[NorrisCell]

Is this for people that purchase phones on the 27th or after or for any smartphone user. I just purchased a new bb about a week and half ago and I want to make usre that i can upgrade after a year.

As I understand it, any customers who wish to upgrade to a smartphone going forward will receive the full discount after 12 months on their contract.

[NorrisCell]

Norris, is this new policy available in the TMo stores too?

This applies to all upgrades, whether it be in store or over the phone with Care

[buddy816]

This is a new policy, so they may not be aware of it. This is a huge change. Give them time

Ill be patient then. I dont want to upgrade until a rep tells me the full detail. Thanks for the early info Norris.

[NorrisCell]

Just call and tell them what your seeing being done for other people. My contract was up in July so I signed another 2 year contract, the new upgrade thing just started today and the girl I first spoke to didn't seem to know much about it because she was reading the notes out loud when she was trying to process the order.

No, don't call and ask for more. Others are not receiving a better deal, they are just able to sign more frequently, same as you.

[Want2CBetter]

He shouldn't get a phone at a reduced rate because he's on EM+, right?

[syb0rg]

I bought my 8900 last February, and it has been almost a year since I extended my contract for another 2 years, so technically, I have 12 months left.

My plan is Even More Plus.

When I checked the web site today, it only had the 9700 at full retail.

No discounts offered.

Is the site not up to date, or am I not eligible for the discount?

The Even More Plus plan is what i have, you have to pay full retail for EVERY phone that you want. Smart phone, dumb phone, indifferent phone. FULL MSRP for everything.

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[RWWackostu]

I am so glad I didnt jump on the EM+ bandwagon. Now only 8 months to a 9700 instead of 20 months.

[syb0rg]

I am so glad I didnt jump on the EM+ bandwagon. Now only 8 months to a 9700 instead of 20 months.

Yea but i paid 250 upfront and put the other 250 on my account so i pay an extra 12.50 per month, for the phone.

And i didn't "jump on the bandwagon" i signed up for it the day it released... the first month i had it, the same month my wife had our first born, we used close to 5,000 mins of talk time.

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[Kezza]

This bothers me. You have the best pricing available. In one year, you will have best pricing again. Yet you still want a better deal.

You are eligible for an upgrade. Due to policy changes, more people are eligible for an upgrade as well. This does not entitle you to a better deal. The price just dropped $70 last week to the $129.99 price point. Please be happy with that.

Sorry to offend you Norris, but I was just hoping T-Mobile would fight for my business a little bit. I don't think asking for more of a discount when I'm not on contract is that out of line, especially when I've seen it done here time and time again. And I don't think $129.99 is the "best pricing available" when Amazon.com has it for new T-Mobile customers for $49.99. I don't think it's too much to ask T-Mobile to match their own pricing?? Sure, the ability to keep my phone number is nice, but as I don't use the phone that often, it's not worth that much to me. And actually, I'd pay $99 for the phone, as it's not so much the money, as it is the principal of asking me to sign a new contract with no incentive.

If the retentions/loyalty department can't offer better deals to customers like me that they are trying to get back on contract, then what are they for?

[Denise in Los Angeles]

Sorry to offend you Norris, but I was just hoping T-Mobile would fight for my business a little bit. I don't think asking for more of a discount when I'm not on contract is that out of line, especially when I've seen it done here time and time again. And I don't think $129.99 is the "best pricing available" when Amazon.com has it for new T-Mobile customers for $49.99. I don't think it's too much to ask T-Mobile to match their own pricing?? Sure, the ability to keep my phone number is nice, but as I don't use the phone that often, it's not worth that much to me. And actually, I'd pay $99 for the phone, as it's not so much the money, as it is the principal of asking me to sign a new contract with no incentive.

If the retentions/loyalty department can't offer better deals to customers like me that they are trying to get back on contract, then what are they for?

Call Retentions and ask for a better deal then. All they can do is say no....
or maybe yes.

LOL

[NorrisCell]

Sorry to offend you Norris, but I was just hoping T-Mobile would fight for my business a little bit. I don't think asking for more of a discount when I'm not on contract is that out of line, especially when I've seen it done here time and time again. And I don't think $129.99 is the "best pricing available" when Amazon.com has it for new T-Mobile customers for $49.99. I don't think it's too much to ask T-Mobile to match their own pricing?? Sure, the ability to keep my phone number is nice, but as I don't use the phone that often, it's not worth that much to me. And actually, I'd pay $99 for the phone, as it's not so much the money, as it is the principal of asking me to sign a new contract with no incentive.

