The Wireless SC Files: The self fulfilling prophecy

[wordgirl]

I honestly do it in their best interest, I am rough with them, but it works. I tend to double or triple accs sales of my peers. I do it this way because I've seen this happen WAAAAY too many times. I've even had a co-worker put on his cheap internet case while bragging about how he'd never buy our over priced shit and drop it, on carpet, crack. Yea dude, nice iPhone. Good job. This happens so often that I just want people to take care of their stuff. Seriously. How can you not justify 20 or 30 of protection for 700 of phone? Seems pretty reasonable to me to spend less than 5 percent total cost to protect then thing

I guess I've been lucky. The only phone I ever broke, I dropped on the first floor of the county courthouse. Problem being, I was standing on the mezzanine of the second floor of the courthouse at the time.

I always buy my cases on the Internet; the store usually only has a max of 4-6 styles to choose from for non-Apple phones. If I'm gonna spend large on a case I want it to be the color and style I want. And I have to say given the sales pitch as you describe it, I would believe this rationale ("I tend to double or triple accs sales of my peers.") over this one (" I just want people to take care of their stuff.")

That said, I do agree - your custy was a jerk. And that didn't work out too well for him.

[RootedPhoenix]

It's not the refusing of extras that gets me, it's how he treated you when you offered them. And then tried to say that he wasn't responsible for his phone.

Even if he'd got all the extras, it's his phone and his job to take care of it and to not be a screamy jerk when a problem arises. Twerp.

*gives OP cookies*

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Yeah he won't get a warranty replacement on that. Either he will get laughed off the phone or they will charge him $300 for a screen repair.

[Demolition Man]

I honestly do it in their best interest, I am rough with them, but it works. I tend to double or triple accs sales of my peers. I do it this way because I've seen this happen WAAAAY too many times. I've even had a co-worker put on his cheap internet case while bragging about how he'd never buy our over priced shit and drop it, on carpet, crack. Yea dude, nice iPhone. Good job. This happens so often that I just want people to take care of their stuff. Seriously. How can you not justify 20 or 30 of protection for 700 of phone? Seems pretty reasonable to me to spend less than 5 percent total cost to protect then thing

Oh trust me I completely understand when it comes to "cheap internet cases." Not all cases are bad but like I said earlier it takes some research to find one that will protect it well. Of course we know most SCs will just assume all cases (as cheap as they are) are quality cases. Trust me I've seen some "cheap internet cases" that are flimsy and you might as well be using napkins and tape for a case since that will protect a device better than a flimsy case.

http://www.sfplanet.com/cell-phones/...ed-colors.html

That's the case I got there. It's very sturdy and protects very well. And has a nice kick stand too. This along with my ZaggShield tempered glass shield protects both my Note 3 and S4 very well.

[Seshat]

Re inputting contacts etc all over again: if you're using Android, and you buy a new Android, you can simply back up all your data onto a computer; and then copy it to the new Android.

Of course, that requires having the sense to keep regular backups. I strongly recommend no less often than once a month (and that's for someone like me, who very rarely makes changes). Weekly or daily for someone who takes photos/makes changes more often. Twice daily if your phone gets constant updates.

I would be shocked - shocked - if there's not good apps available to automatically take a backup every time you connect a specific device to a specific computer. (the requirement for it to be a particular device/computer being for data security, of course)

[Gilhelmi]

I honestly do it in their best interest, I am rough with them, but it works. I tend to double or triple accs sales of my peers. I do it this way because I've seen this happen WAAAAY too many times. I've even had a co-worker put on his cheap internet case while bragging about how he'd never buy our over priced shit and drop it, on carpet, crack. Yea dude, nice iPhone. Good job. This happens so often that I just want people to take care of their stuff. Seriously. How can you not justify 20 or 30 of protection for 700 of phone? Seems pretty reasonable to me to spend less than 5 percent total cost to protect then thing

Wait, $30 is ALL it costs for the protection??

I figured it was over $100 with how many people do not get insurance. 30 bucks for insurance is a steal.

[icantbelievethesepeople]

Wait, $30 is ALL it costs for the protection??

I figured it was over $100 with how many people do not get insurance. 30 bucks for insurance is a steal.

