[royfripple]

I went into the Sprint store that I'll be trying to get a Pre from today to ask them a few questions and came out with an account already setup.

My wife gets a 23% discount on service but she won't be able to be there early with me in order to setup the discount on the 6th. While mentioning this to the Sprint employee, he said that he could setup our account with the discount right then and when I come in on the 6th, I just need to give them the account number (or my SSN). This is really awesome because it saves me time, it saves them time and it saves everyone else waiting to get their phones time.

EDIT:I didn't have to pay a dime today. Everything will be paid for on Saturday, but the account is already taken care of.

I figured I'd pass this suggestion along to everyone here. If you plan on opening a new line of service on the 6th, I'd head over to your Sprint store and see about getting your account setup early so on the 6th all you have to do is pickup the phones and add them to the account. This will help everyone involved and make the morning go a lot quicker. Sorry if this is well known already but I thought it was pretty cool and figured I'd pass it along incase it wasn't.


P.S. They also mentioned that you will be REQUIRED to setup the Palm Profile in the store with them so bring your hand sanitizer and a micro-fiber cloth, looks like you're phone will get fondled.

P.S.S. There was another employee there (who was there the last time I went in) and she was jabbering about how great the Pre is yadda, yadda. She mentioned that they'd just had training on the Pre this morning and that her manager (I'm assuming) said that the Pre will be compatible with 4G once the network is available here. O.o

I was scratching my head at that one. The other guy I was working with didn't believe her and I don't really either, but I thought I'd throw that out there as a wtf? statement.

[clipcarl]

...

P.S.S. There was another employee there (who was there the last time I went in) and she was jabbering about how great the Pre is yadda, yadda. She mentioned that they'd just had training on the Pre this morning and that her manager (I'm assuming) said that the Pre will be compatible with 4G once the network is available here. O.o

I was scratching my head at that one. The other guy I was working with didn't believe her and I don't really either, but I thought I'd throw that out there as a wtf? statement.

You know, I've been wondering about this. The number of phones Sprint has available at launch seems incredibly small. This is especially strange since the hardware was in close to final state in January and the Pre has been pushed back from earlier release windows to this late one. One thing that could explain that is if there was some never-been-done-before hardware in the Pre such as a 4G capable. But while Palm is secretive these days (borrowed a page from Apple) I don't see how they could have hidden buying massive quantities of 4G capable chips from the analysts.

But then again, we're not talking about massive quantities if the ridiculously low launch numbers are to be believed. Still, it's doubtful but who knows...

[Gekko]

>P.S. They also mentioned that you will be REQUIRED to setup the Palm Profile in the store with them so bring your hand sanitizer and a micro-fiber cloth, looks like you're phone will get fondled.

this is odd since telesales/online wouldn't require this. also, this requires my password - not sure how they will enforce it.

[Aridon]

Actually I think this is a bad idea. I have the feeling that some stock will be allocated to New customers only and already having an account lowers your value a bit as the rep already got his commission for opening a new line of service.

Who knows really but I'd rather show up as a new customer and I'm sure after doing 15 upgrades reps will be wanting the extra commission on the new line of service which will pay a lot more.

[Gekko]

Reps told me they get paid on customer satisfaction.

[shadrap]

LOL customer satisfaction

[jtlapp]

Reps told me they get paid on customer satisfaction.

That's what I've been told. They ditched sales-based commissions. They now get paid according to how well customers evaluate their experiences with them.

[Gekko]

That's what I've been told. They ditched sales-based commissions. They now get paid according to how well customers evaluate their experiences with them.

i do think they get paid on new activations too though - maybe a combo? surveys???

[rambo47]

P.S.S. There was another employee there (who was there the last time I went in) and she was jabbering about how great the Pre is yadda, yadda. She mentioned that they'd just had training on the Pre this morning and that her manager (I'm assuming) said that the Pre will be compatible with 4G once the network is available here.

Perhaps they mean backwards-compatible, like using 802.11b on a newer 802.11n router. The Pre will operate on the 4G network, but at it's older 3G speeds.

[CHEEZM03]

>P.S. They also mentioned that you will be REQUIRED to setup the Palm Profile in the store with them so bring your hand sanitizer and a micro-fiber cloth, looks like you're phone will get fondled.

this is odd since telesales/online wouldn't require this. also, this requires my password - not sure how they will enforce it.

But, the Pre is only available in stores at launch, not Telesales or Online.

[royfripple]

Actually I think this is a bad idea. I have the feeling that some stock will be allocated to New customers only and already having an account lowers your value a bit as the rep already got his commission for opening a new line of service.

Who knows really but I'd rather show up as a new customer and I'm sure after doing 15 upgrades reps will be wanting the extra commission on the new line of service which will pay a lot more.

