Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

well?

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Yes it is.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

"Oscar_Lives" <nospam@nospam.net> wrote:

>well?

Yes.

Are your minutes going to be free on that holiday? No.

Are your minutes going to be free on Thanksgiving? No.

Are your minutes going to be free on Christmas? No.

Are your minutes going to be free on any holiday that doesn't fall on a
Saturday or Sunday? No.

Is somebody going to ask this very same question again in a few weeks? Yes.

Is the answer going to be any different? No.

Is there anything that can be done about this? No.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

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Reggie Degger <nospam@plea.sethankyou> wrote:
> "Oscar_Lives" <nospam@nospam.net> wrote:
>
>>well?
>
> Yes.
>
> Are your minutes going to be free on that holiday? No.
>
> Are your minutes going to be free on Thanksgiving? No.
>
> Are your minutes going to be free on Christmas? No.
>
> Are your minutes going to be free on any holiday that doesn't fall on a
> Saturday or Sunday? No.
>
> Is somebody going to ask this very same question again in a few weeks? Yes.
>
> Is the answer going to be any different? No.
>
> Is there anything that can be done about this? No.
>

Is there anything that SHOULD be done about this? No.

- --
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1
Spammers please contact me at renegade@veldy.net.

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Oscar_Lives burbled to the world:

> well?


Not for me, I'll be working as usual.

Chris

--

Oh life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea.
And love is a thing that can never go wrong
And I am Marie, of Rumania.
---Dorothy Parker

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

>Yes it is.
>

But you still use minutes if you use your cell phone. I suspect that this is
what is actually being asked.

--
John S.
e-mail responses to - john at kiana dot net

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" <veldy71@yahoo.com> wrote:

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>
>Reggie Degger <nospam@plea.sethankyou> wrote:
>> "Oscar_Lives" <nospam@nospam.net> wrote:
>>
>>>well?
>>
>> Yes.
>>
>> Are your minutes going to be free on that holiday? No.
>>
>> Are your minutes going to be free on Thanksgiving? No.
>>
>> Are your minutes going to be free on Christmas? No.
>>
>> Are your minutes going to be free on any holiday that doesn't fall on a
>> Saturday or Sunday? No.
>>
>> Is somebody going to ask this very same question again in a few weeks? Yes.
>>
>> Is the answer going to be any different? No.
>>
>> Is there anything that can be done about this? No.
>>
>
>Is there anything that SHOULD be done about this? No.

How on earth do you figure? If suggesting to SPCS that they make major
holiday minutes off-peak minutes can result in lower monthly bills for us
(and a selling point for them), what possible reason is there not to do so?
Are you accustomed to settling for what's offered in business negotiations
(and if so, can you let me know if you ever sell your house)?

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Reggie Degger wrote:

> How on earth do you figure? If suggesting to SPCS that they make major
> holiday minutes off-peak minutes can result in lower monthly bills for us
> (and a selling point for them), what possible reason is there not to do so?

Lower revenues. They won't be able to bill normally for those minutes.

Sure, it's a selling point. The question is whether it's a big enough selling
point to justify doing it.

> Are you accustomed to settling for what's offered in business negotiations
> (and if so, can you let me know if you ever sell your house)?

Are you aware that in most consumer situations (with the exceptions of
purchasing cars and houses) there isn't any negotiation? If you talk to Sprint
Business and are bringing them a number of lines that your company will use,
sure, maybe you can work a deal with your business rep. If you're on a consumer
contract, my guess is that you'll have no luck negotiating.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:

>Reggie Degger wrote:
>
>> How on earth do you figure? If suggesting to SPCS that they make major
>> holiday minutes off-peak minutes can result in lower monthly bills for us
>> (and a selling point for them), what possible reason is there not to do so?
>
>Lower revenues. They won't be able to bill normally for those minutes.

Well, the knowledge that Sprint PCS is bringing in a marginally smaller
amount of revenue on Thanksgiving Day would certainly make the turkey and
cranberry sauce taste like ashes in *my* mouth. <eyeroll> What in heaven's
name are you talking about? I'm a consumer of Sprint's services, not an
investor in the company. Their "revenues" are of no more concern to me than
my personal income is to them, except insofar as it would be slightly
inconvenient for one of us to find a new provider/client should the other go
belly-up.

>Sure, it's a selling point. The question is whether it's a big enough selling
>point to justify doing it.

