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Group Therapy
Feeling Cingular? How about feeling some Unity?
Try the new AT&T Unify Group Therapy. Experience the healing power of a community coming together. Now you can call over 100 million phones for free and commiserate. Let others know how Cingular/ATT has blown your speaker, eardrum (?), tv (?) etc.
For many customers, the anonymity of online group therapy through this unique forum provides the emotional support that we all need. Feeling Cingular hurts. We know. While Alltel has to have a legal disclaimer to have a group hug on television, we “valued” Cingular/ATT customers now have an uninhibited place to console each other anytime. Now that’s Unity.
Join the Cingular/ATT GSM RF Interference forum, others topics soon to follow.
Therapeutic Common Ground
We here at www.feelingcingular.com are still undergoing individual treatment to reconcile how Cingular/ATT says they are “driven by our customers’ feedback,” but have a history of not calling you back, remedying a problem they know exists, or alerting potential customers about known issues so that they can make an informed business decision.
Your legitimate consumer grievances deserve a responsive, caring outlet; Unify can provide this. While Unifying to exact a little positive change would feel great, you can’t expect much from a company that has decided what’s not good enough for their own call-centers is somehow good enough for their customers.
Suggest Future Topics
Please suggest additional Cingular/ATT issues that could benefit from the Unify Group Therapy process. Do not be slighted if they never see the light of day. We are still detoxing from Cingular/ATT’s unresponsive corporate practices and tend to lash out at those in need by ignoring them. While admittedly an immature and futile attempt at mimicking the increasing power dynamic between corporate protections and weak consumer rights, we promise to monitor the Raising Bar-ometric Pressure to see what active Cingular/ATT concerns should be addressed in future Unify sessions.
April 30th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
My current cell phone bill is $8,677.29. I had Cingular since 2003. In November of 2006 I purchased the Cingular 8125 Pocket PC. I loved it. I had a cell phone that could access the internet and my bills were about $100 a month. After 2 months I cancelled the internet option because I wanted a smaller cell phone bill. After about 3 weeks of not having my internet I requested that they turned it back on. They did.
Now my bill went from an average monthly bill of less than $100 to $8,677.29. It had something to do with my data transfer rate. Obviously, they did not give me my original plan. Instead they gave me some $8,677.29/month plan.
I blogged the entire nightmare at myspace.com/theorangemenace
May 1st, 2007 at 12:20 pm
GSM RF is like nails on a chalkboard I will cing no more!
May 1st, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I love Cingular. Have had them for five years. Out of contract, I just recently got two free Razr V3is that work wonderfully, the reason is because we have had such bad reception latley. And this is to make up. They laso gave us 900 bonus minutes on top of that.
Cingular really does care about their customer!
I will stay.
May 1st, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Cingular or ATT has gotten so much better I love them. I have been so busy lately and have been using my phone so much and my last few bills have been higher then normal. I needed to change my plan but didn’t have the time and didn’t know which would be the best. Well last week one of the ATT guys calls me up and says, their computers have spotted the overages and wanted to know if I might want to save some, money. Now, I’m on a better plan saving nearly 250 every month. Plus they also sent me out a a free case for my phone and a free year worth of NAPSTER, awesome… thanks guys you are the best!!!
May 1st, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Try shielded monster cable. Sure, its expensive, but totally worth it if you have any high-powered or high-end sound equipment.
PS: I agree that GSM interference is annoying and ridiculous. The FCC rule is that your device can cause interference but cannot cause HARMFUL [ie damaging] interference.
You might have a lawsuit on your hands.
May 2nd, 2007 at 5:21 pm
I say screw Cingular/ATT, Verizon, and Sprint and sign up with Working Assets. That’s who I use. I’ve never had a problem with the GSM interference.
Plus my girlfriend has cingular and she always get lousy reception and dropped calls even in NYC wher we are!
So I stay with Working Assets. Plus they give a large chunk of what they earn to socially responsible organizations.
Too bad though I really would love an Apple Iphone, but not if they only work with Cingular!
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:24 am
Hey Ed! Better not screw Sprint since Working Assets resells Sprint/Nextel service. While you are not using the Cingular network, you are still using a major telecommuncation company’s network. Everyone’s got something nasty to say about every wireless carrier. It’s radio people!!!! Get over it!!! Use a landline if you’re so unhappy with it.
May 4th, 2007 at 1:54 am
1. I hate the fact that it takes about 8 minutes of pressing buttons to change my personal greeting. seriously, i’ve got it down i think now. if i want to change my greeting, all i have to do is dial the message center, press 4, 1, 3, 4, 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6 or something like that and then VOILA and can finally check my friggin greeting.
all those menus and submenus to choose from are so obscure. who sends messages from the message center?
2. Is it cingular or AT&T? my phone says cingular on it, my screen now says AT&T when it boots up, and its grinding my gears. who cares if its the “new at&t” - it still sucks! and i have never had so many dropped calls in my life. (i was with sprint, and t-mobile in the past)
3. i thought i was cingular. but now i know that everybody hears that static crap - it is so friggin annoying - especially in the car! great site!
May 4th, 2007 at 2:06 am
did i forget to mention?
1. they rip you a new one for text messages.
2. the 2 year contract is a bitch - and i can almost swear i learned in business law that any contract over a year cannot be legally binding!
3. their phones hardly last 1 year, so renewing your 2 year contract is inevitable.
4. when my phone got stolen overseas, they said that if i even called my own number to check my messages, that i would be billed international roaming charges.
okay now i’m done whining.
May 4th, 2007 at 8:00 am
1.What voicemail/IVR have you gone through where you have to press one option and not multiple?
Welcome to the 21st century.
2.Cingular is now AT&T, DUH! Have you not seen the commercials?
3.If you use text messaging, get a friggin’ package. Nothing in life is free.
4.As far as the contract goes. Trouble passing the BAR exam or did you take business law at the YMCA?
There are no laws prohibiting multi-year contracts.
5.If your phone does not last more than a year, stop sticking it up your a$$.
May 5th, 2007 at 1:05 am
If you think you can make a better cell phone company…. go for it a$$holes
May 5th, 2007 at 1:07 am
EddieLopez this guy must be like retarded because you must have used the data so you were charged duma$$ get a dam media bundal before using those features and yoyu can add them or confirm there there online at cingular.com
May 5th, 2007 at 1:12 am
ok 1 last thing…… that bad interferince is because cingular uses GSM and gsm phones cannot be cloned but like the other companies like sprint uses CDMA tech that can be cloned using a simple frequncie scanner so the GSM RF noise is worth the it because nobody can use your accout to make calls to china for a2 weeks in a row before you realize. So just dont complain if you think you can make a better tech then go ahead
May 5th, 2007 at 11:16 am
And I thought I was passionate! Go Cingulartechguy!
May 6th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Great site! More power to the consumers…especially those who wish to inform other consumers!
Be forewarned that “corporate protectors” troll the internet in an attempt to SILENCE the most vocal!
Don’t let them stop you from spreading the word, compare notes with other consumers, and taking action!
Take the case of Toyota engine oil sludge…see how information was hidden from consumers for years!
It took thousands of vocal Toyota owners to get Toyota to acknowledge the problem!
The company still says it all the customers fault…blown engines at low mileage. OK. Sure.
Let’s compare notes about what companies are doing behind the scenes to keep consumers in the dark…
cblake@erols.com
Toyota Owners Unite for Resolution
May 10th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
I am very much in favor of consumer power when and where necessary.
However, I am definitely against abuse of that power for unwarranted gain.
Charlene Blake has waged a campaign against Toyota for years.
Regretfully, in doing so she used every illegitimate trick in the book to promote it.
I don’t recommend her style of consumer advocacy to anyone.
All she has done is give legitimate advocacy a bad reputation.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
hmm. . . I miss verizon.
May 13th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Cellular carrier suck everywhere.
May 14th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
I work for AT&T, and incase you haven’t noticed it ALL THE COMPANEYS HAVE PROBLIMS. AT&T gets reception places Vorizon doesn’t and Sprint gets reception places sprint doesn’t.
And don’t complain about your cell phone not working. If you have had it less than a year and it isn’t all beat up or bin dunked in water than GET A WARENTY PHONE. GSM has things that are better about it than CDMA and vise a versa. Hardly anyone else in the rest of the world even uses CDMA so you can’t take your phone to other most other countries.
BUT THE BIGEST THING. AT&T has more customers than anyone else. We also have a better churn rate than anyone else (Its like the net income, new subscribers subtract leaving subscriber = churn rate)
That’s my 2cents.
May 15th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Hey, voicing your opinion is all well and good, but you really need to get your facts straight before
you start running off at the mouth. Cingular/AT&T’s network is by far the most robust. You can take
your Cingular phone to almost any country with GSM coverage and use it. How many companies can boast
that?
To the guy who blew his speaker - I think you’re full of shit. If that RF noise damaged your speaker then your system sucks and needs to be upgraded anyway. Every network has its high and low points, if all you have to cry about is a little rf noise through your speaker then I’d say you’re doing alright.
To the dumbass who rang up an $8000 bill, use your friggin head moron! Did you think you could use all that data for free?
To Austin - you have to hit all of those prompts to change your greeting because Cingular offers so many options to its customers. If we didn’t provide a million different options then you retards would be complaining that you weren’t getting your money’s worth.
Obviously not every carrier is going to work perfectly in every area, it’s just not geographically or financially possible to have a cell site every mile.
Now shutup and make some calls on your cell phone, my salary ddepends on it! HAHAHAHA!
May 15th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Please do not judge all AT&T (Cingular) employees by the ones commenting here. A lot of us do not buy the company propaganda (churn rate, who cares?) and many of us can even spell correctly. If you think the comments posted by “cingular rep” are misspelled, you should see some of the tickets we get in a day.
May 15th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
preach on PhoneHo!
May 15th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Cingular does not care about their employees either. They layoff all of the good employees to move operations to low costing areas. They are in the process of closing the engineering dept in illinois to move to another state
May 16th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Woah! My husband and I have been wondering what the hell that feedback sound in our TV was for about a month now!
Thank you for solving the mystery and great site!
May 17th, 2007 at 7:41 am
Pretty much anyone that is technically inclined knows you don’t put a radio signal generating device near a speaker or any other sensitive electronic equipment. Your “project” would seem to indicate that you are so inclined and you did it anyway? You want to play all innocent about it and record a call where you get some customer service rep without a clue about RFI to make a statement on the behalf of the company and from this you generate this entire experience. Firstly it is intellectually dishonest (though I am certain by looking at this website that you know that and are simply a whining former AT&T customer with a vendetta). Secondly it is not worthy of a high school project, much less college. You get an “F” for being stupid (stupid = as in knowing better and doing it anyway).
You are provided a discounted phone in exchange for a commitment to a specified period of time. If you are not comfortable with committing to that length of time then you certainly have the option of purchasing your phone outright.
You are given the option of putting insurance on your phone at the time of purchase which extends beyond the 1 year warranty. If you choose not to do so, then that is on you. Whining that the warranty ends before the contract is silly and only in the cell phone business does anyone ever make such an ignorant statement. Show me any product that is covered under warranty through out a commitment period!
