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Worst day (and customer service) ever! (Apple Store & AT&T Wireless store)

Chodite

Chodite

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 23, 2007
586
0
Baltimore, MD
I got to the Apple Store this morning when they opened at 9am. No iPhones in stock. 20 mintues later, the Fed Ex guy exits the store. BINGO! I wait around, still nothing. I walk around the mall for a bit, come back and see 5 people in line and an Apple Store employee getting info from those in line. Sweet. I'm 6th in line and they now have "lots" of iPhones in stock.

I wait about 30 more minutes for the guy to get my info and finds out that because of my business discount, they can't service my account. I call customer service, get the business discount removed. All good.

I finally get called into the store to buy my iPhone. I have the iPhone box in my hand!. They then tell me the business discount is still on my account and they can't service me. I told them it was removed. They tell me to come back in a few hours. I come back 2 hours later. Stand in line AGAIN, only for the exact same thing to happen. No phone. They tell me I should order from an AT&T Wireless store. 10-21 day wait.

I drive to my local AT&T Wireless store. I hate knowing I'll have to wait 10-21 days, but I do have $100 in gift cards I got for my birthday last month, in anticipation for the iPhone release.

Everything is cool, they order my phone for me and when I hand them the $100 in ATT Wireless store gift cards, I'm told they cannot split the order between gift cards and credit card. So $100 in gift cards for nothing, I pay the full $200+ and will now wait 3 weeks for my iPhone. Fun day.

I HATE AT&T Wireless.

(Loyal, paying customer for 9 years)
 
I'm told they cannot split the order between gift cards and credit card.
Click to expand...

Huh? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Sounds like they staff those AT$T stores with the lowest common denominator. :rolleyes: You must have to fail an I.Q. test to be able to work there.
 
How frustrating! Glad my experience wasn't like that on July 11, but at least you can use the gift card for your monthly bill.......right?
 
First of all, sorry for your predicament. Second, it is at&t, not AT&T Wireless (two completely different companies, technically, you were dealing with at&t mobility a subsidary of at&t, Inc., not AT&T Wireless, a former subsidiary of AT&T Corporation, now a subsidiary of at&t.) It always takes between one week and two months for changes to your at&t mobility account to be reflected in your account information. I've been dealing with AT&T and at&t since 1997 (when they bought TCI) and later as an AT&T Wireless->Cingular->at&t mobility customer, and this has always been the case. I'm really getting upset with this whole, WE MUST ACTIVATE the iPhone rules, that is really what is screwing you. Blame the Jailbreakers and the Unlockers, they are the ones that forced at&t and Apple to do this to you.

TEG
 
well, I must say that I experienced customer service above and beyond the call of duty today. Around 2:00 PM I figured that I would just stop in the apple store- on the off chance that they got a shipment even though the online availability tool said they wouldn't be having any today.

Much to my surprise they had a full selection in stock. When it was my turn the apple employee told me AT&T was claiming I wasn't eligible for an upgrade-even though I was upgrading from the original iPhone. After some confusion the apple employee agreed to hold a phone for me while I went to straighten things out at AT&T.

Over at AT&T they said they couldn't figure out the problem and told me to try again, and if the same thing happened have the apple store call them and they'd try to work it out together.

After we tried everything we could think of apple just said "to heck with it-buy him the phone". Next thing I know I was getting rung up for a full price, unsubsudized $600 phone- and getting handed a $320 gift card and being thanked for my patience.

I have no doubt apple will get that money from AT&T- so I don't want to make it sound like they gave me the world or anything - but I thought it was pretty cool of them. I appreciated it.
 
I had the same problem. The Apple guy entered my info and it said I wasn't eligible for the upgrade price. We pulled up my AT&T account on a computer, and it shoed I have a first generation iPhone and I am eligible for an upgrade. There was an AT&T rep in the Apple store, but after explaining the situation to him, he wasn't interested in helping. The AT&T rep that we were talking to on the phone said that I could buy the phone at the unsubsidized price, and she would give me a credit on my account for the difference. She ended up giving me a credit for the price difference plus the whole tax amount, so my phone ended up being tax free.
 
This was announced before the phones went on sale that people in your situation would have to deal with AT&T.

Was not exactly a secret. Unfortunately you wasted your time, but 10-15 minutes of due diligence before heading out to make your purchase would have saved you a lot of time and energy. You could have ordered your phone and already had it from AT&T or have it shortly.
 
marksman said:
This was announced before the phones went on sale that people in your situation would have to deal with AT&T.

Was not exactly a secret. Unfortunately you wasted your time, but 10-15 minutes of due diligence before heading out to make your purchase would have saved you a lot of time and energy. You could have ordered your phone and already had it from AT&T or have it shortly.
Click to expand...

Announced where?

