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Kudos to AT&T

jayducharme

jayducharme

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jun 22, 2006
4,772
6,922
The thick of it
Today I took a deep breath and sprung for the unlimited family texting plan. Our daughter (on our plan) moved away for the summer and really wanted to text her friends. So I'm sure she and my wife will be getting a lot of use out of it. :)

While I was on the phone with the AT&T rep, I asked if the texting plan also included MMS. I expecting her to say it would cost extra, or that the iPhone can't do MMS. But to my surprise, she replied that currently I can't do MMS, but when the new iPhone comes out I'll be able to and it will be included with my texting plan. So that was a bit of good news. I was impressed that an AT&T rep knew about the upcoming iPhone and what it could do.

So far I've been really impressed with AT&T's customer support. Every call I've made, the reps have been extremely knowledgeable, pleasant and helpful.
 
Surprise: they were helpful

Not a surprise: MMS is included in texting plan (because it is in every other phone plan).
 
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kas23 said:
Surprise: they were helpful

Not a surprise: MMS is included in texting plan (because it is in every other phone plan).
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Exactly. I'd like to un-second that, if you don't mind. I've had a HORRIBLE time with AT&T and can't wait to switch to Verizon even if the iPhone doesn't come there. Trust me, I'm a huge fanboy, but that doesn't mean I have to suffer with AT&T. But it's cool that you had a great experience, sometimes they can be helpful.
 
I'm guessing the rep meant the new iPhone software and not "the new iPhone." But either way, it's nice to hear they're not (currently) planning on screwing iPhone users over by tacking on another charge (when the family messaging plan clearly states that MMS is included).
 
xbuddycorex said:
"AT&T rep lied to me and now I'm stuck with a huge MMS bill!"

Should have gotten it in writing.
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No it says on there plans that its MMS and SMS.

Also I wouldn't be surprised if she knew about it. I've heard that a round of e-mails went out alerting of it. I don't have proof at this time, but I hope to be acquiring it soon. Of course this person could be messing with me knowing how in to Apple products I am. If I do get the proof Ill post it up.
 
I second that also. I called at&t a few times and all the times they were very helpful and I hung up with them happy.
 
No. Kudos to Sprint for including unlimited texting in their $69.99 Palm Pre plan.

It is pathetic that AT&T is charging an extra $20 for unlimited text messages when we already pay $30 for "unlimited" data.
 
Eminemdrdre00 said:
No. Kudos to Sprint for including unlimited texting in their $69.99 Palm Pre plan.

It is pathetic that AT&T is charging an extra $20 for unlimited text messages when we already pay $30 for "unlimited" data.
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Yes, kudos to Sprint for finally reacting to the fact that quarter after quarter, more of their customers are canceling their Sprint service than new customers are signing up for it. Hopefully their ultra-cut rate plans will reverse that trend.

That doesn't negate the fact that for the rest of the world (where carriers aren't sucking as bad as Sprint is when it comes to retaining customers), unlimited text messages are NOT included in the unlimited data plan.

Sprint's going to be in a world of hurt if the other carriers decide to match its new little plans.

But IMO, it's Sprint that's being pathetic. They're doing this as a last ditch effort to save themselves.
 
Eminemdrdre00 said:
No. Kudos to Sprint for including unlimited texting in their $69.99 Palm Pre plan.

It is pathetic that AT&T is charging an extra $20 for unlimited text messages when we already pay $30 for "unlimited" data.
Click to expand...

Part of that is Sprint is such a crappy company right now. If they didn't sponsor a NASCAR series, who would know they still exist? I still think of them as the company that made those god-awful direct connect phones that made me want to kill people in restaurants.

However, your post made me wonder how many more customers could be enticed to an iPhone if the $30 plan included unlimited texting. If just unlimited SMS costs $20/month, some 13-year-old can easily beg a parent into one of these rumored $99 iPhones coming soon. It's really a no-brainer if you use ANY of the Internet-connected services on an iPhone.
 
Michael CM1 said:
Part of that is Sprint is such a crappy company right now. If they didn't sponsor a NASCAR series, who would know they still exist? I still think of them as the company that made those god-awful direct connect phones that made me want to kill people in restaurants.