Your story reminds me of a lady complaining that her phone didn’t function at the XRay lab where she worked…
This website is a parody of a customer that is “Too Stupid To Own A Cellphone”.
May 17th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Additionally the Customer Service Representatives are not to have their cellphones out because they are supposed to be helping the customer, not sending and receiving messages. Old reps warn new reps that you can get busted for doing it during a monitored call because it will show up on the monitor. Urban legend. Anyone with half a brain understands that a distortion on the computer monitor will not be visible elsewhere since it is the monitor that is affected and not the computer or program itself.
Study up before you repeat such ignorant statements.
May 18th, 2007 at 9:46 am
I would like to know why my cingular phones have consistently, mysteriously died two days after the
warranty expires. Do they have little self-destruct chips implanted in them? And the one time I was
able to get a ‘new’ phone under warranty it was obvious that it had passed through several hands
before mine. (New contacts were saved as ‘contact #2336′, ‘contact #2337′, etc. I don’t have that
many friends.) Then, shockingly, that one died too. Of course, I was not allowed another phone and
had to…upgrade.
Although I have about 72 years left on my contract due to ‘upgrades’, I look forward to the day when I
can go to verizon without penalty and stop causing weird noises to come out of the speakers when
shopping in clothing stores because I am receiving a phonecall.
May 19th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Wow–you Cingular guys are really coming out of the woodwork! What’s so difficult about this guy’s story to understand? First the company formally known as Cingular doesn’t tell anyone about this funky noise. And then when he tried to do something about it, you dissed him. You are not attacking the message, but the messenger–how misguided. Cingular should be apologizing. These personal attacks are so lame. I guess this is just another example of how Cingular cares about their customers. Are you getting a bonus for these posts? Bravo to this guy for telling his story. I hope more people tell theirs.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:43 am
Cingular/ATT/SBC/Ameritech is a joke. The proceses they use to resolve customer complaints is ridiculous. Cingular needs to clean up its act but alas that will not happen. Why? you ask? It is simple they went with the lowestgrade network available…. GSM get a real network. No one cares if it works all over the world– MAKE IT WORK ON THE FREE WAYS IN NORTH AMERICA. Yes the feedback can torch a speaker. Tech guy is full of it. Have a nice day and go get CDMA
May 26th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
You know all of Cingular’s (at&t’s) new 3G phones don’t have this RF problem because the new 3G HSDPA network uses WCDMA technology which doesn’t interfere with electronics unlike GSM (it only interferes on the 850 GSM band).
May 27th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
I am a CW/ATT employee and I agree the company has its low points but guess what folks, every company does. Telecommunications is the fastest growing business in the world and there will ALWAYS be issues; no company is perfect.
I have my own issues with the company, both as an employee and a customer. I am in no way condoning some of the practices nor even the way some of our customers are treated when attempting to resolve their disputes etc. However, with such a large corporation as the uhm “New at&t”, we cannot make every consumer happy. Has anyone that has posted on this site tried to make 50,000,000 people happy all at the same time? I imagine it is pretty hard to do.
I hate how I have to work my butt off to support lazy people on welfare; can I complain about that here also?
May 31st, 2007 at 1:22 pm
When it comes to Cingular, I must say that they suffer from pretty much the same vices most big companies have, only they’re more visible than most. My main problem is with what they call “customer service” (I’m not quite sure how ’service’ enters it), but that describes pretty much any large company these days.
Still, here’s my experience with them.
I became a Cingular customer despite my best judgement (I had them back when they were Pacbell, and didn’t like the experience a lot) in order to be able to consolidate several cell phone numbers in a single family account, and Cingular was the only carriers out of the 3 (Cingular, Verizon, T-mobile) which had a long list of conditions attached to number transfer, to the point that it was quite likely I’d lose the number if I transferred it away from them. To make the long story short, they managed to mess up the phone number transfer from T-mobile, and it was only T-mobile people’s understanding that saved it until the point where Cingular got its act more or less together and processed the transfer (took about 2 weeks).
The dropped calls, poor reception (in amajor metropolitan area) and being occasionally patched into other people’s conversations in the middle of your conversation are a part of life with a cell phone carrier (although I haven’t had that hard a time of it with other carriers). However, what really disgusted me was Cingular customer service and billing.
Customer service: I’m one of those people who keeps the journal of customer service calls, dated, with the name/ID of the rep (when they don’t refuse to provide it, which Cingular reps often do) and call content. Reading it is a good study in human incompetence and arrogance, normally both at the same time. The information provided is often misleading (different reps/supervisors give different, often contradicting information. My girlfriend and I often just go with statistics - so many people said this, and so many people said that, and so many people said yet another thing, so we go with the “most voiced” info, unless it makes no sense whatsoever, which is often the case, as well). Customer service reps often start with proudly declaring that it just doesn’t work this way, only to have their supervisor or another rep admit that yes, in fact, it can be done and there’s a procedure for that. The problem is that even when something like that happens, one has to call and follow up on it several times, as in my experience, one shouldn’t just trust what a Cingular rep says will be done. That’s not mentioning the amount of red tape I experienced with Cingular (didn’t have that with T-mobile, Nextel, or Verizon, did have quite a lot of it with Sprint). For example, I needed to unlock my HP Ipaq hw6515, so I can travel overseas with it. I called right after I got it (and the Cingular contract), and was told that I have to wait 30 days (one version) or 45 days (another version) after the start of the contract before this can be done. Well, since it wasn’t urgent, it was easier to just wait rather than finding the 3rd, 4th, 5th opinion (that’s what we call what Cingular and other companies’ CS reps tell us, as it can’t be anything else, given how different those statements are). Well, I called after a couple of months, and asked to have my phone unlocked. After a few transfers between the people who didn’t seem to know what this meant, or said that Cingular doesn’t do this, or weren’t sure who handles it, but knew that it’s done, etc., you get the picture, I was connected to someone who knew both what unlocking means and how Cingular does it. She submitted the required forms (or so I was told), and told me that I’ll get the unlocking code via email within 10 days. Sure enough, it didn’t materialize within the next 2 weeks (can’t be a deliverability problem, as Cingular ads materialized in my inbox twice during that period, and many times thereafter. That was the first time I gave them my email address, specifically asking not to send promotions to it). Well, to make the long story short (again), subsequent calls, during which I was told that it’d take 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 business days, were as useless. it’s been almost a year, the phone is still locked, and I’ll probably just buy the unlocking software or service on Ebay. Given how much time I’ve spend on it times my hourly rate, I should’ve bought it from the start, it’d pay off within one missing customer service call. Needless to say, about 2/3 of my other calls to Cingular customer service (billing issues, plan changes, etc.) were of the same tune.
Billing: one thing I noticed about CIngular billing right away was that, while at T-mobile a $59.99 family plan resulted in about $62 monthly bill, with Cingular a $79.99 family plan (same usage, more plan minutes at Cingular, no overage minutes in either) resulted in a $87 monthly bill, with various taxes, surcharges, etc. Looks like where T-mobile chooses not to pass those on to the consumer (it’s up to the carrier), Cingular chooses otherwise. I wonder what T-mobile’s like where it’s a local monopoly, like AT&T. Germans do complain about Deutsche Telecom, after all. But I digress. So, that’s the “legitimate” part of Cingular billing that I don’t like. There’re other parts, too. One is constant “extra” calls added to the bill. After I began seeing the numbers I haven’t called, I began recording the contents of my phone’s call log every day for a month. Sure enough, when I got the Cingular bill, it was “inflated” by about 120 night and weekends minutes and about 170 regular minutes on a usage of about 2200 minutes. Which is nothing compared to what my brother gets overcharged for, but still annoying. It’s one of those “too small to be seriously caught, sued for, and burned” things big companies constantly do, which is a disgusting ideology, in my opinion. Anyway, calling Cingular was a usual pain, but the minutes got credited back to my account and added to the rollover minutes. A great concept, those rollover minutes, but looks like Cingular makes up for the cost by inflating the bills. Speaking of rollover minutes, another interesting policy has surfaced recently. When I saw that my usage is considerably below my plan, and given that I’ve accumulated enough rollover minutes (which do expire, by the way, even though I paid for them), I decided to switch to a smaller and cheaper plan. That one actually went fine (the switch itself, and the call wasn’t too long). However, in the next bill I noticed that the number of rollover minutes I had was cut more or less in half. The first call to Cingular revealed that apparently that’s what they do when a customer downgrades to a smaller plan, they adjust the rollover minuted already accumulated in proportion. Even though I’ve already paid for the previous plan (which price difference, surprise surprise, isn’t being refunded “in proportion”). So that’ll be another call and more waste of time. And if time isn’t wasted, they just get away with those “too small to be sued over” things, which riles me.
Needless to say, the moment my contract with Cingular is over, I’m moving to T-mobile, it being the only other GSM provider in the area. Moreover, even though CIngular posted terms (they don’t exactly advertize customer service, billing, other problems, naturally) are better than T-mobile’s and many others, and probably will be so in the future, I don’t think I’ll ever have an account with that company again, unless it becomes the only company in the area (with this rush of acquisitions, you never know). Then again, my ground line is from AT&T, too, but that one works
Oh, and about RFI, it does happen, you can see it when the phone is too close to the monitor when it rings, for example, or when you use indoor TV antenna and the phone rings anywhere within 20-25 ft from it.Happened with T-mobile phones, too, I believe. Annoying, but that’s why one shouldn’t use it close to sensitive equipment.
June 1st, 2007 at 12:19 pm
you guys are all crazy i love cingular good phones very good service and i was getting feed back from my tv but its just some thing you have to deal with if you want a good phone company i uesd to have sprint,butt they keeped ofer charging us for the basics. if you dont like cingular just dont use them im going to stay because they are the best i have had.
