With the debut of that new super iPhone thing only a few short days away, now is the time to threaten your current cellphone company. What’s that? You have no intention of switching cellphone companies for the iPhone? Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon’s retention reps don’t know that. Do they?
Reader Scott is jubilant over the huge discount he got from Sprint:
Took advantage of the upcoming launch of AT&T’S iPhone 3G to squeeze a lower rate out of Sprint PCS. I’ve had to endure a decrease in Sprint service at the same price for the past year (crappy reception, slow network, can no longer send pix via SMS (thanks, a’holes)), so I told them I was switching to iPhone.
They gave me a whopping 25% (TWENTY-FIVE percent!!!) discount on my voice plan, zero discount on data plan. No mention of a contract extension whatsoever.
Give them a call and see if they can hear you now.
Here’s how you do it. Note: It really helps if you don’t have a current contract, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try:
- Call your current cellphone company.
- Tell them you intend to cancel. You should be transferred to a retentions representative.
- Say something like this:
Hi, my name is ___________, I think I’ve been a good customer, but that iPhone looks really enticing, and I’m thinking about switching to AT&T.
I’d like to stay with you, and I was wondering if there was any way you could _______ (throw me a discount, free text message package, something). Can you help me?
- Stand firm and negotiate.
Some cellphone companies try to tack on a contract extension with a discount, so make sure they do not do this. Good luck!
(Photo: Steve Rhodes )
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I don’t think I could do better than Sprint SERO although I have heard of magical Sprint employee plans. I don’t use that many minutes a month, I am a pretty heavy data user though. Coverage is pretty decent in Southern Cali anyways (no better or worse than ATT IMO).
@yikz: I’m guessing the HTC Touch aka 6900 isn’t doing anything for you. I think the Touch Pro aka Diamond w/ slide out keyboard is due on Sprint early 2009. Verizon many moons after that though. If you’re on a 6800, use a cooked ROM from PPCGeeks and you should be much happier with it. You can tether with PDANet on a Treo on Sprint, not sure about Verizon. I tether once a week or so without issue on Sprint.
/Gizmodo’d
If you call your provider trying to use the ‘cancel’ tactics, just be ready they will call your bluff. I have read cases that the retention rep would just go ahead and cancel your account right there before you could say ‘hold on’ and puff, you can’t make any more cell calls.
Sprint knows what everybody’s prices are. They know you will be paying more at AT&T. They also know they don’t have an iPhone to offer you. You talk too much about prices, they know you are bluffing. You show a must have interest in an iPhone, they will just let you go.
@exkon: Have you seen your cell phone bill lately? Phone bill? We’re getting nickel and dimed for everything. I personally would have NO problem whatsoever calling a company and saying “show me that you want my business”. Companies that couldn’t care less, typically show it in all areas.
@StellaSquash: Ah but then you don’t need to do business with those companies.
Don’t be so entitled.
My wife did this when we got our new instincts. They overnighted them to us free of charge, and even gave us more minutes for the same rate (although we’ve never gone over our minutes before, so this is probably moot
)
It’s articles like these that ruin the cell phone industry. On this site alone, there are eight billion whiney bitches that post about poor customer service, raising rates, and everything else.
It costs the company when you screw them you know. the customer service industry sucks balls because of stuff like this.
I called Sprint because my business has 6 telephones, we all share 3500 minutes. I wanted 4 new phones with the rebates they were offering for new customers. We fought for an hour before they were willing to give me the phones at a discount, but they wanted to change my plan. We had no problem of going for another 2-years but we have a good plan. I guess my $275.00 for the last 8 years meant nothing. I Phones here we come!
@enderx: They are simply trying to get the best deal possible that the cell phone providers already give to certain companies. I get 22% off my bill from verizon and im a nobody in my company so obviously they can do that for everyone if they wanted. They just want to make that extra 22% profit.
@badgeman46:
Obey Giant (artist Shepard Fairey) made some Obama posters, not sure if he made that one, but sure looks his style.
So, my GF calls Sprint to find out when her nextel contract is up. The CS rep at first tried dodging the question and instantly tried making her buy a new phone and sign a new contract. So she finally said STFU and tell me when my contract is up. The answer, it has been up for a month now. My GF say’s cool cause i have been looking at the iphone, do you guys have that? The rep replies, yes we do, it’s called the instinct. GF says, thats not an iphone, rep says, thats our iphone. But is it an actual iphone as you are claiming, answer “no”. Told them Bye, Bye i will be canceling soon. Ever since Sprint has been ringing the phone everyday trying to get her to stay and take a crappy ass instinct.
