For any of you who doubt AT&T's knowledge...

[gdjsnyder]

...please continue doing so. (And sorry in advanced for another white iPhone 4 thread...I'm sick of them to, but I needed to tell you guys this).

So I had to call AT&T about an hour ago to get some things straightened out on my account. The girl I spoke with was very nice and friendly, and something went wrong, so while it was being fixed we were making small talk. Finally, she brought up the iPhone (because she knew I had one, obviously), and she asked how I liked it and stuff. Told her I loved it and how disappointed I was about no white iPhone 4. She gasped, like dramatically and asked where I was getting such absurd information. I told her it's not available on Apple or on AT&T and it wasn't from the beginning on 6/15. She proceeded to tell me AT&T did over 10,000 pre-orders for white, and it was available, and still is. So I argued with her, for the next 15 minutes. I hate when people try to tell me I'm wrong about something I know I'm right about. What finally really got me was when I brought up the leaked memo from 6/14. She told me, and I quote "Oh, don't be silly, AT&T released that memo in advance because we knew we would sell out of the white quickly, we were being prepared". So again, I argued with her, and told her that it was absurd she was spewing such wrong information. She then asked me who the employee was, and when I said her she replied "Exactly, so I'm not wrong".

She would not give up. And she finally asked me if I'd like her to put an order in for the white iPhone and I'll get it on June 24th. I reminded her that AT&T is currently not taking orders and that even if they were, the soonest it would come is July. She told me to get off the internet and start listening to someone who knows (presumably her...?) because "I'm an employee and I know what's going on".

Needless to say, the conversation ended with a quick "thank you for making my changes" from me and a hang up.

AT&T never, ever ceases to amaze me (moronically, not in a good way).

 

[Craiger]

HA, I would have at least let her try to get me a white iphone on the 24th! She probably would have gotten half way through the order and realized the white is unavailable.

 

[Ferris23]

She sounds feisty, I'd hit it.

 

[/dev/toaster]

When I called them a few weeks ago to complain about the iPad 3G bait and switch data plan ... the rep told me that I need to stop reading rumor sites and that all the information was totally wrong. She said AT&T was making NO changes to any data plans ... at all.

Yes, you heard me right.

Even after I pointed out official AT&T press releases, she told me she had access to information I don't and I am flat out wrong. She went on to claim that those people aren't speaking for AT&T officially ...

*boggle*

Call center reps make near minimum wage for a reason I guess.

 

[InvalidBassist]

Call center reps make near minimum wage for a reason I guess.

I don't know what call centers you've worked for in the past, but most million+ subscriber companies pay their reps well above minimum wage (at least on American soil).

 

[joeybuckets]

She sounds feisty, I'd hit it.

+1

 

[fuzion]

Well...... after the warranty is over we could always buy the white front and back and turn our iPhone white!

 

[hryan4740]

I don't know what call centers you've worked for in the past, but most million+ subscriber companies pay their reps well above minimum wage (at least on American soil).

I worked for a major Midwestern cable company for a while. I was paid a few bucks above minimum wage, yes, but I was always left in the dark about what was really going on in the company. The problem with call centers is that there's such high turnover that there's not enough training and definitely no standardized way of informing your staff as to what's going on. To top it all off, there's a HUGE lack of expertise. I lasted maybe eight months and then I just couldn't work there anymore. In my experience, management could care less about staff morale, so long as they had enough people to answer the phones.

 

[Shanpdx]

...please continue doing so. (And sorry in advanced for another white iPhone 4 thread...I'm sick of them to, but I needed to tell you guys this).