June 1st, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Well, that’s precisely what I’m trying to accomplish, once the small matter of the contract is taken care of
June 6th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
This is a customer care reps call to the customer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I understand the fustration that some people have for Cingular the new AT&T. I currently work as a customer service rep for the company. Now I pride myself for the service I provide and i know there are customer service reps who work there just for the pay and have no business working for the company, but sad to say you will find people like that in any customer service position even with the other guys (T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, Alltell) cause people need jobs to support themselves and most everyday people dont want to be yelled at all day and be the one who is there to solve other peoples cell phone problems for 40 hours a week. So of course everyone you hire is not going to do the job perfectly but because we are union there has to be a process before someone who sucks can just get fired. I have to admit the interference does suck but being able to pretty much call anyone at anytime and anywhere your at makes up for it in my mind. The one thing I hate the most is that the customer never can take responsibility for anything that they do especially what there kids do. Also this is a business, we are here to make money that how business stay running( seem like were doing a pretty good job and we do have over 50 MILLION subscribers), and in return we provide the best cellular service that any company can and soon we will be the best in the data game as well(to prove this let me remind u we have 50 MILLION customer which is #1). Now im not saying that our service is for you, we do not have the best coverage everywhere but no cell company can make the claim they do because its not possible. ALL cell phone companies depend on each other(roaming agreements) to even provide the coverage that they do. If want to get the best assistance when it comes to customer service then dont be an @$$ to the person who you are asking for help from. Why do people always say that they didnt use all those minutes, because they do. We go as far to print the detail on your bills, give it to you online (even before your calls get billed too) so that we can show you exactly who you called so that we can prove that you really used the service. But no i get calls from people who tell me that its wrong when they havent even seen the bill, they just seen there balance of the bill, now if you say that right for you to do that than you really need another company. We have several plans that even goes as high as 6000 minutes so there should never be a reason why you go over your minutes, you should start ouit with a higher plan than you think we do let you change your price plan to a different one without a new contract(within the first half of your commitment if you want a promotion element ex. unlim mobile 2 mobile). We provide service for yoru cell phone, we also provide a discount on the phone to join our service or to stay with our service, no company just gives out phones, if your phone cant last more than a year then buy a case and keep it out of any situation where water can get in it(even in the shower it called moisture and that can build up in your phone). if you dont want to do that then get insurnace that why we have it for those situations that u just dont know will happen. If your phone breaks and you dont have any option but buying at full retail cost then im sad to say you could have prevented with insurance. If your TV breaks after the warrenty runs out and it was no fault of your own is your cable or satillite company going to replace it, No they would probably laugh in your face if u did, it works the same way for cell phone but they are even better cuz u can get insurance when u upgrade or activate service(30 days) and u can get another phone before your contract ends. For the good customers they get upgrades all the time, because they put money into the company by paying there bills on time, so dont expect to be getting discounted phones if you dont pay your bill on time and get suspended for non payment. We are not perfect, no company is perfect, no person is perfect, no electronic or computer system is perfect, radio waves are not perfect, the weather is not perfect, building materials are not perfect, your contract even states that the service is not guranteed due to all these imperfect things. The best thing about our service that only Verizon(which just started doing this) can match is that we have a 30 days period where you can exchange that so called crappy phone you got or even return it and not have to keep the commitment. To any customer who reads im sorry for being so blunt and i know and want you to know that this does not apply to all our customers. I actually like working and helping you that why ive worked there for 3+ years. This was just my oppertunity to be able to the venting for a change…
June 7th, 2007 at 12:02 am
By the was its a damn speaker.. who said life was fair..welcome to the real world..why does one little thing have to go wrong in someones life to where they blow it way out of proportion.. you need a hobby and i hope its not being the webmaster of a site dedicated to crapping on a company because you were so dumb that you turned your speaker loud of enough that the interference would blow it. I would have hoped your mother would have taught you to take care of your things and anyone knows if a speaker gets too loud it can blow…
June 7th, 2007 at 12:38 am
I had T-Mobile on prepaid minutes before, never had any problem except possibly poor coverage in remote areas, which I could live with. However, most of my friends use Cingular, and in January of this year I thought, well, I should probably sign a contract with them to take advantage of that Mobile to Mobile.
Big mistake.
Cingular has got to be the singularly worst service provider I’ve ever come across. I’ve had endless, endless troubles with their customer service and sales rep departments, which may or may not be populated by mentally deficient chipmunks. You have to love the way their representatives lie and improvise and generally contradict one another in an attempt to con you out of your money.
I was originally on a personal plan, but recently decided to switch to FamilyTalk in order to add another line for my mother. Their website wouldn’t let me do this online, so I called up their sales department in May. Since upgrade = more money, there wasn’t any problem, though the woman on the phone did say that I’d have to wait a month until the next billing cycle begins before the new plan would kick in. She assured me that at that time, I would be able to add a line, no hassle. And no extra deposit.
Turned out, that wasn’t so. The next billing cycle came in, my rate plan changed, and I went to a dealership personally to get my additional line. The rep was almost ecstatic to inform me that in order to do just that, I would have to pay an additional $500 deposit, on top of the deposit that I’d already coughed up at the beginning of the contract. This was news to me, considering what I’d been promised before. Why, I asked, and the guy actually had the gall to say that it was because I had had a Connecticut number transferred (my old T-Mobile number), and since the new line’s number would be a New York one, they needed to charge a deposit. If that isn’t bullshit, I don’t know what is. The rep then proceeded to offer me an *alternative* option, which is to sign up for a *brand new contract* for 7 months, at which point they’d merge the two lines. Needless to say, this sent all sorts of terrible alarms going off in my head, so I got out of there as quick as humanly possible.
I ended up calling their sales rep department, wanting a satisfactory explanation. The nervous stuttering guy on the phone actually took me through all the process of adding a line, ignored all my questions regarding the deposit — “Uh, we’re not up to that yet, still on Features ma’m.” — despite my repeatedly saying that I didn’t want any goddamn features, just a few answers. Once we hit the $500 deposit, I believe his exact words were, “I don’t really know what these deposits are about — they just are, y’know.” I asked a few more questions about credit history, but knew I wasn’t getting anything else out of this person, who by this point sounded as though he’d go into cardiac arrest if he didn’t get off the phone — in his defense, he truly seemed like someone who “didn’t know what these things are about.” and didn’t try to sell me the CT/NY numbers scenario. Still, you’d think he’d have offered to transfer me to some department that had the information I needed…
I made yet another call, in the same day, and this time got a woman who didn’t sound like she was greener than fresh produce. This time around, the explanation was that I’d have to wait until I was one year into my contract — at which point I’d get my initial deposit back — if I wanted to add a line for zero deposit. Again, no mention of numbers from different states affecting deposit rates. I argued my end for a while, and finally she agreed to check with their ‘credit department’. After I had been on hold for something like a geologic era, the woman came back on, saying that their credit department had confirmed that if I called back in two weeks — at which point I would be 6 months into the contract — they would be able to add another line with zero deposit. I got her first name and extension, will be calling again and I want the last conversation on record. Still fishy as hell, but for the moment I’m willing to wait — though if one more of their reps gives me a contradictory response, my patience will truly have run out.
June 7th, 2007 at 2:04 am
This goes out to mia. All credit evaluations go through equifax.. some how some way your credit is bad enough that you require a deposit. if you keep your service for 6 months with no interruptions for non payment we will then base your credit on your history with cingular. if all what your saing is true then the part about being a different area is why ur getting charged is not true. your beef is not with cingular your beef should be that you have some bad credit out there and need to get that fixed. call equifax and they will tell why u came back with a 500 deposit.
June 7th, 2007 at 8:43 am
I don’t think you’re getting the most salient point here, helpful customer rep. See, I’d always assumed that my high deposit had to do with a bad credit history; hence, I paid up without fuss the first time around. Now, my beef with Cingular, to phrase it in your own words, has to do with the fact that two (three, if you count the rep who okayed my upgrade promising no deposit) of your company’s representatives failed to bring this point up in two separate discussions regarding a deposit for a new line, and none of them would even consider transferring me over to the credit department despite my repeated request to discuss credit. One even gave me a reason that you yourself admitted was erroneous. If worst comes to worst, I would pay the deposit anyway — I pay my bills, that’s money I’m going to get back. It’s not so much the company’s policy as the gross incompetence in its employees that I’m so disgusted with, this being only one incident in many.
June 7th, 2007 at 9:35 am
As you state you were promised an UPGRADE with no deposit not a new line. If you moved to a different area that means you change markets and so in the new market you move to the account history does not matter since its a new account. You were told correct with upgrades there are no deposit required since you allready had service. Then when you wanted to add a line then that when you credit info was put through equifax and came back with 500 dollar deposit. You are not allowed to speak with our credit department because of the fact deposits are based on equifax and that deparment is an internal department not for customers. Mis information might have played a small part but some of the stuff your complaing about not being true is true. Im sorry thing are not working out exactly the way you want but based on what you statedmost of that info is true, it probably just wasnt delivered correctly or maybe it was a fact that the rep did not understand everything..and yes i will even admit it could have been incopetence but dot burn Cingular at the stake for a few peoples errors.
June 7th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Did you specifically skim over the part where I wrote that the person who processed my upgrade promised I would be able to *add a line* without a new deposit? Which would make it negligence if not outright lying on the rep’s part, don’t you think? Then how about when I said that it took me one, two, three rounds of song and dance with your so-called customer service before the word ‘credit history’ even came into play. Sure, it could just be a few people’s mistakes, but as far as the customers are concerned, customer service and sales rep are the face of Cingular — since they’re the only ones we actually have some sort of basic human contact with. I’m not sure burning at the stake describes it, but yes, I am disappointed as well as frustrated that instead of being informed and competent, the impression your general staff has left me with is more along the lines of ignorant, pigheaded, and ridiculously defensive. No, I agree with this website, you deserve all the bad press you get.
June 7th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Mia get over it. If your you soooo unhappy go somewhere else.. Well were still the #1 wireless company and the bad press u mention is only because people hate large companies like AT&T not because we have bad service. There seems to be over 50 million other people who dont have an issue with the company.. to be honest we will be fine without your business… PS we will still be happy to take your business back once you find out all the competition really does suck compared to us..
June 7th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Possibly you will be fine without my business, and possibly I care too much, but seriously? Thanks for making all my points regarding the rockstars employed by the country’s #1 wireless company — in name if not in actual quality.
June 7th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
You can’t please everyone,obviously,but nobody forced you to sign up for this service. Do a little research, read sited like this one, all the cell companies have them. Make an informed decision. If it isn’t all you thought it would be, then suck it up as a bad experience and move on…it’s only 2 years not a lifetime.
What really jacks-my-jaw, as a customer service rep, is the people that want credit for everything. Especially 3rd party downloads. If one more mom tells me her little angel would never download porn or games etc… because she/he is a straight A student and wouldn’t lie or couldn’t possibly send 1500 text messages because she told her/him not to I will go nuts. I even had one guy tell me he sleeps with his phone and must have rolled on it in his sleep and accessed the internet! Right, and he did $1,000.00 in downloads in his sleep, on “accident”. Or the parents that tell me they asked little Susie/Johnny and she/he said they didn’t know how to use their phone for this…uh huh. Or claim they don’t have internet on their phone, so couldn’t possibly accessed it, but 6 months of billing history show they did it every billing cycle. I could go on and on. People! Stop LYING, you CAN NOT accidently do hundreds not even 10.00 in downloads by accident. Do you think WE are stupid? You get at least 3 chances to choose Yes or No to the download, it CLEARLT asks several times if you are sure and tells you if it is a subscription service too. I personally hate giving these morons one dime in credit, but I have to. Then, these are the same people who will refuse purchase blockers on their accounts.