And if it is a big enough selling (or retention) point, they will. And if
it isn't, they won't. Either way, there is no earthly reason for us not to
request it of them. We certainly have nothing to lose; and experience shows
us that companies determine what their customers want by keeping close track
of requests and complaints.

>> Are you accustomed to settling for what's offered in business negotiations
>> (and if so, can you let me know if you ever sell your house)?
>
>Are you aware that in most consumer situations (with the exceptions of
>purchasing cars and houses) there isn't any negotiation?

I'm aware that many consumers, like you and Mr. Veldhouse, labor under the
delusion that companies have the last and final word in setting the market
price for the goods and services they offer. This is greatly to those
consumers', and to your, detriment. You might be surprised at what
concessions companies will make to you, if you only speak up and make it
clear that you regard their asking price as a starting point. No, I'm not
suggesting that you haggle with the cashier at the Piggly Wiggly over the
price of cigarettes and melons, but almost anything else is fair game.

>If you talk to Sprint
>Business and are bringing them a number of lines that your company will use,
>sure, maybe you can work a deal with your business rep. If you're on a consumer
>contract, my guess is that you'll have no luck negotiating.

Your guess, in my case, would be wrong.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Reggie Degger wrote:

>
> How on earth do you figure? If suggesting to SPCS that they make major
> holiday minutes off-peak minutes can result in lower monthly bills for us
> (and a selling point for them)

How? At present, I'm well within my plan minutes. If these holidays
get lumped into the N&W bucket, it makes absolutely no difference to me
at all. My bills stays the same, and the only difference is that I have
more unused peak minutes. The difference would also not be enough to
allow me to drop to a lower plan.

I would bet that most people who have any inkling of how to effectively
manage a plan (going over is always a stupid idea, when bumping up to a
higher plan is almost always a smarter, cheaper choice) would fail to
see the benefits. If you average maybe, 1 holiday a month, the benefit
spread out over 12 billing cycles is insignificant.

You COULD argue that you would be encouraged to talk more on a holiday,
but on Veteran's Day I just don't see myself calling up the family just
to wish them a happy Veteran's Day. And besides, I'm still working that
day, holiday or not, and sure as hell won't have time to gab to friends
on a cell phone.

Absolutely no financial gain. Big deal.

> Are you accustomed to settling for what's offered in business
> negotiations (and if so, can you let me know if you ever sell your
> house)?


No, I'm simply accustomed to not making mountains out of molehills. Do
you know ANYTHING about effective negotiation? To demand a pyrrhic
victory over something that fails to benefit you in any way risks the
dilution of your credibility in future attempts at negotiation over more
meaningful issues. It makes you out to be a nitpicker, dilutes efforts
to gain credibility on more important points, and increases the
likelihood of deadlock.

To use your example, I doubt you're going to make much headway buying
anyone's house if you're going to haggle over ridiculous things like
trying to lower the asking price because there's an oil spot in the
driveway that a little Speedy Dry and cat litter would soak right up.
It's a meaningless detail that doesn't deserve intense debate. As a
seller, I might even be inclined to simply thank you kindly and move on
to the next bid, knowing I'm not getting anywhere with you.

I tend to complain about things that are actually a detriment to me. No
free minutes on Veteran's Day isn't the end of world for me... it
doesn't even spell financial ruin or more money out of my pocket. In
fact, typing out this message has probably cost me more in the tiny
number of calories my fingers have burned punching keys on a keyboard,
than no free minutes on a thousand veteran's days would cost me out of
pocket.

--
E-mail fudged to thwart spammers.
Transpose the c's and a's in my e-mail address to reply.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Reggie Degger wrote:

>>Lower revenues. They won't be able to bill normally for those minutes.
>
>
> Well, the knowledge that Sprint PCS is bringing in a marginally smaller
> amount of revenue on Thanksgiving Day would certainly make the turkey and
> cranberry sauce taste like ashes in *my* mouth. <eyeroll>

Actually, I'm not convinced that revenue is the problem... it probably
won't change very much at all. The big problem is intercarrier access
costs. Sprint PCS still has to play ball with the LECs in local markets
to connects its lines, and those costs, unlike your plan, don't change
depending on whether you call on a holiday or not. People making more
long distance calls costs them money, even if that's not reflected
directly in your bill. And guess when people make more calls? When
it's "free," of course.

Higher costs mean, obviously, that rates could rise. So yes, you could
have your free holidays, but might expect to pay say, a dollar or two
more per month to subsidize the cost. Knowing how much you bitch about
holidays, I'm sure you'll just *love* higher rates. In fact, I bet
you're not with Verizon because their rates are higher and because you
get nickle-and-dimed for things like data access. They do that
because... stay with me now... their costs are higher, BECAUSE they do
things (or at least used to, not sure if they still do) like free
unlimited holidays.