So I had to call AT&T about an hour ago to get some things straightened out on my account. The girl I spoke with was very nice and friendly, and something went wrong, so while it was being fixed we were making small talk. Finally, she brought up the iPhone (because she knew I had one, obviously), and she asked how I liked it and stuff. Told her I loved it and how disappointed I was about no white iPhone 4. She gasped, like dramatically and asked where I was getting such absurd information. I told her it's not available on Apple or on AT&T and it wasn't from the beginning on 6/15. She proceeded to tell me AT&T did over 10,000 pre-orders for white, and it was available, and still is. So I argued with her, for the next 15 minutes. I hate when people try to tell me I'm wrong about something I know I'm right about. What finally really got me was when I brought up the leaked memo from 6/14. She told me, and I quote "Oh, don't be silly, AT&T released that memo in advance because we knew we would sell out of the white quickly, we were being prepared". So again, I argued with her, and told her that it was absurd she was spewing such wrong information. She then asked me who the employee was, and when I said her she replied "Exactly, so I'm not wrong".

She would not give up. And she finally asked me if I'd like her to put an order in for the white iPhone and I'll get it on June 24th. I reminded her that AT&T is currently not taking orders and that even if they were, the soonest it would come is July. She told me to get off the internet and start listening to someone who knows (presumably her...?) because "I'm an employee and I know what's going on".

Needless to say, the conversation ended with a quick "thank you for making my changes" from me and a hang up.

AT&T never, ever ceases to amaze me (moronically, not in a good way).

may be she is talking about white iPhone 3GS? it is easy to get confused with several version of the iPhone as of right now (until the 16/32Gb 3GS sold out completely)

 

[Elysian]

I believe she's talking about the white 3Gs. Or the OP is just adding rumors to a rumor site. No biggie.

 

[ItsThatKush]

She sounds feisty, I'd hit it.

ahahahaha nice.

 

[IronLogik]

I've had nothing but positive things to say when I've talked to AT&T.

I have a serious problem with the OP.

I work retail. Which is very similar to this AT&T rep the OP talked to. I get people who come into my store and tell me that I don't know anything about the products I sell. Or try to argue with me about previous products that we've offered that we never in fact offered. I am the one who gets trained about our products, I'm the one they pay to know things, I'm the one who has worked at the location for nearly four years and you guys are the dumb people who think they know everything.

Before you tell someone who works for a company that they're wrong maybe you should think before you speak. If she claims she could've gotten you a white iPhone 4 preorder and that's what you wanted, why didn't you just ask her to do so? If it turns out she couldn't what would it have cost you? A couple minutes of your time? Maybe you could've even gotten that white iPhone 4 instead of a black one.

Or maybe you should just give that AT&T rep your work phone number and address so that she can stop in on her time and tell you how you can't do your job or that you don't know anything about your job. Same deal.

You sound like an ass, and it's the main reason why I think America is getting more and more stupid by the year. After having talked to people like yourself I always tell my coworkers I feel dumber having talked to you people.

Being nice to people goes a long way. You should try it sometime.

 

[Slip Jigs]

The OP said that the rep said that they did have white phones, but they all sold out,Mao he couldn't have ordered one.

Still, I thunk if that were true, then at least 1 of those 10000 would be on this forum to verify it.

 

[IronLogik]

The OP said that the rep said that they did have white phones, but they all sold out,Mao he couldn't have ordered one.

Still, I thunk if that were true, then at least 1 of those 10000 would be on this forum to verify it.

I'm not saying they are available. I'm saying you shouldn't argue with someone who works for a company because you seen something online.

Benefit of the doubt and being polite and all. He could've proven he couldn't have gotten a white iPhone 4 if he had taken her up on the offer of pre-ordering one right?

Oh. And MacRumors.com isn't exactly the entire iPhone community. It's pretty likely that someone could have gotten one of those pre-orders (should they have existed) and not been a member of this site.

 

[geneticfusion]

The OP said that the rep said that they did have white phones, but they all sold out,Mao he couldn't have ordered one.

Still, I thunk if that were true, then at least 1 of those 10000 would be on this forum to verify it.

Nope, OP said that the rep said the White iPhone 4 still is available.

 

[youngplaya0228]

I'm not saying they are available. I'm saying you shouldn't argue with someone who works for a company because you seen something online.

Benefit of the doubt and being polite and all. He could've proven he couldn't have gotten a white iPhone 4 if he had taken her up on the offer of pre-ordering one right?

