[Hidden-tech] AT&T Wireless service quality

[Lynne Rudié]

For whatever it's worth, when I found out that Unicel (Western Mass)  
was being bought out by Verizon I renewed my Unicel contract so that  
Verizon would have to honor the terms for the length of the contract.  
Verizon has tried to sell me a new Verizon plan (more minutes for the  
same price) but I have adamantly refused. (I've never used up the  
minutes I have.) The sales person at Unicel helped me pick the new  
free verizon phone I wanted and I'm actually happy with it. But once  
my verizon contract runs out I don't know if I'll stay with Verizon.

I have verizon for my landline and dsl and that's fine. But I really  
liked Unicel. It was really nice to be able to go talk to a real,  
local person at a nearby store. And they never tried to sell me  
something I didn't need. In fact, more than once they talked me out of  
something I thought I wanted to buy but it turned out I didn't really  
need it, or there was a less expensive option. Too bad.

But my advice for anyone who still has unicel is to quickly renew your  
contract so verizon will have to honor it. I'm glad I did.
	Lynne


On Oct 13, 2009, at 9:00 PM, michaelbix wrote:

>   ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's  
> area.
>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
> I think I'll weigh in here, having just attempted to make the switch  
> to AT&T, given the Unicel (Vermont) is going off-line in December.
>
> The sales pitch at the store was definitely misleading (the rep was  
> trying to push me to a more-minutes plan based upon usage patterns  
> he could "see on his screen" - but Unicel told me later the next day  
> that AT&T doesn't have access to their customer records, and that he  
> was fakin' it).
>
> I decided to shop/sign-up via the Internet.   On line was a bit  
> slower but the slow "reveal" that there was (first) a required  
> monthly data plan paired with my chosen high-end phone, and (second)  
> a connection fee to port-over my old number - were left to the very,  
> very last minute/last pages.  And a crucial piece of information for  
> you world travelers, the key attraction with any "international"  
> phone is portability from one GSM-based plan to another.  Pull the  
> SIM/GSM chip, put in another... and change carriers.   I like Sony- 
> Ericsson phones (I prefer them for their signal pickup in remote  
> Vermont valleys).    But only after a day of analysing fine print  
> did I finally see in the "returns" policy that, ouch, this phone and  
> all other sold by AT&T are "locked" to them... meaning, on their  
> network only.
>
> I had begun to set up the arrangement but had not yet digitally  
> "signed" the agreement (a separate "click to agree" email) when I  
> discovered this "locked" phone issue.  So I called the sales team  
> back to arrange a different plan, where I could use my existing  
> feature-primitive "unlocked" phone instead.
>
> They couldn't accommodate.  Sorry.  The phone had been shipped.  The  
> plan had been initiated and the phone activated from the time my  
> order was taken down by the sales team.  And, somehow (according to  
> them), although my activated "new number" on AT&T is the same as my  
> in-use "old number" on Unicel, the phone-plan charge clock is  
> already running.  Two plans on one number?  Didn't make sense.  (A  
> different, U.S.-based AT&T rep has since told me the India-based  
> supervisor was talking through his hat.)  Who do ya trust?
>
> And the initial sales rep had definitely instructed me to be certain  
> to acknowledge and agree to the plan (by live-link check-off) in  
> that return email - otherwise the phone would not be shipped.   
> Simplexity (AT&T's fulfillment company) had screwed up... apparently  
> this is standard, however.  Several supervisors and two days later I  
> finally got the locked high-end phone and the plan cancelled  
> (neither of which I had given final approval for) but the charges  
> stayed on their books.  I'd have to return the phone to their  
> warehouse for inspection.
>
> It has since arrived here and has now been returned with their RMA,  
> and they have acknowledged receipt at their warehouse (as agreed).   
> So many calls had to be made, to get to this point.
>
> Do I get my refund?  No.
>
> I've (yesterday) received an email saying their accounting  
> department will review "my account" (I have none... I've agreed to  
> nothing, ordered nothing) to see if I qualify for a refund, which  
> will be "processed" sometime within up to seven business days in the  
> future.  Who knows when I will actually see the money (for this high- 
> end Cybershot phone) back inside my bank account.  Gees.
>
> After all this I will still go AT&T eventually - signing up through  
> my friendly Radio Shack store rather than the sharks at the AT&T  
> front end.  I'll go for the bottom-bottom plan and the "free"  
> phone... then switch that chip over into my unlocked phone  
> (whichever one I get on the open market... whenever I choose to  
> upgrade).   Meanwhile, for my other data needs, I'm getting an iPod  
> Touch.
>
> I've had a many-year Vodafone plan in Europe... my calls in Ireland/ 
> UK for instance cost me about the equivalent of $.37 per minute,  
> whereas using AT&T's no-roaming "international minutes" would, I  
> believe, cost $1.39 each.  No way.  I'll pull my AT&T chip when I  
> step off the plane, and slide in my Vodafone chip instead.
>
> Was this "switch to AT&T" complicated?  Way too much.  Losing more  
> than a full working day on the phone and in emails and shipping, so  
> I can come back to zero with AT&T was very disappointing.   It's  
> been said here before, and I thought I was doing it too... but pay  
> close attention, and then... pay closer attention.
>
> Now.   Time to start again.
>
> Best
> Michael Cerulli Billingsley
> Straight Arrow Recordings
> Location Recording - CD Mastering - Audio Solutions/Sound Effects
> 802-254-3975  ~~  The Cotton Mill, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301
>
>
> On  7 October 09, at 2:11 PM, Stefan Gonick wrote:
>
>>    ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the  
>> member's area.
>>    ** If you did, we all thank you.
>>
>>
>> Hey Everyone,
>>
>> I'm considering switching to AT&T Wireless specifically to get the  
>> iPhone.
>> However, I've heard some disturbing things about their service. In  
>> particular,
>> I have a friend who says that she can have her voicemails delayed  
>> significantly
>> (hours or even a day). That would be unacceptable to me if it's a  
>> regular
>> occurrence.
>>
>> What has your experience been with AT&T Wireless service in general
>> and the voicemail situation in particular?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Stefan
>>
>> =====================================================
>> Database WebWorks: Dynamic web sites through database integration
>> http://www.DatabaseWebWorks.com
>>
>>
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