ATT customer service sucks.... OMG i wanted to switch from verizon to att. So I went to att store and activated a line with my own unlocked gsm windows phone. I went home and tried to buy iphone from apple's website. Apple's website says you do not have upgrade until 2014. Apparently the guy at att store signed me up for a 2 year contract even though I just activated my old unlocked gsm windows phone. I called customer service and they said sorry once you are in contract you can't get new phone until the contract is over. I asked to speek with the manager. Even the manager said the same thing. I asked to speek with his manager. Surprisingly even he said the same thing. Finally I told him that I will walk out of att and go back to verizon. He said give me one day to look at your situation. After two days of fight. I got call from att store that I can go to store and they will order an iphone for me at $199. This is how they welcome new customers.....
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Story about att customer service
- Thread starter kashyap02004
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Must have just taked to the wrong people because I didn't have a problem when I did the same thing you did. I recently added a line to my family plan but never got a phone so I was not under contract with them. I waited until the iPhone 5 released and finally used my upgrade. They even waived my activation fee and upgrade fee.
Even if you signed a contract, the information they told you were wrong. You have 30 days from the time you sign your contract to reconsider.
Even if you signed a contract, the information they told you were wrong. You have 30 days from the time you sign your contract to reconsider.
If this was Verizon. The manager would be outraged by what happen with me and would offer me some account credit for the inconvenience. But at att, the manager and even his manager were trying to defend their side and trying to prove me wrong. I guess that (good customer service) is exactly whey verizon is expensive.
When I signed up with AT&T back in August I had the same problem with my 3 lines. It took a few days to get everything straighten out.
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Before At&t I was with Verizon for a month and 5 days and I can tell you that Verizon CS sucks bad... At&t CS is heaven compared to Sprint and Verizon.
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Before At&t I was with Verizon for a month and 5 days and I can tell you that Verizon CS sucks bad... At&t CS is heaven compared to Sprint and Verizon.
They did the same thing to my mom. She took an old iPhone to an authorized retailer for them to add a line and get a sim card. The guy put the phone on a 2 year contract with a $325 ETF. I got mad and started arguing with customer service, accusing them of stealing a phone (they had the IMEI claiming they sold it to us, and was the same iPhone they were giving for free).
They told us we had to go back to the original store, and my mom used the upgrade to get a 4S for herself. I highly recommend avoiding AT&T authorized retailers and going straight to a corporate store.
They told us we had to go back to the original store, and my mom used the upgrade to get a 4S for herself. I highly recommend avoiding AT&T authorized retailers and going straight to a corporate store.
I truly think you'll find the same horse **** with both of those carriers. Both my daughter and husband had major problems with customer service with Verizon and switched to AT&T. I've been with AT&T since 2008 and that have been extremely helpful whenever I had an issue or concern. Then most recently I had a problem with my iPad cellular data renewal and spent over 40 minutes on the phone with them to finally get it straightened out. The first CS rep just kept me trying different things to no avail. When he finally got frustrated and switched me to the 2nd CS rep, she had things fixed in less than 3 minutes and was awesome to work with.
Last weekend I went with my son-in-law to the local Verizon store to do an upgrade and the guy was just awful and straight out rude. Basically calling me a liar when I explained about the great upgrade deal I got with AT&T and Best Buy. My son-in-law went to another Verizon dealer and got an old phone activated but still wasn't happy and wasn't able to do what he wanted with Verizon.
So I think we just need to be informed consumers, stick up for our rights and push both Verizon and AT&T to hold up on their side of the deal.
Last weekend I went with my son-in-law to the local Verizon store to do an upgrade and the guy was just awful and straight out rude. Basically calling me a liar when I explained about the great upgrade deal I got with AT&T and Best Buy. My son-in-law went to another Verizon dealer and got an old phone activated but still wasn't happy and wasn't able to do what he wanted with Verizon.
So I think we just need to be informed consumers, stick up for our rights and push both Verizon and AT&T to hold up on their side of the deal.
AT&T is NO worst than the others. Verizone and T-Mo plsu the others all have their good and bad sides.
