"The answer to Radio Shack's rhetorical question on buying cell phones"

See "http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=3147"

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SMS wrote:
> See "http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=3147"


Hear hear!

The problem with RadioShack is that they limit themselves to just two
post-paid wireless carriers. If they truly made a commitment to offer
at least the top four nationwide, and THEN if they managed to negotiate
contracts with each carriers that brings them ALL in parallel in terms
of what kinds of incentives and kickbacks RadioShack and its employees
get for selling service, then I MIGHT consider RadioShack as a one-stop
shop worth considering. They would of course also have to deal with the
whole most-sales-droids-barely-know-how-to-breathe thing, and actually
make sure they have some semblance of knowledge about what they're
talking about.

But, since this is clearly not going to happen, RadioShack really should
never be considered authoritative on who to pick for wireless service.

I do disagree with the article on one point though. The author suggests
asking to borrow a friend's phone for the day. I seriously doubt a lot
of people would say yes to that. Personally, my phone IS my phone, and
I make and receive jsut about all of my calls on it. So while I have no
problems at all with letting someone make a quick phone call in a pinch,
I would be very wary about parting with my phone for a whole day.

--
E-mail fudged to thwart spammers.
Transpose the c's and a's in my e-mail address to reply.

Isaiah Beard wrote:
> SMS wrote:
>> See "http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=3147"
>
>
> Hear hear!
>
> The problem with RadioShack is that they limit themselves to just two
> post-paid wireless carriers.

One of the reasons Verizon is doing so well in terms of margins, and
Cingular is doing so poorly, is that Verizon sells a much higher
percentage of their service through their own stores and e-commerce site
(the other big reason is that Verizon's new additions are much more on
the post-paid side than Cingular's. Even though Radio Shack would jump
at the chance to get Verizon back, given their disastrous results with
Cingular, Verizon would be even stingier than ever on the commissions
and kickbacks now that they know that people shop by the carrier, more
than they do by the retailer.

> I do disagree with the article on one point though. The author suggests
> asking to borrow a friend's phone for the day. I seriously doubt a lot
> of people would say yes to that. Personally, my phone IS my phone, and
> I make and receive jsut about all of my calls on it. So while I have no
> problems at all with letting someone make a quick phone call in a pinch,
> I would be very wary about parting with my phone for a whole day.

It's a typical stupid statement by the author. In reality, the real test
of a phone often comes months or years after you sign up for service,
when you're out traveling somewhere. I appreciate Verizon when I'm in
the Sierra's, out on the coast, or in the greenbelt, because the GSM
carriers have much poorer coverage, if any.

When I'm in the urban and suburban parts of the Bay Area, Cingular
coverage is okay, though still not as good as Verizon. I was just in
Pleasanton last weekend, and I always am amused that about two miles
from Cingular's western regional headquarters, on Stoneridge, west of
Santa Rita Road the coverage sucks over at all the new cluster homes
that have been built out there. Maybe the residents don't want to allow
any cell sites, but Verizon works fine out there.

Boo on that.

At the risk of flying completely off the handle, if you're going to buy a
phone and you're comparison shopping, well, you're on here, you have the
internet, pull up the carriers' websites and GET THE INFORMATION DIRECTLY.
The problem with Authorized Agents or Dealer Locations is that they are
usually poorly informed, poorly trained, don't have the full array of
equipment, and are 999 times out of a thousand more interested in selling
you accessories with a big fat margin over one that won't blow your phone to
bits (literally, I have stories). Do yourself a favor, drive out of your
way, go to your carrier's corporate-owned store, and do business there.
It's just better, trust me on this.

