Freddy Posted May 3, 2003 Share Posted May 3, 2003 So I get this call yesterday on my cell from my cellular provider, ATT. A sales lady was offering a new cell phone which uses their new service GSM(?), it seems my new Motorola doesn't support it and if I wanted to take advantage of the new service I'd have to upgrade. They had two free phones and neither was the Mo. If I wanted another Motorola, I'd have to pay $150. Now the nice lady on the phone said the upgrade was optional, that I could keep the phone. I politely declined as I actually paid good money for the Mo.Now today I get another call from ATT saying I have to upgrade, that my existing TDMA service is being discontinued and my phone will no longer work. All the cellular providers are upgrading. The new service will allow me to take and send pictures and let me use it in Europe. (Yippie.)Well I really blew up at this lady. (I later apologized) I wasn't about to throw away another $150 on another phone because they were discontinuing a service - even though WE had a contract for the service which hasn't yet expired. She compared it to the upgrade from analog to digital.She recommended that I go to my local ATT service center and maybe they'll do something about getting me a new phone if I sign up for a 2 year contract! I told her when my service does cut out, I'll not only be looking for a new phone but a new provider as well. I might as well, as there is no incentive for me to stay with ATT.I see this as a disservice to their customers as well as a marketing goof since people will now have the means and motive to start shopping around for other providers (did someone say Verison?) Has any other ATT customers received the same calls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inform Posted May 3, 2003 Share Posted May 3, 2003 Freedy,The wireless providers have gotten themselves in so deep with this 3G (spent billions on it). Over here in Europe they rolled out this new network and I received a similar call from my provider but I refused to change my phone. Most of the time these calls don't come from ATT but sales centers that ATT hires to make the cold calls. So check the facts out. They'll say anything to make the sale.As an aside the wireless industry has spent so much money on this new technology that they are trying to cram it down our throats. Why would I want to take a picture with my phone, the rates to send it to someone are ridiculously high in the first place. Secondly the industry seems to think that what the consumer wants is a complete all in one wireless device that does just about everything but keep you connected during a conversation. Only time will tell if they are right.Having said my piece however, the tag line I hear from the wireless companies is that 3G is an evolution in wireless technology. So weather we like it or not all of the service providers are going to this and you may switch to find you haven't gotten very far. It may not be soon but eventually we are all going to be buying new phones. They know its just a matter of time and they have factored it in to there wall street earnings.Good luck Christopher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inform Posted May 3, 2003 Share Posted May 3, 2003 Sorry Freddy messed up your name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martini Lover Posted May 4, 2003 Share Posted May 4, 2003 I agree, these wireless providers have way to much power. Notice that what ever they tell you isn't exactly like it is. Get a "free" phone and they charge $240 and give you back $20 a month. When is the government who is supposed to protect us going to step in and say FREE IS Free. Free to me means you gave it to me without strings attached. Hopefully when customers can keep his phone number and go to company, to company, we will really have some competition between the companys, which is really good for us. I have had 3 cell phone numbers over the last 12 yeard, 8 years with the last company. I would change in a minute if I could take my number with me. I can't give up the number. They can in Europe, but not here. It seems like a lot of us could even give up our land lines if they would treat us right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted May 4, 2003 Share Posted May 4, 2003 Phone companies. Don't get me started. I noticed my three year old phone was starting to crack. I went on the internet and looked at Sprint and then I went to Amazon. Amazon had a better price. Wait a minute. When I clicked buy without new service the price doubled! Same thing with Sprint. The only way to get the phone at the advertised price was to change my plan I guess they get it one way or another... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havnblast Posted May 4, 2003 Share Posted May 4, 2003 I am happy to have tossed my cell phone a couple years ago, I don't miss it one bit and saves me money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzButt Posted May 12, 2003 Share Posted May 12, 2003 Ya I got a call like that 4 years ago or so from "Cellular One" (now Verison but also was Airtouch Cellular for a while) Anyway the call was to tell me that my phone would stop working at a predetermined date due to them changing to the TDMA network. They did not say that exactly but that is was was going on. I chose with my Dollars and said "Well since my contract is over and I am Month to Month I will be cancelling your service" I did and drove down the street to Cingular. They were happy to help. I got a new phone and a new number that was of my choosing. 8 months later they did the same thing. But were offering a free replacement phone for the trouble. I am still with them and so far so good. I just picked up a new phone again from them as a replacement of a slightly broken phone. My new one is much smaller and easier to use. What I think is amazing is the size of the brass balls these companies have when they figure that this "Upgrade" crap is going to be well received by it's customers. Another thing. My other Cell phone is from Nextel. It is the Motorola i1000 Plus that was over $200. They provide service for "Business" Well I hope I don't completely rely on this phone for my "Business" The coverage area is so-so but there are areas of no signal all over the metro area where I live. Including most of my house. The Phone is all digital and regularly drops calls when the signal goes to zero. The direct connect feature is nice but there are constant "Not available" messages when you were still talking to another person. So a call to Nextel service to ask about the drops and no signal resulted in them telling me I needed a $15 software upgrade to my phone. What? If I need a software upgrade on my phone because you have upgraded your towers then that upgrade should be free.It is just absurd what we as customers are willing to take for "good service" I wish I did not need the phone for work otherwise I would have already thrown it into the lake.The boxes these phones come in should have lubricant along with all the other accessories. Wait what accessories just the cheap charger.Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddy Posted May 14, 2003 Author Share Posted May 14, 2003 So I get _another_ call from ATT (They just don't give up!) This time I don't mess with a sales person and go strait for a supervisor. This call was more productive. Seems ATT will be continuing the TDMA service after all. They just wanted to pitch the new service, which I assume is more profitable with all the gee wiz features. They are even carring analog for some of the legacy apps.I took this opportunity to make sure they take my _cell phone number_ off their calling list. Hopefully this is the end of this cell phone drama. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted May 14, 2003 Share Posted May 14, 2003 Related.My brother just got out of the Navy and he's living with me. A few weeks ago, we went to the Cingular office (he had Cingular in south GA and I also have Cingular) to get his plan changed to OKC. In the process, the sales lady looked a my phone on my belt -- a free Ericsson -- and tried to sell me a new phone. "Wow, that an old phone you have there." Gee thanks. She said that Cingular was changing to the new type of network (like Sprint) where you can do the pictures and all kinds of techie gee wiz stuff. I like all the gee wiz stuff and made a popcorn promise to upgrade when it comes out later this summer (if my contract will allow me). I probably will cuz, man, I likes the bells and whistles, especially with the new stuff coming out, but it'll cost a butt-ton to send a picture and I'll get cancer from all the new radio waves going thru me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ThunderRiver Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 I dunno.. I will go with VerizonWireless no matter what. I have constant communication with my closed ones, and only VerizonWireles has coverage over zip code 62863..ATT Doesn't.. Nextel doesn't.. T-mobile defintely a no support.. and well, I have nothing more to say. Verizon uses Tri-Mode, and I don't know how good the GSM from ATT is, but only if they support the place 62863.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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