It sure wasn't announced to me when I called AT&T customer service over the weekend to verify that I was eligible for a phone upgrade and specifically asked, "I can buy a new iPhone at an Apple Store, correct?"
It wasn't announced in any of the news articles I've read about the iPhone 3G release.
 
Chodite said:
Announced where?

It sure wasn't announced to me when I called AT&T customer service over the weekend to verify that I was eligible for a phone upgrade and specifically asked, "I can buy a new iPhone at an Apple Store, correct?"
It wasn't announced in any of the news articles I've read about the iPhone 3G release.
Click to expand...

It was announced, for example, here: http://www.apple.com/iphone/buy/
*Transferring your mobile number will terminate your service with your existing provider; termination fees and other charges will apply. New two-year contract required. Qualified customers only; credit check required; must be 18 or older. Visit www.wireless.att.com to check AT&T network coverage in your area. Current and new iPhone users who now or will receive service under a corporate account and wish to upgrade to or purchase iPhone 3G need to contact AT&T directly. iPhone 3G is configured to work only with the wireless services provided by AT&T.
Click to expand...

I suppose the AT&T representative who told you you could get your iPhone at the Apple store missed the fact that your account was still showing as having the business discount. :(
 
why on earth would u just accept what they tell you, like not being able to use your gift card, thats ridiculous. so we have to buy a product equaling the exact amount of the gift card now?

you should have spoken to a supervisor about this.
 
I had the whole discount fiasco happen the morning of the 11th. They removed it over the phone and it went through 30 seconds later. I guess I lucked out.
 
Man, that sucks. I'd sure be pist.

I called AT&T ahead of time to verify it would be smooth sailing when I went to the Apple store. They assured me all was good to go and they'd even make a note on the account that I am eligible to buy at the subsidized rate. I wanted to make sure my FAN discount from work wasn't going to get in the way, too. The gal, who was very nice and helpful, told me that everything will go smoothly, but I will lose my FAN discount with the new service. I said that was fine and we ended the call. Days later, I'm at the Apple store to buy my phone and the Apple software flags me as having a business discount and that pretty much ended the transaction right there. The Apple guy had me log in to my AT&T account on one of the Macbooks in the store, but the site was not responding. He then called AT&T and waited on hold for an agent while I kept trying to get my account up on the computer. Finally, he connected with an agent who verified to him I was eligible and things were finally able to move forward. That was about ten minutes of panic and frustration but I got the phone. If I hadn't, I'd run home to cry myself to sleep after a brief tantrum. :D
 
Same thing happened to me only I ordered it from AT&T on direct fulfillment on 7/11. When it came in on 7/18 I went to pick it up and they said I did not qualify for the upgrade price. ($199) :mad: I said, "if that was the case why didn't you say so on 7/11!?" They said they had to talk to the manager who wasn't in that day. :)They called me back an hour later and said they worked it out and I can pick up the phone now. After that all was good! I have been an AT&T/ Cingular customer for that past 8 years. Even though they have made my blood pressure rise on occasion, they have always corrected whatever problem i've/ They've had.
 
TEG said:
It always takes between one week and two months for changes to your at&t mobility account to be reflected in your account information.
Click to expand...
Not true...I have removed FAN account on two separate accounts and successfully removed them while standing in line and became qualified. Both times I was already with the Apple employees, and both time within 10 minutes of calling I was able to go from unqualified to qualified.
 
Mike2128 said:
I had the whole discount fiasco happen the morning of the 11th. They removed it over the phone and it went through 30 seconds later. I guess I lucked out.
Click to expand...

Yeah the Apple employee told that sometimes it happens within seconds, sometimes it happens within days.... and sometimes it never happens. I fall into one of the latter 2 categories.
 
I removed my fan discount with phone in hand and within seconds I was able to buy the phone. I would not have left the store if I waited that long and had the phone in hand. No way, someone, somewhere would have made it work. I don't put up with that B.S.
 
Update

An AT&T rep called this morning and offered me a $100 credit to my account (since I had to pay $100 more than I planned because of the gift card fiasco). No luck in getting the shipment moved up or anything but that's beyond their control. All in all, I can't complain. I just wish I could have walked out of the Apple Store yesterday with my new iPhone. Hopefully AT&T and Apple can communicate with each other better on the next launch.
 
Chodite said:
Hopefully AT&T and Apple can communicate with each other better on the next launch.
Click to expand...
Like that will ever happen. They could have simply put a AT&T rep inside of every Apple store during the first 2 weeks of the launch, which would have easily resolve most issues.
 
Update 2!

Got my iPhone this morning at my local Apple Store! The discount rate code was still on my account and locking out the Apple employee. He dialed customer service for me and (for the 3rd time), they claimed that the rate code has "just been removed". 30 seconds later - BINGO!

I'm guessing the AT&T customer service reps I spoke with on Monday had NO clue what they were doing.

Anyway, I'm very happy now and am LOVING this phone.
 
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