Very upset yet again with AT&T. I had AT&T dropped the service to Cingular because of how horrible the customer service was with them and have been upset ever since AT&T bought out Cingular (Which to this day I refuse to call AT&T, I still call them Cingular). I knew once this happened that customer service was going to go down the drain and it has. It seems that every time I want to change something in my plan, I'm never told 100% the truth and I know how to ask the questions so I make sure I get what I am looking for. Here are some examples of how bad no one ever seems to help me or better yet how I always put in a bait and switch situation. Probable about a year ago, I got an old Black berry from my mom which at the time on my plane I didn't have a smart phone plan. I went into the store (located at Eureka and Racho Rd in Taylor MI) I told the women exactly what I wanted to do but did not want to change anything if I could go back to my original plan, just in case I didn't like the phone. Now I was paying 9.99 for the line and another $10.00 for the Data Unlimited for Non-Smartphone. Now I specifically asked if I don't like the blackberry will I be able to switch back to Data Unlimited for Non-Smartphone for 10.00 and I was told of course "they still have that plan and that the company will not be dropping that plan in the future. So I said I will try the blackberry with in unlimited data plan which I believe at the time was an extra $30. I said to switch the plan because of what I was told. After having the blackberry for a little over a month I called back to change my service back to what it had originally been and guess what, I was told when I called to switch back “that the service I originally had was no longer available and had not been available for months prior. So when I was told this in the store they knew this $10.00 for the Data Unlimited for Non-Smartphone was going to be no longer an option for me if I didn’t like my new service plan. Which really gets me because the person looked at me account and if they are selling you plans and phones don’t they need to know what plans of service the company has at that time? So now I totally dropped the unlimited data plan for the smart because it went to $15. You might find is kind of weird but even after I dropped the nonsmart phone data plan my plan price never changed as a matter of fact I’m actually paying more now which I’m still trying to figure this out. Now prior to me changing anything around on my plan I use to pay about $149 a month after I change for the blackberry it was about $163 for the next month then the month after that it jumped to $183 now after I canceled the $30 plan for the blackberry wouldn’t you think my bill would be under $149 since I never got another nonsmart phone data plan? In fact it actually went up to $153 still trying to figure this out. Not to mention that I have never received a bill that was the same price as the month before or after. For instance like wowway or other cable companies you have all the services on you bill and every month when I get the bill it’s the same price, don’t you think it would be the same with your phone provider. Nope every month it’s a different price. Even it you don’t go over minutes or data it never has come month to month at the same price, for me this seems like a red flag. Does anyone from AT&T ever get a bill and every month you are paying the same price?
Last night I was on my account and remember I’m due for a new phone (upgrade) along with another line on my account. I’m thinking of getting 2 of the new galaxy 5’s but for the two lines that don’t have a plan for smart phone data use. I called customer service to talk to them about this matter. I asked Nick to let me when both lines were due for an upgrade about how I want the galaxy 5 for both lines but need a data plan in order to use the phones. He told me that I have an old plan which is grandfathered in and that if I get two smart phones that it would be cheaper to go a data family sharing plan which he quoted me $97 before taxes and that would include unlimited talk and text and covers 2gb of data and the next plan up would be $121 unlimited talk and text and covers 4gb of data. Now he never told that if I do an upgrade (which was the whole reason why I called in the first place and he knew about) that once I did the upgrade that the price would jump up to $137 for 2gd data plan or 161 for the 4gb data plan. Which I found this out when I decide to call back and have a customer service representative change the plan for me instead of me doing myself on the web and screwing something up that way I could just go online get the phones and the rest was all set up so when I received the phones we could start using right away. When I called back Ashley helped me and I told her what I wanted and she told me the price of $137 and $161 said kept saying March 8th. I was not understanding her and kept telling her that and kept saying why would Nick tell me one price, then 30 min later when I call back it’s a different price and I asked her too what is she talking about when she says March 8th. After talking to a manager Taylor she said that what Nick told me was not correct and that I would pay the $97 or $121 if I did the change prior to March 8th but because I’m doing an upgrade the price will jump to $137 or $161 depending on the plan I wanted. I even told Taylor that I am shopping around for prices at other phone carriers to see what other deals are out there. Thanks goodness I decided to call back because again I was told one thing which means nothings for AT&T. I feel that the company doesn’t know what customer service is and that what an employee says or quotes a prices they should honor it. It’s not my fault that the employees don’t tell you everything you need to know especially if the customer tells the company exactly what they want or are looking to do. I didn’t leave anything out when I first called because of past experience with this company I know how to ask the questions and to repeat back what they say to make sure I understand what they are talking about and it always lets them know how I am understanding what they are saying.
Now I have been a customer with this company since 1998. I hate when I need a new a phone because I always feel like I’m getting rail roaded with this company and that they just want money and once they get you to sign they know they have you for at least two years. I know you are going to ask why have I not change providers sooner, well it’s because all lines don’t end at the same time I really don’t want to make the change because I know what I getting for this company and it’s probably a comfort thing but I think I’m at my wits ends. I just don’t know why they would want to lose a customer who had been with them for 16 years. Not to mention they could have just got over $600 from me with getting two of the galaxy 5 phones. I know on my account it probable says something negative so when we call the person on the other end knows how to manage the call but those notes would have never been put on my file if people I talked to knew what they are saying and stuck by their word as customer service representatives. I fell that anyone who does business with this company should just talk to a manager to make sure you get what you want and that you know the person you are talking to has some sort of knowledge about the company. Which these customer service representative I feel that they are not giving you the correct information you need as a consumer because they are not getting the proper training for the job!