(keitai-l) Re: Changing to i-mode - 4 weeks required?

My take on it is that this difference in cost is actually the handset
subsidy.  The telco wants to recoup its subsidy by keeping you 'hooked' for
a set period of time whereby you will spend money.  Although the same
company, different departments (imode and normal) probably don't talk to
each other... resulting in a bad customer experience for you...

-----Original Message-----
From: M. David [mailto:davidm1@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2000 11:58 AM
To: keitai-l@appelsiini.net
Subject: (keitai-l) Re: Changing to i-mode - 4 weeks required?


This has to do with the relationship between the shop and the telco. Most 
telco's pay the shops around 30,000yen when a customer signs up in addition 
to a piece of the customers usage fees. However, if the customer cancels the

service within a certain periood ( i thought 3 mos.) the phone shop has to 
give the sign up fee back to the telco. You probably signed something which 
said that if you canceled within a certain period youd have to pay the 
30,000.

In your case it seems a wash, as long as you buy the new phone from the same

place as your old phone. Then its just bad customer service. Otherwise, 
theres a bit of Yen being lost.



>Hi Everyone,
>
>This isn't technical or marketing related, but here goes. What
>is the reason for NTT requiring you to have had your non-imode
>cellphone for at least 4 weeks if you want to switch to i-mode?
>
>I finally bought an i-mode phone last.  The shop clerk asked me
>(and was asked by NTT on the phone) if I had had my phone for
>over a month.  I was asked the same thing by an NTT DoCoMo
>store clerk two months ago when I tried to buy an i-mode phone.
>If I hadn't used my current phone for more than 4 weeks, the price
>would go from 10,000 yen to 40,000 yen.
>
>Is this just NTT's way of trying slowing down the pace of current
>users switching off to i-mode?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Jon
>
>

________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com