Recently I have been having problems with my Galaxy S3 and today decided it was time for an upgrade. After browsing the web for the best contract phones and deals, I saw that Carphone Warehouse are offering the Samsung Galaxy S5 on O2 for £28 per month-the best deal I could find. Usually I would order the phone online, but as I was going into town anyway I decided that it would be best to pop in to the local Carphone Warehouse shop.
Before I entered the shop, I noticed that a promotional poster outside was advertising the deal that I wished to purchase. As I entered, I was happily greeted by an employee who asked if they could help. At this point I explained that I would like to get the S5 on O2 with the £28 per month contract, however my request was seemingly ignored as the employee went on to regurgitate a script whereby he announced he would see which deals he could find for me. We then went through a frustrating and lengthy process which involved him taking details such as my current phone with my current provider (fair enough) but also my address and other personal details. I was then asked what phone I wanted (the S5, I said for the second time) and what I use my phone most for. He then, *very helpfully*, gave me a number of different plans which, funnily enough, were a lot more expensive.
The thing that annoyed me most about this trip to Carphone Warehouse, however, was the fact that I was told that 500GB per month (the data allowance on the £28/m contract) would not be enough (only after I informed him how much data came with this deal, a fact he seemed to forget despite it being advertised outside the shop). This was despite the fact that I currently have a 250GB allowance, a number which I have exceeded just once in the past year. So I repeated that I did not need 4GB of data per month and that the £28/m contract would be sufficient. However, the stubborn employee would not give up. He told me that the S5, with Android, uses lots of background data and that I would quickly exceed my data limit if I did get the phone under this contract. Of course, I disable background data on apps that don't need it and keep a close watch on how much data I use- something which is very easy with Android as you can see how much data is used by different apps and set a data limit/ warning if you need to. The employee continued his sales pitch, even giving the argument that Android syncs contacts with Google's servers- something which would use data. This is absolutely absurd, and it did take a lot of restraint to not tell this man he was talking absolute rubbish. Which he was. An interesting analogy he used was where he compared taking up this deal to buying a Ferrari without an engine.
In the end, I left without purchasing a phone from the shop. The employee was not focused on what I wanted, but how much commission he would get for selling me a phone for double the price I'm intending to spend. It also leaves one to ask the question, what is the point of having a promotional deal if when I want to get it the employee does his best to talk me out of it?
Before I entered the shop, I noticed that a promotional poster outside was advertising the deal that I wished to purchase. As I entered, I was happily greeted by an employee who asked if they could help. At this point I explained that I would like to get the S5 on O2 with the £28 per month contract, however my request was seemingly ignored as the employee went on to regurgitate a script whereby he announced he would see which deals he could find for me. We then went through a frustrating and lengthy process which involved him taking details such as my current phone with my current provider (fair enough) but also my address and other personal details. I was then asked what phone I wanted (the S5, I said for the second time) and what I use my phone most for. He then, *very helpfully*, gave me a number of different plans which, funnily enough, were a lot more expensive.
The thing that annoyed me most about this trip to Carphone Warehouse, however, was the fact that I was told that 500GB per month (the data allowance on the £28/m contract) would not be enough (only after I informed him how much data came with this deal, a fact he seemed to forget despite it being advertised outside the shop). This was despite the fact that I currently have a 250GB allowance, a number which I have exceeded just once in the past year. So I repeated that I did not need 4GB of data per month and that the £28/m contract would be sufficient. However, the stubborn employee would not give up. He told me that the S5, with Android, uses lots of background data and that I would quickly exceed my data limit if I did get the phone under this contract. Of course, I disable background data on apps that don't need it and keep a close watch on how much data I use- something which is very easy with Android as you can see how much data is used by different apps and set a data limit/ warning if you need to. The employee continued his sales pitch, even giving the argument that Android syncs contacts with Google's servers- something which would use data. This is absolutely absurd, and it did take a lot of restraint to not tell this man he was talking absolute rubbish. Which he was. An interesting analogy he used was where he compared taking up this deal to buying a Ferrari without an engine.
In the end, I left without purchasing a phone from the shop. The employee was not focused on what I wanted, but how much commission he would get for selling me a phone for double the price I'm intending to spend. It also leaves one to ask the question, what is the point of having a promotional deal if when I want to get it the employee does his best to talk me out of it?
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