Bell Store Rep "Negociable?"

[Brainstew88]

I will be buying a new blackberry as a new customer with bell and was wondering if anyone had any experience with negociating some perks with the signing of a new 3 year contract.

i.e. "i'll take this plan on a 3 year contract if you throw in some extra data or call display and voicemail(or both)"

is this doable or can they just simply not give out freebies? I would like to know if anyone has had any experience with this.

[MobileMadness002]

try it and see. I know when I tried for my first Storm, they gave me a BT headset, and a couple of other items.

[Walshy701]

I think you're more likely to get some accessories or a free activation than any discounts on the plan. From my experience, the reps at corporate stores do not have any power over plan discounts. The phone companies keep this power with their CS reps. You could try and set up a new plan by calling the 1 800 number. Negotiate with CS and then activate the plan in store.

[deRusett]

I have done a lot of Negotiation

the key with every negotiation is being informed and prepaired.

What you NEED to know
Cost of the actual features you want on Bell
Cost of the Same features on Telus
Cost of the Same Features on Rogers

What you Need out of your plan
What you want to pay, be reasonable.

they wont give you $50 worth of features on a $60 plan, but they might give you $10

on a $150 dollar plan, you're more likely to get $50, as the freebies are not linear

[aznlgcy]

You'll have to call CS to get a negotiable plan set-up for you. In-store reps have no control on what they can throw in fo you as far as the plan goes. My experience with Bell is they will throw in Call display and voicemail, but they only have a $15 value (existing), $12 (new clients) they can work with. Also they won't give discounts on the data plans at all. Depending where you live, try finding a independent dealer for Bell, rather than a corporate store, as sometime the reps are slightly corrupted therefore placing you on a corporate rate plan to get the sale. Some corporate rate plans are awesome deals, others are just complete BS.

[biznatch]

In my experience, and as people have said, the Bell in-store reps either can't or won't do any (or very little) negotiating, while the reps over the phone seem to be able to do more for you.

I'll also agree that you shouldn't go to an actual Bell store, go to Wireless Wave or something like that. In addition to not trying to screw you over quite as much as the reps in the Bell store, they are usually more knowledgeable about phones and plans, and sometimes they have additional discounts not available in the Bell store.

Last time I was there, helping a friend sign up for service, they were offering $50 to spend on anything in the store, with any new sign up, AND, they were offering a $30, 3 year warranty on the phone (cf Bell, which is like $6/month for the equivalent warranty).

No I don't work their or anything, but I bought my phone and service from a Bell store before figuring this out and don't want to see other people make the same mistake.

[aznlgcy]

Originally Posted by biznatch

In my experience, and as people have said, the Bell in-store reps either can't or won't do any (or very little) negotiating, while the reps over the phone seem to be able to do more for you.

I'll also agree that you shouldn't go to an actual Bell store, go to Wireless Wave or something like that. In addition to not trying to screw you over quite as much as the reps in the Bell store, they are usually more knowledgeable about phones and plans, and sometimes they have additional discounts not available in the Bell store.

Last time I was there, helping a friend sign up for service, they were offering $50 to spend on anything in the store, with any new sign up, AND, they were offering a $30, 3 year warranty on the phone (cf Bell, which is like $6/month for the equivalent warranty).

No I don't work their or anything, but I bought my phone and service from a Bell store before figuring this out and don't want to see other people make the same mistake.

Just a heads up the 3 year that Wireless Wave, T-Booth or Wireless etc. is refundable (as store credit) after 3 years if not used once, the only downfall of their warranty is it actually does not cover everything the Bell SPC covers.

Bell SPC covers loss, theft, physical and liquid damage but for a $150 deductible, as long as you have the $7 feature on your plan.

At all costs don't go for their $4/month if offered by the corporate cause it absolutely does not cover anything, just extends your manufacturer warranty as long as you pay the $4 fee every month.

Great thing about the Wireless Wave, T-Booth or Wireless etc. is that they usually have in-store credits all the time which gives you an incentive to purchase the phones from them. They usually take longer to get the phones repaired compared to corporate as they send the phones to head office before its sent out to the repair depots which usually comes back in 4-12 weeks. While Corporate stores send it directly to the repair centres which usually comes back in a 3-6 weeks.

[biznatch]

Originally Posted by aznlgcy

Just a heads up the 3 year that Wireless Wave, T-Booth or Wireless etc. is refundable (as store credit) after 3 years if not used once, the only downfall of their warranty is it actually does not cover everything the Bell SPC covers.

Bell SPC covers loss, theft, physical and liquid damage but for a $150 deductible, as long as you have the $7 feature on your plan.

Very true...it's like insurance vs. warranty...if you want to be covered for loss, theft, or physical damage you'll want the 'insurance' from Bell, but it's way more expensive. If you just want to be covered if something goes wrong with the phone, you'll just want the (extended) warranty from Wireless Wave, etc. And, yes, it's refundable if you don't use it, a pretty good deal I think.

I'd also add to my previous advice: many Bell reps don't know what they're talking about/try to screw you over, so if something seems strange, or you just want to confirm something, check with another rep, and/or look it up online. There were a few things I was told in store that when I called customer service were just plain wrong, and vice versa. Eg. in store I was told that GPS won't work on any Bell phone unless you pay for their $10/month Nav service, but over the phone they said no it'll work just fine in Google/BB maps, etc. Was the person in store trying to deceive me or just didn't know what they were talking about? I'll let you decide.

AND, get everything in writing! I know several people (including myself), who, when you get your first bill, it's not what you were expecting when you signed up. So whether you order in a store, or over the phone, get it in writing before committing (they can email you the details if you do it over the phone).

[Brainstew88]

OK, so it seems maybe a wireless wave or t-booth might be my choice as of right now but does anyone know if I can set myself up with a plan from a bell customer service rep and then go to a wireless wave or t-booth and sign up for a phone on my pre-negociated deal with cs? or is that something that they frown uppon(probably defeats the whole purpose) or maybe a sale is a sale to them no matter how you do it they'll accept.

[aznlgcy]

Originally Posted by Brainstew88

OK, so it seems maybe a wireless wave or t-booth might be my choice as of right now but does anyone know if I can set myself up with a plan from a bell customer service rep and then go to a wireless wave or t-booth and sign up for a phone on my pre-negociated deal with cs? or is that something that they frown uppon(probably defeats the whole purpose) or maybe a sale is a sale to them no matter how you do it they'll accept.

If you set up a plan from Bell CS they will give you an agreement number. But I would go into Wireless Wave or T-Booth first and ask them. Sometime they will be nice and put you on a great corporate plan. Or get the dealers to offer you someting and also call customer service and see which suits you better.

The GPS software that comes from Bell can only be used with the $10/month fee, otherwise go download other GPS software for free and you can use it no problem. I use to work for Bell so I know the pros and cons of corporate vs dealer and also the stupid answers you can get from some employees trying to make the stupid extra bits of commission here and there. Either way talking to customer service or an in-store corporate rep, you will get the reps that will lie as both gets commission.