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June 15th, 2007 at 9:38 am
I guess, I didn’t make it clear. My main problem with Cingular isn’t with dropped calls (although I had two in the two years than I was with T-mobile, and my girlfriend had none for 2.5 years with them. With Cingular, I had probably over 100 by now in less than a year that I’ve been with them. And my phone has a more powerful than usual radio, too). My problem is with what I perceive as the company’s attitude towards its customers, of which I still am one (until the contract expires, of course). It’s shown in consistently erroneous billing for a small amount each time, so most people consider it not worth their time, much less the time of their lawyers, which to me is a disgusting trend that quite a few big companies has adopted, as their settlements with class-action lawsuits are still smaller than the profit from those “small amounts” (times 50 million customers for this proud #1 carrier). I’d have less of a problem with that, if when calling Cingular I’d just be told “sorry for that, our bad, we’ll refund it and won’t do it again” (and it wouldn’t be done again). As it is, it takes hours and often several calls for someone at Cingular to even admit that, in fact, it was a mistake, then a few more calls for the money to be refunded or the credit applied, and then the same thing will happen in the next month’s bill, which leads me to conclude that it’s not, in fact, “a mistake”, but a consistent policy of fraud. Yes, as pointed out by the Cingular rep (or PR person, companies do have people working on their reputation online these days), Cingular is a business, and is in it to make money. However, when the money is made by small-time overcharging (times 50 million), it’s not called a legitimate business, it’s called fraud. Not sure how one can be proud of being a part of something like that.
Cingular’s attitude towards its customers is also shown in the amount of red tape in its policies and quite useless dspute resolution process (which centers around taking as much of the customer’s time as possible, thus solving most disputes by the customer simply abandoning the dispute). It’s a small wonder that Cingular has the 2-year contracts, unlike other carriers. They need it. If they were even half-decent in their business, they wouldn’t need it, as they’d outcompete other carriers just by that (as most of the other carriers aren’t that great, either). But their customer retention policy seems to be centered around 2-year contracts and a fancy phone to make someone sign up for the next 2 years.
The whole cituation with Cingular reminds me of that of our auto industry. GM, Ford, Chrysler, and American MOtors (still remember American Motors?) had been virtual monopolies (and state-protected ones, too) for so long that they took their dominance for granted and forgot how to compete. Well, Japanese and European companies outcompeted them, even with all the government protection piled up and all the PR campaigns, by being of better quality, cheaper (not anymore, but the quality still stands), more technologically advanced, and having a vision for the future (beyond reviving the same model for 50 years). Oh, and treating their employees better, rather than laying them off, hiring them back on, laying them off again, hiring them back on again, and so on, and then wondering why the top 5% of the graduates don’t want to work for them and why they mostly get the bottom 20%. I hope, something like this is going to happen to Cingular, as well. T-Mobile’s here already, NTT DoKoMo is looking for an entry to the US market, too. Competition only works when it’s present, and that’s barely the case in the mobile market anymore. Yeah, there’re several of them, but they offer pretty much the same poor service, the same prices, and the same crappy customer experience, which keeps them all afloat (some things tend to float, you know). T-mobile, in my opinion, is the more decent of the lot, mainly because it’s not a local monopoly (it sucks quite a lot in Germany, where it is one, or so I heard). More players like that, and either the local carriers will have to change their ways (unlikely, given the inertia in the huge bureaucratic machines they are), or go down. Personally, after dealing with them for the past 15 years or so, I prefer the latter. After all, one pillars of justice is revenge
June 15th, 2007 at 9:50 am
Now, let’s look at these arguments…
“Mia get over it. If your you soooo unhappy go somewhere else..”
A personal hit (always works when the arguments run low) and an invitation to take her business elsewhere (hmm, isn’t that precisely what a 2-year contract is there to prevent?). Doesn’t seem like a viable solution, but then, that’s Cingular customer service - no viable solutions.
“Well were still the #1 wireless company and the bad press u mention is only because people hate large companies like AT&T not because we have bad service”
#1, yes. IN size, that is, after a bunch of acquisitions. WHich made a lot of people their customers whether they wanted it or not. And yes, since the others suck as much or close, it sounds like a viable business model (when everybody around sucks, a sucky company can thrive. Especially if it puts up cheesy commercials about how great it is). And yeah, people hate big companies like AT&T. I wonder why. COuld it be bad service? You know, people used to respect big companies. That kind of respect in itself creates an inertia which is hard to change. So why did it change? Hmm, just a thought, could it be bad service?
“There seems to be over 50 million other people who dont have an issue with the company..”
Or they’re locked in a contract, or they don’t see many alternatives out there, or… The list can be long. You know, during the time of civil rights movements only a small percentage of the people affected spoke up. Does this mean that the rest were content with the situation? By this logic, so it’d seem.
“to be honest we will be fine without your business…”
Of course, they will be. Unless and until too many of such businesses move away. Could this be another reason why people don’t like big companies like AT&T? The attitude like that, that is.
“PS we will still be happy to take your business back once you find out all the competition really does suck compared to us..”
I thought, Cingular would be just fine without Mia’s business. And yes, it is quite possible, although Cingular sets a high bar to compete with when it comes to bad service. It’s an interesting business model though - “we suck, but you’ll be back, because everyone else sucks, too”
June 15th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
you guys are a bunch of whiney bitches…seriously…3 seconds of a noise coming from electronics is really that big of a deal to where you’d switch carriers? are you fucking kidding me? props to the people on here who said they were staying with cingular and the noise isn’t that big of a deal..atleast they are smart enough to realize what a good company is…go ahead and change over to sprint…but you better learn arabic if you ever want to call up to customer care…or how about you go to t-mobile…deal with one of their endless amounts of indirect dealers who will lie to you and screw you over in a second…and then there’s verizon…the cockiest peice of shit company in america. seriously…stop being a bunch of whiney bitches…its a fucking noise. who gives a flying monkey shit if it makes your electronics buzz for 3 seconds. everyone here is acting like there are perfect cell phone companies…NO COMPANY IS PERFECT INCLUDING CINGULAR. every company has issues. if you don’t get service at your house…switch to a company that does…if you don’t like one companys customer care…switch to one with better customer care…but what kind of autistic fanny fucking jack ass does it take to switch because theres a fucking noise coming out of your computer?!
any of you people reading this and thinking of posting something as dumb as the last 50 or 60 people did…go fuck yourself. please…please…please switch off of whatever cell phone company you have currently…because nobody deserves to deal with your dumb ass when you call up or go into a store.
fuck you and good night
June 15th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
well guys, i think everybody agrees that cingular/att(same thing or same problem) does not care about costumers. i used to work with sprint and also were bad, but now i think they are getting better, at least better than cingular. however t-mobile, eventougth they have a no 3g network, its service is great and they tread you like you are the owner. so, if you dont want to complain more, change to t-mobile
June 15th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Cingular’s problem with interference is 850MHz band, not 1900MHz. Here’s my test:
T-Mobile, which operates in US at 1900 and cingular, which by default operates at 850MHz. Same phone (Cingular 8125, unlocked). Put t-mobile SIM, make a call, same distance from speakers, very little noise. Put Cingular SIM, make a call, noise is 3-5 times higher.
Nobody but Cingular uses 850MHz band, as far as I know.
Shielding wires doesn’t help - I had same wires and different speakers and noise was semi-ok, but these new speakers ($1500 monitors) just have wiring in them which picks up way too much.
I actually can have phone 5 feet away and still hear cell noise.
And of course cingular puts out SIMs which are forcing phone to use 850 (I’ve modified phone’s registry to allow me to select network, then it’s all back to same 850 after reboot).
Sucks, but what can you do…
Dami
June 15th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
you’re a moron.
Saying GSM sucks because of RFi, is like saying cars suck because they make noise. GSM is the best way to transport our conversations, noise or not. maybe you should spend some money on your cables just like your uber expensive “$100 computer speakers” or get a 2 cups and some string and stop your bitching. By the way, you should be bitching to your speaker manufacturer, not Cingular, as my $20 alarm clock can handle RFi, so there was obviously a problem with your poundin’ sound system.
June 15th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Now I am not biased to any cell phone company, but it seems to me that the supporters of Cingular/ATT&T have the worst English. I am not going to assume anything, but if you are going to debate a subject and can’t use proper English, you sound very uneducated and your point is lost. Even the “customer service representative” can’t form complete sentences or spell correctly. In my experiences uneducated people are very ignorant and judging by the responses I can’t be far off. Also in my experiences the company you work for is always the best, so of course you are going to defend it. First off, stop being brain washed by corporate America and repeating what was said to you at some Cingular/ATT&T training seminar. Secondly, this is a site for people to vent there frustrations, so I’m pretty sure your sales pitch about “the best cellular company” are falling on deaf ears. On a side note, calling someone stupid for not liking the same company you do is completely ignorant and makes you look like a jackass for not having a valid response. Judging by what I have read and my experiences with Cingular/ATT&T I would have to agree with this site and the people who have responded on this site.
June 15th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
T-Mobile and PS3 are BEST! Better than all competition! iPhone, unfortunately on Cingular!
June 15th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Hey Dami,
Some things are wrong here Ill mark them with a *** so you know whats wrong and right…
# Dami Says:
June 15th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Cingular’s problem with interference is 850MHz band, not 1900MHz. *** Interference is on BOTH frequencies.***
Here’s my test:
T-Mobile, which operates in US at 1900 and cingular, which by default operates at 850MHz. ***Cingular by default operates at BOTH. Primarily west coast 1900, east coast 850Mhz***
Same phone (Cingular 8125, unlocked). Put t-mobile SIM, make a call, same distance from speakers, very little noise. Put Cingular SIM, make a call, noise is 3-5 times higher.
Nobody but Cingular uses 850MHz band ***Verizon, Alltel, and many others use 800Mhz, but in GSM, they call it 850Mhz, its the same thing as 800.***
, as far as I know.
Shielding wires doesn’t help - I had same wires and different speakers and noise was semi-ok, but these new speakers ($1500 monitors) just have wiring in them which picks up way too much.
I actually can have phone 5 feet away and still hear cell noise.
And of course cingular puts out SIMs which are forcing phone to use 850 (I’ve modified phone’s registry to allow me to select network, then it’s all back to same 850 after reboot).*** Cingular doenst put out SIMS that force anything, other then showing CINGULAR or AT&T as their network, even while roaming. Speaking of roaming, they dont allow MANUAL roaming. But by no means does Cingular force 850 over 1900Mhz.**8
Sucks, but what can you do…
Dami
June 15th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
One more thing, we are on the topic of iPhone…
MAJORITY of T-Mobile users would WANT the iPhone, if it was on T-Mobile but that same majority would not LEAVE T-Mobile for Cingular/AT&T for the iPhone.
Statistically, there are more then 2:1 T-Mobile users who want iPhone but not willing to leave for Cingular. Verizon has less users who want it then even Cingular, and Sprint users only 3% of their users even care about it. Meaning that the iPhone will only be successful on T-Mobile (logically speaking the best network GSM wise for it).
June 15th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
dtx:
first off you idiot, all cells makes RFi noise, not just GSM. 850MHz in particular is nosier in my tests than 1900.
I disconnected signal cables from speakers and they still get interference. See expensive monitors are not made to be used near a cell phone, but that’s not the point - the point was that 850 band makes more noise than 1900.
rwaldorf:
Of course there’s interference on Both frequences. I said 850 has MORE than 1900, i didn’t say 1900 doesn’t have it at all.
