Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Update: AT&T

So I called AT&T back Wednesday afternoon to try to talk to the manager who was supposed to call me, and hadn't. I got the right call center, and asked for Scott Burnham (the only real name I will list, so as to protect the innocents). Apparently Scott had already left for the day, without returning my call. Thanks again AT&T for the wonderful fucking in the... I mean customer service!

So the very kind lady who answered my call told me she would send an email to Scott, and asked me what I was contacting him about. I explained the whole story, and reiterated that I wanted Scott to credit me $50 or cancel my account. To which she said, "Oh, well why don't I just go ahead and credit your account right now?"

WTF? So all along the people on the phone could've taken care of this problem and not made me wait for some manager who won't return my call? Great... Oh well, at least I got it taken care of.

The CSR who took care of this for me indicated that there had been some confusion in the sales and CSR ranks about the rebate around the time that I signed up; many people were promised a rebate who were not eligible.

Thanks AT&T for making it right... but can you get your shit together next time?

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

AT&T can FUCK OFF!!

ok... I officially HATE AT&T.

5 months ago I signed up for DSL through AT&T. I had just canceled my cable service because I don't watch a lot of TV, and the DSL was a good bit cheaper. Sounded like a good deal, $34 a month for 3mbit/512kbit service, and a $50 rebate on the modem... or so I thought.

But go figure, I haven't received my rebate check yet. Now I know the rebate things can take a while, so I waited about 6 weeks before I called to complain. And you know what the guy on the phone said when I called? "Oh, sorry, we'll get a check right out to you!" Oh, ok, that was easy!

Not.

About 5 weeks passed, and I still had no check. So I called again, and the gentleman apologized, explained the check had already been mailed but since it had been 4 weeks he could cancel it and send a new one. Cool. So that was about the end of June...

So here it is now, September, and I get my latest bill, reminding me once again that the lazy bastards STILL have not given me my money.

Allow me to take a momentary aside my main bitchfest to host another, smaller... mini-bitchfest if you will. I HATE automated telephone systems! Especially when they're used by HUGE companies with too many "departments" (meaning contracted call centers) to transfer you from one to another. So I call the # on my bill and navigate 3 minutes of automated menu, just trying to get a live person on the phone! And what do they tell me when I get them? "You have to call this number..." Grr! Ok, so I call. More automated menu, more stress, more yelling at a computer. Finally get a person and explain the situation... and I have to call somebody else because the order was not completed right. WTF? Ok fine, another menu more stupid computers... and FINALLY I get a person who can help.

So I get somebody, who informs me, for the very first time since talking to AT&T at all, that I don't qualify for the rebate because I don't have a home phone line! Say what?!?! NAH BULLSHIT!!! I was pissed, and got rather irate at the lady on the phone (which was rude, I should not have taken my frustration out on her, I should've waited for a manager!) After an apology I more delicately explained to the CSR that nobody had ever informed me that my account did not qualify for the rebate, and that in fact multiple people had told me the check "was in the mail". She apologized and indicate that she could not do anything, but she would out this in the hands of a manager who would call me back within 2 business days, or 48 hours or something to resolve this. He better, I've got his number.

So at this point, I'm waiting 2 more days for $50 that I was supposed to get 4 months ago, that nobody told me I wasn't supposed to get at all. It sounds like the manager may be willing to credit my account, which would really at this point be the ONLY acceptable solution to me, as there's no way in hell that I will trust them to send a check.