Cingular Insanity
Well there comes a time in every connected persons life that we / they have to say Goodbye. They have to say Goodbye to their old cell phone and move to a new model.
This goodbye to our old cell phones happens for various reasons - phones die, phones get lost, phones get stolen, phones get destroyed or broken, the needs of users change, new features come out that will benefit the user, and there are hundreds more. The reason for my need to say goodbye to my old cell phone is a combination of factors. First of all my current cell phone is about five years old and just getting more questionable. Secondly, the display is getting lighter and lighter (i.e. hard to read) or my vision is getting worse - either way it is hard to see the number that I am dialing. Last of all, I need to get some new features in a phone - precisely PDA features.
This last issue arose because my trusty Palm Zire 72 was either lost or stolen (depending on my view and attitude at the moment) a few months back. I miss my PDA, and it’s disappearance shows that I need to have ONE device not TWO based on my habits and lifestyle. I am also getting tired of carrying a spreadsheet of my address book around.
This all leads me to the real point of this post - my visit to the Cingular store to discuss upgrade options. I have been with Cingular for about seven years (first AT & T, then Bellsouth, and then Cingular as the company merged, acquired and changed) and they are telling me all the time that I can upgrade my phone to a new one because I am loyal customer. They tell me that there are numerous rewards for upgrading, so I decided to go find out what they are talking about.
After looking around the store a bit I found two models that suited my needs - the Cingular 8125 and the Nokia 9300. The 8125 is $350 - $100 or $250 at the end. The 9300 is $350 -$50 or $300 at the end. These are the prices that show both in the store and online. That second point becomes important later. Anyway those are the listed prices for new customer signing up for new service. I decided that I was most interested in the 8125, and the clerk (who was obviously new since he had to ask how to log into the computer to check my data) looked up what the upgrade price for me would be. Guess what the answer was, $250. He then went on to tell me how get at deal it was, and there was only a $18 fee to activate the phone. This fee is in addition to the $350 (minus mail in rebate of $100 which he told me I would get in about 4 weeks). He then ask me if I wanted the phone.
I ask him to verify all the info, he did. I then ask the question that resulted in what I like to call “explaining room temperature fusion”stare - i.e. blank amazement. I ask “What is the benefit to me being a long term customer and upgrading if my upgrade cost is the same as that of a new customer?” More stares and muttering on his side, and then “It is a great deal”. I ask the same question, but in a new way - “How is it a better deal for me being a existing customer? $250 is the same price as that of a new customer”. More stares. I just thanked him and moved on. I ask my wife if I had missed something and she told me / assured me that I had not, and that she thought that this whole Cingular “benefit” / loyality plan was about the dumbest thing she had heard in a while.
A few days later I decided to CALL Cingular. I figured I would give them another shot to explain this deal to me or to change it. The clerk at the store was obviously new, so I also thought it was possible that he had made a mistake. I call up Cingular, wonder through the phone menus, and finally get a human. I explain my situation, the phone I am interested in and then what I would like to do. The clerk then checked and told me the phone would be $350, minus $100 via mail in rebate, or $250 in the end. I ask him similar questions to that I had ask the store clerk - i.e. how is my being a existing customer a benefit. Again silence and the statement that the $350 is a great deal because it is a $600 phone if I get it in the store. See I told you that the fact the prices were the same in store and online would play in later.
I told him that was wrong as it was EXACTLY the same price in the store as online. He told me that was not possible because the online prices were SO MUCH lower since they did not have to cover the cost of rent and building space. Again I assure him that the prices are exactly the same.
Seeing that explaining facts regarding clearly displayed and availible pricing was not getting me anywhere, I then ask the same question about benefit of being a long term customer again. This time he explained that existing customers pay $18 for activation, and new customers pay $36. Ok so that is the BIG benefit to being a existing customer, $18 less to activate the phone. Though $18 is not throw away money, it is not exactly BIG savings on a $350 phone either.
I share this story to point out that Cingular is simply stupid if they want me to believe they are offering me a great deal for my loyalty. The fact that I get stares and silence when I point this out makes me think that most people do not question “the deal” or really think it through. That is sad as companies should care about there customers more then that.
The “deal” Cingular offered me is sort of like the situation that I had a friend tell me about AOL once - they would give new customers low rates, but if a old customer called and ask for a drop in rates it was explained to the existing customer that AOL could not reduce the price for existing customers because they were already on AOL. Any first year business student knows that it is far costlier to get a new customer then keep a existing one, but some companies do not seem to get that.
Bottomline, don’t trust Cingular’s offer to give you a “deal” if you upgrade, and be sure to really look into and understand the offers that companies are giving you. Some companies care about your business, other just want to con you. In my view Cingular is in the second category, and NO I did not upgrade my phone. I am not sure what I am going to do, I will decide when some more time passes. Until then I will be carrying the spreadsheet of my address book around and squinting to read my old phone.