I didn’t know that west coast uses 1900. I’m in Chicago and it’s 850 all over here.
According to this forum, Cingular supposedly DOES lock your phone by defaulting 850 in chicago and locking manual selection.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-284201.html
June 16th, 2007 at 6:27 am
Just wanted to point out that Verizon is actually number one in customer base, and growing everyday…. i get more people switching from cingular everyday complaining about the new at&t’s customer service.
CDMA phones might be black sheep in a global sense, but in North America (75% of US citizens never leave the country in their lifetime) CDMA seems to be a little more under control.
At this point, everyone is right, but only because everyones phones are the same in one way or another whether one is global or one is faster, it all averages out to about the same experience with any carrier. Where Verizon (and many others) succeed is that we take pride in our customer service and make sure that we help out our customer.
For the record, if this kids speakers blew up cause of Verizon, (wouldnt have happened in the first place i know) we would have comp’ed the kid for new speakers and probably given him a credit on his next bill or two. Just shows you how far a little customer service can take a company.
June 16th, 2007 at 7:37 am
Verizon Rep Says:
June 16th, 2007 at 6:27 am
Just wanted to point out that Verizon is actually number one in customer base, and growing everyday…. i get more people switching from cingular everyday complaining about the new at&t’s customer service.
Correction–VZW has more postpaid users than anyone else, however Cingular/ATT/Whoever they are this week has more overall customers since they have a much larger prepay and reseller(Tracfone) customer base. Cingular does blow however, one of my best friends is a major sales Director in ATT landline and has to use their cell service, all I ever here is “I’m gettin another Verizon Phone” Funny thing was that he got caught by someone in the top of the organization a year and a half ago using his private VZW line and got his butt chewed out, so now he is afraid of losing his six figure salary and doing nothing but bitching about his Cingular Crackberry aka the dropomatic 5000.
June 17th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Hmmmm…lets see. Cingular/AT&T has 62.2 million customers up 1.2 million by end of 1st quarter
of 2007.
To all that doesnt understand business, that means the company added 1.2 million customers from
Jan. 1st 2007 to March 31. It seems as though quite alot of people are coming over to the new AT&T
eventhough the so-called “bad customer service”.
Average monthly subscriber churn for AT&T’s postpaid wireless customer base was a best-ever 1.3
percent in the first quarter, down from 1.6 percent in the year-earlier quarter and 1.5 percent in
the fourth quarter of 2006. Total churn was 1.7 percent, down from 1.9 percent in the year-earlier
first quarter and 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006.
It seems as though many US customers do not share the same feeling as the people in this forum.
GO AT&T!!!!!!
June 17th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Quit your bitching… seriously, this is lame.
June 17th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
This website (and this particular forum) has been an “interesting” read, so far. I have worked for Customer Service (AT&T Wireless then Cingular Wireless) and currently work in front-line sales for the New AT&T. I am disturbed that some individuals have identified themselves as employees of the New AT&T and then proceeded to use “vulgar” language to “attack” people that have identified themselves as customers. I understand your frustration with having to deal with the wrath of customers everyday and what seems to be like every call, but this website, nor anywhere else, is the place to identify yourself as an employee of the New AT&T when your language leans foul. By doing so, you tarnish the reputation of your employer and co-workers by feeding more negative “perceived official” comments to the discussion. It is perfectly acceptable to “root for” your employer, but don’t make the other 67,000 employees of the wireless division look bad, because you’ve decided to stoop to “vulgar” language to answer other posts. Be better than that.
Everyone that has dealt with Cingular Wireless/New AT&T Customer Service has confronted a major problem that affects other major industries in the United States. That problem is … unions. Every call-center (Customer Care, Credit & Activations, Receivables Management, Fraud, Telesales , etc) that the New AT&T has … is unionized. There are some additional centers in Canada, which are part of an out-sourcing strategy to control some costs. The New AT&T (Cingular Wireless) should be commended for reversing a policy that AT&T Wireless (the old wireless carrier that was bought for $41 billion over three years ago) put into place almost five years ago. The CIO of AT&T Wireless (Christopher Corrado) at the time (and a former WiPro executive) got the company to outsource “non-essential” call-center duties (e.g., Exchange By Mail) to call-centers in Western India. It was an amazing business blunder which lead to other problems, finally pushing the old AT&T Wireless into auction. Today’s management (of the wireless division) quickly instituted an “America First” policy (or more correctly, a “North America First” policy). This should be applauded, as other wireless carriers have continued to export their jobs to Eastern European and Asian countries. This reliance on a North American workforce at the New AT&T is great, but does have some drawbacks.
Unionized labor generally tends to work only hard enough to keep their jobs rather than pushing hard to increase productivity. This is not to cast every representative in a New AT&T call-center as “lazy” or “un-proficient” in their duties. There are very dedicated individuals that work for more than a paycheck. They want more than anything to assist every customer in a timely fashion and come to a “fair” resolution to a customer’s problem. This is because if you fix the problem now, you won’t have to fix it again later. Problem is … these individuals are in the minority. A large minority (40% in my estimation), but a minority nonetheless. Call-center managers really try their best, but are often powerless to remove representatives that do not go the extra mile or even show a semblance of sincerity to our customers. Why are they powerless to remove these worthless employees? I will give you three letters: CWA (Communication Workers of America) Their union contract with the New AT&T makes terminating wireless division employees very difficult, and in some cases next to impossible. These are the employees that you are complaining about. The employees that are posting here have, at least, some dedication as they are spending some time to come to a wireless-related website like this. The employees that you hate to deal with don’t care about anything, once they’ve punched-out in MyTime for the day. This union issue is not a problem at other wireless carriers.
Verizon Wireless is completely 100% certified anti-union. The old AT&T Wireless had the same philosophy (except for some folks in New Jersey). If you can’t provide quality customer service then Verizon Wireless will terminate you immediately. It is unfortunate that this can’t be done at New AT&T call-centers. Personally, I believe that the New AT&T employs better Customer Care representatives (on average, as Verizon Wireless beats down their call-center representatives to keep them in-line and union-free), but the fine work they do gets overshadowed by the majority of representatives that choose to do the bare minimum for customers. Our customers are not the only people angry with this situation. Yes folks, there are people that work at this company that give it 100% every phone call, and also hate other co-workers that choose to cause problems when they can just as easily find solutions. With that … their is a flip-side to that coin. Finding solutions means “realistic” solutions.
Every single day, tens-of-thousands of customers call into the various departments at the New AT&T to get answers and/or solutions to what ails them. Most people call for issues that are easily fixed. Some are not so easily fixed. Finally, some are just ridiculous. I could spend hours going over the numerous instances where customers wanted restitution, not because their wireless carrier did something wrong to them, but simply because they feel customers should get what they demand. It’s difficult to imagine that the people that complain about ridiculous issues to my company have jobs themselves, as I doubt they would “credit” people’s accounts at their place of employment, just because a customer “demanded” that they do it.
Be nice to the person that is “trying” to help you, even when they can’t help you. If you happen to reach someone that does care about their job and properly servicing every customer, they are just as inclined to shut-down any assistance in your direction, if you are rude to them. There were countless times that I received calls because another call-center representative was rude to you, but you then decided to take it out on me when you called back in. I learned long ago that you weren’t really mad at me, but mad at the previous representative and my employer. Every customer got the attention they “deserved” regardless of how they treated me, but remember I am human and when a customer cursed at me, sometimes I *would* take it personally. Those customers lost out on the opportunity to be serviced by someone who cared and is trained to find a resolution to your complicated problem. You could have had the issue for months, but you’re telling us (the representative you’re talking to) about the issue for the first time. Be patient with us as some will understand your issue quicker than others. Not more I can speak to on that subject.
It is always amusing to listen to people that despise having to sign a contract in the wireless industry. You inform a customer that the “non-contracted” price on the device they would like to have is $400 plus taxes. They respond … “That’s ludicrous! Who would pay that price for a phone?” Well, your local wireless carrier paid three-quarters of that price to the manufacturer, so that’s who. Customers, in turn, only want to pay $50 for it. The contract is there to recoup the price difference on the device you got at a discount. If you stay the whole contract period … guess what … you got a $400 device for only $50. Those greedy wireless companies, huh? In Europe and Asia, consumers are already accustomed to paying the *full* price for a device, but we Americans always want something for nothing. If you don’t want a contract … then don’t get the discounted $400 phone for only $50 … instead, buy the $150 phone that you would never be caught dead using in front of your friends. Then pray that $150 device will provide you the service that you desire.
Another amusing topic is the Rollover feature that the New AT&T offers exclusively. This advantage to our customers gives them the ability to “accrue” up to twelve months worth of unused minutes. Yes, they do not last forever. Some people sour on this program because, “I paid for them, so why do they expire after a year?” Generally, my response is, “What other wireless carrier lets you roll-over your unused minutes more than one month, let alone twelve months?” If you are a Verizon Wireless customer with a 900 Anytime Minute rate-plan, but only use 700 minutes in a month, why doesn’t Verizon Wireless let you roll-over those remaining unused 200 Anytime Minutes to the next month? The reason is simple … wireless companies love when their customers do not use all the minutes they have paid for. They feel that it’s your fault you didn’t use all the minutes that you paid for. How does that make you feel as a customer of Verizon Wireless? The New AT&T (formerly Cingular Wireless ) has always got flack from Wall Street and institutional investors as Rollover Minutes reduce a huge income steam to its bottom line. Yet, our customers love how invaluable Rollover Minutes are during the holiday season.
Finally, I remember when AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless merged together three years ago (in October) that Verizon Wireless stated unequivocally that within a “couple years, not only will we match but also surpass the 1.5 million customers that Cingular Wireless has now.” Three years later, the New AT&T still has 1.5 million more customers than Verizon Wireless. Yes, to all you Verizon Wireless employees, a pre-paid customer is still a customer. The “largest” wireless carrier in the world (China Mobile) has over 320 million customers, but over 250 million are pre-paid customers. Even with our large pre-paid customer base, our ARPU is still only a buck-fifty behind yours. That statistic is amazing considering we should be farther behind with our pre-paid base. Verizon Wireless desperately wants to have the “Largest Wireless Carrier” title back, but since they’ve failed to do that in three years, they recently have started to make up titles. Examples: “Largest Postpaid Carrier” - “Most Profitable Data Carrier” and so on. Verizon Wireless is a successful wireless carrier, but it has numerous faults and countless irate customers like everyone else. So, it will be interesting to see if telling Steve Jobs where he can stick it will come back to hurt their company’s 3rd and 4th-quarter sales this year.
Obviously we want every customer that needs wireless communications. It is unfortunate that websites like these have to spring up to bring attention to the failures of all wireless carriers, but the New AT&T is the only company that actively seeks out these forums and discusses their contents on a high level. Does that always change things? No, but it at least provokes thought in the minds of the decision-makers at my company. If you remember anything from what you’ve just read right now … please, remember that the people that answer your phone-calls are often not empowered, but rather imprisoned in their decisions when trying to assist you. Be “realistic” in your demands, as we’re not going to refund the cost of your computer speaker that you “intentionally” destroyed. Just because *you* wanted to see if an usual sound you were hearing had the capability of destroying your computer speaker, does *not* make the New AT&T responsible for your thoughtless “experiment.”
