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You Won't Believe AT&T! 5-Star Customer Service!

M

maddan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 15, 2008
156
0
I checked my AT&T account online today to find that I owed $70.83. I was outraged, as I had ordered an iPhone 3G, have not received it yet, and was charged for service that I didn't even use because I did what AT&T suggested in their "iReady" program, and sold my original iPhone about a month and a half ago. Therefore, I have not had a phone for a month, waiting for my back-ordered iPhone 3G to come in, and having already sold my iPhone. I called customer service to explain my situation very calmly. The representative (who had a distinct Australian accent, which I must say I found very attractive), genuinely expressed how sorry she was and that she did not find my situation to be very fair, either. She seemed very surprised that I was billed for service that I didn't even use (because of AT&T). She immediately withdrew the charge and told me that I did not have to worry about paying anything, and that I have been a very good AT&T customer. I thanked her, and was left dumbfounded as I bid her good-bye, thinking how easily AT&T had solved my problem. I am never complaining about them again! I cannot believe I am saying this, but... I am truly satisfied with AT&T. Not even Verizon Wireless could withdraw an unfair bill without one of its representatives mustering an unpleasant tone...

5 Stars, AT&T!!!
 
I had a very similar problem and outcome as yours.

They aren't as bad as people make them out to be. It's just that nobody comes on the boards to say nice things...everyone just wants to rant.
 
5 stars? Wouldn't one expect to have the charges reversed for a service you're not receiving regardless of carrier?
 
maddan said:
I checked my AT&T account online today to find that I owed $70.83. I was outraged, as I had ordered an iPhone 3G, have not received it yet, and was charged for service that I didn't even use because I did what AT&T suggested in their "iReady" program, and sold my original iPhone about a month and a half ago. Therefore, I have not had a phone for a month, waiting for my back-ordered iPhone 3G to come in, and having already sold my iPhone. I called customer service to explain my situation very calmly. The representative (who had a distinct Australian accent, which I must say I found very attractive), genuinely expressed how sorry she was and that she did not find my situation to be very fair, either. She seemed very surprised that I was billed for service that I didn't even use (because of AT&T). She immediately withdrew the charge and told me that I did not have to worry about paying anything, and that I have been a very good AT&T customer. I thanked her, and was left dumbfounded as I bid her good-bye, thinking how easy AT&T had solved my problem. I am never complaining about them again! I cannot believe I am saying this, but... I am truly satisfied with AT&T. Not even Verizon Wireless could withdraw an unfair bill without one of its representatives mustering an unpleasant tone...

5 Stars, AT&T!!!
Click to expand...

LOL it would only be 5 stars if she gave you $70 credit or something. You were not even supposed to be charged in the first place and she took that away - how is that even a big deal? She did her job that's it.
 
donlab said:
5 stars? Wouldn't one expect to have the charges reversed for a service you're not receiving regardless of carrier?
Click to expand...

Yes, but the way the AT&T representative handled it for me was really exceptional. I was a customer with Verizon Wireless for a year before, and when I called them about a similar problem, they were not as receptive as the person I talked to today. I think that makes all the difference, if you ask me: positive attitude towards customers all the way, regardless. She left me dumbfounded. You had to have heard her on the phone and the aura of empathy she emanated to understand exactly why I am so happy with AT&T as of today. They have been very helpful in the past, but this one did it for me. I expected a Verizon-like attitude :D.
 
I have had good experiences dealing with AT&T.
Adding an authorized user procedure is humorous though. I so far have taken care of all dealings with AT&T on my family plan. My father got us a family plan(he is account holder) but himself has no cell phone. He is not a person who deals with customer service and, since my number is the primary account number, I get all the calls when AT&T calls regarding something. Yesterday I needed to add my brother as an authorized user so he could order an iPhone. I called them up to add him (I am an authorized user) and was told that only the account order could do so. I called back 5 minutes later and introduced myself as Mr. *last name* (didn't include first name). They authorized my brother in less than 20 seconds.

I suppose the lawyers make em do it but it seems strange to me.:rolleyes::)
 
maddan said:
Yes, but the way the At&T representative handled it for me was really exceptional. I was a customer with Verizon Wireless for a year before, and when I called them about a similar problem, they were not as receptive as the person I talked to today. I think that makes all the difference, if you ask me: positive attitude towards customers all the way, regardless. She left me dumbfounded. You had to have heard her on the phone and the aura of empathy she emanated to understand exactly why I am so happy with AT&T as of today. They have been very helpful in the past, but this one did it for me. I expected a Verizon-like attitude :D.
Click to expand...
Five stars for doing their job? Talk about low standards...
 
this is a pretty big deal for them to be as helpful as they were if you've ever had to deal with verizon's hap-hazard customer service
 
My AT&T & Iphone experiance-
I emailed my business account rep last thursday evening around 5:30 local time to set me up for DF. Arrived at my office the next morning to find a 16GB White Iphone had been drop shipped to me overnight.

Drove down the ATT store at lunch and activated....

Talk about going above and beyond...

Of course, I have now ordered 6 additional Iphones for all my employees...
 
