Wow, AT&T's customer service is fantastic

[AutoUnion39]

Since people just come in here to trash AT&T and their "******" customer service, I thought it would be reasonable to post my reasonable experiences with AT&T.

I'm on a Premier family plan with 3 lines. I upgraded to a Galaxy S2 last November on my line. Called in when iPhone 5 preorders were coming online and was able to pick one up at the early upgrade fee ($199+$250), and then they bill credited me the $250 afterwards.

In April, I upgraded my other line to a Lumia 900, when Nokia was offering their $100 credit. Just called in because I wanted to get myself a Galaxy Note 2 and they granted me ANOTHER early upgrade on my account, where I pay the $299 at the AT&T store and then after I do it, I can call back and they said they would credit me $100 on my next bill after I upgrade my line.

Probably going to pick that up, sell the Lumia 900 on craigslist, and come out ahead. Looks like I'm sticking with AT&T

[adam044]

Originally Posted by AutoUnion39

Since people just come in here to trash AT&T and their "******" customer service, I thought it would be reasonable to post my reasonable experiences with AT&T.

I'm on a Premier family plan with 3 lines. I upgraded to a Galaxy S2 last November on my line. Called in when iPhone 5 preorders were coming online and was able to pick one up at the early upgrade fee ($199+$250), and then they bill credited me the $250 afterwards.

In April, I upgraded my other line to a Lumia 900, when Nokia was offering their $100 credit. Just called in because I wanted to get myself a Galaxy Note 2 and they granted me ANOTHER early upgrade on my account, where I pay the $299 at the AT&T store and then after I do it, I can call back and they said they would credit me $100 on my next bill after I upgrade my line.

Probably going to pick that up, sell the Lumia 900 on craigslist, and come out ahead. Looks like I'm sticking with AT&T

Did you accidentally ask for a Note 2 and not an iPhone 5? May want to fix that asap

[braddick]

Excellent news.
I too enjoy wonderful service with AT&T and have never had an issue with them.
(If there was a hiccup or two in the last ten years, it was due to my error, not theirs.)

[AutoUnion39]

Originally Posted by adam044

Did you accidentally ask for a Note 2 and not an iPhone 5? May want to fix that asap

Already have one from launch day. It's sitting in the box in my closet.

Probably giving it to my father.

[Beeplance]

Pardon me, but I genuinely thought your title was being sarcastic. -.-

[Cscottrun]

Originally Posted by AutoUnion39

Since people just come in here to trash AT&T and their "******" customer service, I thought it would be reasonable to post my reasonable experiences with AT&T.

I'm on a Premier family plan with 3 lines. I upgraded to a Galaxy S2 last November on my line. Called in when iPhone 5 preorders were coming online and was able to pick one up at the early upgrade fee ($199+$250), and then they bill credited me the $250 afterwards.

In April, I upgraded my other line to a Lumia 900, when Nokia was offering their $100 credit. Just called in because I wanted to get myself a Galaxy Note 2 and they granted me ANOTHER early upgrade on my account, where I pay the $299 at the AT&T store and then after I do it, I can call back and they said they would credit me $100 on my next bill after I upgrade my line.

Probably going to pick that up, sell the Lumia 900 on craigslist, and come out ahead. Looks like I'm sticking with AT&T

ATTs customer service might be good now, but when a new iPhone is released they are terrible. There must be some clause in the contract between Apple and ATT which minimizes the amount of early upgrades for iPhone customers. Many people have no problem getting early upgrades when trying to buy any phone other then the iPhone. That's not to say you can't get an early upgrade for an iPhone, it just tends to be way more difficult. Apple is a smart company. They arethe ones treating the customers poorly by not letting the loyal customers upgrade early so they can get the newest technology, but from the outside viewpoint, it looks like ATT is what is preventing the customer.

[adam044]

Ive never had any problems with ATT, ever. Been 10 years now

[tmgarvey]

I've had AT&T for years, never had a problem with them. In fact, I have found their customer service to be exceptional. I haven't compared prices in great detail lately but I would pay a bit more to stick with them.

LOL, I'm also a Comcast customer and I'd pay LOTS more to go with ANYBODY other than Comcast.

