Very frustrating early upgrade experience.

[garykool81]

I've just had an incredibly frustrating experience at a Verizon Wireless store. I've been a loyal VZW customer for a decade now and have never made a single late payment. In those ten years, I've asked for nothing. I've called customer service for nothing. When I was robbed two years ago and needed to replace my practically brand new iPhone 5, I didn't bat an eye at having to pay full price for the phone. Today, just two weeks before my contract with you officially expires, I asked to be able to take advantage of the discounted upgrade price for a new iPhone. Why? Because I have 16GB older model that has effectively been rendered worthless by the new iOS updates and now has absolutely no free memory. I was told by your representative in the store as well as the individual on the phone that he called at 611 that this wasn't possible, despite me making them aware of the fact that one of my coworkers literally did the exact same thing two months ago -- which is where I got the idea from. In his case, the manager simply needed to perform an override, and the problem was solved. I've never asked for *anything* from your company in a decade. I've always paid my bills on time without a single late payment. Seriously? You can't spot someone two weeks with the promise of them being a continued loyal customer for another 10+ years? Not amused at all.

[pherson]

Bringing up the point that you pay your bills on time is......pointless. You're supposed to pay your bills on time. What's 2 more weeks? Do you have someone who can loan you a phone for two weeks? Have you tried deleting unnecessary apps pics or songs? Moved anything to the cloud? There are options.

[sprmankalel]

Garrett Kulash, There are a few issues with this. First, it is Apple's policy to not allow upgrades even one day early. Don't ask me why. This is what I was told as a customer of another carrier as well as a customer and former employee of Verizon wireless. Second, Apple being the one in charge of the OS updates will render the device useless with any updates. In my opinion, iOS 7 should NEVER have been pushed to the iPhone 4 or 4S. iOS 8 should never have been pushed to the 4S. The 16GB model is a defunct device as nobody can get by with that little bit of storage. It is about 13 after the OS. I am sure you know (but in case you don't) the photos and videos you take, the music you purchase and the apps you download all take up space. Even pictures that are in PhotoStream and this counts yours and the ones that may have been shared by friends. As well as a myriad of other stuff such as the pictures that you send in receive in text messages and iMessages, app data, emails, text messages themselves, etc. So it isn't really the OS that is taking up the space on your device it is the media that you are storing. I was an avid iPhone user. I used iPhone 3G, 4, 4S and 5 over the course of 5 years. I found out about all of this storage stuff as well as the limits of the software versus Android and AND the hardware. I don't know which phone you want to upgrade to and I don't want to turn your thread into the great iOS vs. Android debate. I can suggest that you should consider devices that might meet the needs that you are outlining in your original post. There are a lot of devices available that allow you expand your storage for a lot cheaper than Apple charges and, unlike Apple, I have not seen a software version pushed to an Android device that can't handle it. It is worth taking a look at different devices. It is unfortunate, but it is only 2 weeks. I would suggest downloading the Verizon Cloud App on your device and connecting wifi. With a More Everything Plan you get 25GB of Cloud storage for free. You'll have to upgrade it though the app. You can then set it to save you pictures and videos and start removing them from the device  once backed up. This will free up some space. Hope this helps.

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[Snn5]

I have heard, recently, and from a rep on these boards that an upgrade can be done no earlier than 7 days before contract end date.  So, it might be possible for you to upgrade in 6 days rather than 13 (considering you posted almost 24 hours ago.)  I do not guarantee this, but have seen this in typed form.  Never heurts to call Verizon and ask.  It might be an online type of upgrade rather than an in-store upgrade policy.

[garykool81]

I am a pretty tech savvy guy, so I've already routinely deleted all videos and photos from my phone, cleared my Safari cache, deleted message histories containing photos, deleted all unnecessary apps (now, I only have 4-5 apps installed), etc. I also never use my phone for music, so there are no songs whatsoever stored on my device. With all of that, I am still very often down to less than 3GB of usable memory.

To the other previous posters -- There's nothing in my contract that mentions anything about VZW needing to provide me with an early upgrade offer. There's nothing in my contract mentioning that I get special treatment for paying my bill on time every month and being a loyal customer through multiple contracts, in addition to being one of those "easy" customers most companies prefer that you never hear from (until now).

Do they legally owe me anything at all? Absolutely not. Did I ever infer that in my post? No.