Verizon is quick to give out credits because they can't afford to lose any customers. Their service is horrible and slow. even their LTE is about 10mbps slower than AT&T's LTE, and ive tried both, speedtest side by side Verizon, AT&T and Sprint iPhone 5's. Sprint data speeds are absolutely laughable, dial-up is faster. Anytime my friend has an issue with her Verizon account or device they offer up credits to her account because they know their network is a joke. While AT&T isnt perfect and i've had my issues with them, their service is tried and true.
Basically the OP is stating that one employee screwed up his account and it took a few managers to figure it out in 2 days... doesn't seem like sucky service to me. Just seems like they needed to validate your request. I'm sure thousand of people try get freebies all the time, so be thankful that they didnt just chalk you up as some a$$hole looking for a handout and actually researched the issue and resolved it for you. THAT IS TRUE CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Basically the OP is stating that one employee screwed up his account and it took a few managers to figure it out in 2 days... doesn't seem like sucky service to me. Just seems like they needed to validate your request. I'm sure thousand of people try get freebies all the time, so be thankful that they didnt just chalk you up as some a$$hole looking for a handout and actually researched the issue and resolved it for you. THAT IS TRUE CUSTOMER SERVICE.
So the largest wireless company in america, with the lowest churn is the one who "can't afford to lose any customers"? Interesting. And from what I've seen, the speeds on the 3 carriers have been pretty similar, when I've compared. The only difference is that Verizon started much earlier, and has much more coverage, and a lot more people using it at the moment.
The OP said he used an "unlocked windows gsm phone", if that's the case, ATT should have known that he hadn't upgraded to a new phone, because the phone on his account in the system wouldn't have been identified as an ATT phone. Also, if he had upgraded recently, that also should have been in the ATT system. However, none of the ATT personnel that he spoke with said that. And its interesting that it took a customer service rep, his/her manager, the manager's manager, and even that person didn't even say they'd look into it, until he threatened to leave. You said it seemed like "Just seems like they needed to validate your request". If they just needed to do that, the first rep would have told him they would need to validate it and get back with him. If not, the first manager would have said that, if not, then the second manager would have. But the truth is, according to the OP, nothing happened at all, until he threatened to leave.
If this is true, this is obviously terrible customer service, and I'm just curious as to whether or not the OP decided to stay with AT&T, with them demonstrating how much they value him as a brand new customer.
I somehow doubt the manager at Verizon would have been "outraged" by this, really. Both companies act as though they can afford to lose one customer because it is quite true. 10+ years with AT&T (and whatever company they were prior) was nothing when there was a slight issue on my bill that they wouldn't fix. It was their fault, not mine, but they just told me that I can leave since I was out of contract anyway.
I've been with AT&T since 2008 and I have had no problems with them or their customer service. However, I have had problems with their customer service when it comes to the Phone or Internet plans. The people that take care of that part of AT&T are just ****ing nuts. The Wireless department is fine though.
A few days back I had to put up with T-Mobile's customer service to get a new prepaid line started with them, and the dude that had to handle my problem was kinda rude. Instead of actually explaining why he couldn't put me under a certain plan, he just said he couldn't do it.
Also, I think the OP should have done his research a bit more about starting a new service with a provider and bringing their own device. While it's true that you can do that, you HAVE to make sure that whoever is assisting you through the process to not put you in a 2 year contract. If you find out they are, then just get a new phone.
I also found it a bit odd that you decided to uh, sign up with them with an old phone and the store, and then decided to go home and order the iPhone 5 on their website. Why not just do it in the store? They would get you an iPhone 5 even if it's not in stock. Once they replenish their stock, they would hold one just for you, and they'll call you to get it. In case you don't have a phone to activate your new line, they'll even give you a temporary phone so they can get a hold of you (you'll just have to return it when you pick up your shiny new iPhone 5). They have done this with some of my family members and they even did this with me back when I was trying to get the LG Shine when it was awesome.
A few days back I had to put up with T-Mobile's customer service to get a new prepaid line started with them, and the dude that had to handle my problem was kinda rude. Instead of actually explaining why he couldn't put me under a certain plan, he just said he couldn't do it.
Also, I think the OP should have done his research a bit more about starting a new service with a provider and bringing their own device. While it's true that you can do that, you HAVE to make sure that whoever is assisting you through the process to not put you in a 2 year contract. If you find out they are, then just get a new phone.
