This is mainly for informational purposes for those of you who are on SERO plans who have not ordered a Touch Pro 2 yet. It's also partially a rant.
(EDIT, since people seem to get crazy about this: This is not much of a rant at all, just an experience I wanted to share and compare. Thanks.)
Allow me to preface this with a few facts. I'm currently on the $30/mo SERO plan with a Touch Pro that I purchased with upgrade on October 24th of last year.
My initial contact with Sprint 2 days ago regarding the Touch Pro 2 resulted in a response stating that I must upgrade my SERO plan to the Everything Plus $59.99/mo plan in order to get the phone. I also was informed that I would have to purchase the TP2 for the full price of $599, due to my upgrade eligibility.
I then called retentions yesterday and mentioned I had talked to Verizon, and they told me the phone was $199 after rebates and I could order on Friday. This had no effect on her, and she pretty much told me to go ahead and cancel my plan since there is no additional discount she could offer me on the TP2.
I called the employee line today and got nowhere with another guy, so he transferred me to retentions again. This lady was a little nicer, but also got nowhere with her, so she transferred me to her manager. The manager's best offer was to give me my $75 upgrade discount (1 yr) one month early, and also knock $25 off my bill, making the phone $499. Not one of the people I talked to was willing to give me a credit toward the purchase of this phone, even though I've been a customer for 2.5 years now. They all said they've been given direct orders to specifically not discount this phone, and when I asked why, the manager told me that their policies have changed a lot, and the company is more geared toward a cheaper plan approach, rather than the cheaper phone approach as they've had in the past. After weighing all my options in an Excel spreadsheet, purchasing the phone for $500 on my current plan is MUCH cheaper (even for only 1 year of service, not taking the 2 yr contract into consideration) than the other plans through Sprint or Verizon. That pretty much leaves me stuck having to buy a phone for $500...which is a little crazy if you ask me.
Share your experiences. I'd like to see if anyone without upgrade eligibility was able to get further than this.