AT&T Won't Sell You iPhone Because "You're Going To Unlock It"
Colin writes:
I went into my nearest ATT store and there were two CSR's behind the counter- I asked for an 8gig Refurb iPhone thats being sold for $249 and the kid said sure and walked me over to the desk. The next words out of his mouth "What is your social security number?" No "How are you today?" "Thanks for coming in" No, apparently they just want my credit report to see if I am "worthy"
"Um. What? Why do you need that?" He tells me that its necessary for activating a new account "I don't want an account now, I will activate on iTunes later" He turns and asks some other CSR if they can sell it without activation- to which the other CSR says "No" I say, ok, whatever, I'll buy the phone and just cancel the service, then I can keep the phone because I am paying full price for it. "No, you can't do that, you would have to return the phone"Looks like one AT&T store has taken it upon themselves to grossly misinterpret company policy and procedures. Why should the store give a damn what you do with the phone after you walk out with it? It's no skin off their hunched and scaly backs. Once again, when it comes to You, iPhone, and AT&T, the cellphone carrier is your 7th grade girlfriend's ugly friend that kept showing up whenever you wanted to go makeout in the back of a dark movie theater.I'm starting to get upset at this point so I ask for a manager, and next thing I know, theres now 5 CSR's behind the counter. (No other customers in the store- just me). Manager says no, and that if I buy and activate, they will notate my account that I plan to cancel and keep the phone. I am FURIOUS now, so I call ATT and explain the situation to a sales csr- she is confused and is useless and can't resolve the issue anyway. Hanging up, I then approach the sales desk- now there are 8 CSR's behind the desk!!?! (Only ONE other customer in the store btw) I tell one of the CSR's I am ready to buy and activate on a two year commitment... Drum roll please...
"No"
"What?!!? Why not!?"
"Because you are going to unlock the phone and we can't allow that. Go buy one on eBay."
Now I am about to lose it.
"First off, you have NO right to dictate to me what I do and do not do with a product I purchase. If I pay FULL RETAIL PRICE for something, I can smash it with hammers and throw the pieces off the Grand Canyon if I so choose!"
Purchasing an iPhone at full retail price carries with it no commitment to anything, and to make assumptions to what I plan to do with the phone is complete discrimination. What if I wanted to give it as a gift to my girlfriend and she would be able to activate on her own accord???
I explain all of this, calmly mind you, and then ask them to call their corporate office. Mrs. CSR #1 says "We are corporate"
So now they've lowered themselves to LYING to my face. Awesome.
"You're corporate? I make more money in one day then you make all week Mrs. Corporate"
Now THEY'RE really pissed and tell me they are calling security. I tell them go ahead! I'm not stealing, Im not breaking things, Im not wildly running around the store naked & screaming "The iPhones are your demi-god! OBEY!" I am trying to PURCHASE a product and agree to the terms of their contract!!!!!
"We are denying to sell to you"
I fold my arms and wait. Three security guards show up and I take the 'leader' aside and explain. He has NO idea what to do. He actually calls the main office, his boss, and asks what to do in this kind of situation. The security boss says the store CAN deny me the sale and asks the security guard to pass along that message to me. I respect their decision, but once outside the store, the guard AGREES with me!
"You should be able to do whatever you want with the phone. If you bought it, its yours"
He apologizes and tells me that I should go to the main kiosk and file a complaint with the mall corporate offices.
Fast-forward 30 mins, I've driven to another store, I walk in, ask the same question "I'd like an iPhone 8gig refurb"
"Ok, here you go! No contract? No problem! That will be $249.00 plus tax"
That being said: They have NO rights to deny a sale because they "Suspect" I might unlock it. It is not spoiled to defend my rights as a consumer to purchase an item under the terms of the agreement set forth by the manufacturer and the distributer. To deny me purchasing the item at FULL RETAIL PRICE because they think I might "unlock it" or "sell it on eBay" is judgmental and discriminatory.The whole point of being able to buy the phone at full retail price is the convenience of activating it in the comforts of home, or giving it as a gift to someone who will activate it themselves.
And like I said- you receive NO discount on the price of the phone for activating! So if you want to buy one, NOT activate it and merely hang it on your wall like a piece of art- That is your given right as a consumer!
I apologize for the long rant, but I am furious that this kind of situation was even necessary...
Thank you for taking the time to read what occurred.
Sincerely,
Colin M.
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Comments:
^^Really it is.
The AT&T store in my local mall does this all the time. Espcecially with foreigners that come shopping there.
Maybe they denied you your sale because of your race. I think that's exactly what happened.
They have them in the Northeast Corporate AT&T stores, it is a damn good deal though.
