Peek Speaks
Peek is simply connected. This blog is simply Peek.

Top 10 14 cell phone company gotchas

Consumer Reports has their own top ten

Oh man. Where to start?

Well, we thought we would do a post about cell phone companies, because they are normally the place you have to go to get mobile email.

Want an iPhone? Go to the AT&T store. Want a Blackberry? Go to Verizon. Etc.

Well, there are some, ahem, gotchas when you go to the cell phone store.

10. Contracts. 1-year, 2-year, 3-year. We hate them all. This is the most obvious one right? You have to sign a contract to deal with cell phone companies. Change plan? Contract extension. Broken phone? Contract. Fix a device? Contract. Peek has no contracts.

9. Contracts, or else. Huge deposits needed if you have poor credit history. Large sums of money required to get out of a contract. You are tied into a rate even when better plans are available. Peek has no such thing.

8. Rebates. Those low prices for the slick such-and-such 8000zx look great. You’re paying $300 up-front, but you’re going to get $200 of that back immediately, right? Wrong. Instead you have to submit a rebate form xeroxed in triplicate, wait 3 weeks for it to arrive, 50% of the time you are denied because of some technicality (they call it “breakage” and build it into their marketing plans), and even then you have a lame pre-credited debit card that you can NEVER use completely… bah! Peek: fuggedaboutit.

7. Activation fees. $35 per line. Mentioned only in tiny print at the bottom of the “FREE FREE FREE!!!” advertisements. Not so with Peek.

6. Extra charges and fees. The advertisement says $49.99. My bill says $57.62….what gives? Peek? A rose is a rose is a rose.

5. Your number. Say you decide, maybe I will go for that nifty new plan from Carrier X with that jazzy new SuperDuperMatic phone. But, oh wait, I would like to keep my number. Easy right? Check “yes”. Later the next night, as you are banging your fist on the kitchen counter as the hold music plays on and on, you think…“Peek doesn’t want your number.”

4. Bills. True story: I love receiving my cell phone bill. Every month when it arrives in the mail, I settle down into my favorite reading chair, with a glass of small-batch pinot, and pore over my 29 page bill. Fascinating reading. Not!! (Do people still say that? Peek still says Not!!, especially to bills.)

3. “A la carte” billing. They charge separately for Picture Mail, Text Messaging, Multimedia Messaging, Unlimited Data, Mobile Email, Ringtones, Downloads, etc. Plus certain plans say that they include this feature and that feature however if you dont have to right kind of phone it will charge you extra to use the feature even though it says that its included. Oh yeah, and they have monthly charges for device insurance…and still charge you a hefty fee if the phone malfunctions (i.e., a $50 deductible). Peek? Not so much.

2. Misleading bargains. Like, they say its free after 7 but if you get a call at 6:59 and it last for 30 minutes, it uses 31 of your minutes instead of using 1 minute and being free after 7. Does that even make any sense? Not to Peek.

OK, so we’re going to have to work hard to squeeze these in.

1.75 Overage. They have ridiculous overage fees of more than 40 cents per minute…with a $40 per month plan for 450 minutes, go over by 50 minutes and you owe an extra $20. Peek likes unlimited. As in, un-limited.

1.5 Bills again. They make no sense. Peek has no bills!

1.25 $$$ over customers. They gladly put you on a plan that does not benefit you.

1.1 Customer service. Entering or saying your phone number 5 times, going through 5 sets of menu selections, waiting on hold for at least 5 minutes, explaining your issue 3x to the first agent, to be transferred a few more times, finally talking to someone who is unable to help you! Or, gives you different information than the last time you called! The first person you talk to at Peek will be able to help you.

And…..

1. Sales reps! Those really cocky guys with the hip holsters and golf shirts who resemble used car dealers who want you to believe that none of the above is true… There’s always Peek instead….

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6 Comments

1. Peek sounds like a dream - can’t wait to see if it’s true. Pogue likes it - must be fabulous!

   Comment by Marsha Keeffer — September 11, 2008 @ 12:15 am

2. Hi,
   How nice….only email? I was wonder if Peek simple ..do they have text? I mean if I need SMS to cellphone?

   What about silent shake/vibrate for the deaf/hearing-impaired people?

   Thank you,
   shannon

   Comment by Shannon — September 11, 2008 @ 9:24 am

3. Thanks Marsha!

   Shannon - yes, simply email. No text or SMS so you’ll still need a cellphone for those types of communication. There is a vibrate setting for when new email comes to the device.

   - Jeremy
   Peek Marketing

   Comment by jeremy — September 11, 2008 @ 5:32 pm

4. Awesome list!
   Thanks for sharing it.

   Comment by Remi — September 15, 2008 @ 1:05 am

5. [...] We’ve written about the ways cell phone companies play gotcha before. [...]

   Pingback by Peek Speaks: Simply email. Your personal email anywhere, anytime. — September 21, 2008 @ 9:31 am

6. phone hearing impaired…

   Interestingly, this was on CNN last week….

   Trackback by phone hearing impaired — December 26, 2008 @ 10:20 am

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