I’ve sold, I dunno, maybe 1000 or more cell phones in my time. One of the things I always urged before they made their final decision? “You need to get insurance”.
Many people lie about how much research they really do when it comes to cell phones. Most really just watch a tv commercial, like the phone, then go and get it. They don’t consider their talking habits, actual phone usage or functionality or anything. But what they really never do is read a contract. They never look at phone specs.
And that’s amazing because with the internet, you can do everything online, even try out the phone to an extent. So why not do it? Lazy? Too busy? Those are excuses. You’re about to spend money, you are responsible, nobody else.
Same with the purchasing process. Nothing obligates you to buy something. If you’re with a salesperson that you don’t believe knows what they are talking about, you can ask for someone else or just leave and go somewhere else. If you really want a particular phone, you can do that. Do you think someone about to buy a $50,000 car is going to just buy it when the salesperson says “O let me make sure there is a steering wheel in the car?”. No, they go to the Sales Manager and ask for someone else.
Most consumers are not responsible. But for the few that are, why don’t more of them get insurance? Cost? The whole purpose of a contract is to reduce the cost of the phone to the consumer in exchange for a guarantee of paid services to the company. You avoid the “contract” by paying for the actual cost of the phone. There are many who can’t afford $600 for a phone that does everything. But then there are some that can. Either way, why face having to pay $600 for a phone because you forgot to take the phone off the roof of your car before you backed out the driveway? Or because you dropped in the sink washing dishes? Or because your dog thought it was a toy? Or the other million reasons I’ve heard as a customer walked into my store the day after they bought a phone from me. And they “didn’t” get insurance.
I stare at them, shrug my shoulders and say “I told you so”. Unless you want to start your own cell phone company, get multiple cellular licenses, pay $100,000 or more per cellular tower, pay for stores to be built or lease space in all the cities in America, pay for equipment, employees, benefits, advertising..you get the idea.
The type of service you get, the type of phone, usage, all those are factors. When it comes to insurance, you can gauge that based on battery life, durability, your personal habits (if you know you are a clutz, embrace it). But even with that there are phone cases, protectors, that people still don’t purchase for some reason.
$5, $10 a month. Whatever the extra cost for insurance, if it means not paying $500 for a phone to get it replaced, I think that is more than worth it. And that includes the deductible. Like your car insurance, would you rather pay $200 and get your car fixed or pay $3000? I’ve never not gotten insurance on any phone I’ve ever had. I’ve never walked around with broken screen for 3 months. Never was faced with coming out pocket full price for a phone for damages.
Hopefully this little tidbit was a benefit. And if you happen to be in the market for a new phone or new service or both, click the below cell phone company names!
T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon are available as well as MetroPcs, Boost and Virgin Mobile.
Until next time!!
Cell Phones 101-Insurance
I’ve sold, I dunno, maybe 1000 or more cell phones in my time. One of the things I always urged before they made their final decision? “You need to get insurance”.
Many people lie about how much research they really do when it comes to cell phones. Most really just watch a tv commercial, like the phone, then go and get it. They don’t consider their talking habits, actual phone usage or functionality or anything. But what they really never do is read a contract. They never look at phone specs.
And that’s amazing because with the internet, you can do everything online, even try out the phone to an extent. So why not do it? Lazy? Too busy? Those are excuses. You’re about to spend money, you are responsible, nobody else.
Same with the purchasing process. Nothing obligates you to buy something. If you’re with a salesperson that you don’t believe knows what they are talking about, you can ask for someone else or just leave and go somewhere else. If you really want a particular phone, you can do that. Do you think someone about to buy a $50,000 car is going to just buy it when the salesperson says “O let me make sure there is a steering wheel in the car?”. No, they go to the Sales Manager and ask for someone else.
Most consumers are not responsible. But for the few that are, why don’t more of them get insurance? Cost? The whole purpose of a contract is to reduce the cost of the phone to the consumer in exchange for a guarantee of paid services to the company. You avoid the “contract” by paying for the actual cost of the phone. There are many who can’t afford $600 for a phone that does everything. But then there are some that can. Either way, why face having to pay $600 for a phone because you forgot to take the phone off the roof of your car before you backed out the driveway? Or because you dropped in the sink washing dishes? Or because your dog thought it was a toy? Or the other million reasons I’ve heard as a customer walked into my store the day after they bought a phone from me. And they “didn’t” get insurance.
I stare at them, shrug my shoulders and say “I told you so”. Unless you want to start your own cell phone company, get multiple cellular licenses, pay $100,000 or more per cellular tower, pay for stores to be built or lease space in all the cities in America, pay for equipment, employees, benefits, advertising..you get the idea.
The type of service you get, the type of phone, usage, all those are factors. When it comes to insurance, you can gauge that based on battery life, durability, your personal habits (if you know you are a clutz, embrace it). But even with that there are phone cases, protectors, that people still don’t purchase for some reason.
$5, $10 a month. Whatever the extra cost for insurance, if it means not paying $500 for a phone to get it replaced, I think that is more than worth it. And that includes the deductible. Like your car insurance, would you rather pay $200 and get your car fixed or pay $3000? I’ve never not gotten insurance on any phone I’ve ever had. I’ve never walked around with broken screen for 3 months. Never was faced with coming out pocket full price for a phone for damages.
Hopefully this little tidbit was a benefit. And if you happen to be in the market for a new phone or new service or both, click the below cell phone company names!
T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon are available as well as MetroPcs, Boost and Virgin Mobile.
Until next time!!