14 DAY TRIAL // People that work at certain companies, especially on jobs that involve working with customers, usually know what are the best products the company can offer and what's best not to get. A Verizon rep, who'd name remains unknown for obvious reasons, has recently written to Consumerist, giving some much appreciated advice and tips.
First of all, one should never get a 2-year contract on Verizon because: "The only benefit to a 2 yr contract is a $50 savings on your phone. It's not worth it. Take the $50 and get a 1 year then you can upgrade to a new phone every 10 months."
Also, it looks like Verizon reps get lots of money from new lines and certain products and customers can bring this to their own advantage. "Play hardball, they will do anything to get the new lines. VZW makes $ off the service, not the phones. Tell them you don't want to mail in the rebate. There does come a point of diminishing returns. For example, if you walked in and wanted a $39 plan and a free Treo 700, not gonna happen. But I have given away almost every non-PDA phone in the store for the right deal. Also tell them you will buy the accessories, and text package. Trust me here, these are 2 of the biggest metrics for the reps. Return the accessories the next day and call customer care to cancel your text package."
You can also mention the lost or stolen program to get 25% off a new phone, even if you're under contract, or get "a new phone (and new contract) for the discounted price after 12 months", if you're on a rate plan of $59.99 or higher. Another thing you could do is to ask for loyalty credit on the phone before going to the store.
"One way to work the system if you have New Every 2 and are out of contract is to call customer care, have them put you back into contract, but ask for a loyalty credit (up to $60 off your next months bill), then go into the retail store and use your New Every 2. The two credits can't be combined and that is the only way to get both. I've never seen this not work, although they could technically say that you already got a credit, but the system are not that informative and I have never seen that happen. Just make sure you know the contract rules for VZW in your state, and make sure you go to the store in time to cancel the new contract in case you can't use the NE2."
These tips will surely come in handy for any customer that is looking to buy a new phone or contract, and it's up to each person to decide how and when to put them into practice.