Here is what I accomplished one afternoon with this company:
Total time: Over 2 hours
Total store visits: 1
Total calls: 4 (I think)
Accomplished: New SIM in hand. Old number moved to new sim.
Desired but gave up on: New local number assigned; old number returned to provider.
Background: Active prepaid service with >$40 balance and phone number in another state.
Highlight 1: Store rep who got the run-around and GAVE me a new 64K sim card saying I needed it if I was going to move my number.
Highlight 2: A CS rep who asked the number of my new sim card and poked it in before entertaining request for a fresh phone number.
You know what happened as a result of highlight 2? Poof! When it hit my local system the call was history. Of course. New sim good, old sim dead.
I cannot count the times I heard "Your wait will be less than 10 minutes." It usually was not. Several times I also heard, "Sorry sir my computer is updating and I cannot help you; you will have to talk to someone else" followed by another "Your wait..."
Also multiple times I got "The name on your account does not match what you say." Bull! I check it via the web interface. It is my name there!
Finally, the cake! This one beats all. As I told the rep, we are leaving him nameless even though he offered. "I am sorry sir. You have to take it to a store. We do not do relocations here in the relocation department. Thank you for calling!
How can any company be this wretched?
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Cell phone company arrogance
Here then is an example. A real example. The company took hundreds of bucks per year for "service". At one point later on, our cost of cellular minutes was over USD $1 per minute and that was on the economy plan!
What do you think this company did upon receipt of the following complaint?
What do you think this company did upon receipt of the following complaint?
Nothing, absolutely nothing!
Hints: This company is not T-mobile. TMO has great service. This company never fixed the issue and lost the account because of incompetence. The real problem that they never diagnosed (neither did Nokia when given the chance) was defective firmware because the phone model (5165) does demonstrate that it can send mail successfully. Here then is the complaint!
March 1, 2001
Complaint Dept.
[Cellular phone company]
Gentlemen:
Customer Support folks refuse to assist me properly, so I am forced to write a letter. I am a long time cellular customer with the same account active for over two years and with [predecessor] previously.
I have tried many times to get help on the phone, and have been given many different and contradictory answers. Run-around, delay, and false information. I require a decent written response please.
Recently you offered to replace my phone. I chose the Motorola Startac since I have been using a Startac for many months. Shortly after receiving the 7797 phone, I discovered that it was not capable of sending text messages. I sought to exchange it; you sent me a Nokia 8260 and I returned the 7797 to [location] per your instructions. It would not send text messages either because it was not set up even though I have been paying for text messaging for years! The 8260 also is inferior on analog and useless at my house where the 7797 did work.
Its analog capability was lousy and it seemed fragile. Your phone support folks told me that only a 7160 would send email so I asked for that, as advertised on your web page. Request was denied; advertised unit not available. I returned the 8260 to the store in exchange for a 5165 which will send email.
After a few days, you did finally get my service set up so my 5165 will send a message. It can even send email, just like the guy in your store said. The problem is: The email does not go anywhere! My telephone inquiries about this have netted answers:
1. Service is down, has been for 2 weeks, and has no ETA.
2. 5165 will not work -- 7160 and 8260 and 5165i will.
3. Service is not available in [my town].
4. 5165 messages are "not compatible with our system"
5. You cannot send email without having a web browser.
6. It is being worked on and may start working "some day."
You should know most of these answers are baloney! Your advertising is also baloney because you claim to offer the "widest variety" of messaging options but have no decent answer about the simple requirement of delivering my email! My phone is certainly compatible with your system because you supplied it and because it does send messages; you simply have refused to convey them and have refused to tell me when you will fix it! Sending to another [same carrier] Wireless customer is worthless. Your system throws away email that I send from the phone I got from you. I require that you forward my email so it can be delivered.
Internet mail is not rocket science and it darned sure does not require a web browser. Your system can probably be made to work with an inexpensive server using open source (free) software. If you need a UNIX consultant to fix it for you, please give me a call. Otherwise
please write and tell me when you will quit mis-handling email that I send from my phone.
