very bad customer expereince.....

dunnm1 · ‎02-29-2012

How do I contact the Customer Advocate Dept? I need to talk to someone that hasnt given complete organizational control over to a machine...... Like maybe a human.

Just getting the word out about a very bad customer expereince. I have been an loyal ATT customer for a long time as well as being associated with many tech companies that do business with ATT. I cant wait to see some of the business reps that I run into at the various companies and tell them this story. I trusted ATT to take care of Me and my family and when I sent my Mom and Daughter to the ATT store to pick out new phones like I do every 2 years I felt confident that they would take good care of them like always. I sent them with specific instructions, written down, and they gave these instructions to the sales guy. The instructions where that all they do is text mesage so make sure we have unlimited text but absolutely no data plans. Now, through investigating my bill I find that the sales person, even though they where told up front NO DATA PLANS sold my daughter a phone that requires a data plan. I go to the ATT store and ask them to fix the issue. They apoligized for the mistake and said that I would have to call 611 and ask them to over ride and remove the data plan. So, I call and am told that there is nothing that they can do and im stuck paying for a data plan that no one is going to use for 2 years. I express that this is unacceptable and since this is their ATT sales persons fault that I would like them to find a reasonable solution.... pretty reasonable I thought. I'm told that the computer controls everything and there is no way for them to do anything about it. I actually think this is halarious... I've been in Technology for over 30 years and I can tell you 100% for sure that the executive team at ATT did not turn over control of their organization or their customers satisfaction to a machine without any way for a human to intervine and do the right thing by their customer and the organization. As a matter of fact I would be willing to bet if I get one of my executive team to call one of ATT's executive team and state we no longer want to do business with a machine we would rather do business with a human capable of addressing simple issues I bet the computer would lose it's control before the phone was hung up. Then I was threatened with early termination fees if I left ATT.... Sorry ATT, I specifically asked for NO DATA PLAN and your employee messed up. I did not sign or agree to anything stating acceptence of a data plan.... I have checked all the paperwork. And if ATT chooses to stab loyal customers in the back this way then I surely would never ever give ATT another cent if they where the only phone company remaining... it's a matter of principle. All I asked for was a reasonable solution to a reasonable simple issue that was a mistake on their part. Is ATT really telling it's customers personal and business that it is totally unable to provide reasonable customer solutions, to simple customer issues, to it's loyal customers that have done nothing wrong? I simply dont understand where this is good business. Lets see..option 1, simply provide a reasonable solution to a loyal customer simple issue and continue a relationship where the customer and his sphere of influence happily continue to do business and pay revenue to ATT.... or Option 2, totally alienate the loyal customer who then has no choice but to walk away and refuse any payment of any kind ever to ATT while telling his story to everyone personal and business advising them not to do further business with ATT..... Maybe I've only been in business 30+ years but option 1 seems like the way I would go......

seajohn · ‎11-08-2005

Isn't there a 14 or 30 day return window?

If you can't get AT&T to budge on this, then if the phone she purchased was a new release, then you might be able to sell it on Craigslist for an amount equal to or greater than the ETF.

drumn_bass · ‎08-27-2008

If your mom and daughter are authorized users, which one of them has to be to go to get phones by themselves, they are authorized to make any choices they want and we as sales reps will not refuse to comply with their requests. So if a person in the store tells me we want this phone... I'm going to sell them that phone, they're authorized by you to make any changes on the account. Authorized person is also authorized to sing a contract and agree to terms of service. So not entirely sales persons fault, sounds to me they're just doing their job well, selling someone a phone based on their preferences and needs, I'm sure sales rep didn't just pick out the phone for her and sold it to them, ignoring their instructions.

The ONLY way you can remove the data plan is by discontinuing using the phone that requires data. If you're still within your return period, return it, or you can sell it and buy a different phone.