You are wrong about the no discount part though, that is the discounted price, the only thing different about the iphone is that you dont have to be ready to upgrade before you buy it.
What store? In which mall? Post the details so AT&T knows the source of this bad publicity.
I just did this weekend with 2 8gb iPhones. Went in, "you know how to set that up?", I said I would take them to go, paid and walked out. Im sure they thought nothing of it and only asked for my name.
How pathetic is the customer that he'll put up with all that and STILL go buy an iPhone? Sheep. Baaaa. Baaaa.
Why do companies get away with this behavior? Because of guys like this, who will STILL buy the product no matter how badly you treat them.
this is probably a pretty noob question, however i've never considered an iphone until recently, do you HAVE to get the iphone plan if i get the iphone and unlock it? I've got AT&T right now on a family plan that is discounted through my job. is it possible to just buy the iphone, unlock it, and use it like a regular unlocked cell phone (minus the internet and email--which i dont have in my plan right now)?
They have NO rights to deny a sale because they "Suspect" I might unlock it.
That is partially correct, they can deny you a sale for no reason whatsoever, not just because of what you might do with the product.
It is not spoiled to defend my rights as a consumer to purchase an item under the terms of the agreement set forth by the manufacturer and the distributer. To deny me purchasing the item at FULL RETAIL PRICE because they think I might "unlock it" or "sell it on eBay" is judgmental and discriminatory.
Except they are under no agreement to you to provide any service. Until you purchase an item the store is beholden to you for nothing. It's not discriminatory to refuse a sale, stores can sell or not sell to whomever they like.
The only thing done right here is that you went to another store.
The way I figure it, Jobs is regretting the deal, even though he's making money hand over fist from it. The Golden Rule of going into the cell phone business is that Expect To Get Gouged from The Carrier. It's a miracle that Apple got all the features enabled when they went with at&t.
You lost me here:
"You're corporate? I make more money in one day then you make all week Mrs. Corporate"
Thats certainly the way to get what you want...
Im sorry.. The moment you dropped the "I make more in a day then you do in a week" line you go from customer to assclown. Im sorry, but people who work sales jobs still deserve to be treated like human beings, even if they are confused about the rules.
Most stores reserve the right to refuse a sale for any reason.
@unklegwar: Why is he a sheep? He had no qualms with the product, only the retailer. Your post makes no sense.
i so hope the OP went back to that other store and showed it to them and told them that THEY ended up losing a sale that no other store had a problem with...
Sounds like someone is a spoiled little executive whose been trained by his job to think the entire world revolves around his every whim and desire. Hate to see how you treat the support staff in your office your entitled asshat.
Why do I think there is a lot more to this story (probably a lot of bad tone and attitude on the part of the original poster) that's being conveniently left out?
OP needs to take a serious chill. You should have just gone to another store after they refused the first time, rather than make an ass of yourself yelling about making more money than Mrs. Corporate blah blah. Your blood pressure (not to mention the obviously ill-trained AT&T reps) will thank you.
The reason they probably did this is because they want their "credit" for selling a new activation. Im sure they get some kind of kickback for the customer activating on the spot instead of just buying it. So they only sell them to people who activate. Quite slimy
@emjsea: I wouldn't say he was "spoiled", but perhaps suffers from the same sense of entitlement most American consumers have. On that note, though, I can't say I wouldn't be pissed off if I was summarily denied a purchase just because some counter-jockey decided he wanted to enforce some imaginary rules. However, I would have been far more likely to walk out and try someplace else.
Also Im sure they probably make little to no margin at all if they just sell the phone without activation so they have no motivation to sell to people who dont sign up for a contract
@Tracy Ham and Eggs: Really? I find myself agreeing with you quite often. I just don't write it down.
@Tracy Ham and Eggs: I cringed at that part, too. I couldn't help it, even though I'm on his side. I think the OP had every right to be upset, but that really is a no-no, no matter how in the right you are.
Like others have said, this guy is a total d-bag. You make more money? Please.
where is this right he has to purchase a product discounted and refurbished? i think the saying "the consumer is always right" is the law he believed passed Congress.
"If I pay FULL RETAIL PRICE for something, I can smash it with hammers and throw the pieces off the Grand Canyon if I so choose!"
Actually, that would be littering in a national park, which is illegal. :-)
To tell the truth, any store have the right to deny service. It is their legal right. If you don't like it, tough, that's corporate america for you.
While the store should have been able to sell him an iPhone without a credit check, this guy is kind of an ass. I think I would have refused to sell him anything too.