I personally apologize for the frustrations that any of our customers have dealt with, as we always strive to do “right” by our customers. Unfortunately, that isn’t always demonstrated on a consistent basis. That is the most regrettable thing.
June 19th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
I like the Concerned Employees statement. I am with Verizon. I love them. They are the best by far. 50 million customers does not mean much to me. I was thinking about AT&T but I have no real reason to leave Verizon. Each carrier has its draw backs, and that is something everyone needs to realize,but it it the same, don’t call customer service with an unrealistic problem. $8000 dollars is very a very realistic problem, but it looks like you were at fault here and experienced either some serious pro-rated charges or you used data when you had your data cut off. Either way you were an uninformed customer, and your ignorance does not make up for the bill. While I find this whole site to be very amusing, I don’t know what you expect AT&T to do about the speakers. That is the cost of GSM, which you seem to understand.
For the AT&T employees, you are only proving the fact that AT&T has the worst Customer Service out of all the providers. Worst than Sprint probably?
June 21st, 2007 at 2:45 pm
I concur. Not only do I find that the Cingular reps are stupid, but they are extremely rude. One lady just last week had a yelling fight with me because I am just SO sick and tired of hearing “you HAVE to up your plan. You talk too much”
yea… umm NO. Simply put, I bought the 8125 off of amazon, an authorized cingular dealer, and the first month I started using it (mind you, I had just put the account completely into my name–was in my mom’s now mine) First month was fine, when it was in my name. Wasn’t using the phone for more than the simple function of a PDA. Two days into my next billing cycle, I make the swap. –still can’t view anything online because its blocked…
get the “2nd” month’s bill. $20 in overage charges…. burned STRAIGHT through my 766 roll over, PLUS the 450 peak time minutes… and they “clocked” it in at a staggering 2400-something minutes for one month. Mind you, I talk a lot in person… but NEVER for that much on the phone.
Called & complained. They rechecked the billed minutes to make sure I wasn’t getting billed for M2M minutes (never got back to me, though they said they would) … and for another month, heard the same story… “you talk too much…you need a higher plan”
Third month starts–mind you…I’m EXTREMELY pissed… I have no rollover minutes, and couldn’t use my phone for the last 2 weeks of my month. 40 minutes yet AGAIN in overage minutes. theres ANOTHER 20 bucks.
Third month starts, and I start tracking my minutes, minute for minute, with the call log on my phone.
Two days in, I call them up yet again….this time, I’m really smart about it, and I go online to see what in the world the guy is talking about. THATS when I notice why the HELL I’m “burning” through my minutes so fast.
For every call that ends within…I’d say about 15 seconds of the next minute…instead of being charged for that next minute…I’m getting charged a minute ABOVE that one… for example. I end the call at 1:46 .. instead of the 2 minutes, since they round up… I get charged 3 minutes. So essentially, for approx. 70% of my calls, I’m getting charged an extra minute.
And mind you, several people have told me, that if the call is under 30 seconds, you don’t get charged for it. So why the hell am I getting charged for my dropped calls: duration 00:00 (which they NOW fixed) as well as my calls that are NEVER patched through… 3 seconds usually.—theres ANOTHER minute. I’m sorry but no way in hell is that even remotely right.
To shorten this up, (though I’ve got many MANY more)… they told me to go into the corporate office–did that–and they said that it was the phone that was bad. Long story short, I got a “one-time exception” replacement from amazon, (because I refuse to get a refurbed when it was only 3 months old). I now have the 8525 because they were out of stock. Put in the SIM card last night (btw, only 5 hrs of trying to transfer ALL my data—I succeeded! but all future appts that didn’t sync to my laptop, didn’t get put over.)
Checked this morning, to see if the new phone, would provide me with a less hassle this month. No cigar. Same problem, which means its ALL on Cingular.
Gonna go into a corporate office tomorrow night and have yet ANOTHER bitch-fest with them. I want my minutes refunded, and I want my money back.
Been a customer w/cingular since 2001…NEVER had a hassle like this before. Not until it came in my name that is. Thank GOD my contract is up in February… I’m actually considering switching over.
Side Note: the upgraded model– IE MUCH more expensive and should therefore be a LOT better with everything…has THE CRAPPIEST reception EVER. I’m sorry, but if I can’t recieve any of my calls at night because more people are on the towers, then what the hell am I supposed to do with my N&W minutes if I can’t talk during the day? I already missed 2 calls that I know of last night. How many more do I have to miss?
and btw, yes, my bitching in the past 2 weeks resulted in an approx $30 refund for the overage charges… but no minutes. I plan on changing this soon, because its not the phone, and if it IS the phone, then I expect a BRAND NEW phone since this one is from Monday night–new–brand new in the box.
I’ve got more stories later…though I’ve got good stories, this past 2 months, has just wiped it all away. Anyone notice anything since they switched over to AT&T? I do… because they changed something in their system. Personally, I think thats why its crappier reception now… 8 more months though!
June 21st, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Isn’t it about time the FTC/SEC got involved again and broke this up? Wasn’t the idea of de-regulation to split up Bell/AT&T 25 years ago? I was with Pac Bell, then bought by Cingular, then bought by AT&T again (and of course they bought SBC in Southern Cal). Hmmm. Anti-Trust anyone?
I was pleased with my service until the AT&T deal. Literally from the first day they switched my Sim card and began integrating with the AT&T network, service was horrible. Dropped calls, noisy lines, and that wonderful clicking in any nearby speaker/phone/radio…. Just a reminder of how much radiation is burning through my head. This is really a class-action suit just waiting to happen. Let some physics or RF guy find something unsafe about the cause of that interference….
June 22nd, 2007 at 10:26 am
okay… I’ve got another one, this is a really good one.
Last year I got a replacement phone under the warranty thing because Cingular said that it was my phone that kept cutting out during my calls — no voices but the call was still connected. So after I got a WORKING refurbed phone, (finally–only took like 2 weeks and they gave me a brand new phone because of all my trouble) well with this NEW phone now, all of a sudden, I’m getting all of these unknown callers….and its coming from my house phone. Now mind you, I’ve got the number stored and everything. So I call in to complain…and explain to them that its coming in as an unknown caller…
here’s their WONDERFULLY SMART response to me: its the caller ID in your house thats blocking the number, so you need to disconnect the caller ID before you try calling that number.
I’m sorry, but that is one of the STUPIDEST responses I’ve EVER heard. First off, the caller ID box in your house–the one you buy from the stores, is merely a screen, designed for the function of outputting the name & number of who is calling you. It in NO way has the capability of changing your HOUSE PHONE NUMBER so that the cell phone “can’t decrypt it”–thus rendering it unknown.
Needless to say, earlier this year, right around the time when they made the switch over to AT&T, I stopped getting the unknown calls.
Coincidence? I think not. And you know what else, I’ll bet that its around the SAME time that I started getting billed for more minutes than I’ve used.
June 24th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Stop being such babies!
Oo, your phone makes noise. So what, deal with it. AT&T has the best coverage to me, and I will never
leave them. If AT&T was so bad, then why does it have 62 million ( and counting ) customers? Like
some others said, GSM is the best way to communicate wirelessly, and ALL COMPANIES have problems.
Don’t like AT&T, don’t get AT&T, go with Sprint or Verizon. Who is so stupid that they know the
phone is near sensitive electronics and still puts it there. I mean, come on. It’s your fault for
doing that. Your should think before you do that. If you phone keeps dying, GET EXTENDED WARRENTY OR
INSURANCE. If you phone has died before and you get a new one, get insurance this time. So stop whining
and stick with the best carrier, AT&T and I will never leave them!
June 24th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Oh yah, and Kristen, it’s you PHONE COMPANY. You signed up with them to keep your number blocked when
you call other people. Don’t like that, call your local phone company. It’s not AT&T, ok? So stop
blaming them when they have nothing to do with it. call your local phone company, k?
June 26th, 2007 at 10:17 am
I live in one of the 38 states where AT&T does NOT do business, Vermont. This means that I can not get an iPhone, even if I did want to torture myself by signing onto Cingular/AT&T rape contract.
I am amazed at the vitriol spewed here by supposed techs from Cingular/AT&T. I used to have AT&T back in the late ’90s in New York City, their service was SO BAD that there was a successful class-action lawsuit against them.
RF is such that electronics can receive interference. The classic is having a passing taxi radio rectified by a pro-audio system. A music concert grade sound system of 5000 watts will easily rectify RF. You can hear cellphones all the time on the cable news, where the phone’s occasional connection queries and picked up by the microphones. Also, phones RF envelope is larger when the reception is weak and it’s signal is smaller when the cell tower is nearby.
Different electronic components will rectify different areas of the RF spectrum. One cell phone will affect different audio systems differently.
Since I live in Vermont, I get NO cell service where I live. I use Unicel since they are willing to strap their cell sites onto a farmer’s silos, they have far more service up here. The big companies are locked into having specific types of towers and would never even think of using a farmer’s silo. Since Vermont won’t let the big companies devestate our mountaintops for their ugly towers, we therefore have no service from the big companies. This is also why Cingular uses Unicel for roaming services in Vermont. Unicel has the most area covered up here.
June 30th, 2007 at 7:12 am
I have a few facts to throw this way:
1) “The New AT&T” isn’t giving any discounts on iPhones with a two-year plan. You simply have to buy a two-year plan, and full price for an iPhone. So why the mandatory two-year plan? It isn’t to recoup their cost of the iPhone.
2) When I started Verizon, they offered me 14 days to try out a cell phone and their service. If I was dissatisfied, I could bring back the phone and get a full refund and cancellation of contract. Wow! What’s up with the mandatory contract, AT&T?
3) People don’t care about statistics. They care about themselves. They don’t care about complainers or customer care reps stories. They care about their own service. Period.
I am a computer consultant and am always in denial about how many stupid people are allowed to own and use a computer, simply because not only do they have/get no computer training, they don’t WANT to learn how to use a computer either. They just want it to work perfectly without knowing anything about it. Computers are not microwaves. They are complex devices. People really do need to learn a lot about them to use them without incident and to their satisfaction. It’s like getting a car and not knowing the rules of the road - just knowing what the accelerator and brakes do. “How do I put gas in? Change a tire? What’s a red light mean?” These people shouldn’t be driving (or using computers, in my opinion) if they don’t know how to use a car properly.
My point? Cingular (or whatever) customer care reps will always get stupid people who don’t know how to use a cell phone, or understand their limitations, and will hear ridiculous rants daily. I’m not concerned with those types of stories. I also don’t care at all how many customers a company has or customer satisfaction or turnover statistics. I have had Verizon now for a few years and have NEVER had a dropped call or bad service from one of their reps. Other Verizon customers have, but I care much more about MY service than theirs. I really want an iPhone but am scared to switch to AT&T due to so many complainers. Some people love them; some people hate them. Some people have great service; some people want to torch the company. That is what happens with all large companies. I understand that. This forum has proven that.