I am an AT&T employee and the postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent AT&T’s positions, strategies or opinions.

dunnm1 · ‎02-29-2012

The sales person was told up front NO DATA PLAN he should have had enough expereince to tell her the phone came with a mandtory data plan.... I do beleive the sales person should be knowledgable enough to sell a customer a phone without a data plan when the customer specifically asks for a ohone without a data plan..... In this case the AT&T should provide a reasonable solution for their salespersons obvious mistake.... especially when I have 4 phones on the account and have been a good customer for many years. If that doesnt mean anything to AT&T then perhaps they need to disclose to the world buyer beware of our sales people because there only interest is finding ways to screw their customers....... not a vey good business plan. Also, hiding the facts and relentlessly charging your customers for services they dont use and specifically said no to is very very wrong and any reasonable person certainly knows it's wrong to do that to people.

dunnm1 · ‎02-29-2012

Thanks for the ideas...... appreciate it. Yes, there is a 30 day window I beleive however, buy the time it shows up on your bill and you call them on it the 30 days is up and they say to bad.... so sorry.... your now stuck with a feature you specifically said no too for two years..... I think theres something very criminal about that and I think they know that by the time it shows up on your bill the 30 days are gone... why 30 days? on a service that gets billed every 30 days? see a connection :-) As smart as they think they are being... totally sticking it to good customers is never a good idea it simply loses a company much more money than they stand to gain from sticking it to the customer. You would think a company thats been around as long as ATT would understand this.

shehawk · ‎02-07-2012

Your mom or daughter (the authorized user you set up) chose the phone and the service that went with it. You authorized them to make changes to your acct. You may want to ask *them* why they chose a smartphone that requires a data plan?

21stNow · ‎07-07-2010

dunnm1 wrote:
The sales person was told up front NO DATA PLAN he should have had enough expereince to tell her the phone came with a mandtory data plan.... I do beleive the sales person should be knowledgable enough to sell a customer a phone without a data plan when the customer specifically asks for a ohone without a data plan..... In this case the AT&T should provide a reasonable solution for their salespersons obvious mistake.... especially when I have 4 phones on the account and have been a good customer for many years. If that doesnt mean anything to AT&T then perhaps they need to disclose to the world buyer beware of our sales people because there only interest is finding ways to screw their customers....... not a vey good business plan. Also, hiding the facts and relentlessly charging your customers for services they dont use and specifically said no to is very very wrong and any reasonable person certainly knows it's wrong to do that to people.

Not that all sales people are good people, but you are unfairly bashing the salesperson here. Even if the beginning of the scenario went as you think that it should have (you weren't there to witness it), once the customer hands over the payment for the goods, that is understood to be consent to taking the product and all things that come with it. I doubt that the salesperson held a gun to your relatives' heads and made them buy the phones that they selected.

Why would you trust a company to take care of your family? I trust AT&T (a for-profit business) to attempt to make a profit, that's all, and nothing else. Yes, I expect them to be ethical in their business dealings. However, a customer has a responsibility, too. If this situation could have potentially upset you this much, a better course of action would have been to research phones on AT&T's website first, print out phones that meet your conditions, then go to the store to buy them. That way, you can ensure your own satisfaction.

seajohn · ‎11-08-2005

You know how when you buy a car from a dealership, they tell you not to believe anything you hear until you see it in writing, in the contract? Sadly, this now applies to most huge service-oriented companies, including not just AT&T, but also Verizon, Cox, Comcast, etc. You can't trust what their representatives tell you - you have to verify it, either by checking the contract, checking their results, or asking 5 different reps the same question and hoping for a consensus.

The policies of these companies are so convoluted and change so often that its impossible for them to keep the CS reps trained on the latest. As far as the company is concerned, what's in the terms is what counts; not what the CS rep said.