If the retentions/loyalty department can't offer better deals to customers like me that they are trying to get back on contract, then what are they for?

Let me pose this question to you: Why do you deserve a better deal? They offered you a waived upgrade fee and free shipping. Amazon's new customer price is not something T-mobile has a say in, so that is an irrelevant comparison. You cannot say you were given no incentive, because they offered you an additional discount off of the recently reduced price.

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[Lorena79]

DAMNIT!!! I deserve a lot of discounts...I've been a customer since 2001 and before that when T-mobile was called Voicestream. I think I deserve an award AND free phones every 1-2 years!

[Denise in Los Angeles]

DAMNIT!!! I deserve a lot of discounts...I've been a customer since 2001 and before that when T-mobile was called Voicestream. I think I deserve an award AND free phones every 1-2 years!

TMo doesn't give out awards but nice try.

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[tcamshafter]

DAMNIT!!! I deserve a lot of discounts...I've been a customer since 2001 and before that when T-mobile was called Voicestream. I think I deserve an award AND free phones every 1-2 years!

LOL....i as well have been with them forever and in the past have felt this way also. but consider this, voicestream/Tmobile has always had better prices than anybody!!! and i remember in the old days if i had a bad signal or whatever i wasnt happy about gave me free minutes without even thinking about it...

[AngelYve83]

T-Mobile will be getting a lot more calls now with people trying to upgrade their handsets now. This is defnitely a good deal. Can't find this any place else.

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[untouchable1]

Would it matter when your original phone was bought? Does a sidekick count as a smartphone

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[mikex915]

Does this allow people to upgrade to the Nexus early without paying full price?

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[NorrisCell]

Does this allow people to upgrade to the Nexus early without paying full price?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

No. This discount applies at corporate stores and through Care only.

[NorrisCell]

Would it matter when your original phone was bought? Does a sidekick count as a smartphone

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

No, and yes. Sidekick is a smartphone. The original place of purchase does not matter

[Myveggies]

Sorry to offend you Norris, but I was just hoping T-Mobile would fight for my business a little bit. I don't think asking for more of a discount when I'm not on contract is that out of line, especially when I've seen it done here time and time again. And I don't think $129.99 is the "best pricing available" when Amazon.com has it for new T-Mobile customers for $49.99. I don't think it's too much to ask T-Mobile to match their own pricing?? Sure, the ability to keep my phone number is nice, but as I don't use the phone that often, it's not worth that much to me. And actually, I'd pay $99 for the phone, as it's not so much the money, as it is the principal of asking me to sign a new contract with no incentive.

If the retentions/loyalty department can't offer better deals to customers like me that they are trying to get back on contract, then what are they for?

Kezza, if you JUST want the best deal then I agree with what you are trying to do and sees nothing wrong with it. As a consumer, it's our right to seek out the best deal. It's a free market and competition is what makes it great. If everything cost the same everywhere then we'd be living in North Korea and wouldn't have choices.

Yes, we can accept what stores/companies ask for certain items but that doesn't mean we can't try to get a better deal. People will never sell you anything for no profit or a loss so if you are getting the same price "repeatedly" then that is the bottom line price.

Instead of duration of being with a phone company, I think that phone purchase/renewal discounts should vary based on "monthly bill usage". People with higher average bills should receive a higher discount than those wil lower monthly bills. When it comes down to it, we all know phone companies define "loyal" as "how much" they've made from you, not "how long" you've been with them.

The old AT&T (the CDMA one, before cingular merger) did this. I was living in Canada at the time and had the North American Plan but the max was only 3000 minutes a month with "no nights and weekend" allowance. My bill was constantly around 500-600 a month for two years. I was offered an $800 credit to renew my contract when my contract was up and was getting phone discounts left and right. On the other hand, my friend was with them for three years and was never offered a phone discount.

So to the OP, I would just keep trying and call back and ask for a lower price. If someone can't help you, then try someone else. If after five phone calls they still don't budge then that's the bottom line price. But that is just the bottom line at T-Mobile as other retailers obviously can be cheaper. Since you don't care about keeping your number or not, then just start a new line of service with T-Mobile (just make sure you start the new line then cancel the existing one otherwise they might not let you do a new line right after cancelling another one).

However, don't threaten or belittle anyone at customer care if they are not giving you a better deal. It's not wrong to ask for one but it's not right to yell at people. You are not wasting their time by asking nicely because their job is to make sure you are happy and they don't work on commission like the stores do. If one of the rep is willing to help you, make sure you ask to speak to his/her supervisor afterwards to put in a good work for him/her.