What I’m concerned with is this: there are so many companies that let you try out their products first and return them for a refund, that I wonder why AT&T doesn’t offer that as well. If this company’s wireless service is so great, why not let us try it first and see if it works FOR US? Verizon does. Maybe certain areas don’t cover very well. Maybe some phones are better than others. I really don’t care if some people have no problems and others are plagued with them. That’s in all things, everywhere. I just want MY service to work. Simply want to make a call and talk, without the call losing connection. That’s gotta be the most fundamental guarantee of a wireless company.
So AT&T/Cingular, I don’t really care if you are big or small, or if people love or hate you. There’s more to being a great company than your wireless service, phones, size, customer base, and statistics. The best companies on earth truly care about EVERY ONE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS, even if their services fail from time to time. As a computer consultant, I treat every one of my customers like they are my ONLY customer. That is what’s most important to everyone. Yes, it is true I don’t service 50 million people. But if I did, I’d do it the way you should and I already do: one person at a time, pretending that person were the only one calling and was my only customer. I’d hear their problems and swear to resolve them. It seems like the pissed-off people writing here are customers that aren’t being treated correctly. That simply won’t do. If you should be writing anything, it should be how you are sorry they are upset, and helping them get their problems resolved. Every one of these people counts (or should, to you).
So, do I buy an iPhone? I have the money, and have watched Apple’s videos. It is a very technically-advanced device and so I understand why it costs so much and what I am getting for that price. I may get a defective one, but they are under warranty (that’s also known as a GUARANTEE AGAINST DEFECT, AT&T) and I can get it replaced because Apple stands behind what it makes. So many people love them and so many people are dissatisfied. Which type of person will I be? I am not a consumer. I am a person. And I count just as much as these people. Everyone counts. Make that your business strategy. Put that in an ad and live it. “The new AT&T. You are our most important customer. We guarantee it”. And then back it up.
June 30th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
T-Mobile is better anyways! T-Mobile has the best value in their plans. Also, T-Mobile has alot of things up their sleeves with their 3G Network switching on soon. So for everyone who has T-Mobile, stay because T-Mobile is only getting better and inexpensive by the days. As of the beginning of June, they have the best value for an individual plan of $39.99 for 1000 Whenever Minutes, unlimited nights and weekends, free roaming, and no long distance charges across America so you can talk anytime on your terms. T-Mobile is best! Great customer service. And for the phones, they are working on great phones for their new 3G Network. I’m telling you, they have alot up their sleeves. T-Mobile and PlayStation 3 are BEST!
July 1st, 2007 at 7:00 am
My Cingular Phone drops call’s every time.
July 1st, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Well, I got an iPhone. And if I connect to a WiFi network, it works beautifully. BUT, if I use AT&T’s service, connection to their wireless network is spotty. My phone has been activated, but my old cell phone (transferred the number) is still getting calls. So I can’t receive any calls on my iPhone. Tried to call them on a Sunday. No one home. So I guess if my phone service has a problem, the largest phone company around is closed on weekends. Verizon isn’t. Apple, why oh why did you settle for AT&T? At least I can watch a video… just can’t receive any calls, or ask for help.
July 8th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Kill yourself and this whole problem will go away.
July 15th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Cingular, the new AT&T provides good service at a decent price. However, that also comes at a price if you are ever in need of help. I have called 611 to talk to customer service about almost every possible problem you could have with a phone. They used to be pretty helpful, but since they turned AT&T the people I talk to are dumber, more rude, less helpful, and inconsiderate. I don’t know who is in charge of their HR Department but whoever it is needs to re-evaluate their strategy. I bought a refurb phone and it didn’t work so I called to get a replacement. I was transferred 6 times then was transferred back to the main number. Assholes. And I think they only hire a certain sex and race to for customer service. And the other day I was calling to activate my bosses iPhone on his corporate account and they screwed the account all up. I guess it was due to the fact that your not allowed to use an iPhone on a corporate account. Fucking retarded. Most of the people who have $600 to fork over for the phone are businessmen. So I was on the phone for 2.5 hours until the issue was resolved. And one stupid bitch, when I asked to speak to her supervisor, told me “No you cannot talk to my supervisor.” And then I said “So you are telling me that you will not help me” then whatever I said she would just reply “I’m sorry sir I can’t hear you can you please speak up” (in a very rude voice), finally I was speaking so loud I was practically yelling in the phone, then she said “I don’t have to listen to you talk to me like this.” And I just hung up and called back hoping to get ahold of someone who actually makes an attempt to help you. Praise the Lord I finally got ahold of a nice woman who helped fix the whole mess. And if any of you working at AT&T read this please look into the call that should be recorded that I had with Sahihi Lindsey or whatever she said her name was I think she even lied about her name. But anyways that is all.
July 15th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Nicely put TryingToBeRealistic. I work in an IT Department so I understand where you are coming from. The thing is when a company becomes so big all they want is to become bigger and generate more revenue even if that means service and quality is lost.
July 19th, 2007 at 10:18 am
I keep reading that Cingular has over 50 million customers and is number one. Let me remind you that the number of customers they have is based on the fact their marketing is so good. It has little do so with service. Let me add the point that the marketing is deceptive as well. If they told people, “now keep your phone away from speakers” or “you may experience little buzzing noises over your car stereo when your driving with the radio on”…do you think you would see that Cingular has 50 million customers? I would even be ok with them saying “we have the fewest dropped calls over any network (if that is even true), BUT you will hear static over your radio in the car or at home.” By the way, this doesn’t just happen when your phone rings. It happens ALL THE TIME. I know I sure would not have purchased a Cingular contract if their brilliant marketing machine had told me of the issues. As far as I am concerned, the static is only the beginning of the problem. What about cancer? Tumors? and other problems that arise from being to close to such frequencies? We don’t even know the extent of the damage this can cause. A wise relative once told me, if you say you are the best people will believe it and they will forget where they heard it. That is what Cingular/AT & T does. They don’t fairly talk about their issues.
I applaud this site for having providing information that others do now know.
July 19th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
well i dont know abou you guys but i actualy enjoy the RF noice becuase if im in the car with load music it lets me know that im getting a text or a call
really i do
July 19th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
i ment loud insted of load sorry typo haha
August 4th, 2007 at 11:25 am
To crizzel03: just an fyi here, but one of the main reasons that the iPhone is not *yet* available to businesses is that the majority of our business customers are using particular systems for their business email. Those systems will not be compatible with the first release of the iPhone. So if you work for a giant company and you feel like getting all of them hotmail or yahoo accounts, by all means, get some iPhones. Otherwise you have to wait until APPLE (not AT&T) makes the necessary changes to the device. What good is a business phone that is not equipped to handle everyday business?
August 7th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
@ Anyone who gets interference:
T-Mobile phones are also GSM (quad-band world phones similar to what AT&T use) but they do NOT have interference when placed next to speakers anywhere near the capacity that a Cingular (AT&T) phone does… ever. Why is that?
Everyone just suggests switching to CDMA carriers (Verizon or Sprint, though don’t get me started with the wonders of Nextel’s iDen network) as the way to go, but Verizon only really does an amazing job coverage wise on the west coast and if you like calling in to AT&T for billing adjustments, just wait until you have a Sprint account and every bill is messed up. Sure, they are the most generous in issuing credits, but that’s assuming you can even talk to someone after several disconnects and attempts. At some point, it just isn’t worth it.
If you are looking for your best option, this is the recommendation I give: T-Mobile. Number 1 customer satisfaction 5 years running (JD Power & Associates), best pricing on rate plans, competitive pricing on handsets, and only 02% of the interference caused by AT&T GSM phones!!
By the way, I do grant you that though T-Mobile is now the number one growing network in America (thank you myFaves and HotSpot @ Home), there network coverage is developing and may not be as good in all areas. But heck, it works superbly in my city and everywhere I’ve traveled so far domestically in the USA.
-Kilroy 2.0
“Kilroy works for an independent retailer who sells Sprint (& Nextel), T-Mobile, and AT&T. His Apple iPhone is the only phone that could have made him re-sign his AT&T service agreement, though he currently has a T-Mobile account and is considering canceling out of AT&T because ‘everyone knows misery loves this company’.”
August 9th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
I have called customer service on a couple occasions to find out how far back my
call detail records are available. (ie can i get a reprint of a phone bill from 2005 even
though not available to be viewed online)
anyone with some insight would be much appreciated!!
August 25th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
i love cingular but i have chaged my razor v3 for 5 times in half a year and now the one im curently using is starting to suck.
ps im scared of buying a i phone but i really want one!!!!!
August 25th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
and stop bichin here are my three steps to bitch elsewere
step 1: cancel you cingular phone.
step2:move to a different company.
step 3:bich there.
August 27th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Love Cingular.
I got on the support forum to tell everyone there about the conversation I had with the CEO about using MEdiaNet on the Samsung Blackjack. According to the CEO, it’s not only compatible, if you don’t use a lot of data, they don’t have a problem with it and are not “auditing accounts to ferret out Blackjack users who are on the wrong data plan”. Imagine my surprise when I got banned from the forum. Allegedly, the mod there (Sentry) claims that I committed “rate plan fraud” because “the Blackjack isn’t compatible with MEdia Net” and suggesting that it is compatible with MEdiaNet is illegal. Yea. I guess that’s why it’s worked on mine since day one. Screw that fan boy. He needs to get a life lose his virginity. LOL…
August 27th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Oy,
It’s as though Nazi’s have taken over the support forums. Since the execs aren’t ordering “the empire’s finest” to “squash the resistance” by banning posters from “the empire’s forums” for suggesting any opinion that departs from “the party line”, I’d say that the mods there are either snot nosed punks juiced up on the small amount of power that being moderators gives them, or middle aged wasted dorks who have no life, eh? LOL!!!!
August 27th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
You’d better get yourself on one of those over rated, over priced PDA Connect data plans before Cingular (the new at&t) audits your account, seeks you out, and forces you to change your data plan, otherwise the hired muscle will visit your wallet. LOL!!!
August 27th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
This insubordination will NOT be tolerated.
We know who you are, what device you’re using, what your data plan is and we WILL force you to change your plan if you are on the “incorrect data plan”, whether you want to or not. You signed a contract. Don’t make us enforce it.
August 27th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Now now children. Let’s take a deep breath and calm ourselves down. I’m sure there’s a good reason for the mean ole moderator at the ridiculous support forum to try to threaten and intimidate the big bad wolf into not blowing the house down with a lil story about how the truth can set you free from buying over priced data plans that suck from a wireless provider who sucks and sells you a great device (Blackjack) from a great manufacturer (Samsung) but disables a service (WiFi) that, if working, would guarantee a financial loss from people not wasting their time and money on data services (PDA Connect) that they don’t need or really want.