aristizzle · ‎10-22-2010

Did you ever think that maybe your daughter picked the phone she got? Of course we weren't there to know exactly what happened, but I'm sure the salesperson showed both your mom and daughter non-smartphones as your mom got a non smartphone, so it's not like he was trying to sell nothing but smartphones to them. So why didn't your daughter get a non smartphone? Maybe she didn't like any of the non smartphones and was dead set on one phone she liked, which just so happened to be a smartphone. The salesman isn't going to crush her and say "OH NO THIS PIECE OF PAPER SAYS NO DATA PLANS, SORRY YOU HAVE TO PICK ANOTHER. THIS PAPER IS WHAT IM FOLLOWING HERE I CAN't LISTEN TO YOU EVEN THOUGH YOUR RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME" if shes authorized to sign a contract and make changes to the account, if thats the phone she wants, then thats the phone she wants. Sounds to me like the AT&T sales rep was just doing his job, making the customer happy. AT&T sales reps aren't going to dictate what phone you get because of a piece of paper, if you were dead set on only allowing your daughter and mom to get non smartphones, you should have gone with them to make sure of it. Now the only thing you can do is return the phone back to the store if your within the 30 days and switch to a non smartphone.

dunnm1 · ‎02-29-2012

So your saying I have to spend hours on the web researching phones and hold my family's hand because a store that my family has done business with for years can't be trusted to take care of my family or be knowledgable enough about their own products to know which phones require data plans and which ones don't. Also, I have looked at all the paperwork from the store and no where does it show a data plan being added to the account I was told the computer added it after the transaction...... That is really not fair. They said they wanted phones without data plans, the sales people didn't tell them about the data plan, they didn't sign anything that stated a data plan, but the computer I guess can sign for us on a data plan after the transaction...... I'm not even sure that is legal.

dunnm1 · ‎02-29-2012

So you are all saying its perfectly ok for salespeople to lie and hide material facts on a product like the phone requires a data plan when they where specifically asked for a phone that doesn't for the sake of profit.... Interesting :-) also, I have looked at all the paperwork from the store they signed nothing that stated the addition of a data plan it was put in by a computer I'm told after the transaction.... Very sneaky. The sales person might be a good guy who simply made a mistake I'm certainly not trying to bash all sales people. I am however criticizing AT&T for not taking care of their long time loyal customers. They also are not taking very good care of their share holders with short term policies that cost the company much much more in revenues for many many years to come. Simple math.... They needlessly cost me 500-600 bucks by not taking care of me as a customer that's 4 phones products and services they lose out on for ever. My sisters house has 5 phones that are at end of contract and uses the same store so that's 9 phones with associated products and services. My friend next door has 4 AT&T phones with a contract expiring in 2 months and has decided after hearing my issue to switch to Verison instead. So that's 13 accounts in just 24 hours. Can one of the Harvard Business School types tell me how this short sighted choice to alienate good customers is a good business plan that's going to make money for the company and it's share holders? It's not and it's shameful because all that was asked for was a reasonable solution? Nobody was asking for something for nothing or not to pay a fair price for services we simply didn't want to pay for services we where not told about, we did not sign or agree to, because a computer said so after the agreement. Folks, I've worked with computers for over 30 years they don't make policy decisions on their own and if there's no option for human intervention then you got the wrong software developers.....

dunnm1 · ‎02-29-2012

They didn't agree to the data plan... They where never told about it.... I've checked all paperwork and it's not on it anywhere..... I've been told that the computer added it after the transaction...... Maybe the computer wants to pay my bills too after all it seems to be in control. Simply stated..... This is a simple mistake that simply should have a reasonable solution instead of alienating a loyal customer..... Can someone tell me how losing a customers and their sphere of influences money for many many years to come is a wise decision for any company..... Just doesn't make good arithmetic

seajohn · ‎11-08-2005

If you are on a feature phone plan, and you put your sim card into a smart phone, AT&T will detect it and automatically sign you up for a data plan (you'll get a text when that happens.)

It used to be, if that happened, that you could switch your sim card back into the feature phone, call up AT&T, and they would remove the data plan.

If you still have an old feature phone you could try putting the new sim card into it and calling AT&T. But since (I assume) they gave you a big discount on the smart phone, they may not allow you to drop the data plan.

21stNow · ‎07-07-2010

seajohn wrote:
If you are on a feature phone plan, and you put your sim card into a smart phone, AT&T will detect it and automatically sign you up for a data plan (you'll get a text when that happens.)

It used to be, if that happened, that you could switch your sim card back into the feature phone, call up AT&T, and they would remove the data plan.

