This is why I hate the people in marketing...

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Reason the first

People are very, VERY passionate about their cell phones. To a point I get it, a lot of us have a good portion of our lives in them and rely on them for day to day to communication but one thing SCs will never seem to understand is that phones are fallible and network coverage isn't perfect everywhere.

It's totally unreasonable to expect super awesome 4G LTE coverage in every remote corner of the country yet...they do. And they do because of those big bright shiny maps that all are over our stores and ads indicating we have the biggest most awesome network ever that covers almost 98% of the country.

What this means of course is that we have COVERAGE in 98% of the country, not necessarily strong and reliable coverage, but coverage...which may or may not be that great.

There are many things, both natural and manmade that can affect wireless service, a good number of which are beyond our control.

But do people understand? No.

I actually had a woman last week who was furious at me because she didn't get good signal at a campground in the middle of the Mountains in Colorado.

Gee, I wonder why that might be?

Reason the second

We also have ads and signs highlighting our super awesome $160 deal. Of course it's not quite as simple as just "start up four lines and pay $160 a month". There are other conditions that have to be met, not to mention taxes, fees and recurring charges (i.e. for mobile insurance) that factor into that as well.

Do SCs grasp this? No.

I've lost count of the number of people who fully expect to only pay $160 a month and NOT A PENNY MORE because: "That's what the ad said!"

[vikingchyk]

I've lost count of the number of people who fully expect to only pay $160 a month and NOT A PENNY MORE because: "That's what the ad said!"

Yeah, because taxes and fees are never added on to anything you buy. Never. Some people.

I just saw that ad this week, and it got me wondering what I should be doing with my extra money? I'm one of those cell phone semi-Luddites (I have a dumb phone, on a really really cheap grandfathered non-plan[1], because I rarely use it) I have no idea how much a reasonable monthly plan costs. I saw that commercial, and almost plotz. $160??? Are you serious??? Oh, for four lines. Ok. I rescind one question mark. Are you serious?? I don't know how serious users afford it...

[1] Seriously, I'm paying the same rate that I did in 2004 plus the money rolls over, so I have a sizable balance right now, in case I ever did need to use it a lot. I sometimes use the balance to pay for stupid Facebook game purchases, or text money to the Red Cross

[thehuckster]

I've lost count of the number of people who fully expect to only pay $160 a month and NOT A PENNY MORE because: "That's what the ad said!"

They buy mobile insurance and other stuff along with it and they still expect it to be $160 a month? That's like going to a supermarket with a sale on cereal for $4 and expecting your entire purchase with milk, eggs, and flour to be a total $4.

[Catwoman2965]

Oh please. I consider my phone to be an necessary annoyance. That being said, I went with a prepaid, no contract phone, for which I pay the grandfathered rate of $25 (plus tax!) a month. I get 300 minutes and unlimited texting and data. It suits my needs, and the other company, who shall not be named, would have cost me about $100 a month, which was more than I'd be paying for my tv, landline and Internet from them, combined.

[taxguykarl]

They buy mobile insurance and other stuff along with it and they still expect it to be $160 a month? That's like going to a supermarket with a sale on cereal for $4 and expecting your entire purchase with milk, eggs, and flour to be a total $4.

Not so loud....some SC might not have thought of that

[MoonCat]

If you need phone coverage that badly in the mountains, maybe you shouldn't be there.

OK, I can see wanting it in case of emergency, but it's kind of a "camp at your own risk" situation by nature.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

OK, I can see wanting it in case of emergency, but it's kind of a "camp at your own risk" situation by nature.

Makes me wonder what did these folks do years ago before cell phones were even thought of, let alone invented. Tin cans and string?

[otakuneko]

We have a saying in Support.

"Only Support works for [Company]."

With a very few exceptions, Sales Engineers are customers, not coworkers. Not only that they're often sucky customers. Worse than actual customers.

[Racket_Man]

I've lost count of the number of people who fully expect to only pay $160 a month and NOT A PENNY MORE because: "That's what the ad said!"

Yours is not the only industry that gets that kind of attitude. ANY pizza place runs ad for super-insane-low-low price special and the customers come out of the woodwork, BUT somehow they seem to forget about sales taxes and (if the order is delivered) the delivery charge and THEN complain about the "high cost" of their order.

[Teefies2]

They buy mobile insurance and other stuff along with it and they still expect it to be $160 a month? That's like going to a supermarket with a sale on cereal for $4 and expecting your entire purchase with milk, eggs, and flour to be a total $4.

I had that today. This one guy comes in every other day and buys two packs of the same brand of cigarettes. Today, he bought those two PLUS another pack of a different brand. I tell him the total, he goes ballistic.

"YOU raised the price? AGAIN?????? (note, evidently I am in charge of cigarette prices - not the corporate office OR the tax authority) ::: garble mumble sighing glaring :::

I calmly said, "No sir, you bought an extra pack today". He looks at me like I have three heads, slams the money down and slinks off. SC pwned!

[MelindaJoy77]

I actually had a woman last week who was furious at me because she didn't get good signal at a campground in the middle of the Mountains in Colorado.

Gee, I wonder why that might be?

Sounds like someone who has never been in the mountains before...those people are fun to watch

The place where my hubby and I usually go camping never used to have a signal, which was fine by me. A couple of years ago though there was a landslide that covered a good portion of the highway used to get there, so when they were working on clearing and rebuilding they built a tower up there somewhere and now we have a signal when we go camping. It's kind of weird. I still don't touch my phone when we're up there but I suppose it's nice to have in case of emergency; I don't think our ambulance services are equipped to drive ten miles or more up logging roads and off-road trails though

[Deserted]

Up until I started training last year, I was using the same cheap type of flip phone I'd been using for... um... 5 years? More? Anyway, I was using the Small Chirping Bug and my monthly charges were in the neighborhood of $40, including unlimited text, talk, internet, etc.

The only reason I switched to a smartphone was because I needed it for training. Sadly, Big Green Cab Co is moving to a phone app for dispatching calls (rollout to be completed within a year, and then our terminals will be removed) so I'll have to stick with it, rather than switch back to a cheaper phone when I break this one...

[earl colby pottinger]

It is desired feature

Sounds like someone who has never been in the mountains before...those people are fun to watch

The place where my hubby and I usually go camping never used to have a signal, which was fine by me.

Same here, until two years ago you could not get a signal at my cabin. I have no cell phone in Canada but my friend would come up to relax and was happy to tell her work place that she was going where they could not contact her.

As far as I know, she never mentioned to them when the new cell towers were added after the local highway was upgraded to more lanes.

[mandersdawn]

I saw that commercial, and almost plotz. $160??? Are you serious??? Oh, for four lines. Ok. I rescind one question mark. Are you serious?? I don't know how serious users afford it...

Umm well my husband and I pay $540 a month (with overage fees) for a shared data plan with Red Checkmark with 50 GB of data. I can't even believe we pay that much, but he's a truck driver so our phone is our TV, so we stream a lot and rarely find WiFi.

To the original post, I get mad when we don't have good coverage but I'd never call and complain about it. I get that there are things in the way, especially in the freaking mountains!

[Deserted]

Umm well my husband and I pay $540 a month (with overage fees) for a shared data plan with Red Checkmark with 50 GB of data. I can't even believe we pay that much, but he's a truck driver so our phone is our TV, so we stream a lot and rarely find WiFi.

$540?! Holy crap!!! I hope it's worth it!