Red, I'm sure this is true, But if this is their plan they are not thinking with all caps on. True they make money on the phones, but the real money is made by getting that customer signed up on a service month to month. Keep the customer happy, so if that customer comes in with their own phone and asks to use it on your service. They should just do it. Happy customer = regular customer = you stay in business.
I don't understand how some businesses just don't get this about business.