If you still have an old feature phone you could try putting the new sim card into it and calling AT&T. But since (I assume) they gave you a big discount on the smart phone, they may not allow you to drop the data plan.

If the OP wants to switch back to a non-smartphone, the data plan can be removed. The data plan is tied to the device, not the contract.

To the OP, you keep mentioning the word "mistake". The sales person did not make a mistake in your scenario. Either your relative made a mistake in not following your "orders" or you made a mistake in not going to the store to make this purchase yourself. Also, in this information age, it wouldn't take much time on AT&T's website to find out which phones require data plans and which ones do not. I even received a tweet from AT&T today (140 characters or less) about the red HTC Inspire for a penny that had the data plan requirement in the tweet.

And no, a store (or its employees) should not be trusted to take care of you. As I and other posters have said, if a customer is standing there looking at phones and says "I want this one", the salesperson's job is to sell it to her, provided she has the money to buy it. All of the phone tags in the store say "minimum data plan required" if that is the case. So the customer, by all reasonableness tests, was informed of the requirement and accepted the product at the point of sale.

As for the loss of customers (and I don't say this lightly), I can probably go to T-Mobile's forums right now and find 14 posts from unique users that say that they are going to AT&T soon because of perceived and real slights from T-Mobile. Churn is a reality in the cellular service industry. I think that it's a safe bet to say that most people 40 and over have been with more than one cellular service provider in their lifetimes.

dunnm1 · ‎02-29-2012

Yes mistake...... I walk up to a sales person in the store and ask him for phones without data plans..... He sells me one that doesn't require a data plan.... He is mistaken because after the sale a computer says it did need a data plan.... People say I should be out doing research are you saying that your sales people do not know their own products.... Are you saying its ok to sneak a data plan in later after the sale... Yes..... That is the sales persons fault and mistake and AT&T should be big enough to simply resolve the issue.... Pretty simple..... I should not have to hold the salespersons hand he should know his product and give the customer true and accurate information. And I don't care how big AT&T thinks they are I actually worked for AT&T engineering many years ago and they almost went out of business completely if you google there customer satisfaction rate it's 80 something present unsatisfied..... That is a recipe for losing customers and losing business..... From the responses I've received it's obvious that AT&T feels it perfectly ok to not treat customers fairly....... That's sad.....very sad.... Just remember in a dog eat dog world we all get bitten and everyone loses..... Very sad. I'll eat the 500 bucks..... If at&t stand is that they don't value their customers enough to be fair and reasonable then my family and friends will never give them one penny if they where the last phone company on earth...... Very sad.

drumn_bass · ‎08-27-2008

Ok here's the thing though... I work at the corporate store, our activation system WILL NOT let us sell a smartphone without first adding a data plan. With that in mind I have a question: what store was is at? Is it a corporate store or an authorized reseller?

"Yes, there is a 30 day window I believe however, buy the time it shows up on your bill and you call them on it the 30 days is up and they say to bad.... "

30 days means you go back and return the phone and remove the data plan, exchange it for something that doesn't require data and move on.

I am an AT&T employee and the postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent AT&T’s positions, strategies or opinions.

dunnm1 · ‎02-29-2012

What an awesome AT&T advertisement that would make...... DON'T TRUST YOUR AT &T SALES PERSON HEs NOT RESPONSABLE FOR TELLING YOU tHE TRUTH when asked if it requires a data plan it's solely his job to sell you...... If there is one of you that is telling me you wouldn't be mad if this had happened to you then your not being truthful...... Let's see..... Go buy a blue car with nice rims... Sign the agreement.... Then have the computer come out and paint it pink and put on crap rims because the computer decided the sales person was wrong.... But don't say the sales person made a mistake because his only job is to sell you not actually be knowledgable about the product...... And no biggie if they lose customers because some other car companies custermers will come and buy cars it's all a vicious cycle...... Sad excuse for humanity.... Let's just go back to the wild west and everybody can shoot everybody and that somehow will make it ok??? Buy the way you folks don't mind if I start charging you for stuff you didn't buy or agree to..... Right.... That wouldn't make you upset at all... So I'll start sending out bills now.

