![\"hammer\"](\"https:\/\/digitalmediaphile.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/hammer.png\" "\\"hammer\\"")
Let me first state that I\u2019m getting an iPhone 7. I\u2019m going to buy it from Apple. My prior \u201ccontract\u201d which I signed when I traded an iPhone 5 for an iPhone 6 expired when I paid this month\u2019s bill and I am off contract.<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t that I plan to switch carriers, as Verizon is the only real choice where I\u2019m located. AT&T doesn\u2019t even give one bar inside my home. I want the freedom to decide my own destiny so to speak. Verizon, on the other hand, seems to be using training that requires their store agents to use a sledgehammer approach when customers ask about their options and want to make changes.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t remember ever having such a hard time getting what I wanted and getting a sales person to stop hammering me with details of something I indicated up front I had no interest in. (And getting my intelligence questioned to boot.)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
On Thursday, I went to one of the corporate Verizon Stores to discuss what plans were available. I brought a print out with me so that it was crystal clear what I was interested in:<\/p>\n
![\"plans\"](\"https:\/\/digitalmediaphile.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/plans.png\" "\\"plans\\"")
<\/p>\n
After waiting for a store rep (busy, longish wait, others were there with the same questions) on Thursday, a rep came over and asked what I wanted. I said, \u201c I\u2019m going to be buying an iPhone 7 from Apple, not Verizon. I\u2019m checking to see if there are any hidden charges if I sign up for the \u201cnew Verizon Plan\u201d and keep my tablet (already activated) on it and get the iPhone 7 for the Apple Store at the Mall and activate it there and I don\u2019t want a contract with Verizon\u201d. He checked my account and confirmed I was \u201coff contract\u2019’\u201d and launched into a sales pitch for trading my phone (iPhone 6) and getting a free iPhone 7. I said (nicely) \u201cI already told you I wasn\u2019t interested in this trade up two year contract. I want to talk about any hidden charges on the New Verizon Plan\u201d.<\/p>\n
The rep checks some stuff on his tablet and then says \u201cYou can buy the iPhone 7 from us on a device plan for $27.04 a month. It\u2019s not the same as the old contract\u201d. I stood up and said \u201cYou aren\u2019t listening to me. I\u2019m not buying a phone from Verizon\u201d. He then decides to tell me \u201cYou can trade in your iPhone 6 for a $200 credit that you can apply to accessories\u201d. I tell him that this is just another \u2018shell\u2019 for a 24 month contract. He confirms this is true. I want to smack this guy upside the head. I restrain myself. I decide to leave the store and come back the next day.<\/p>\n
So yesterday (Friday), I return the the Verizon store and a different rep waits on me. I still have my piece of paper (the above print out) and I tell her I don\u2019t want to buy an iPhone 7 from VZW, lease one, trade in anything and all I want to do is switch to the new Verizon Plan with MY CURRENT DEVICES, as I am off contract and eligible. She launches into a sales speech about how I can trade in my iPhone 6. I tell her bluntly to STFU as I already stated I was not interested. Then she starts with the device payment plan. I ask her if she has actually listened to what I told her. (Apparently not.)<\/p>\n
I stand my ground, I tell her I want to switch to the new Verizon Plan. She taps some stuff into her tablet and tells me she can make it effective with my next billing period. She gives me figures. I tell her I\u2019m off contract and it would save me $35 to switch today<\/strong>. She then tells me that THAT would involved a pro-rated bill and that I would have trouble understanding it. I stand up again, and restrain from physical violence and tell her that it is uncalled for to question anyone\u2019s intelligence or math skills and to make the switch or get a manager over that will do it. She tries one more time to sign me up for device payment or a contract. She asks me why I won\u2019t take a contract or buy a phone from VZW or select device payment. And I tell her it is none of her business.<\/p>\n She finally sets up the plan I want and pushes the buttons to make it happen. She tells me she is making a note in my account that I probably will be complaining about a pro-rated bill that I don\u2019t understand. Unbelievable. Exhausting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let me first state that I\u2019m getting an iPhone 7. I\u2019m going to buy it from Apple. My prior \u201ccontract\u201d which I signed when I traded an iPhone 5 for an iPhone 6 expired when I paid this month\u2019s bill and I am off contract. It isn\u2019t that I plan to switch carriers, as Verizon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[55,355,35],"tags":[248],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":""},"post_excerpt_stackable":" Let me first state that I\u2019m getting an iPhone 7. I\u2019m going to buy it from Apple. My prior \u201ccontract\u201d which I signed when I traded an iPhone 5 for an iPhone 6 expired when I paid this month\u2019s bill and I am off contract. It isn\u2019t that I plan to switch carriers, as Verizon is the only real choice where I\u2019m located. AT&T doesn\u2019t even give one bar inside my home. I want the freedom to decide my own destiny so to speak. Verizon, on the other hand, seems to be using training that requires their store agents to…<\/p>\n","category_list":"iPhone<\/a>, iPhone 7<\/a>, Technology<\/a>","author_info":{"name":"Barb","url":"https:\/\/digitalmediaphile.com\/index.php\/author\/barb\/"},"comments_num":"0 comments","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pvFKI-ne","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalmediaphile.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalmediaphile.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalmediaphile.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmediaphile.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmediaphile.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmediaphile.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalmediaphile.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmediaphile.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmediaphile.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}