My deep rooted hatred came from my experience of wasting 3 hours in front of the AT&T store on launch day, and left feeling like a complete failure.
 
maddan said:
5 Stars, AT&T!!!
Click to expand...

I'm really happy to hear your customer service experience with AT&T was so positive.

It is getting rare these days to get good customer service anywhere and the fact that you rated your experience as 5-star service is a testament to how bad things have gotten. They've gotten so bad that when a company actually does what they are suppose to do we (the customers) are overjoyed.

I'll leave on a positive note and say perhaps things are changing for the better (at least at AT&T?).
 
Sorry....ATT is inept at best

I had called AT&T back in the beginning of June to verify that I was eligible to get an iPhone under the subsidized price. Both online and over the phone I was assured that I was......in fact, my plan had expired and I was at the moment on a "month to month" plan.

So......

I waited in line this morning at my local Apple Store and after an hour was sitting with an Apple rep preparing to activate my new white 16gb iPhone......until AT&T said I wouldn't be eligible for the subsidized price until 10/24/08.

When I logged into my AT&T account from the Apple Store, sure enough it said I wasn't eligible until 10/24/08. A call to AT&T proved that I was no longer under contract and was in fact ELIGIBLE. However, they could not explain WHY my account had somehow changed, and worse, could not figure out how to change it back to reflect the fact that my contract had expired and I was paying month to month and therefore eligible......and even WORSE, couldn't tell me when it would be changed.

To recap, I stood in line for an hour, then wasted another hour trying to resolve this issue. My phone is being held until 6pm this evening, which is right now about 20 minutes away. I will lose this phone, and will have to start all over again another day. Even though 3 different AT&T reps verified that I was eligible, they cannot figure out how to change my account to reflect that.

I have not experienced this level of ineptitude in a long, long time. No one can convince me AT&T is getting a bad rap. Because the iPhone's price issubsidized, I cannot WAIT for other carriers o offer it......I will jump ship in a heartbeat. Apple made a HUGE mistake in making an exclusive deal with them.
 
BlackMax said:
I'm really happy to hear your customer service experience with AT&T was so positive.

It is getting rare these days to get good customer service anywhere and the fact that you rated your experience as 5-star service is a testament to how bad things have gotten. They've gotten so bad that when a company actually does what they are suppose to do we (the customers) are overjoyed.

I'll leave on a positive note and say perhaps things are changing for the better (at least at AT&T?).
Click to expand...



Very true, as a matter of fact, there are times when I am so hesitant to call an 800 number in fear that the problem I might be calling about may not get resolved. Then there are times like today, when I take a stab at finding a solution to my problem, calmly, expecting the worst, and am given exceptional service and a solution that is close to, if not, exactly what I imagined.
 
SongWorks said:
I waited in line this morning at my local Apple Store and after an hour was sitting with an Apple rep preparing to activate my new white 16gb iPhone......until AT&T said I wouldn't be eligible for the subsidized price until 10/24/08. A call to AT&T proved that I was no longer under contract and was in fact ELIGIBLE. However, they could not explain WHY my account had somehow changed, and worse, could not figure out how to change it back to reflect the fact that my contract had expired and I was paying month to month and therefore eligible......and even WORSE, couldn't tell me when it would be changed.
Click to expand...

This is weird because my account showed ineligible when in fact I was supposed to be eligible as well. I went down to ATT, they recognized their error, and the manager made a few keystrokes and a call and i was instantly eligible.

I guess I should feel lucky that all my experiences with ATT have been pleasant.:rolleyes:
 
eplchamps0304 said:
5 star service for stealing your money and returning it back to you. Please.
Click to expand...

Well, you do understand the billing system is automated? It just sends the bill when it is supposed to, regardless of whether one uses the service or not. They do not steal my money, as they do not know of problems until a customer brings it to their attention (me). Ask any company that provides cell phone service, and they will tell you the same thing. And no, I am not justifying what happened with the monthly bill as I obviously did not agree with it, but merely being fair and explaining a fact that I know about billing systems. The 5 stars were for the way they handle problems effectively when they are brought to their attention, not the way you put it.
 
Today I went into McDonalds and ordered a cheeseburger. When I unwrapped it, it didn't have any cockroaches or rat feces in it AT ALL! Even had ketchup and pickles! 5 stars!!!

Has it really gotten that bad, that when a company treats a customer with any sort of dignity or respect that we are actually impressed?
 
slapguts said:
Today I went into McDonalds and ordered a cheeseburger. When I unwrapped it, it didn't have any cockroaches or rat feces in it AT ALL! Even had ketchup and pickles! 5 stars!!!

Has it really gotten that bad, that when a company treats a customer with any sort of dignity or respect that we are actually impressed?
Click to expand...

Times really have changed...
 
guess we all have different standards for satisfaction;)

Recently joined AT&T myself. Their staff seems pretty well informed and helpful. There stores are a zoo right now but I would say they perform acceptably. My porting complications were complex and resolved efficiently.

I still miss T-Mobile's amazing CS team.
 
deannnnn said:
Sprint never would have taken off the charge..... and they'd probably charge you an extra $5 for complaining.
Click to expand...

Actually, there was a time when certain credit classes on Sprint would indeed get charged $3 any time they called CS. :)
 
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