Last week I dropped by the Verizon Wireless store to snoop around a bit. My 2-year agreement was up, and my existing cell phone had taken a beating. In fact, the outer LCD display was cracked and non-functional from the time I put the phone in my pocket and then smashed my keys (in the same pocket) into the phone. Now I had options. Lots of options, and that is a good thing from a consumers standpoint.

At any rate, I had also been looking at my monthly cell usage. Between my wife and I, we rarely were using more than 200 anytime minutes per month, yet our plan allowed us 700 anytime minutes, and in return we paid about $85 per month after taxes and fees.

You get what you pay for, but don’t pay for something you don’t get.

As frequent readers of the Corner Office Blog know, I absolutely hate paying for something I don’t use. The way I saw it, I was paying for 500 minutes per month that I wasn’t using.

An online inquiry through the Verizon website returned an answer I really didn’t appreciate: “… sorry sir, you’re on the lowest cost family plan we offer.”

It is rarely fruitful to eArgue, and making a deal face to face is much more productive. So in addition to looking for a new phone, I was also looking for a new plan, and if that didn’t work out, a new cell provider.

Being polite will get you further…

I walked into the store, and the sharp dressed sales rep stepped right up to the plate. “What can I help you with today…” I’m looking for a new phone, and a new plan, and I explained why.

Naturally the sales rep tried to sell me a new phone first. Smart on his part: Get the customer to fall in love with something tangible, then talk money.

So I found a phone I liked, but was still willing to walk away from the whole deal if we couldn’t somehow my monthly costs.

After pounding through the computer for a few minutes, I got the same response as I did from the rep online; I’ve already got the lowest cost plan they offer. I was getting a bit aggravated, but I kept my cool and told him that I might have to go home and research the competition.

Sensing I was the type to walk right across the street to AT&T, he went and asked his boss if there was “Something we could do”. It turns out, there is a little-known plan hidden deep down in the computer for cases just like this. It’s called the Nationwide Loyalty Family Share plan, coming in at 550 minutes per month, and for $10 cheaper than the previous plan.

Interesting how they throw a loyalty plan at you to keep your business, isn’t it?

Sign me up.

It’s a step in the right direction. Instead of wanting “more for less”, I wanted “less for less”. While the 550 minutes per month is still overkill, the $10 reduction in monthly cost ($120 per year) helps.

So, if you’re looking to reduce your monthly cell phone bill, this might be a step in the right direction, if you’re a Verizon customer that is.

To be clear, if my wife and I were using the 700 minutes per month, I wouldn’t feel right about arguing for a lower cost plan that would still cover my usage. But if you’re not even coming close to maxing out your wireless plan, at least find out what your options are to pay for something more appropriate.

Frugal Living, Technology cell phone, National Loyalty Family Share, Verizon Wireless

Well it appears that the effects of our credit crunch are starting to show up in non-essential services.

Sprint is losing subscribers. Big time. Sprint lost 337,000 post-paid subscribers, or customers who sign annual contracts and pay monthly bills. Total subscribership fell 60,000 from the second quarter to 54 million. The competition, however is doing better. AT&T and Verizon Wireless added two million and 1.6 million net subscribers, respectively. Furthermore, Sprint expects subscriber losses to continue into the fourth quarter.

It seems that Sprint’s troubles stem from its reliance on customers with poor credit, the cellphone industry’s version of the subprime-mortgage market. The same kinds of people who now are having trouble paying their mortgages on time also are having trouble paying cellphone bills.

It’s fun to see the market forces work like they’re supposed to! Unless of course you hold Sprint shares, in which case you’re getting a lesson in market finance and economics.

Credit, Economics, Finance cell phone, Economics, market forces, sprint, subscribers