No is Not Acceptable: Tip-of-the-Day #145

DON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!

Still on the topic of rebates...if you’ve been keeping up with my blog you know that I recently swapped my Samsung Instinct for a Blackberry Curve. “Upgrading” involved a new two-year agreement (oi) as well as cash upfront for the new device with the promise of $100 back in my pocket once I redeemed the mail-in rebate.

I immediately put the rebate in the mail, and then began the interminable wait for MY money to come back to me. Two weeks later I received a small white postcard in my mailbox (similar to your dental visit reminder) that simply stated I was ineligible for the rebate, but thanks for playing. I was disappointed and annoyed and complained about it to my boyfriend and my cat for two days.

Then I did something about it. I picked up the phone, called the 800 number printed on the postcard and anxiously awaited the laborious debate that was bound to unfold. Well I already had it in my head that I wasn’t going to take “no” lying down. So I got up from the couch when CS did come on the line and in a rush of words explained that I’d HAD to trade in my Samsung Instinct because it was defective and in fact the phone had been discontinued rendering it impossible for me to replace it with a similar model. I told them to have a look at the notes in my file if they had any questions. I was immediately promised an amendment to my status and “because I’m a valued customer” my check would be expedited to my home.

All by way of saying, don’t take your first rejection or “no” at face value. Always dig a little deeper – especially with rebates. Sprint is clearly trying to save some dough by kicking “questionable” rebate forms to the curb, but with even a little push back they fold. Don’t get taken advantage of!