As a consumer, you owe it to yourself to be well-educated about the products
and services you are consuming. Anyone trying to sell you anything has an
agenda--getting your money, so they can in turn get their commission. So if
T-Mobile offers some big fat commission bonus for selling this phone or if
US Cellular offers some big fat commission bonus for selling that feature,
guess what? This is a GREAT phone! You'll love it! And you just have to
have this feature to go with it, too. Carefully review the terms and
conditions of service *and* the contract before you sign it--you may be
unwittingly locking yourself into a rate plan that requires you to renew the
contract every time you change it. Any business has the legal right to
assume you have read every stitch of everything they've ever given you.
Carefully review your coverage area, so when you're travelling, you know
whether you're going to get that big fat roaming bill--or if you should call
*611 and add Free to Roam so you have that 100 roaming minutes for emergency
use or what-have-you. In a nutshell: READ EVERYTHING. Once you sign your
name or dial that phone, you have accepted the Terms & Conditions intact and
are at that point stuck with it, or stuck with an Early Disconnect Penalty.
Alltel may indeed hope you love every minute, but if there's something you
don't love and it's in the fine print and costs you a bazillion dollars
because you didn't read the fine print, well, Alltel still loves you but
you're payin' that there bill.

Thus endeth my tirade.

"Isaiah Beard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> SMS wrote:
> > See "http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=3147"
>
>
> Hear hear!
>
> The problem with RadioShack is that they limit themselves to just two
> post-paid wireless carriers. If they truly made a commitment to offer
> at least the top four nationwide, and THEN if they managed to negotiate
> contracts with each carriers that brings them ALL in parallel in terms
> of what kinds of incentives and kickbacks RadioShack and its employees
> get for selling service, then I MIGHT consider RadioShack as a one-stop
> shop worth considering. They would of course also have to deal with the
> whole most-sales-droids-barely-know-how-to-breathe thing, and actually
> make sure they have some semblance of knowledge about what they're
> talking about.
>
> But, since this is clearly not going to happen, RadioShack really should
> never be considered authoritative on who to pick for wireless service.
>
> I do disagree with the article on one point though. The author suggests
> asking to borrow a friend's phone for the day. I seriously doubt a lot
> of people would say yes to that. Personally, my phone IS my phone, and
> I make and receive jsut about all of my calls on it. So while I have no
> problems at all with letting someone make a quick phone call in a pinch,
> I would be very wary about parting with my phone for a whole day.
>
> --
> E-mail fudged to thwart spammers.
> Transpose the c's and a's in my e-mail address to reply.

Jo wrote:
> Boo on that.
>
> At the risk of flying completely off the handle, if you're going to buy a
> phone and you're comparison shopping, well, you're on here, you have the
> internet, pull up the carriers' websites and GET THE INFORMATION DIRECTLY.
> The problem with Authorized Agents or Dealer Locations is that they are
> usually poorly informed, poorly trained, don't have the full array of
> equipment, and are 999 times out of a thousand more interested in selling
> you accessories with a big fat margin over one that won't blow your phone to
> bits (literally, I have stories).

Actually, the carrier's own stores often sell the same low quality/high
margin accessories, as opposed to the better quality OEM accessories.

Unless you get these low-end accessories for free (i.e. Costco throws in
a leather case, headset, and car charger for free), then you're better
off getting only the phone at the store, and ordering genuine OEM
accessories on-line. There is a big difference in quality, and you'll
pay less than the stores selling the phone.

On Tue, 15 Aug 2006 22:53:46 -0700, "Jo" <[email protected]> wrote:

>The problem with Authorized Agents or Dealer Locations is that they are
>usually poorly informed, poorly trained, don't have the full array of
>equipment, and are 999 times out of a thousand more interested in selling
>you accessories with a big fat margin over one that won't blow your phone to
>bits (literally, I have stories).

I do too… Including the dealer who told my friend he would pay the
$200 early termination fee if he’d switch carriers… The $15 a month
plan that turned out to be a $25 plan when the bill arrived. In both
cases, the merchant denied making the statements. They’ll apparently
*say* anything to make a sale without regard for the truth.

In New York these ‘Authorized Dealers’ are typically really sleazy
merchants (and often look the part), that I would *never* do business
with.

The sales reps in the Verizon corporate stores may not be the most
well informed, but they don’t have a vested interested in ripping you
off and I’ve never known them to be rude or arrogant.

A_C