My gripe is actually more with the fact that a coworker of mine in the virtually identical scenario (upgrading from an iPhone 5 to an iPhone 6 a full two months out) was provided an entirely different experience at the VZW store he visited because the manager there was willing to give him the level of customer service inquired about -- despite the fact that he's (simply by age) been a VZW customer for far shorter of a time than I have been.

In the world of customer service, most companies that value long-term, loyal customers will go out of their way to offer those customers an occasional gesture that acknowledges their worth to the company. It could be something as simple as a hotel offering a personalized welcome letter and a box of chocolates in the room of a loyal guest, or an apartment community allowing a long-term resident to more easily break their lease or move-out a few weeks early without paying all of the steep termination fees generally charged and mandated per "policy" in their contracts. Why do they do this? Because customer-centric companies understand that these modest gestures, while inexpensive to them, can mean the world to a customer and help further that consumer's advocacy on behalf of their company and in turn help their business generate more revenue.

Virtually all major companies and industries track this sort of consumer passion and loyalty through a fairly common tracking method called Net Promoter Scores. Feel free to Google it. Companies that consumers love and are passionate about (Wegmans, Costco, Westin Hotels) tend to have extremely high NPS scores, whereas companies and industries that consumers often have repeated sub-par experiences with are towards the bottom of the score range. Not surprisingly, the bottom of the list is dominated by cell phone carriers and cable companies. These companies almost all have one thing in common -- they give better service and more favorable treatment to new customers rather than rewarding their existing, loyal ones.

For example, I could walk away from VZW right now and go to another cell carrier who would gladly provide me with the discounted purchase price for an iPhone 6 coupled with paying for whatever contract termination fees I would incur (even if I were a full two or three months out). However, those same companies would often take the same rigid, "policy" oriented approach when working with their existing customers as VZW has given to me.

When companies are run like the cable and cell carrier industry, management fails to realize that everyone loses. They provide a mediocre consumer experience ultimately at the expense of long-term customer loyalty that must be offset by extremely high marketing costs and elevated incentives to attract new customers to back-fill departing ones.

This isn't rocket science.

[sprmankalel]

I understand your frustration but you should also take into account that it is not VZW's responsibility to provide your device. You are free to do that at any time. I would suggest at your next venture to not sign a 2 year contract and instead sign up for Edge. This will give you the freedom to upgrade whenever you wish. I still also suggest you check out other devices than iPhone which will provide you with the flexibility for more (expandable) storage and OS updates that won't render the device useless. Apple does this so that you won't hold onto for too long. This is why I abandoned iPhone. What goes Apple the right to decide when it is time for me to get a new device? They put an OS on that they know kills it so that you are forced to purchase their new phone. IMO. Also. The iPhone 6 is still using the 8MP camera. There are devices using 21MP cameras for the same price or less. Again, not trying to start the great debate. However, I think you should do Edge instead of 2 year contract. Also, your friend may have had a promotion that allowed the early upgrade or Edge program. Did s/he get to keep the old iPhone or did they have to turn it in? Sometimes there is a promotion and the sales rep will say it is to help you out and that is not necessarily the case. So, as much as I want to think that the manager did that for your friend, I know that managers take some serious heat for overriding upgrades early without a good or just cause or business case.

[garykool81]

sprmankalel -- Thanks for the suggestions and earlier efforts to assist as well. I am not sure why your post earlier today went missing. I had actually incorporated a response to it in my lengthy reply above, but then realized when I was ready to post that it had been removed from the thread.

In the case with the coworker, it was truly an apples to apples comparison. We actually had quite a lengthy discussion about it in the office, since I was already aware of Edge and other offers. In his case, the associate he was working with in the store was in the process of ringing up the sale and then informed him that he was actually too early to upgrade. A manager nearby overheard, stepped in to solve the situation and made the override at the register.

In regards to Edge, it is definitely not a program that appeals to me since I often hold onto my phones for more than two years and well beyond the upgrade eligibility dates. This was the only scenario I've been in where I felt so frustrated over the past few months that I finally decided to give it a shot and see if they would let me upgrade just two weeks early.

I did the math on Edge last night, since that was a suggestion made by one of the Verizon reps, and the math would very much work against me. I would ultimately end up paying significantly more than I would if I simply purchased the iPhone 6 outright -- again keeping in mind that I am not the type of customer that feels the need to upgrade annually.