I also found it a bit odd that you decided to uh, sign up with them with an old phone and the store, and then decided to go home and order the iPhone 5 on their website. Why not just do it in the store? They would get you an iPhone 5 even if it's not in stock. Once they replenish their stock, they would hold one just for you, and they'll call you to get it. In case you don't have a phone to activate your new line, they'll even give you a temporary phone so they can get a hold of you (you'll just have to return it when you pick up your shiny new iPhone 5). They have done this with some of my family members and they even did this with me back when I was trying to get the LG Shine when it was awesome.
I had a problem with ATT back when the white iPhone 4 came out too. I asked about plans, pricing etc. At the end of the day I ended up going with Verizon for the phone. I was at the BJ's Verizon kiosk and while I'm on the phone trying to have my number ported they inform me that ATT had put a hold on that number (my number). I was super pissed so I drove to ATT and found the guy that "helped" me and called him out a little on what happened. Not rude, just stating facts. He's like I didn't do that, you don't know how porting works blah blah... So I get on the phone with the porting agency to prove they held my number and even after I showed the store manager, they still denied it was them. So after all that bullish*t I vowed never to return to ATT. Shoddy people.
op sorry to hear about your frustrations,and i do feel you might have just got a bad service rep. I have been with at&t for 7 years and have nothing but good experiences.
likewise. When I switched to the 5, att made a mistake where it was using my actual minutes instead of unlimited mobile to mobile. Called them and within 10 minutes all was well.
You're off your rocker.
Att offers numerous credits and "discounts" constantly to compensate for ****** customer service, such as this scenario, and ****** wireless service.
My experiences with AT&T over the past couple of years have been unsurpassed. It's clear to me they've made an effort to improve. I've seen it with their in-store people and their online people. I'm not crazy about all their policies, but their people are great.
Back in the old days AT&T was the poster child for a company that is hard to do business with. It almost destroyed them.
Back in the old days AT&T was the poster child for a company that is hard to do business with. It almost destroyed them.
I've been with AT&T since 2005. The improvement in their customer service is to be commended. You have to understand that all companies use tactics to steer away issues at the first tier of customer service reps. ALL COMPANIES do that. When you get someone you dont mesh with, hang up and call back. rinse and repeat. Its just how it is these days and its not just the celluar world. its all companies. Alot of people think they are entitled to free this and free that and of course they always think they are right or think that because its a big company, its ok to screw them out of something. Those are the people who ruined it for those who really do have valid issues that need to be dealt with. So now valid customer service issues need to jump through a few hoops to get to the real higher tiered customer service reps that can actually offer consildation and results. The frontline reps are there just to assume you are lying to shut you down. if its a real issue, be persistant. the OP was persistant and he had his issue resolved.
Yeah because it depends on the company and not on the actual manager
There are bad apples in every company. I've heard horror stories about Verizon's customer service with phone reps, store clerks, managers, and even corporate. I've heard just as many about AT&T....
Thank You for understanding. Unfortunately I decided to stay with them because of the price point. I am an individual user. Verizon no-longer has an individual plan. You are looking at ~$120 a month for 3-4 gb data plan. I wanted to keep my bill below $100. That is the reason why I switched to ATT. I would have gone to sprint, but they don't have 4g lte where I live.
I've been with them for 7+ years and am seriously debating switching for the first time, my story is long and complicated and I am out of energy between all the holds and chats on the phone with them so I am not going to repeat it here.
I've been with AT&T since 2006 and I honestly have no complaints. When I had an issue with my bill or question regarding my account. 99% of the time I got a CSR who went above and beyond to help me. Personally I don't see myself leaving anytime soon.
The normal way is to buy the new phone along with the plan.
If you do it that way, AT&T signs you up with contract, gives you the discounted phone, transfer your old number, and cancel your old line. Plenty of people I know have done that and experienced no problem.
If you do it that way, AT&T signs you up with contract, gives you the discounted phone, transfer your old number, and cancel your old line. Plenty of people I know have done that and experienced no problem.
Well I did that because I was going to do the in store pickup for iphone. At that time iphone 5 was easily available if you did the in store pickup from apple's website. I didn't want to wait for 3 weeks.