[AutoUnion39]

Originally Posted by Cscottrun

Apple is a smart company. They arethe ones treating the customers poorly by not letting the loyal customers upgrade early so they can get the newest technology, but from the outside viewpoint, it looks like ATT is what is preventing the customer.

This is a good point. Apple seems to be getting more stringent. But it has been the case that AT&T always seems to let iPhone users upgrade every year, even though they might not ask. The upgrade date "just happens" to get moved up. This has happened to be year after year since the iPhone 3G, except for when the iPhone 5 came out. I had to call in and ask. Of course, I didn't get the 2 year price directly. AT&T bill credited, so Apple doesn't get mad.

----------

Originally Posted by tmgarvey

I've had AT&T for years, never had a problem with them. In fact, I have found their customer service to be exceptional. I haven't compared prices in great detail lately but I would pay a bit more to stick with them.

Yeah, I don't understand all the crap about everyone saying they suck. VZW and AT&T are both fantastic. I feel bad for the people who put up with Sprint and their crappy network just because it's cheaper.

[jwlbel]

I have been with AT&T for MANY years and always have great service with them. So far they have credited me over $800 this year. I was thinking about changing over to Verizon so I called them and asked what they would do to keep me as a customer. They offered to credit me $250 as a thank you for being a long time loyal customer. They also gave me 6 months worth of free family text @ $30 a month. In a stupid momentary lapses of judgement, I still switched to verizon after continuously reading how much better they were. When I switched, all Verizon would do is waive one of my activation charges for my iPhone (had 2 iPhones). But since if I was lucky to get one bar inside my place I had no choice but to switch back to AT&T. It was funny when I was calling verizon to cancel the CS rep kept saying I was breaking up and could not hear me. That was the reason I was canceling. So when I went back to AT&T they waived both iPhone activation fees. They also gave me another 6 months of family texting @ $30 a month. Then when I got my first bill. It was almost double so I called them. I totally forgot that they bill one month in advance. So the CS rep said he would credit me $175 as a welcome back so my bill would be approx what it will normally be.

[sviato]

Originally Posted by Beeplance

Pardon me, but I genuinely thought your title was being sarcastic. -.-

Haha me too! I was expecting a dramatic story from a bitter customer. Almost disappointed :/

[scorpio1973]

I've been with AT&T since 2009 and my experience has been very positive.

[Applejuiced]

I been with AT&T since 98 and no probs either.
Customer support was good, didnt need to call them much though.
Every time a line on my account upgrades I just give them a call and always get credited the upgrade fees or any other billing issues they alway fix the prob and then even credit me back some more.
I know with some other carriers its impossible to get any credit, early upgrade, discounts, upgrade fee's removed etc....
I wont mention any names. Big Red "cough"

[nickm81us]

Not to join the ass-kissing fest here, but my experiences with AT&T have always been great too. I was with them for about a year with a standard flip-phone, then with them for about two years with their prepaid phone service, then back to regular postpaid service in 2010 when the iPhone 4 came out. They've always been plenty courteous and willing to make exceptions during the rare times I had a billing or service problem.

Granted, I still can't stand the whole "no wireless hotspot unless you're on a shared data plan" thing, but I can live with it for the time being (or jailbreak).

[mattroman246]

they let me get my 5 45 days early so i was pretty pumped! only problem is it took 20 to get it haha

[VandyChem2009]

I absolutely hate calling in for customer service with ATT. I will admit that in their stores you couldn't ask for nicer people or service. But over the phone I have never had a pleasant experience.

[Small White Car]

I have never had a problem with AT&T employees. Sometimes I disagree with upper-management decisions, but once the policy is in place I've found the employees pleasant to deal with about it.

Originally Posted by Cscottrun

That's not to say you can't get an early upgrade for an iPhone, it just tends to be way more difficult. Apple is a smart company. They arethe ones treating the customers poorly by not letting the loyal customers upgrade early so they can get the newest technology, but from the outside viewpoint, it looks like ATT is what is preventing the customer.

AT&T is the one who decides when you can upgrade, it's ridiculous to suggest Apple has any say in it.

The difference you're noting here is caused by the iPhone costing more for AT&T to buy. So in a sense I guess you could say that Apple's prices are the problem, but that's a 2 step thing: More expensive phones cost more which causes AT&T to be stricter with them.

That's a fair statement, but a far different thing than "Apple doesn't let customers upgrade early." That's just nonsensical.