But do remember, be NICE to them! Good luck!

[Kezza]

Kezza, if you JUST want the best deal then I agree with what you are trying to do and sees nothing wrong with it. As a consumer, it's our right to seek out the best deal. It's a free market and competition is what makes it great. If everything cost the same everywhere then we'd be living in North Korea and wouldn't have choices.

Yes, we can accept what stores/companies ask for certain items but that doesn't mean we can't try to get a better deal. People will never sell you anything for no profit or a loss so if you are getting the same price "repeatedly" then that is the bottom line price.

Thanks Myveggies! I'm glad someone understands. I never said I DESERVED a cheaper phone. I was just surprised that a better deal wasn't offered to get me back on contract, especially when I've seen exactly that happen on this and other forums. I ended up going with the original offer which was $129 w/no upgrade fee and free shipping. I don't think I would have done that if I couldn't upgrade again in a year, so thank you T-Mobile for changing that policy!

[kcarter3]

Thank for the info just ordered my 9700 for 129.99 didn't need retention dept.

[proactix]

I have a question, right now I am on the even more plus plan with unlimited everything, but I am still my 2 year contract which doesn't end untill Jan 16th, 2011. Would I be able to get a full discount if I wanted to upgrade to another smartphone?

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[trees247]

Tmotoday.com......

So, the moral of the story here is, 366 days is the magic number. Once you've completed a full year, you can upgrade for the discounted price plus $18. Not bad

[NorrisCell]

Instead of duration of being with a phone company, I think that phone purchase/renewal discounts should vary based on "monthly bill usage". People with higher average bills should receive a higher discount than those wil lower monthly bills. When it comes down to it, we all know phone companies define "loyal" as "how much" they've made from you, not "how long" you've been with them.

The old AT&T (the CDMA one, before cingular merger) did this. I was living in Canada at the time and had the North American Plan but the max was only 3000 minutes a month with "no nights and weekend" allowance. My bill was constantly around 500-600 a month for two years. I was offered an $800 credit to renew my contract when my contract was up and was getting phone discounts left and right. On the other hand, my friend was with them for three years and was never offered a phone discount.

So to the OP, I would just keep trying and call back and ask for a lower price. If someone can't help you, then try someone else. If after five phone calls they still don't budge then that's the bottom line price. But that is just the bottom line at T-Mobile as other retailers obviously can be cheaper. Since you don't care about keeping your number or not, then just start a new line of service with T-Mobile (just make sure you start the new line then cancel the existing one otherwise they might not let you do a new line right after cancelling another one).

However, don't threaten or belittle anyone at customer care if they are not giving you a better deal. It's not wrong to ask for one but it's not right to yell at people. You are not wasting their time by asking nicely because their job is to make sure you are happy and they don't work on commission like the stores do. If one of the rep is willing to help you, make sure you ask to speak to his/her supervisor afterwards to put in a good work for him/her.

But do remember, be NICE to them! Good luck!

Cingular (Pre- AT&T name change) used to do this too. They looked at monthly ARPU (Average revenue per user) to determine upgrade pricing and time frame. They eventually pulled it because it became too confusing for the customers and it made it virtually impossible for the stores to display upgrade prices. Also, AT&T was never CDMA. I believe you are thinking of TDMA.

Just to be clear, calling back multiple times in hopes of getting a different answer IS wasting the company's time, no matter how you look at it. You are adding unnecessary calls. If this is a technique you employ, you forfeit any right to complain about hold times in the future, because those hold times could very well be due to people like you calling multiple times.

It is an open market, you are correct. The problem is that people have come to believe that everything is negotiable, no thanks to the barrage of articles supporting such ideas. And people refuse to accept that a company needs to make money in order to offer you products at ANY price. Every person feels that they are in a special situation. If everyone is special, special becomes normal.

MyVeggies, while I don't agree with your methods, I feel you approach the situation as correctly as possible. You are respectful, and implore people to be polite. The issue is that very few people share your mentality. If you were tell 10 people to use your methods, roughly one of them would be respectful, judging by the patterns I see. The other nine would yell, namedrop, threaten, insult the sales/care rep, and either act like or directly state that they are owed a better price. If you could do my job for a month, you would have an idea why I get so fired up about the subject.

To those who truly have been longtime customers: Call retentions and ask. If they cannot offer you a better price, do not call back. Accept that you are with a very low cost cellular company already.