Gahh, 3UK said no to my N95 8GB demand

I went into the 3UK store on Baker Street yesterday to see if I could upgrade my handset earlier to a Nokia N95 8GB.

The chap there was extremely helpful, particularly since I wasn’t able to remember my 3 number. I’d come out of the office without my handset so we had to call Customer Services to get them to look up the number.

I still don’t think 3UK is there yet, with it’s integrated customer information systems in the shops. It seems natural to me that, like in any Vodafone shop, if you walk in and give various pieces of information, the sales person should be able to look up your account and talk to you directly, without referral to Customer Services.

So. We go the number and I explained what I wanted. A new handset.

The chap was keen to do business, but unfortunately the 3UK system wasn’t going to bend around my aims.

Turns out that the earliest I can discuss upgrading with them is August 21st.

“Right, well I’d like to discuss upgrading with you now,” I said to the chap, who then relayed this to the customer services agent on the phone.

“It’s 200 pounds to upgrade to an N95 8GB now,” he said (repeating the customer services agent’s response).

“Ok, well it won’t be 200 pounds in a few months time, will it? One of your chaps from the Indian marketing team will be on the phone offering me shitloads of special deals to upgrade and extend my 12 month contract. Yes?”

My chap nodded. I think the CS agent probably nodded too.

I waited.

I was, you see, expecting a bit of negotiation.

I think, from memory, my 3UK contract expires at the end of September. So really, it being mid-April, I’m only half way through the 12 months. Fair enough. They haven’t got full value from me yet.

But I was offering to negotiate. In their favour. At that particularly moment, they could have stuck me on a 24 month contract at between 30-50 quid a month and I’d have accepted it and walked out the door with the N95 8GB.

Back to the real world.

“It’s 200 pounds,” the chap prompted.

I tried once more, “OK. I see. So that’s the final offer, is it? Just, in a few months they’ll be phoning desperate to renew me and I’ve no particular compunction to keep the account open since I swapped to Vodafone.”

“It’s 200 pounds.”

Ooookay. The chap was a bit disappointed as I could see he wanted to do a deal but customer services wasn’t having any of it.

We move on. Fair enough to 3UK. Just wait ’til the upgrade chappy from India calls me though.