I will give you a couple of weeks to provide a decent answer before I send the PUC their copy of this letter.
Yours truly,
March 1, 2001
Complaint Dept.
[Cellular phone company]
Gentlemen:
Customer Support folks refuse to assist me properly, so I am forced to write a letter. I am a long time cellular customer with the same account active for over two years and with [predecessor] previously.
I have tried many times to get help on the phone, and have been given many different and contradictory answers. Run-around, delay, and false information. I require a decent written response please.
Recently you offered to replace my phone. I chose the Motorola Startac since I have been using a Startac for many months. Shortly after receiving the 7797 phone, I discovered that it was not capable of sending text messages. I sought to exchange it; you sent me a Nokia 8260 and I returned the 7797 to [location] per your instructions. It would not send text messages either because it was not set up even though I have been paying for text messaging for years! The 8260 also is inferior on analog and useless at my house where the 7797 did work.
Its analog capability was lousy and it seemed fragile. Your phone support folks told me that only a 7160 would send email so I asked for that, as advertised on your web page. Request was denied; advertised unit not available. I returned the 8260 to the store in exchange for a 5165 which will send email.
After a few days, you did finally get my service set up so my 5165 will send a message. It can even send email, just like the guy in your store said. The problem is: The email does not go anywhere! My telephone inquiries about this have netted answers:
1. Service is down, has been for 2 weeks, and has no ETA.
2. 5165 will not work -- 7160 and 8260 and 5165i will.
3. Service is not available in [my town].
4. 5165 messages are "not compatible with our system"
5. You cannot send email without having a web browser.
6. It is being worked on and may start working "some day."
You should know most of these answers are baloney! Your advertising is also baloney because you claim to offer the "widest variety" of messaging options but have no decent answer about the simple requirement of delivering my email! My phone is certainly compatible with your system because you supplied it and because it does send messages; you simply have refused to convey them and have refused to tell me when you will fix it! Sending to another [same carrier] Wireless customer is worthless. Your system throws away email that I send from the phone I got from you. I require that you forward my email so it can be delivered.
Internet mail is not rocket science and it darned sure does not require a web browser. Your system can probably be made to work with an inexpensive server using open source (free) software. If you need a UNIX consultant to fix it for you, please give me a call. Otherwise
please write and tell me when you will quit mis-handling email that I send from my phone.
I will give you a couple of weeks to provide a decent answer before I send the PUC their copy of this letter.
Yours truly,
Fast forward to 2005...
I got my 7160! Two of them in fact. Orange guy and all, used off of ebay, the pair delivered for under $15. Beautiful phones. Guess what cell phone could not activate! That is right. The Orange guy phone company could not/would not activate on Free2Go (former AT&T prepaid) service and lied by telling me they were not compatible. Both phones are currently active on those towers today (they are compatible) thanks to Beyond Wireless.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
The worst and most arrogant customer support
What is the worst support you have ever experienced?
Hint! It is NOT outsourced to India. Those low-paid folks are genuinely helpful as much as they can be, almost always. They work hard at trying to use gringo English. They are pleasant. They always want to be helpful. They may not be able to accomplish squat but they try.
No folks, the worst I have ever seen comes from a well known USA financial institution.
It is not the Social Security Administration trying to hide their Ponzi scheme.
It is not Enron trying to hide info from stock holders.
It is not Worldcom and all their troubles.
Stay tuned and we will tell you more. Maybe you have stories too?
Hint! It is NOT outsourced to India. Those low-paid folks are genuinely helpful as much as they can be, almost always. They work hard at trying to use gringo English. They are pleasant. They always want to be helpful. They may not be able to accomplish squat but they try.
No folks, the worst I have ever seen comes from a well known USA financial institution.
It is not the Social Security Administration trying to hide their Ponzi scheme.
It is not Enron trying to hide info from stock holders.
It is not Worldcom and all their troubles.
Stay tuned and we will tell you more. Maybe you have stories too?
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