If it was any other company, I'd easily agree with you. However, you obviously haven't spent too much time around the At&t reps. Hell the ones i had to deal with late last week (June 10-12th) didn't even know there was a new iPhone coming out, and even more didn't know about the $199/$299 upgrade deal.

Although there may have been a chance that he would've gotten it, you can't blame the guy for looking at past experiences with them (hell there's a new thread about it every 10 minutes) and not completely believing them.

 

[gdjsnyder]

I've had nothing but positive things to say when I've talked to AT&T.

I have a serious problem with the OP.

I work retail. Which is very similar to this AT&T rep the OP talked to. I get people who come into my store and tell me that I don't know anything about the products I sell. Or try to argue with me about previous products that we've offered that we never in fact offered. I am the one who gets trained about our products, I'm the one they pay to know things, I'm the one who has worked at the location for nearly four years and you guys are the dumb people who think they know everything.

Before you tell someone who works for a company that they're wrong maybe you should think before you speak. If she claims she could've gotten you a white iPhone 4 preorder and that's what you wanted, why didn't you just ask her to do so? If it turns out she couldn't what would it have cost you? A couple minutes of your time? Maybe you could've even gotten that white iPhone 4 instead of a black one.

Or maybe you should just give that AT&T rep your work phone number and address so that she can stop in on her time and tell you how you can't do your job or that you don't know anything about your job. Same deal.

You sound like an ass, and it's the main reason why I think America is getting more and more stupid by the year. After having talked to people like yourself I always tell my coworkers I feel dumber having talked to you people.

Being nice to people goes a long way. You should try it sometime.

I was never, EVER, mean to her. The only thing you can consider being mean is me arguing with her, but the arguing was more of a back and forth conversation.

I never claimed to know everything. AT&T has announced they are no longer taking pre-orders through their own website. So there is no possible way she could have pre-ordered for me. Plus, two things could have happened had I tried her to get me the white iPhone. 1. She could have tried, failed, and screwed up my upgrade eligibility. 2. She could have tried, failed, and instead ordered me a black one, which I do not want. I'm not saying anything bad about her as a person, I'm saying she should be a little more informed with her job. I'm glad that when you talk to AT&T you have no problems, this was my first ever problem. I'm very close friends with an AT&T store manager around my area, and I told her about this conversation and she told me that obviously that person should not be working for the company, if she has no clue what's going on. And I completely agree with that. Glad you stand up for retail people, I used to be a retail employee. But I never gave customers information that was not true.

 

[gdjsnyder]

I believe she's talking about the white 3Gs. Or the OP is just adding rumors to a rumor site. No biggie.

1. She said white iPhone 4.
2. Why would she offer me a pre-order on a one year old iPhone?
3. The new 3GS is only black.

 

[TSX]

Well since apples been producing millions of iphone 4's since April/May there has to be some white iPhones (unless something went wrong producing the white glass) we've even seen white parts leaked. You never know there could be some white on launch but we will see next week.

 

[Gurmie]

In a company that is the size on AT&T, or any corporation for that matter, you will have some people that know less then others. That's not necessarily due to lack of training on AT&T's part it's just lack of initiative on the rep's part and not staying informed.

 

[gadgetfreaky]

...please continue doing so. (And sorry in advanced for another white iPhone 4 thread...I'm sick of them to, but I needed to tell you guys this).

So I had to call AT&T about an hour ago to get some things straightened out on my account. The girl I spoke with was very nice and friendly, and something went wrong, so while it was being fixed we were making small talk. Finally, she brought up the iPhone (because she knew I had one, obviously), and she asked how I liked it and stuff. Told her I loved it and how disappointed I was about no white iPhone 4. She gasped, like dramatically and asked where I was getting such absurd information. I told her it's not available on Apple or on AT&T and it wasn't from the beginning on 6/15. She proceeded to tell me AT&T did over 10,000 pre-orders for white, and it was available, and still is. So I argued with her, for the next 15 minutes. I hate when people try to tell me I'm wrong about something I know I'm right about. What finally really got me was when I brought up the leaked memo from 6/14. She told me, and I quote "Oh, don't be silly, AT&T released that memo in advance because we knew we would sell out of the white quickly, we were being prepared". So again, I argued with her, and told her that it was absurd she was spewing such wrong information. She then asked me who the employee was, and when I said her she replied "Exactly, so I'm not wrong".

