One of Apple CEO Tim Cook’s favorite terms to throw around during earnings calls and keynote presentations is “Customer Sat,” but the latest from the American Customer Satisfaction Index has Apple down compared to last year while Samsung continues to rise despite declining sales.
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Following a back and forth between T-Mobile and AT&T on promotions geared toward customers wanting to jump the carrier ship, AT&T announced today a short term promotion that actually rewards existing customers in addition to new users.
AT&T is shelling out $100 (in the form of a credit) for new lines including smartphones and tablets.
New and existing customers are eligible when you activate a qualifying wireless line
Add a new line for any smartphone, feature phone, tablet, wireless home phone, MiFi puck, or other connected device
You must remain active and in good standing for 45 days; your credit will be applied within 3 bill cycles
The promo runs through the end of March, so it’s not permanent, but it’s certainly a hefty incentive and hopefully of sign of what carrier competition can bring.
After rumors over the last week, Google confirmed this evening that Verizon Wireless customers will be able to buy Google Play content from their Verizon account. Google tweeted:
Hey @Verizon Customers! Pay for Google Play apps, music and more on your phone bill. We’re rolling this out over the coming weeks. Enjoy!
Droid Life pointed out that there could be a $25 limit set for how much can be charged to a Verizon account each month. We will know more as this feature rolls out to Verizon customers!
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Google officially rolled out a new service to Apps customers in March, called “Google Vault“, that helps users securely preserve and manage important data. The service has since launched to new and recent customers, and Google announced today that Vault is being made accessible directly from the Google Apps Control Panel:
Starting today, Apps customers can purchase Google Apps Vault online directly from the Control Panel…Google Apps Vault can be added to your Google Apps account for an additional $5 per user per month… Google Apps Vault is available for new and recent Google Apps for Business and Education customers. We’re working to enable Vault for existing customers, and we’ll announce availability when it is ready.
So, someone stole your AT&T Android smartphone—now what? Well, AT&T plans to début a new system July 10 for blocking any stolen device.
According to The Verge, which cited a trusted source, the system will block access to voice, data, and SMS should a smartphone or tablet be swiped. The account will remain “intact,” as the publication noted, to avoid the “inconvenience of a full SIM block”:
The company sent a message [above] to customer service representatives on Wednesday advising them of the change. According to the guidance, AT&T will compile a “blocklist” of stolen devices and service will be automatically suspended “if any attempt is made to use a device that is stored in the blocklist.” The only way to add a device to the list will be by contacting a customer service representative directly, and users with remote data wipe apps will be required to activate them before suspending their device, to “prevent access to their personal information.”
AT&T will not have a directory of blocked phones, but a customer who requests a block may also remove it later. Therefore, the company will likely keep a record of blocked devices corresponding with customers.
This aside is cross-posted on 9to5Mac.
According to a report from AllThingsD, Verizon Wireless will soon change the way it charges customers for cellular/data plans in a major way. Rather than charging customers for phones calls or messages sent, the report claimed Verizon would charge “almost exclusively based on how much data” is consumed. The new “Share Everything” plans will also be the first in the United States that allows users to share their data with up to 10 devices through a single account:
The plans, known as “Share Everything,” allow users an unlimited number of calls and texts and also allow data usage to be pooled among up to 10 devices on one account. With the move, Verizon becomes the first U.S. carrier to offer the ability for customers to share a bucket of data across multiple devices.
AllThingsD noted that AT&T also has plans for shared data options, but it did not provide more details. As for Verizon’s new plans, which will apparently kick-in June 28, the report explained the cost of the data plan and pricing metrics based on a per-device fee. In other words, you will have to pay roughly $40 per smartphone ($10 per tablet), and then opt for either a $50 1GB data plan or a $100 10GB plan. While the report claimed the new pricing should not impact the cost of plans for users who continue consuming the same amount of data, it is clear that those signing a new plan for a single smartphone are getting a bit less for their money:
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KikScore announced that Google acquired its technology.
According to KikScore’s official blog:
The buyout, as SearchEngineLand first noted, will bulk Google’s Trusted Stores program. The service helps online shoppers to identify stores with a safe and superior online shopping experience, which is possible through supervision of product shipping times and customer service. It also extends $1, 000 in purchase protection warranty.
KikScore is a similar service that also offers seals for non-online retailers and local businesses. It foremost guarantees online businesses, however, and aggregates information about management, website history, and details on customer service satisfaction.
The financial aspects of the acquisition were not revealed.
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Michael Dell hosting a hangout
GigaOm is reporting that Michael Dell, Dell’s CEO and chairman, wants to use Google+ Hangouts for customer service. Michael Dell has used Hangsouts more than a dozen times to connect with customers, showing he’s a fan of the service and he yesterday said on Google+:
I am thinking about hangouts for business. Would you like to be able to connect with your Dell service and sale teams via video directly from Dell.com?
As of now Google+ is in an invite only beta, so this idea couldn’t be executed yet. But this is certainly some good thinking.
