[Hidden-tech] AT&T Wireless service quality

[Stacey Langknecht]

I use AT&T for our cell phones and am primarily happy with them with a few
exceptions. Anyway I have to say that yesterday I renewed our contract at
the Radio Shack in the Hampshire Mall and was really happy with the service
there. I had a bad experience with a different Radio Shack in the past and
vowed never to do business with them but that one was independently owned
(sad, but true) and the one in the mall is corporate. At any rate they were
great, not pushy at all and in fact gave us some tips on how to save, and
the manager there is especially knowledgeable and helpful.

 

Stacey Langknecht

Hotsapp Woodworks

stacey at hotsapp.com

 

 

  _____  

From: Lynne Rudié [mailto:lynnerudie at verizon.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 10:40 PM
To: michaelbix
Cc: hidden-discuss at mm01.tnrnet.com; Stefan Gonick
Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] AT&T Wireless service quality

 

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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