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iPhone 3G - A NIGHTMARE TO BUY

J

joshuaone

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 26, 2008
1
0
OK friends...here it is, your chance to air your anger about the ridiculous process of buying an 3G iPhone. Here's mine...

Historical perspective: Bought four (4) 1st gen iPhones for my brother and the wife(s), right when they came out. Ordered them online - they arrived. hooked them up - ran the software. The only hitch was making sure each one was accurately tagged to our group account with ATT when running the install software through iTunes. But it all went pretty smoothly. After a few software/bug updates from Apple we have been rolling smoothly for the past year or so...

iPhone 3G - Christmas Eve Fiasco: Let me say I know that it's ridiculous to expect perfect customer service during the holidays...but it was BAD. ATT store in San Marcos, CA had a 1-hour waiting list and there was no distinction between U-Verse sign-ups, buying stupid blue-tooth headsets..etc...There was actually a waiting list. So I waited. An hour later I get a very pissed off Mexican-American woman who was not very knowledgeable with either English or technology. Had no idea what I meant by "Hi I'd like to upgrade two of my iPhone's to 3G". After 20 minutes of explanation she finally got it. "Are you on the account?" "I should be I pay the bills", I said. "No, I don't see you..." I literally got on my 1st Gen iphone, went to the account page - and added myself as an "admin" while she sat there and tried several times to kick me to the back of the line...whew. Done with that...Get the phones - but she has to activate them. Wait another 30 minutes for that...She tells me to shut off the old phones and in 30 minutes we'll be good to go. That was Dec 24th at 3pm. I just got off the phone with ATT tech support and after relaying my new SIM ID's and all other manner of info I FINALLY have the damn phones working...Oh yeah and don't forget all the voicemail settings are gone and the "favorites" erased...etc...

OK so was it easier than years past of dumping crappy flip phones for new crappy flip phones? Maybe...About the same really. Do I love the phone? Yeah it's definitely faster and allows me to carry more of my work around (http://madmedia.com/_site/film.htm) But that was just stupid. What was wrong with activating the phones through iTunes? Why not leave that as an option for more experienced users?

I'm not worried about a 500gig iPhone. I just want the same seamless Apple experience I'm accustomed too. Ordered a refurbished iMac for the office on Dec. 23rd and it came on Dec. 24th. It looks and feels brand new and runs like a champ. So maybe this is all ATT? I think they need some competition...
 
Unfortunately, this is not only an iPhone-only situation, but rather a circumstance that occurs with phone companies in general. If Apple had the means of having the iPhone without AT&T, I think they would.
 
Wow, that's pretty terrible, even by AT&T's low standards. Hindsight is 20/20, but Apple Store, FTW, you know? :eek:

And I totally agree with you... I would be quite happy to see Apple end the practice of AT&T exclusivity. Go any which way... sell it at the alternate frequency T-Mo uses for UMTS, put it out in CDMA, I don't really care.

EDIT: FWIW, T-Mobile, whom I use, have a world class customer service reputation, and talking with them on the phone is almost invariably a pleasant experience. However, I still avoid their seedy stores like the plague.
 
:apple:Some people have no respect and unlock iPhones so now in store only I guess authority is no longer sacried!:apple: By the way there plans not working just check ebay I think they will go back to the old way!
 
mkrishnan said:
Wow, that's pretty terrible, even by AT&T's low standards. Hindsight is 20/20, but Apple Store, FTW, you know? :eek:

And I totally agree with you... I would be quite happy to see Apple end the practice of AT&T exclusivity. Go any which way... sell it at the alternate frequency T-Mo uses for UMTS, put it out in CDMA, I don't really care.

EDIT: FWIW, T-Mobile, whom I use, have a world class customer service reputation, and talking with them on the phone is almost invariably a pleasant experience. However, I still avoid their seedy stores like the plague.
Click to expand...

Correction T-mobile once had great customer service. I've used them since I was 16 years old....they suck really bad now. I've been sworn at on the phone...placed on hold for 1 hour with the intention of a manager to never pick up...wasn't allowed to speak to a supervisor...hung up on...and generally disrespected over the phone. Its no wonder why they've dropped pretty low on the JD power's associations rankings on good customer service. I use an unlocked 1 st gen iPhone on tmobile...however once a new iphone (new than the 3g) comes out, I'll just drop them.

Bottom line is this...All cell phone companies suck. That's just the unfortunate truth.
 
Really? Wow, that does suck. Yeah, sigh. I was really excited when one of the dominant early iPhone rumors was that Apple would enter the MVNO space, and I was upset when they did not do this. I'm not quite ready to go to AT&T to get 3G, but I probably would have switched to a service were it directly provided by Apple.
 
So... You went shopping on Christmas Eve and had to wait an hour. Then you have what sounds like a complicated upgrade when you initially weren't authorized to do so and it didn't go smoothly? Boo hoo. You want a separate line than people buying accesories? So do they. They don't want to wait behind your lenghy transaction to just buy a headset. You are the one slowing the line.

Here's the thing, princess, no matter what her race or her second or third language skills she knows more about the process necessary to upgrade and get you your phones than you do. Even if she was cranky when you got to her (and considering she was working on Christmas Eve at a store with an hour wait I would expect her to be pissed off), you stuck with her. If I can't cheer them up in about 2 minutes or make my intentions known in two attempts I simply ask for someone else or get a manager involved. But you decided to power through it. Congratulations on your decision to "stay the course".

Here's what I think happened. I think she saw right through you and your phones "accidently" didn't activate. I think she went home and told her friends and relatives about you and how you didn't have phone service through Christmas. I think she's still laughing. Oh, well. It's over. And Feliz Navidad.
 
joshuaone said:
OK friends...here it is, your chance to air your anger about the ridiculous process of buying an 3G iPhone. Here's mine...


iPhone 3G - Christmas Eve Fiasco: Let me say I know that it's ridiculous to expect perfect customer service during the holidays.
Click to expand...

The perform storm...iPhone 3g activation and the Christmas Eve rush. Sorry for your poor experience.

My iPhone (first generation experience) was awesome. I was in Chico, CA on business at the time and got it on the first day, activations without any issues.

My iPhone 3g experience (I had to order from ATT store after I got back from a cruise July 12th). Had to wait about one week for it, they called me in, zero wait, no problems with activation again. Super Smooth.

I usually like to go to the ATT store on weekday (off-peak). ATT stores can be rather hectic on weekends and obviously holiday.

I will have to agree with you that some customers are not very knowledable along with even some ATT CSR. Sometimes I just like to bust in and tell these customers what plans to order. It would make the process faster.
 
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