Use The iPhone To Bargain With Your Carrier
July 2nd, 2007 by Podophile
Even if you hate the iPhone and everything it stands for, there seems to be one practical use for it that everybody can love… bargaining with your current cell phone company by threatening to buy one. Metafilter guy Matt Haughey bought an iPhone over the weekend, then called Verizon to cancel his current service. He knew it might get interesting, so he recorded the call. By telling them he had purchased an iPhone and wanted to cancel his service, he received some nice offers: A discounted smartphone, a free month of service, and in a last ditch effort, a large service fee reduction.
Favorite quote from the call:
Verizon: If I can get a free month of service thrown in there and take care of your first month’s bill, would you be interested in keeping the service with us at all?
Matt: No.
(Pause)
Verizon: Was that yes?
matt: No.
I’ve certainly heard more painful customer service calls than this one, but if you’re thinking about trying to negotiate with your cell phone company, it’s probably a pretty good primer on what to expect.
Post a comment below if you have any luck renegotiating with your carrier.
[Via Consumerist]
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