I think you're just dealing with sleazy sales people (I do NOT like cellphone sales people). If you don't sign up for an account there, THEY don't get squat. I'm not sure, but I'd be willing to bet that they don't get credit for signing up a new customer if you activate the phone via iTunes.
I agree that the people in the store were being clueless and unhelpful. But to be a big enough jerk that they have to call security to eject you is ridiculous.
And then to be insane enough to argue your case to the mall cop... What, did you expect that the security person was going to determine that your case had merit, and order the AT&T store to sell you the phone or suffer a beat-down?
Be nice. Life is short.
There is more dickery going on in this story than at a frat party.
He's also not paying Full Retail Price really.
Is this story even true? $249 for a refurb sounds $100 less than reality. Anyway, when I bought my iPhone from the att store, they started to do a credit check, and I told them not to bother as it would never be connected to the att network (apparently they do the credit check because they've sold a lot of phones that have been returned because the buyer couldn't get an att account because of bad credit). The guy said, 'no problem' and sold me the phone. I think the OP is either lying outright or exaggerating a great deal
I make more money in one day then you make all week
FAIL
I'm shocked that Ben would even consider siding with any "consumer" that pulled that line.
Forget the clumsy ugly-7th-grader-in-a-movie-theater cliché, how about the-original-poster-is-a-whiny-asshole one?
Two big FAILs on this one.
Umm... anyone can refuse to do business with anyone else for any reason unless they are discriminating based on a protected class, which IIRC are:
Race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, sex, age and I think a few others. In some states sexual preference is a protected class.
A business can refuse to sell you a product because you visit this website, have blue hair, or like George Clooney's movies. They can't do so because you're black, a woman, etc.
Just tell them your current iphone is busted and you're going to move the SIM from it to the new one.
The sales guy was being a jerk, he just wanted some commission. I used to work at a cellphone place, not sales, and they hated just selling phones outright. They didn't get a penny from that, so they were were always told to do whatever they could to get an activation whenever anyone wanted just a phone. When you encounter people like that, just go buy it somewhere else.
"I make more money in one day than you make all week Mrs. Corporate"
- Seriously?
I mean ... way to sound like an ass ... sheesh.
Thou should have given you the i-phone up your ass.
The only way this story could be more amusing is if they finally sold him the phone, then demanded to see his receipt on the way out the door.
How about "Its a gift"
Is that so hard?
wow, way to take the high road, Colin. you had me going til you belittled the CSR with the "I make more money..." crap. Go buy a refurb from Apple.com and stop being such a whiny-titty-baby dick.
@Underpants Gnome: Yes, but AT&T shouldn't be stopping you... :)
Having said that, he really should have left a few minutes before he did.
No one comes out of this story looking good. Yikes.
I can only imagine what waiters and waitresses do to this guy's food.
"You're out of lentil soup? Don't you realize I make much, much more than you do AND have benefits???"
@ChrisC1234: Usually dealers (not corporate), get commissions on activations. Corporate usually get commissions on value of the product sold. And I know that dealers get activation credit based on SIM/ESN, so if you activate your phone online, they still get $$$.
In this case, I'm suspecting that the customer started cussing as soon as the sales rep told him that he needed his social #. The bitchy phrase where he tells that he makes more money in a day, shows what kind of person he is. in the same situation, most would state that they would file a complaint for lack of customer service and respect; not ''Oh! I'm so much better that you! You're mu slave! Do as I say!''
And I don't like people who generalize ;)
Usually a good sales rep is easy to spot. Usually, they also get paid proportionally to their knowledge. Better pay attracts better reps, who know well the product, and they will explain throughly, so they can get repeat business from you or your entourage. Quality always attracts more customers and more commissions. An average person changes phone every 2 years anyway.
The OP is a total D-bag but thanks to jerks like him, my shopping experience is easier. All it takes is respect and a little bit of empathy to get what you want from a sales clerk, especially if they just got done dealing with an a-hole like him. Dealing with a major jerk kind of throws them off their game and I guess they feel the need to compensate the next customer. If the customer in front of me is ripping the clerk a new one, I know that when it's my turn, all it takes is a verbal hug for them to give me a deal.
"Wow, that guy was such a jerk! Who does he think he is?! It sorry you have to deal with rude people like him. What's the total? Oh darn... I'm sorry, I forgot my coupon at home. Oh geez, I'm so sorry but I'm going to have to come back, can you hold this for me? Oh you can just give me the coupon price? Oh thank you so much!"
It doesn't always work but I've gotten fees waived, prices reduced, warranties thrown in, fists full of free samples, free drinks, etc.
Where did you get a refurbed 8GB iPhone for $249.00? That's a hot deal!