Well the way I understood it, I still AM a new customer. I haven't paid them anything, they just setup the account ahead of time and it will be activated once I pickup the phones and pay on the 6th.

Plus, the guy who setup the account for me works at the store I'll be getting my Pre at and he'll be working the morning of the 6th (as I think almost every employee for each store will be) so he's still getting my sale, it just took care of him having to do extra busy work on the morning of the 6th, allowing him to get me in and out a whole lot quicker. I don't see any negatives with this whatsoever.

[royfripple]

>P.S. They also mentioned that you will be REQUIRED to setup the Palm Profile in the store with them so bring your hand sanitizer and a micro-fiber cloth, looks like you're phone will get fondled.

this is odd since telesales/online wouldn't require this. also, this requires my password - not sure how they will enforce it.

Yeah, they very well could have been told to get people to do the Palm Profile in the store but it's not actually required. They seemed pretty adamant about it though so who knows. That's a good point about the telesales/online sales. We'll find out in less than a week.

[dsjr2006]

I'm getting a Pre on June 6, but it does not have 4G. Sprint said in Feb that they were attempting to prep a WiMax phone to launch in early 2010, it is mid 2009 and I've never known significant new technology to launch more than 6 months ahead of schedule with no rumors or leaked information.

[beret9987]

I already set up 2 lines on Sprint, ported my numbers and just using some temp phones and will invoke 30-day return/exchange policy to get my Pres. I didn't want to have to deal with paying AT&T more especially when I was about to go over minutes AGAIN. >_>

[royfripple]

I already set up 2 lines on Sprint, ported my numbers and just using some temp phones and will invoke 30-day return/exchange policy to get my Pres. I didn't want to have to deal with paying AT&T more especially when I was about to go over minutes AGAIN. >_>

I'm assuming you know this, but just in case you don't, there is a $35 charge if you're exchanging phones within 30 days. This was one of the questions I had for them today because I was thinking my wife could pick up the Pre and just exchange it for the Instinct if she found she didn't really need/want it. That's a no go since I don't feel like paying $35 just to switch to a different phone.

[beret9987]

I'm assuming you know this, but just in case you don't, there is a $35 charge if you're exchanging phones within 30 days. This was one of the questions I had for them today because I was thinking my wife could pick up the Pre and just exchange it for the Instinct if she found she didn't really need/want it. That's a no go since I don't feel like paying $35 just to switch to a different phone.

You know, I heard about that too, but the manager of my store was willing to waive such fee if I signed a contract that day. He threw in free 6PM night and weekends too and an airave! I'm a very satisfied sprint customer right now

[bkell]

I'm assuming you know this, but just in case you don't, there is a $35 charge if you're exchanging phones within 30 days. This was one of the questions I had for them today because I was thinking my wife could pick up the Pre and just exchange it for the Instinct if she found she didn't really need/want it. That's a no go since I don't feel like paying $35 just to switch to a different phone.

That has not been my experience. My wife twice has switched her phone within 30 days after not liking her original choice and never paid anything extra, aside from the difference in the price of the phones. Perhaps it was after 30 days there is a charge?

[beret9987]

That has not been my experience. My wife twice has switched her phone within 30 days after not liking her original choice and never paid anything extra, aside from the difference in the price of the phones. Perhaps it was after 30 days there is a charge?

I don't think so. It says specifically on the receipt that they charge a restocking fee. Come to think of it, I just returned another Sprint phone on another line and I wasn't charged anything so I don't know.

[bkell]

I don't think so. It says specifically on the receipt that they charge a restocking fee. Come to think of it, I just returned another Sprint phone on another line and I wasn't charged anything so I don't know.

They may be likely to waive it, maybe without even telling you that they did, if you end up with a phone that is more expensive than the one you first bought. Not likely to be the case if anyone is returning the pre, but much more likely if you are returning something for the pre.

I've also never had a jerk sales person at the local sprint store I frequent, so that may play in to it as well. Every experience there (aside from them not having a pre for me to look at when I went in yesterday) has been great.

[beret9987]

They may be likely to waive it, maybe without even telling you that they did, if you end up with a phone that is more expensive than the one you first bought. Not likely to be the case if anyone is returning the pre, but much more likely if you are returning something for the pre.

I've also never had a jerk sales person at the local sprint store I frequent, so that may play in to it as well. Every experience there (aside from them not having a pre for me to look at when I went in yesterday) has been great.

Same here! I've only had good experiences with mine. Very friendly and willing to accommodate my needs. I'm hoping they can pull off an instant rebate on the Pre and let me charge it to my account(Gotta love the no spending limit )