at&t premier
The Man that keeps me down has a large contract with AT&T, which means I have access to AT&T Premier. Theoretically, Premier offers a discount on phones. Unfortunately this discount applies only to phones no one wants. There is also a marginal break on plans, which for me works out to a couple of bucks a month. So Premier is not worth going to any extra trouble.
Activating the phone through Premier was even more of a pain in the ass than using Itunes to activate my Iphone. While the customer service representative answered promptly, was nice enough, and even spoke English, I wasted 20 minutes of my life getting the Blackberry Bold activated. Normally, while holding, I just put the person on speakerphone and continue surfing on company time. However, the AT&T Premiere customer service person felt the need to come on the line every two minutes, utter some vague phrase about updating my account*, and ask if I would mind holding for another two minutes. After the tenth time, this was pretty fucking irritating.
When the activation was finally accomplished, I discovered the Blackberry Bold sucks. AT&T’s return policy clearly states, “new equipment purchased directly from AT&T may be returned or exchanged at any AT&T owned retail store.” So, I stopped by my friendly neighborhood AT&T store with the intention of swapping the Bold for a 3G Iphone. Surprise! Equipment ordered through Premiere has to be mailed back. Fuckers.
After driving home, I called the AT&T Premier customer service line to arrange a return. Again, someone answered right away and spoke English. Unfortunately, I was put on hold every two minutes, yet again. This time, however, the excuse was different - the customer service guy needed his manager to come over and approve the exchange. I have no idea why, since AT&T’s clearly states, “If the equipment you purchased directly from AT&T does not meet your expectations, simply return it either to a store or by mail within 30 days from the date the equipment was purchased or shipped. ” Forty minutes of holding later, the exchange was finally approved.
This really should have been a simple process. I fail to see why the AT&T store was unable to trade out the Blackberry Bold for a 3G Iphone. That certainly would be what I expect of a service named Premier, especially since they do this for the plebes. After all this**, I have concluded AT&T does not actually want customers.
notes:
* I guess that is what they call pushing a button in this day and age.
** Granted, this was nothing compared to Comcast’s infamous customer disservice, but one would think Premier would go a little smoother and be extra convenient.