[VandyChem2009]

Originally Posted by Small White Car

AT&T is the one who decides when you can upgrade, it's ridiculous to suggest Apple has any say in it.

The difference you're noting here is caused by the iPhone costing more for AT&T to buy. So in a sense I guess you could say that Apple's prices are the problem, but that's a 2 step thing: More expensive phones cost more which causes AT&T to be stricter with them.

That's a fair statement, but a far different thing than "Apple doesn't let customers upgrade early." That's just nonsensical.

And wrong I walked into an apple store three weeks before my upgrade was due and they still gave me discounted price.

[Small White Car]

Originally Posted by VandyChem2009

And wrong I walked into an apple store three weeks before my upgrade was due and they still gave me discounted price.

Because Apple's computer checked with the carrier's computer and got that answer back from it. That's still the carrier giving you an early upgrade. Doesn't matter what store you're standing in.

Apple is not the one giving you the subsidy so how on earth can they "give it early" when they're not giving it at all? That makes no sense.

[VandyChem2009]

Originally Posted by Small White Car

Because Apple's computer checked with the carrier's computer and got that answer back from it. That's still the carrier giving you an early upgrade. Doesn't matter what store you're standing in.

Apple is not the one giving you the subsidy so how on earth can they "give it early" when they're not giving it at all? That makes no sense.

Yeah you see the problem is that only a couple hours earlier I had walked into the att store and attempted to upgrade and was told I had to wait 3 weeks. So yeah, maybe the Apple checked with the carrier but it's interesting that the carrier refused and Apple allowed. Either way I thank Apple.

[Applejuiced]

Originally Posted by VandyChem2009

Yeah you see the problem is that only a couple hours earlier I had walked into the att store and attempted to upgrade and was told I had to wait 3 weeks. So yeah, maybe the Apple checked with the carrier but it's interesting that the carrier refused and Apple allowed. Either way I thank Apple.

Either way AT&T is paying for your subsidy, not Apple.
You can thank your carrier, Apple just pockets the money either way.
They are acessing your carriers upgrade system that's all.
They cant make or edit the rules of your contract with your service provider.

[VandyChem2009]

Originally Posted by Applejuiced

Either way AT&T is paying for your subsidy, not Apple.
You can thank your carrier, Apple just pockets the money either way.
They are acessing your carriers upgrade system that's all.
They cant make or edit the rules of your contract with your service provider.

They aren't paying for crap they recoup all of it with plan premiums get out of here with that nonsense att is doing no one favors. That's why they said no at the corporate store.

[Applejuiced]

Originally Posted by VandyChem2009

They aren't paying for crap they recoup all of it with plan premiums get out of here with that nonsense att is doing no one favors.

Lol
Exactly, they're paying upfront to get it from you later.
They're not doing any favors. They're a business not a charity.
Again, I dont think you get the point but whatever makes you happy.
Yes Apple gave you the phone and AT&T didnt.
Happy now?
Some people.....

[VandyChem2009]

Originally Posted by Applejuiced

Lol
Exactly, they're paying upfront to get it from you later.
They're not doing any favors. They're a business not a charity.
Again, I dont think you get the point but whatever makes you happy.
Yes Apple gave you the phone and AT&T didnt.
Happy now?
Some people.....

Seeing as my point was that Apple did allow me to get the phone 3 weeks early and ATT corporate wouldn't, yeah I'm happy. Some people's kids.

What I think is going on is that you are allowed to upgrade on the first day of the month your upgrade is on. However, ATT doesn't want to lose out on what can amount to 3-4 weeks of a contract so don't allow it. Since, Apple doesn't care either way they just move along with the subsidy.

[Applejuiced]

Originally Posted by VandyChem2009

Seeing as my point was that Apple did allow me to get the phone 3 weeks early and ATT corporate wouldn't, yeah I'm happy. Some people's kids.

What I think is going on is that you are allowed to upgrade on the first day of the month your upgrade is on. However, ATT doesn't want to lose out on what can amount to 3-4 weeks of a contract so don't allow it. Since, Apple doesn't care either way they just move along with the subsidy.

That's false, Apple has ZERO say in your upgrade cycle or the contract date you sign with your carrier.
I know its very hard for you to understand, maybe in the future you will get it