She would not give up. And she finally asked me if I'd like her to put an order in for the white iPhone and I'll get it on June 24th. I reminded her that AT&T is currently not taking orders and that even if they were, the soonest it would come is July. She told me to get off the internet and start listening to someone who knows (presumably her...?) because "I'm an employee and I know what's going on".

Needless to say, the conversation ended with a quick "thank you for making my changes" from me and a hang up.

AT&T never, ever ceases to amaze me (moronically, not in a good way).

dude. I would have let her have a go. maybe you struck the mother lode. an AT&T employee in the know or something...

 

[Zerase]

I don't know what call centers you've worked for in the past, but most million+ subscriber companies pay their reps well above minimum wage (at least on American soil).

Ha. <- Call Center Rep for one of the largest Gas & Electric utility companies in the US and UK and makes minimum wage. Try again.

 

[PNutts]

She sounds feisty, I'd hit it.

Yeah, both ways.

 

[thenumbersrbad]

haha i have a pre order for an iphone thru apple...but have been going back and checking on upgrading another line but haven't since its now july 14th but i did find that on apple.com they were waiving my upgrade fee and so i called att to make sure that they could waive the upgrade fee for the line i already have the phone pre ordered and they said they would...i also asked about the white iphone and the att rep told me over 3 MILLION people wanted the white iphone and they believed that the phone would maybe be made available on june 25th

i don't think anyone knows really...i want the white one but have pre ordered the black but wont get it till july 2nd ship

 

[/dev/toaster]

I've had nothing but positive things to say when I've talked to AT&T.

I have a serious problem with the OP.

I work retail. Which is very similar to this AT&T rep the OP talked to. I get people who come into my store and tell me that I don't know anything about the products I sell. Or try to argue with me about previous products that we've offered that we never in fact offered. I am the one who gets trained about our products, I'm the one they pay to know things, I'm the one who has worked at the location for nearly four years and you guys are the dumb people who think they know everything.

Before you tell someone who works for a company that they're wrong maybe you should think before you speak. If she claims she could've gotten you a white iPhone 4 preorder and that's what you wanted, why didn't you just ask her to do so? If it turns out she couldn't what would it have cost you? A couple minutes of your time? Maybe you could've even gotten that white iPhone 4 instead of a black one.

Or maybe you should just give that AT&T rep your work phone number and address so that she can stop in on her time and tell you how you can't do your job or that you don't know anything about your job. Same deal.

You sound like an ass, and it's the main reason why I think America is getting more and more stupid by the year. After having talked to people like yourself I always tell my coworkers I feel dumber having talked to you people.

Being nice to people goes a long way. You should try it sometime.

I would say that close to 90% of the time, reps in stores don't have a clue about what they are selling. Sure, they are paid to know it and receive some training. But lets face it, when you are being paid commission you will tell people all sorts of crazy **** to get them to make the sale. Not to mention, most sales reps at retails stores make total crap money. (Just like call center reps)

Here is an excellent example. Go into a Best Buy, any Best Buy. Ask them what type of cable you should buy for your HDTV. They will attempt to sell you outrageously overpriced and unnecessary Monster HDMI cables. They will tell you about the awesome quality difference with their 24k gold plated design. After that, ask them to tell you about contrast ratio.

What they won't tell you, because they never know the real details is that HDMI cables are HDMI cables. Its a digital signal, the quality of cable won't make a damn difference. When I bought my HDTV a few years ago, I got into a 20 minute argument with a few of the reps. They pushed like hell to sell me Monster cables. To the point I even had to get the manger involved because they wouldn't drop it.

Now just regarding AT&T call centers. I can't even begin to tell you all the things I have been told that are nothing but wild lies or total misinformation.

Comcast may actually be worse though. No joke, I actually had a rep trying to explain why the network was down using "tubes" examples. The guy claimed I didn't know what I was talking about and "ping" was a term I made up on my own. Dead serious.