However, your post made me wonder how many more customers could be enticed to an iPhone if the $30 plan included unlimited texting. If just unlimited SMS costs $20/month, some 13-year-old can easily beg a parent into one of these rumored $99 iPhones coming soon. It's really a no-brainer if you use ANY of the Internet-connected services on an iPhone.
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One nice thing Sprint had when I was there was $15/mo unlimited data. If AT&T had $15/mo unlimited data, I'd be a happy boy. Three phones on a family plan is $45/mo savings. OR I'd happily pay $30/mo for real unlimited data. Not "AT&T unlimited" actual "I can watch a baseball game via Slingplayer without having to worry" unlimited. As it stands, I think $30/mo for AT&T's definition of unlimited is a total ripoff. I don't buy that "it's their frail network" crap, either. That may have been true once upon a time but they're simply greedy now. Sprint had a kick-ass network. How could a ginormous company like AT&T have something that much worse? The popularity of a single phone? Please.
 
Michael CM1 said:
Part of that is Sprint is such a crappy company right now. If they didn't sponsor a NASCAR series, who would know they still exist? I still think of them as the company that made those god-awful direct connect phones that made me want to kill people in restaurants.

However, your post made me wonder how many more customers could be enticed to an iPhone if the $30 plan included unlimited texting. If just unlimited SMS costs $20/month, some 13-year-old can easily beg a parent into one of these rumored $99 iPhones coming soon. It's really a no-brainer if you use ANY of the Internet-connected services on an iPhone.
Click to expand...
I'm just using a Yahoo push email account for "unlimited" texts right now, but I'd rather use the SMS app. I refuse to pay an extra $20 though. It should be illegal to treat SMS/data separately. SMS is DATA, very cheap inexpensive data.
 
SpitzerCR said:
retail store or corporate??
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It was "corporate" (over the phone). But I've had good experiences at a local AT&T store, too. That wasn't always the case. Before the iPhone, I found those employees to be rude and uninformed. It appears the partnership with Apple encouraged AT&T to beef up their customer support.
 
aristobrat said:
Yes, kudos to Sprint for finally reacting to the fact that quarter after quarter, more of their customers are canceling their Sprint service than new customers are signing up for it. Hopefully their ultra-cut rate plans will reverse that trend.

That doesn't negate the fact that for the rest of the world (where carriers aren't sucking as bad as Sprint is when it comes to retaining customers), unlimited text messages are NOT included in the unlimited data plan.

Sprint's going to be in a world of hurt if the other carriers decide to match its new little plans.

But IMO, it's Sprint that's being pathetic. They're doing this as a last ditch effort to save themselves.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't exactly call it a last ditch effort considering those plans have been in effect for a long time. In fact, they were even cheaper before, with people having SERO plans.

I switched from Sprint 6 months ago due to the iPhone (my only reason). I wanted a smartphone and they didn't offer any decent alternative. It's like they forced me to switch from them. Especially after the Instinct fiasco. I think it's the Pre that going to be a world of good for them.
 
kas23 said:
I wouldn't exactly call it a last ditch effort considering those plans have been in effect for a long time. In fact, they were even cheaper before, with people having SERO plans.
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I guess it depends on how you define "a long time". The SERO plans have been around for years, but they were never offered to the general public. The Simply Everything plans have been around for a little over a year.

It's interesting to me to see the culture that Sprint created with the SERO plans. The amount of people on HowardForums threatening to leave Sprint because Sprint will not allow SERO plans on the new Pre (to the point that even if you don't like the Pre and return it, you cannot roll back to your SERO plan) is mind-boggling. I guess once you hook people on a $30/month voice+data+txt plan, you're basically never going to get them to upgrade. :eek:
 
People on HowardForums threaten everyone with everything every time they don't get their way and it always ends up being nothing more than a lot of hot air. They'll suck it up and buy their Pre just like people here will suck it up and buy the new iPhone whether they need/want it or not. Besides, if there's one thing these sites excel at, it's figuring out how to steal from other people.
 
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