minutes pkg. Unfortunantely the AC plan sucks pondwater
for those of us in this area (NW IL). No home area through most of Wisc. and
little covg in MN. At least with US Cell you can "add a state" for $5.00 and
all home features apply throughout. Big problem there is AT&T is their
roaming partner and they (AT&T) are switching their network to GSM while US
Cell is switching to CDMA. Call don't get delivered well.
Larry
"MAF" <n...@here.now> wrote in message
news:Ftwb8.43169$Re7.2...@typhoon.austin.rr.com...
Justa Lurker
<nishka...@hotmail.com> wrote in alt.cellular.verizon:
| One thing that drives me nuts is the push sales they've been
| pulling at Radio shack. I went in to buy an audio cable for
| my stereo system the other day.. The guy starts pushing cell
| phones on me, then tries to sell me that BS MSN $400 rebate
| offer..
One reason I'm glad that I'm no longer a 'salesmaker'. I hated
making the canned pitches as much as you hate hearing them.
On the phone and in person where the next caller/shopper could
be someone from the district or Fort Worth who would write you
up for not attempting the pitch.
And the pitches don't stop at the RS door ... ever pull up to a
burger joint and get "welcome to ___, would you like to try a
big smelt value meal?" "Would you like to superduper size that."
It is all management not connected to the customer making rules.
JL
Dan C
as it benefits us all.
"Justa Lurker" </dev/null@.com> wrote in message
news:3c6ff008....@news.slurp.net...
MAF
news:3c6ff008....@news.slurp.net...
> making the canned pitches as much as you hate hearing them.
Were you around for their big Sprint long distance push?
Al Klein
posted in alt.cellular.verizon:
>One thing that drives me nuts is the push sales they've been pulling at
>Radio shack. I went in to buy an audio cable for my stereo system the
>other day.. The guy starts pushing cell phones on me, then tries to sell
>me that BS MSN $400 rebate offer.. I avoid the place most of the time
>because of the annoying sales pitches I have to endure.
My RS store (all except new employees, anyway) knows me. The only
thing they ever push on me when I walk in is, "Hi". Of course, I've
been in there at least once a week for at least 20 years (maybe 30 -
memory's the second thing to go).
--
Al - rukbat at optonline dot net
Al Klein
alt.cellular.verizon:
>For getting a new plan (starting from scratch), it seems that the phones at
>Radio Shack are much cheaper than the same phones at the Verizon store with the
>purchase of a new plan.
>The folks at the Verizon store have "warned" me that I can't get good support
>from Radio Shack if the phone is wiggy, and that the Radio Shack phone may be
>reconditioned or otherwise not new stock.
You can always check the life timer.
>I've been unable to get a clear answer. The ST-7868 is about $100 less at
>Radio Shack. Is it worth $100 more for the Verizon store "service" or piece of
>mind?
Radio Shack services what they sell. They always have.
> And if I need my software updated, must I go to Radio Shack to get the
>phone serviced, or will the Verizon store do it since it's a cellular service
>thing and not a phone thing?
Verizon flashes (updates the firmware) on any phone activated on their
network. I've had a few phones done, and I've never bought one from
Verizon.
Justa Lurker
wrote in alt.cellular.verizon:
Only as a "I wish there was somewhere else to buy this"
customer. I left the Shack's employment in 1991 or so.
JL
Rollin Pomeroy
If you call and they tell you that they do not do upgrades, then it is best
to eliminate that store location. I had to do some checking around to find
a store that had a high volume of Verizon sales and had phones and
accessories in stock.
I found that RadioShack store to be superior to the local Verizon store.
The Verizon store had fast-talking used car salesmen types lined up in
chairs by the entrance to tell you what phone and plan that you wanted.
RadioShack support has bee good. They stand behind their products.
That was my experience in Northwest Indiana (ChicagoLand) area.
Rollin
Jerome Zelinske
contract. We have to call verizon to make sure. What we don't do is
trade-ins. I suppose if someone came in asking if we do trade-ins and I
am momentarily not quick enough to realize he might mean upgrades, he
might leave and then tell people that we would not do an upgrade.