Posted by teno
I have a T68 with ATT and I have had a lot of problems with the phone. So I contact ATT and they agree to send me a new phone but it will be delayed because the do not have any T68's only T68i. They will only replace with like product. So later today I stopped by my local ATT store and behold T68 phones on display. I asked the sales rep. about the T68i and he said that they are not on display. I then prompted with a responce that the T68i was not displayed so they could sell of the older phones which he dodged quickly. He then replyed that they are the same phone only differant faces. Strange that my replacement phone is out of stock but there are plenty for sale and why hide the T68i.
Posted by jnonhoffzieg
teno, I'm afraid this sort of experience is quite real.
Most people at Cingular retail locations aren't any better, and I wouldn't expect anything else from these guys. Once in a while you'll come across somebody who is interested and knows what's going on - get that person's name and deal only with him/her!
Your best strategy is to arm yourself with as much information as possible and expect the worst.
Posted by rentboi
I totally agree. Most of these reps are under-qualified, under-trained, yet rude and full of themselves. I was at the Newport Beach AT&T store (off of MacArthur) the other day, trying to straighten out a missing credit for a phone I returned (another story), I heard this rep telling a clueless customer about megabytes. Quote: "each word is a byte [wow, so i can send my entire email without spaces and only get charged for one byte?], a million byte is a K, and a million K is a megabyte..."
Another piece of gripe... They charged me $9.99 to send me a replacement phone because the first was defective. Guess one (or several) of their GSM Migration team phone reps up in Seattle will be getting an ear-ful from me.
AT&T... hope you are reading this...
-alex
[ This Message was edited by: rentboi on 2002-10-05 08:47 ]
Posted by jnonhoffzieg
rentboi, LOL! That's the very store where I bought my original T68m. I live right around the corner from there. I probably dealt with the rep you mentioned because he was saying crazy stuff to me too. I ended up bringing my phone back to them because I found out the joystick already had 15,000 moves on it when I got it. They didn't have any new replacements so I made them to call the Irvine store (in Harvard Square) and let me pick one up there. I can't believe they made you pay 10 bucks for a replacement. You really should give 'em an earful!
_________________
Lunar gray T68m flashed to T68i R2F0004 on Cingular - I want my MMS!
[ This Message was edited by: jnonhoffzieg on 2002-10-05 10:50 ]
Posted by teno
Add yes the $9.99 fee will be applied for my replacement phone as well. I see some talk that they changed there Data rates ( no doubt to try and attract more usage). It also angers me that they said that I would have to wait for my replacement T68 and that I could not pay a fee and get a T68i as a replacement.
Funny that they had plenty of T68's at the store and no T68i's on display (ah those are in the back room sir, I could get one out if you like).
Posted by shawnmccall9
yep, I had them for like two years of tDMA before my 4 month fiasco of GSM service. ATT GSM sucks for a whole lot of reasons
Posted by porterg
Hate to say this, being a Cingular sales rep, but you need to go higher then the store level. Too many people do that for no reason, but, you have a good reason. Companies don't like to bust open new boxes for replacement, but that has to be done when there is an issue. Company shouldn't loose any money, since that would be a DOA, and SE should be giving ATT an brand new phone back.
Posted by jnonhoffzieg
porterg, from the posts you've written, I think you are probably of a very different caliber than the reps mentioned in this thread. Wish Cingular had more people like you!
[ This Message was edited by: jnonhoffzieg on 2002-10-06 17:53 ]
Posted by Deric
I work For AT&T Wireless and I'm sorry to say that some reps are clueless. Dispite A LOT of training, some people won't even try to learn it. (I'm talking about 2 weeks of GSM/GPRS training) If the Warranty rep is telling you they can't replace your T68 with a T68i, they're lying to you. Call Back and tell them if you don't get a phone to use you're going to cancel. The $9.99 is for overnight shipping (it used to be free and it was costing a FORTUNE) you will only be charged this once, if you have another warranty issue the shipping will be free. (And the warranty phones are not REPLACED by the manufacturer, they're REPAIRED)
IF you have any further problems from them e-mail me at Deric_houston@yahoo.com and I'll take care of you personally.
Deric
Posted by ipXpert
Hello Deric,
You are the man! Its nice to know that there are people around that still care about service and helping out your fellow man/woman. I am with Cingular now but I was thinking about checking out ATT's GSM service. I have an unlocked t68i right now. I have been with Cingular almost 8 months. Should I get one of ATT's phones or should I just stick with my own phone?
Cheers,
Shawn
Posted by peanotation
I feel for ya buddy; I've had about 4 MAJOR problems with AT&T, they are by far the worst provider and the service i get within a 100 mile radius from my house (San Diego, CA. USA) is terrible. I"m stuck in the contract with them and I love my T68i to death. So many problems have arisen, and I highly advise anyone NOT to get AT&T service, as the hidden charges and scams they run will drive you crazy.
