Verizon has rolled out a thorough ad campaign to go with its new unlimited data plan. As is normal these days, the ads focus on the pricing per line when you have four lines, which works out to $45 per line, plus taxes and fees.
Unfortunately for sales reps working in Verzion’s stores, wannabe customers don’t read the fine print.
Several Verizon retail sources have told BGR that customers are coming in “every hour” asking for “that $45 Unlimited plan,” just to be told that actually, it’s $80 plus taxes for the plan if there’s just one of you. I’m sure Verizon is happy that customers are excited by the pricing of its unlimited plan, but people wanting one line for $45 per month seems to be causing serious problems for the retail outlets. One employee said that “if I have to explain the bad math to one more customer, I’m going to go [around the city] and write ‘$80’ on every Verizon ad I can find.”
A poster on the Verizon subreddit echoed the comments:
“I swear man, if another customer comes in and asks for our new $45 UDP, I’m gonna rip the posters off the walls. I’m not even cushioning my response to customers anymore. I just tell them it’s gimmicky marketing math meant to get them in store. Anyone else having a lot of push back from frustrated customers on this phrasing?”
Verizon is definitely not the first wireless network to focus on the per-line unlimited cost, rather than being more upfront about the pricing. Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T have all used per-line pricing in the past, despite the fact that most people don’t actually have four lines per account. Still, it seems like people have been waiting so long for a Verizon unlimited plan that this ad campaign has sparked more interest than usual.
