t-mobile is pretty wacky...

[orangekid]

check out this chat session I had with Tmo, basically admitting if you sign a 2 year you're an idiot.





_Brandon W: Hi Ethan , welcome to T-Mobile live Chat. I’m _Brandon and I will be happy to assist you. Please give me a moment to review your question.
_Brandon W: I understand that you would like to know some information about new phones and plans, is that correct?
_Brandon W: Are you there Ethan?
Ethan : doing well
Ethan : thanks
Ethan : that is correct
Ethan : here is my dilemma.
Ethan : currently I am paying $60 a month for 500 mins, unlimited txt and data. I am considering getting the HD2 for $199 (w a 2 year contract) when it comes out, but was told I would then be switched to an $80 a month for the same plan, is that corrrect?
_Brandon W: Well first of all you would not be able to change your plan to a contract plan since you are on a no contract plan now, unless you cancel your plan completely and start new service.
_Brandon W: Secondly, if you did this, you would be $79.99 for this plan, correct.
Ethan : ok so I don't understand this.
Ethan : it seems to me signing a 2 year contract is supposed to be rewarded with $ off of a phone correct?
_Brandon W: Right.
Ethan : hypothetically I could buy the phone retail and activate it on my same plan. Someone paying $199 plus an extra $20 a month would be basically paying (20 X 24 months + 199) $680 dollars
Ethan : whereas the phone won't cost that much retail
Ethan : see what I mean?
_Brandon W: it is about the same in the end.
Ethan : are you telling me that this phone will be $680 retail?
_Brandon W: It is just if you want to pay more for the plan or for the phone.
_Brandon W: No.
Ethan : so you actually pay more to sign a 2 year contract?
_Brandon W: It is about the same in the end. You may pay a little more for the contract because the plan is more expensive.
Ethan : that doesn't make sense, I thought signing a contract was supposed to get rewarded..
Ethan : im not trying to be difficult
Ethan : I know im coming off as antagonistic, im just trying to understand
_Brandon W: The only reward is paying less for the phone when you buy it.
_Brandon W: Otherwise you pay more for the plans.
_Brandon W: I think your current plan is a better plan.
_Brandon W: Because you are not bound by a contract and you pay less for the plan.
Ethan : wow, its just that like on Sprint (which gives you more converage) you pay $10 cheaper for the same plan
Ethan : with phone discounts
Ethan : so I guess I expected Tmobile to be like that
Ethan : and it's actually a better plan. What would be the incentive to not switch?
_Brandon W: You either pay less for your plan and more for the phone on the no contract plan or vice versa with a contract plan.
Ethan : yeah but other phone companies don't do that, I mean honestly it seems kind of stupid for anyone to sign a contract you know?
_Brandon W: We actually have the same plans that AT&T and Verizon just came out with, but they are cheaper with us. If you would like you can check billshrink.com to compare plans and pricing.
Ethan : well yeah ATT and VZW are overpriced. But they get better coverage too right? Sprint gets better coverage AND is cheaper, so Sprint seems like the clear choice. Especially because they are getting a nexus one and the Supersonic.
Ethan : but yeah I get what you're saying
Ethan : as far as GSM goes tmobile is the better deal.
Ethan : but I am starting to reconsider just sticking to CDMA and hanging out with Sprint.
Ethan : get me some Wimax, with unlimted txt, data, 5oo mins with free to any cell phone for only $70 a month AND you still get phone discounts.
Ethan : what do you think?
_Brandon W: Well you do bring up some valid points.
_Brandon W: What I would suggest it trying out a couple of those services for the 14 or 30 days to see how you like them.
Ethan : which services?
_Brandon W: I would try all of them.
_Brandon W: Across the board.
Ethan : you mean all of the carriers?
_Brandon W: Weigh pricing, coverage, etc.
_Brandon W: Right.
Ethan : well if I did that, Sprint wins hands down, and Tmobile comes in second, because I just happen to live in a city that gets full on hspa
Ethan : I guess what I am looking for is some way to get rewarded for signing a 2 year contract
Ethan : and not actually pay more money (i.e. punished AND stuck for 2 years)
Ethan : Is there anyone in the company I can talk to about that possibility?
Ethan : and I honestly do think Tmobile has the best customer service out of all 4 carriers
_Brandon W: Unfortunately to get the discounted price for the phones you would have to sign a contract.
Ethan : I don't have a problem for that, but I am looking for a way to sign a 2 year and get a good plan price (like the one I am on)
Ethan : have you ever heard of that happening or is that impossible?
_Brandon W: If you sign a 2 year contract you would get the pricing that shows for the contract plans.
Ethan : ok, is there any higher-up I can talk to perhaps to amend this or something? I still can't get around the idea that I would be paying (let's say the phone is $550 retail) $130+ for actually signing a 2 year.
_Brandon W: Unfortunately no one would be able to change the price of the plan because there is not a manual way of changing that.
Ethan : ok well I will see what I can do then.
Ethan : thanks for being patient
_Brandon W: No problem.
_Brandon W: Is there anything else we can assist you with today?
Ethan : I think that about covers it.
_Brandon W: Well Thank you for contacting T-Mobile Chat, have a great day!t
Ethan : roger

[mlin]

Hilarious, absolutely no reason to sign a contract.

On another note, I also want the HD2...

[Dr.8820]

Wirelessly posted (PPCGEEKS Fire Dept.: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 8.12; MSIEMobile6.0) Sprint T7380)

i, too, opted for a no contract plan.

[orangekid]

someone on the tmo forums just informed me that the no-contract price for the HD2 is $449.

what kind of idiot pays $230 over retail for the opportunity to be stuck in a 2 year deal?

[sprintgirl]

ha ha nice chat session! yes sprint is the shizzy! you should join is happy folk. however dont expect great customer service when dialing *2 i will admit they are not the nicest.

[orangekid]

Originally Posted by sprintgirl

ha ha nice chat session! yes sprint is the shizzy! you should join is happy folk. however dont expect great customer service when dialing *2 i will admit they are not the nicest.

well I am on both and yeah tmo customer service is way better, but I'd rather be saving some green

[gangmobb]

I would switch to sprint.. they helped get me $300 in credits to my account.. they don't say no no one can change that. For me they tried and tried and tried n viola $300! Lol

[jimmiekain]

lol roger that Houston

[orangekid]

Originally Posted by gangmobb

I would switch to sprint.. they helped get me $300 in credits to my account.. they don't say no no one can change that. For me they tried and tried and tried n viola $300! Lol

I switch back and froth from GSM to CDMA, right now I'm rocking my iphone 3G and soon HD2, so there's like no reason to use Sprint for anything.


But if/when the supersonic comes out and maybe a winmo7 wimax phone I may go back to CDMA

The reason you cannot switch back and forth between contract and no contract is because of the differences in price. T-Mo understands that people don't like contracts so came out with the no contract option....it is less per month since there is no contract and they cannot offer a discount on the phone because you are free to leave at anytime. For people who like to get new phones on a regular basis or just cant afford to pay hundreds up front just for the phones, they have the contract plans were you pay more monthly but less up front. Depending on the phone you purchase and if you recieve a corporate discount on your monthly bill determines which option is best for the individual. It is actually the best option overall as all other carriers require a 2yr agreement when activating service.

Coverage is realitively the same amongst carriers these days despite the advertisements. The studies that are done are based upon carrier coverage at the customer's home address. Verizon is the highest at 98% of customers and T-mo is now 2nd at 96%.