Posted by AldenC
I work for Cingular and I must tell you that we have one of the best warranty policies. If you have a problem with your phone you can bring it to a store and have it replaced on the spot. If they don't have any refurbished models available then they will replace it with a new phone (reluctantly of course). If there are not any of the same models in stock they have a matrix available to go to the next closest model. This is a lot better process than these ither providers try to pull by having to ship you a new phone. I currently work at the Redmond, WA store and if anyone has any problems they are welcome to contact me and I will try to assist. Customer servicre is a top priority at Cingular. alden.campbell@cingular.com
Posted by djdanska
Cingular is affiliated with sbc. Due to that fact i refuse to do business with them. Sbc/ameritech screwed me long enough.
Posted by ipXpert
Another good guy! Cheers to you too Alden:-)
Posted by jnonhoffzieg
Thank you to both Deric and AldenC for offering to help - I'm going to hang on to both of your email addresses. Whichever service I use in the future, having a knowledgeable contact is worth gold!
I will attest to Cingular's generous return/service policy. Their equipment insurance plan is also top-rate. For $3/month my phone will be replaced on the spot no matter WHAT happens to it. That sure takes away any worries about dropping/losing such a nice phone...
Posted by Deric
Keep in mind that AT&T is currently building their GSM network, so if your coverage isn't great right now, it will be soon. I know our warranty policy isnt the best, and I wish we had technitions in the store that could assess the nature of the damage to a phone (i.e. Defect or abuse) but untill the big wigs in redmond decide it is a worthwhile venture, 24 hours will have to do.
If you can't be without a phone, go to your local store to do the warranty exchange, you can call in from there (almost never a wait time if you do it through a CS*) and you can manipulate the return policy by billing a phone to your account until you get your warranty phone, you can even have your phone shipped TO THE STORE
*CS=Communications Specialist
Posted by teno
Got my replacement phone T68 (I wish it was a T68i) and it works much better. Looks like I will have to upgrade the software if I want the features.
Wish that the Big Wigs could see this tit at my local store , he is just the worst customer relations provider I have ever seen, snotty and rude, like you are a burden to him. He only wants to play with his phone (messaging or games I guess). The other sales people (who are always busy helping customers) seem to be doing a great job of helping the customer, but I always get this Dolt when I walk in and just get the WORST! service. Does he ever have a day off?
[ This Message was edited by: teno on 2002-10-09 21:43 ]
Posted by westside Slacker
Yet another AT&T Wireless employee here. I have to agree with Deric that AT&T has some issues due to the fact they have rolled out a brand new network in a short amount of time. I am really not trying to make this a hyped up post about AT&T Wireless just because I am a company man. For some strange reason I actually care when things break. In my job function I troubleshoot the tickets that were submitted by customers so mind you I have no clue about warryanties and contract bs. IMHO I like the AT&T Network, but then again i'm working out of the seattle market which has been around the longest for GSM in our network so most of the bugs have been worked out. I've taken the phone to vegas, phoenix, and NY/NJ and was able to use the service fine where we have coverage. The only problem is with GPRS... and the funny thing is 70% of the time when I receive secure connection failed when trying to connect to GPRS, if you power cycle the phone it works..
I cannot guarntee you that I will be able to open a ticket for you, but if you have any concerns PM me and maybe I will be able to point you in the right direction.
Posted by eagle11769
AT&T wireless for several years now. I havnt had any problems. I,m on the gprs network in Michigan. I will admitt that their people in the stores are full of themselves. I like to go in and ask them alot of great questions and watch as they come up with what ever. It must be their training to act stuck up. Although they hire great looking chicks. Im sticking with At&t because what issues they have now will go away and they will rule the world. Theirs a guy in the canton office that I would love to hit because his service skills suck and he thinks hes all that but i go to the Novi store now. Dana Bell is the best.
Posted by BlaSTiWi
Any insider info from who work w/ AT&T Wireless regarding ability to send and/or receive SMS w/ international recipient?
Also, is the MMS capability fully online yet?
Tkx in adv!
Posted by Kiss_My_Butt
I was with ATT when they first offered Pocketnet service (GOD i wish could go bk to THAT- unlimited net access for a flat fee?!?!), but now own the gsm/gprs. When T68 was first introduced, they knew virtually nothing about it (and i mean the techs- not costumer reps). But they were honest about it, and you could pick up new info along the way. NOW, they make it next to impossible to speak directly with a tech. Costomer service by phone & in stores has gone downhill. I owned the original T68 without the Att branding chip. Under warranty i recieved & requested a T68- not a T68i- i hate the asthetics of the T68i. However, its a branded T68, with the T68i software. Best bet is to always keep in communication with sony/ericsson directly- they always know the manuals, etc. because Att doesnt even keep information on the fons in tech department, once its no longer sold in the Att stores.