Think you might be confusing the case with the insurance. Here's the way it works. Insurance typically costs eight to ten a months. Granted, some devices its just not worth it to get it on. But 650+, you bet your sweet ass it is. What's better? Paying full retail on the device? Or paying the deductible which tends to be a quarter of full retail? Thing is, insurance is a LAST resort, you don't want to use it unless you absolutely have to. A quality case will cost you about 30 bucks, doesn't matter where you get it from. I use urban armor gear, fucking awesome cases. They allow me to slam my phone, to the point where it bounces, face first, several times. I swear uag has made me thousands in commisions , it doesn't matter where I buy it, its about 30. That's what quality costs. What irritates me is that these people are fine buying a phone for 750, in full knowledge that they are extremely fragile, and want to spend 3 dollars on a napkin case. Now THATS a waste of money. Like I've said, I've even seen coworkers fall prey to this nonsense. I had a friend break her iPhone screen 4 times and had it repaired at 100+ a pop all for refusing to buy a good case cause its "too expensive". Be smart.

[BlaqueKatt]

When I was on a contract, I ALSO was well aware of the fact that if the phone dies a premature death, I'm totally on the hook to replace it with something.

Major difference is "contract", meaning you got a subsidized phone, Some carriers don't do contracts anymore, so you pay full retail in installments(with or without interest depending on your credit), so if you break it, you're not only paying for the new phone, but the old one as well. And with phones running $600-$800...well.....

[wolfie]

I had a friend break her iPhone screen 4 times and had it repaired at 100+ a pop all for refusing to buy a good case cause its "too expensive".

All together now - what's the definition of insanity? What was this friend thinking?

$30 for a case? That's too expensive.
Oh shit! I need to spend $100 on a new screen. (now knows that unprotected phone will break)
$30 for a case? I already told you, that's too expensive.
Lather, rinse, repeat.

[TimmyHate]

As an FYI (not sure if this applies in the USA) but in NZ - dropping your phone is covered under your domestic contents policy as accidental damage

[sirwired]

As an FYI (not sure if this applies in the USA) but in NZ - dropping your phone is covered under your domestic contents policy as accidental damage

I suppose it might be here (there's a lot of things covered under standard US Homeowner's policies that folks aren't aware of) but the deductible you'll have to pay will lop anywhere from $250-$1000 off your claim (people select higher deductibles in order to save money on the premiums) and if you file multiple claims, they will raise your rates for being such a poor risk.

[peoplesuck]

OP: Are you on commission on insurance/case sales?(Edit: I see from a earlier post that you are). Your initial sales approach, as you describe it, is very strong. Perhaps to the point of antagonism.

Thread: There is a lot of false economy going on;
Using ATT's phone insurance as a starting point of discussion: 6.99/month and 199 deductible. Assuming $800 new phone, that deprecates 20% a year [for easy math].
1 yr: Insurance Premium Paid: $83.88, Value of Device: $640, Insured Value: $441
2 yr: Insurance Premium Paid: $168 , Value of Device: $480, Insured Value: $281
3 yr: Insurance Premium Paid: $251 , Value of Device: $320, Insured Value: $121

Somewhere in the third year the value insured doesn't cover the sum of all premiums paid. If you often go 2 years without a major phone incident you will probably save more money by "self insuring", or not buying any insurance at all.

Obviously these numbers are just a thought experiment and every plan is different and should be evaluated independently. Just illustrating that insurance is not necessarily always a good thing, even for expensive phones.

A better explanation : http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/ins...surance_a1.asp

[RealUnimportant]

Keeping all my comments away from fratching, I'm gonna say that the customer here was foolish to try & unwrap their shiny new toy while walking out the store, which has led to a fantastic case of schadenfreude.

[MutualAddiction]

When my mother and I got our S5's, I was adamant that they could not come out of the box until we had Otterbox cases on both. The same when we got my dad a Galaxy Tab Pro. I don'the like paying for insurance every month, and bought the best cases I could find to make up for it. Yes, $80 is a lot to spend on a case, but when you consider that each device retails for about $600...I feel that better safe than sorry is the best policy.

[KiaKat]

Husband and I just got 6's. we're ordering cases, and not even thinking about opening the boxes till those cases are in our hands.