@Gomerboy: They weren’t in the Sprint network, and a month later I ran into a family emergency and started spending hours on the phone with those numbers. That move saved me a lot of money.
@badgeman46: You know with the way that he gets protrayed I’m just wondering when the whore of Babylon will show up.
For me, I can’t call them about new rates. I’m already getting a discount through my company and I’m on the most basic plan possible.
I recently did this for my dad got a $5 dollar discount, and that’s about it. = Should’ve tried better.
if you have a windows mobile phone there’s a program you can download to get picture mail via sms to work. [smms.vision5.com]
it probably makes it easy if you have sprint since they’re hemorrhaging customers right now
Thank you for this post, I’ll have to do this this weekend. I hate being on Sprint, but $175 to cancel, plus the cost of an iPhone just isn’t possible/practical right now.
In my experience with Sprint when I called to cancell they went from offering me a new phone all the way up to 6 months of service to keep me. I took neither.
Sprint in particular is and has been bleeding customers and I wouldn’t doubt for a second that they will do whatever they can to keep you.
Lol, I wish we could do this here in New Zealand – I must add the first country in the world to get the iPhone – we have only one choice Vodafone, there are only two competitive companies here, vodafone and telecom, and telecom doesnt have SIM cards, their phones are limited and completely locked – at the moment. SIM is coming soon to telecom…pity they just have to make the move to GSM from CDMA (UGH!!)
I want an iPhone, but its not going to be feasible at all here.
[www.owened.co.nz]
@montecon: I’ve gone to other providers than mine (I’m with Telus in Canada) and said “this is what Telus is offering me to keep me as a customer now that my contract is up, what can you offer me?” Sometimes they’ll match it and sometimes they’ll beat it. Usually I just do that as comparison shopping and then take their offers back to Telus and get them to knock a few more bucks off / add another feature or two.
Ever since numbers became portable between carriers I’ve found that companies are willing to work a little harder to keep my business.
Whenever my contract is up I calmly point out to Telus that I’ve been a good customer for 7 years and haven’t been late on a bill and ask what they’d like to do to keep me a customer and explain that I’d like something along the lines of what they offer to new customers. I haven’t gotten the new customer package but have managed to score things that work out to be a larger amount of dollars not spent over my contract.
Pretty tough to negociate if the company you’re already with is also the iPhone provider.
Well, the first three letters of consumerist is CON. So yeah, threatening to leave a cell provider just to get a better price (when you had no intention of leaving) is dishonest and takes advantage of a company.
You want to save money? Quit wasting your money on frivolous things, like StarBucks coffee, beer, cable.
@dmuth: I don’t call it dishonest … I call it getting a better deal. And with the executive bonuses paid out by these companies, I don’t feel bad at all for trying to get a better deal!
It is dishonest. The better way would be to ask if the cell provider can offer you a better price. Let them know the competitor is offering X minutes for Y dollars a month etc…
Don’t lie and say you are thinking of switching when you really are not.
My plan without bargaining:
Free smart phone
Unlimited nights(7pm) and Weekends
500 anytime minutes
Unlimited data and text
$15 per month
No contest. I think I’ll stick with Sprint.
I am waiting for the open-source Goggle Phone. Works with ANY service and most of the cool applications with be free!
This worked with T-Mobile as of about an hour ago! My contract is not even up – it’s until next June. I got about $15 off of my monthly bill (free text package and free data package), and a free Samsung phone. The only catch being my contract will end next July instead of next June, which doesn’t matter to me anyway. Thanks for the tip!
I just got off the phone with Sprint, and have to say: that made me happy!
My previous family plan:
Two phones (myself and my wife)
1400 anytime minutes
unlimited nights and weekends (7pm)
unlimited Sprint to Sprint
$99.00/mo
My new family plan after I called retention:
Two phones (myself and my wife)
1400 anytime minutes
unlimited nights and weekends (7pm)
unlimited Sprint to Sprint
$50.00/mo
This article saved me money! Pat yourself on the back.
I’m a current ATT customer, but my contract ends this month. I’m thinking of going on T-Mobile prepaid with my current phone, since It’s unlocked. Is this a good plan?