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Deets:
Company A had an exclusivity contract with Apple to carry the iPhone. That contract expired, so Company B (my provider) just started selling them this week. The offer to new customers is 300$+contract for the 32GB 3GS, or 800$ outright.
I have wanted the iPhone since it came out, but I've been bound by contract to Company B, so I couldn't ever switch to Company A without spending a small fortune on cancellation fees so early in my contract. I went in to see how much it would run me to get set up with a data plan and a shiny new Macintosh telephone. They insist that clients with existing contracts can only upgrade their plans to an iPhone service at a 150$ discount off the outright price and with a 3-year contract. They fold to 200$ without much fuss, saying they're doing me a favor.
They're still charging their existing client 600$ for the phone with a 3-year contract, double what they are trying to hook new customers with. I get on the phone with their hotline/customer help/whatever line. They look at my record with the company (2 years, 2 months, 9 days of service) and insist that it's a policy that cannot be changed, regardless of what position they hold at the company. They finally bump me up my hardware credit to 300$, the most anyone can have, and condescendingly ask for thanks. This is still 200$ more than what a new customer gets, and 200$ more than what Company A has offered since day one. Nobody that works at Company B can offer me a reason why, they all agree with me, and can't tell me who can take responsibility. They refer me to their loyalty department, but intentionally make it difficult for me to reach that line.
Why doesn't Company B want their existing customers to enroll in a higher-profit contract?
(random side-note: Apple barely gave Company A the exclusivity on the iPhone because the rates they wanted to charge were so incredibly high. Nothing has changed across the market, which is one of the highest in the world)
Company A had an exclusivity contract with Apple to carry the iPhone. That contract expired, so Company B (my provider) just started selling them this week. The offer to new customers is 300$+contract for the 32GB 3GS, or 800$ outright.
I have wanted the iPhone since it came out, but I've been bound by contract to Company B, so I couldn't ever switch to Company A without spending a small fortune on cancellation fees so early in my contract. I went in to see how much it would run me to get set up with a data plan and a shiny new Macintosh telephone. They insist that clients with existing contracts can only upgrade their plans to an iPhone service at a 150$ discount off the outright price and with a 3-year contract. They fold to 200$ without much fuss, saying they're doing me a favor.
They're still charging their existing client 600$ for the phone with a 3-year contract, double what they are trying to hook new customers with. I get on the phone with their hotline/customer help/whatever line. They look at my record with the company (2 years, 2 months, 9 days of service) and insist that it's a policy that cannot be changed, regardless of what position they hold at the company. They finally bump me up my hardware credit to 300$, the most anyone can have, and condescendingly ask for thanks. This is still 200$ more than what a new customer gets, and 200$ more than what Company A has offered since day one. Nobody that works at Company B can offer me a reason why, they all agree with me, and can't tell me who can take responsibility. They refer me to their loyalty department, but intentionally make it difficult for me to reach that line.
Why doesn't Company B want their existing customers to enroll in a higher-profit contract?
(random side-note: Apple barely gave Company A the exclusivity on the iPhone because the rates they wanted to charge were so incredibly high. Nothing has changed across the market, which is one of the highest in the world)
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