Also completely agree re: Apple's shortcomings. At this stage, there are frankly just a few things that continue to anchor me to the iPhone:

1. Comfort with the OS and laziness on my part of willingness to learn a new one.

2. iMessage

3. The peace of mind of knowing that, generally speaking, viruses on iPhones are significantly less common than other devices. I've had other coworkers manage to pick up one virus after another on their Android phones. Granted, I am sure there is some "questionable" web surfing going on there 😉

Totally agree that it is not VZW's responsibility to provide my device, but my response would just tie back into my initial reply on this thread. Good companies with exceptional customer service scores are generally those willing to occasionally bend the rules to please their customers. The examples I used in my previous post are all perfect illustrations of companies doing things they don't have to do, but rather things that they choose to do in order to secure better loyalty and passion from their repeat customers.

[sprmankalel]

Let's discuss Edge. You can't pay more than the full cost of the phone. In fact, the device is purchased at full cost divided by 24 months. Currently by being on Edge you get a $15 or $25 discount on your line access deepening on your data allotment. If your device is $27.08 you will add this to your monthly bill but you'd get at lest $15 off for $12.08 a month times 24 equal $290. Not a good deal for a 16GB iPhone 6. I agree since on a contract it is $200 plus the $40 upgrade fee. If you qualify for the $25 discount then the math is changed drastically. Then after the discounts you're looking at $50 for the device. Now if you're looking at the 64GB iPhone 6 (for more storage) this is $31.25 and if you qualify for the $25 discount you are at $6.25 a month times 24 equals $150. Since this device is $300 plus $40 upgrade fee with a contract. Now, don't get me wrong, you ARE paying full retail cost for the device but with the discount I look at it as the extra $6 a month on your bill is what you're paying for the device. If you follow me.

Now let's your hesitance towards moving away from iOS.

1.) iOS and Android basic functions are achieved in the same way. This means to make a phone call you use the icon that looks like a telephone. They look the same. Texting icons look the same and so on. The difference is that iOS uses Safari for web browsing and Android is Chrome by default. But you wouldn't have to completely learn a new way of how to use your device should you switch.

2.) iMessage? What does iMessage do that SMS doesn't? Other than allow more than 160 characters (only phone to iPhone)?  Most plans include unlimited texting and iMessage has no special features that you can't get with SMS. Since I switched from iPhone to Android I don't miss iMessage at all. Yes, I do get some messages that are broken up into multiples because the sender made them longer than 160 character but that doesn't bother me.

3.) Viruses. In my 5 years selling, troubleshooting and "fixing" mobile devices, I have not seen a true virus. I have seen apps (some I have had installed on my device) like some mp3 download apps or other questionable ones that have thrown pop-up ads on my device randomly and and the most inconvenient times. However, I don't thin that this happens much any longer. Because Android is more open source app are not as heavily monitored. This is why I always suggest that when considering the download of a new application to look and see how many downloads it has and how many stars the user ratings are. I would safely say that if an app has 10 million downloads and a rating of 4+ stars it is a pretty good app.

Totally not trying to sell you on anything. At the end of the day you are the on that has to use the device you pick.

As to the NPS aspect. VZW has their contract and when people don't get what they want from VZW they don't give high scores. They also see that they are paying $200 a month and want their bill to be lower but they have 3 or 4 smartphones. What they want is everything and they want to pay nothing or think that the contract shouldn't apply to them. This is where the lower NPS scores come from. What consumers need to realize is that they can't have it both ways. VZW is obviously doing something good as they are the biggest and best of the major 4 carriers. I am not saying that you are asking for anything that you aren't entitled to. I have been in the business and on the boards long enough to recognize when someone is making absurd demands. I completely understand your argument all the way through.

[jdpenley3]

I feel your pain on this one. I am less than 2 months away from my EDGE upgrade date and I've been having tech issues with my device left and right lately. I've actually gotten burned by the device while it was busy overheating in my pocket not being used, but yet no one @Verizon seems to care. They are firm on keeping you stuck and unhappy until they see fit to grace you with an upgrade. I seriously regret leaving Sprint now. There they at least take the threat of a customer leaving for a competitor seriously and their retention department used to do Whatever was needed to keep customers happy....

[Snn5]

One wonders as to the return policy regarding S5s on the Edge Up  option is now, seeing as how the device must work properly when turned in.