wingrider01 · ‎05-26-2008

dunnm1 wrote:
So your saying I have to spend hours on the web researching phones and hold my family's hand because a store that my family has done business with for years can't be trusted to take care of my family or be knowledgable enough about their own products to know which phones require data plans and which ones don't. Also, I have looked at all the paperwork from the store and no where does it show a data plan being added to the account I was told the computer added it after the transaction...... That is really not fair. They said they wanted phones without data plans, the sales people didn't tell them about the data plan, they didn't sign anything that stated a data plan, but the computer I guess can sign for us on a data plan after the transaction...... I'm not even sure that is legal.

the last time I was in a retail outlet there was a placard next to the phone that described the phone and a statement that is wording something to the akimn of *required data plan* on the placard, on the ATT website there is the same exact statement. As shown by the smartphone listed below. It does show it in the paperwork that you signed, either electroncily or physically. Yes they can add anything to the plan that brings it in align with the tos, fup, aup - this is also documented in the paperwork.

21stNow · ‎07-07-2010

dunnm1 wrote:
What an awesome AT&T advertisement that would make...... DON'T TRUST YOUR AT &T SALES PERSON HEs NOT RESPONSABLE FOR TELLING YOU tHE TRUTH when asked if it requires a data plan it's solely his job to sell you...... If there is one of you that is telling me you wouldn't be mad if this had happened to you then your not being truthful...... Let's see..... Go buy a blue car with nice rims... Sign the agreement.... Then have the computer come out and paint it pink and put on crap rims because the computer decided the sales person was wrong.... But don't say the sales person made a mistake because his only job is to sell you not actually be knowledgable about the product...... And no biggie if they lose customers because some other car companies custermers will come and buy cars it's all a vicious cycle...... Sad excuse for humanity.... Let's just go back to the wild west and everybody can shoot everybody and that somehow will make it ok??? Buy the way you folks don't mind if I start charging you for stuff you didn't buy or agree to..... Right.... That wouldn't make you upset at all... So I'll start sending out bills now.

It's hard to know who you are replying to. Please be aware that I'm not an AT&T employee, so it's not my company that you have the issue with.

I've been in a similar situation as the one that you're in now, except I handled the transaction myself. I researched cars before I selected one. I found out that OnStar was standard on all 2009 Chevy Impalas. Great! I wanted OnStar. I selected my 2009 Impala, and didn't ask about OnStar before the purchase. I got home and called OnStar to ask how to activate it. To my surprise, my vehicle didn't have it! After my research, I still didn't have what I wanted. The lack of the blue button should have made it obvious, but I wasn't very familiar with OnStar at that time. At no point was I mad, as I still should have asked before the purchase.

Not to drag this out further, I now have a vehicle that has OnStar on it. I researched, followed-up and persisted until I got what I wanted. But, I handled all aspects of the transaction myself. I also didn't complain to other customers, who are powerless to do anything about it.

24kari t · ‎03-01-2012

Unbelievable! Actually it is believable. I am also a supposedly valuable customer who has been with AT&T for a lot of years and their customer service is lousy, extremely lousy! Over the past several years we have had a handful of problems with our account/plan and when we are forced to call 611, they can''t seem to resolve our problems satisfactorily and they really aren't BIG problems but they sure turn in to HUGE problems. Had a problem tonight and although in the past, we've considered switching, I think tonight is the final straw. All over $80 which they could have chosen to credit to keep 2 separate ATT plan holders (4 people total) happy. But instead of offering up a solution to please all, they chose to do nothing but complicate the issue and not offer to waive any fees.

Long story short, they are so concerned about getting new customers, but dont care about old customers and maintaining them at even the lowest minimum cost on their end. Worst part, is that is was a problem they caused and they weren't willing to correct.

dunnm1 · ‎02-29-2012

I've checked, nothing at all on The paperwork.... No placards on the phones at the store except for the iPhone. Guess all stores don't follow these procedures. That would have been so nice if it had said something.....