> I'm a consumer of Sprint's services, not an
> investor in the company. Their "revenues" are of no more concern to me than
> my personal income is to them, except insofar as it would be slightly
> inconvenient for one of us to find a new provider/client should the other go
> belly-up.

Is this a diplomatic way of saying your credit is bad?


>
>
>>Sure, it's a selling point. The question is whether it's a big enough selling
>>point to justify doing it.
>
>
> And if it is a big enough selling (or retention) point, they will.

Not if it isn't cost effective. If you gave someone a choice between
holidays with unlimited minutes that they wouldn't otherwise use, or
lower rates, I bet people would pick the latter.

> And if
> it isn't, they won't. Either way, there is no earthly reason for us not to
> request it of them.

I agree. So, maybe you should write a letter to Sprint instead of
whining here about it. Maybe if enough people express their opinions,
they'll perceive it as worth the increased costs.



--
E-mail fudged to thwart spammers.
Transpose the c's and a's in my e-mail address to reply.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Reggie Degger wrote:
> Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:
>
>
>>Reggie Degger wrote:
>>
>>
>>>How on earth do you figure? If suggesting to SPCS that they make major
>>>holiday minutes off-peak minutes can result in lower monthly bills for us
>>>(and a selling point for them), what possible reason is there not to do so?
>>
>>Lower revenues. They won't be able to bill normally for those minutes.
>
>
> Well, the knowledge that Sprint PCS is bringing in a marginally smaller
> amount of revenue on Thanksgiving Day

Well, that's the thing. We don't know that it's _marginally_ smaller. If Sprint
figures the loss in revenue would be more than made up by a larger number of
people using the service on peak days, maybe they'd do the free holidays.

> cranberry sauce taste like ashes in *my* mouth. <eyeroll> What in heaven's
> name are you talking about? I'm a consumer of Sprint's services, not an
> investor in the company.

???!!!

*I* don't care. *Sprint* probably cares, and that's why they haven't done it.

> Their "revenues" are of no more concern to me than
> my personal income is to them, except insofar as it would be slightly
> inconvenient for one of us to find a new provider/client should the other go
> belly-up.

Wow. How incredibly shortsighted of you. I wasn't suggesting you should care, I
was suggesting a potential reason that Sprint doesn't do off-peak billing on
holidays. Verizon does, but Verizon's a bit more expensive than Sprint when you
compare similar plans between carriers, so IMHO it's all a wash.

> And if it is a big enough selling (or retention) point, they will. And if
> it isn't, they won't. Either way, there is no earthly reason for us not to
> request it of them.

Point out where I said you shouldn't ask.

>>Are you aware that in most consumer situations (with the exceptions of
>>purchasing cars and houses) there isn't any negotiation?
>
> I'm aware that many consumers, like you and Mr. Veldhouse, labor under the
> delusion that companies have the last and final word in setting the market
> price for the goods and services they offer.

OK. You go visit a consumer electronics store, then, and haggle with them over
the price of a TV or computer or home theater system. Come back and tell us how
far you get.

Usually, vendors are more likely to negotiate with businesses because
businesses represent a larger and more steady stream of income.

> consumers', and to your, detriment. You might be surprised at what
> concessions companies will make to you, if you only speak up and make it
> clear that you regard their asking price as a starting point. No, I'm not
> suggesting that you haggle with the cashier at the Piggly Wiggly over the
> price of cigarettes and melons, but almost anything else is fair game.

Well, you're certainly welcome to try. I'm telling you that in many cases, you
won't get far.

>>If you talk to Sprint
>>Business and are bringing them a number of lines that your company will use,
>>sure, maybe you can work a deal with your business rep. If you're on a consumer
>>contract, my guess is that you'll have no luck negotiating.
>
> Your guess, in my case, would be wrong.

I'm not talking about customer retention deals, either.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Isaiah Beard wrote:

> Actually, I'm not convinced that revenue is the problem... it probably
> won't change very much at all. The big problem is intercarrier access
> costs. Sprint PCS still has to play ball with the LECs in local markets
> to connects its lines, and those costs, unlike your plan, don't change
> depending on whether you call on a holiday or not.

That *does* affect revenue. If they're being charged and can't deduct airtime
minutes, they are less likely to make up that cost.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.