MEDIA NET FOREVER MAN!!!!!!!! WHAT??????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 27th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Now listen here brother,
I’m sick and tired of high priced data plans that nobody really needs when we all know that the Blackjack is not only compatible with Media Net, it works damn well with it!!! Ever notice how ever other provider has a better data plan than Cingular? Let me at that moderator twerp!! Nobody likes a bully and INTERNET THUGS ARE THE WORST KINDA BULLY!!!
August 27th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Now see here,
We shall not tolerate any more of this nonsense. Continuing this discussion will result in all of you being banned from this dimension and your home calling areas being blocked from accessing this network unless you pledge allegiance to the empire this instant. Order your PDA connect plan for your Blackjack at once or we WILL enforce our right to force you to give up all of your rights to free speech, choice, and anything else we can think of…
August 27th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Who cares about the Blackjack?
I just paid $600 for an 8GB iPhone that I HAD to by an unlimited data plan for as a condition of sale, which I really didn’t need because the thing has WiFi. Oh, but I’m so happy that it runs like crap compared to the TV commercials, doesn’t support Java, won’t run ANY APPLICATIONS THAT aren’t made by Apple, doesn’t access my MS Outlook corporate mail, and the battery is internal, which means that I not only cannot swap it out for another battery, when the battery dies in a year, I will have to send this POS back too Apple to pay them $85 to wipe it clean, change the battery, and send it back to me. WTF?????????
August 27th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
What kind of dumbass pays $600 for a phone that does less than a Blackjack? What did you think you were going to get while your wallet was being dry humped on one end and at&t was shoving their ever lovin’ corporate co…cucumber down your open mouth? What? Because it said “APPLE” on the box? You’re probably one of those apple fanboys that will buy a heap of dung if the word apple is written in it. Get over it. It’s a POS. You should’ve known that before you wasted $600 on an unsubsidized cell phone/pda that can ONLY be bought from “The Evil Empire”.
Dumbass… LOL!!!
August 27th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Ok,
The WWF does not condone the usage of illegal rate plan fraud perpetrated by consumers who want to save money and not seek to prevent inflating the profits of the “Evil Empire”. Furthermore, by mislabeling a Smartphone as a PDA (just because it has a qwerty keyboard, we reserve the right to rape your wallet any time we want and there is nothing you can do about it. You have a contract with us. What are you gonna do? Cancel? Bah. You don’t want to pay us early termination fees, so shut up, bend over, and take it like the submissive wet willy you are. We own you. LOL!!
August 27th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Ok kids, watch the language and innuendo. This is a “Family Network”.
If you don’t like your device, sell it on e-bay. If you don’t like your provider, cancel your contract and pay the ETF. if you don’t like what I’m saying, it’s probably because you weren’t even born in the USA and you haven’t yet figured out that nobody really gives a dam. Either way, can’t we all just get along and come to some agreement on some aspect of this discussion, because I really think that we should all just calm ourselves and… could someone pass me a beer please? Thank you…
August 27th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
I really don’t see what the problem is.
The PDA Connect data plans weren’t designed for you “commoners” anyway. They were designed exclusively for rich people like me. I can’t understand why “the empire” would want you peasants spending your last dime get get unlimited data on a pda anyway, when that will surely take away from you paying high prices for the gas that my daddy George Dubya sells to you through his dummy corporations that make it look like there aint nothing wrong with this economy. Get over it and right me a damn check betch. LOL!!!
August 27th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
What have we here?
Well, since this message board appears outside of the Cingular support forums, I can’t inhibit free speech, intimidate anyone here, or prevent the freedom of self expression that is the right of any citizen of the united states of America. I also can’t further my hidden agenda, which involves banning anyone who freely expresses the desire to use or the compatibility of Media Net with the Samsung Blackjack. That said, all I can really do is read what’s here, get pissed about being the powerless wimp I am, and go cry like a baby and piss my pants like the useless dork loser I really am.
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 29th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
About 4 months ago my father re-uped the contract we had with cingulair under which he was provided with three new phones which we recieved. According to his recent bills someone named Linda with our last name who lives in another county recieved a blackberry which they signed for. Now Cingulair is insisting my father had something to do with it. The man is sixty-six and doesn’t know a blackberry from a blueberry. Literally. He said “I didn’t order any blueberry, why are they doing this to me?” Last month he spoke with a representative who told him the $300+ dollars in charges would be removed and the situation would be investigated. It wasn’t and on this months bill additional charges were added for the overdue non-payment. He again spoke with customer service to a reasonable woman who called several different departments within the company before returning. She then told my father that the charges would be removed upon approval from her supervisor. The supervisor got on the phone and then refused to remove the charges and then accused him of fraud. He had names of everyone he had spoken with but all the supervisor had to say was “I don’t know who Mary or Steve are, that could be anyone”. During a subsequent call he asked for an employee number so in the future the party he spoke with could be verified and was refused. The customer service from most of the individuals involved is ok, but so what. If mistakes the agents aren’t even allowed to correct on their own can’t be fixed and the Superviors treat innocent people like criminals and give horrible attitudes to senior citizens the what is the point? He refuses to pay for something some disgusting no-morals ass in some other part of the sate stole and Cingulair refuses to acknowledge that it is possible what can be done?
October 15th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
I had a cellular phone in 1984,two weeks before the system was turned on here in Wichita, Ks.
That was with Southwestern Bell.They eventually became Cingular. Things sure have gotten better since then!! My phone looked like a
desk phone screwed to my vehicle. I will say that all the carriers I have used provide comparable
services. The difference has been the people you have to deal with. The SWB folks would tell you anything
just to get rid of you. Verizon was O.K. if you called in. The people in the west Wichita walk-in store were, lets say,
different. They are the reason I am with Alltel now. The only thing Alltel has done that was a problem
were the text messages I would get on Sat. night and Sun. morn. telling me to check my fax and call office.
A call would always get the 1.00 or 2.00 credited back. The manager I talked to about them doing that to all
their subscribers, disabled texting on my account which I don’t use. I verified that some others were also getting
the unexplained text messages at close to the same times that I was. I do believe that what these companies need
to watch is the customer’s perception of them based on a customer service rep that is poorly trained and or managed.
The customer service groups hands are sometimes tied about what to say and do for subscribers due to a middle manager trying to show that his area has the best “numbers” for calls handled. Sadly,this doesn’t include issues resolved.
Great site!!!
October 26th, 2007 at 2:59 am
AT&T/Cingular is evil. My last bill from them was over $1,300.00. I went over it carefully and noted I was charged for all my M2M calls, plus I was double and triple minuted, AND there were calls to numbers I didn’t make. I called their customer service to straighten it out. After numerous calls back and forth, they told me they would have their investigators look into it. So, I got my new bill today. They removed over $1,100.00 from the old bill. That looked right to me. However…….they over-charged me on the NEW bill for the SAME FUCKING THINGS!!!!!! M2M, double and triple minutes, etc. My new billing charges are almost $300.00. Are these people all on CRACK??? I’m stuck with these bozos for another year!! You know…the last I read, a business contract is only binding for ONE year, not two. How do these creeps get away with this kind of thing? Another thing, for you AT&T shills, don’t you pathetic excuses for human beings have ANY pride or conciences at all? YOU are all part of the problem with your sucky ass company! How DARE you tell these good people that YOUR lame ass service and unethical business practices are THEIR faults? FOAD, shitheads!!!!!
November 3rd, 2007 at 5:51 pm
In my opinion i feel the story with the genious who removed his Data package isnt telling the whole story. im me felling every time a change like this is made the cusotemr is givent the option to block or add the pay per use feature…. so my guess is it was agreed to……..
November 3rd, 2007 at 5:52 pm
sorry for the typos……… u know what i meant
November 4th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
I definately relate to TryingToBeRealistic’s way of looking at cell phone service.
I know people who love Cingular/ATT and they tell me all the time to stick with it.
I have 1 bar of signal at home if I’m lucky and sitting at the right angle in the right room by the right window (but if I walk outside it drops to nothing).
It’s great and all that THEY love it, but what about me? Other friends have tried to sell Verizon to me. They should really work for them somehow (they’re pretty convincing and make really good points). My way of thinking is.. I’ll dish out the insane ETF ($175) just to get a new Verizon plan and not have to wonder if my bill will be 10 over or 30 over this month.
I figure.. Verizon can’t be worse than Cingular/ATT
Maybe after I make the switch that friggin buzzing will stop when I make calls! The entire conversation has background buzzing and I have no idea why. *pout*
It’s funny how the Cingular reps say “Don’t like it? Leave and come crawling back to us!”
Patriotic people say the same thing when others complain about the president : “Don’t like it? Move to another country!”
*sighs* My ideas are all choppy and disorganized but oh well. My next paycheck is going to go to a $50/mo Verizon plan which is way better than the $150-180/mo Cingular plan I have with my ex. $175 kick in the wallet here I come!
November 7th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Hey Snowe, I read on dailytech.com that starting in January, AT&T will drop the flat $175 and prorate the cancelation fee based on how long you have left on your contract.
I have had Cingular/AT&T since it was Pac Bell here in So Cal. Maybe one of the techs can explain my problem to me. I had better reception in my house 7 years ago than I do now. I work from home and can’t even try to use my cell phone at home with customers. You can only say “WHAT?” so many times before you lose credibility. Techies is there anything I can do to fix my signal strength in my house? My wifes phone is horrible also.
February 7th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
why do you guys complain so much? just get a freekin new company.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I signed up with Cingular in January 2001. I had great service. I loved Cingular. I told everyone I knew just how great Cingular was. Anytime I had a problem, I called customer service, got a friendly person, problem was resolved and BAM I was happy again.
So, it was a no brainer to renew with a two year contract June 28, 2006. I had no idea that AT&T was looming in the background just waiting to ruin my cellphone life. When we found out that AT&T and Cingular were to become one entity, my husband and I both cringed. We had had AT&T internet and long distance at one point which was a nightmare of its own, but Cingular had been good to us, so surely that had to count for something.
Well…as of June 2007 my service started getting progressively worse. I have a tower near my house, so I’d never had a problem talking on my phone from my living room (nice considering my family lives about 500 miles away). Suddenly I’d be in the middle of a call and my phone was dead. I hadn’t moved. I’m pretty sure the tower hadn’t moved. But suddenly I have no reception. I called customer service. “Well, I’m not sure why you are experiencing problems because nothing but our name has changed.” Every time I called that was the mantra…until I finally got one customer service rep who I believe was telling me the truth, who stated that three of the five towers closest to me had been shut down for five months “for repairs” but they would be “coming back on line soon.”
I’ve had numerous problems –like they started billing me for a game that had been canceled six months before (I give them credit they did finally resolve that issue for me). I was on the phone at least once a month with them for a while. My personal favorite response to my dropped call problem was that “the reception in Delaware was impaired because radio waves travel in a straight line and the mountains must be blocking the signal.” (Honest explanation by a customer service rep.) Mountains? Have you ever been to Delaware? Specifically southern Delaware where the highest point is like 10 feet above sea level?
The biggest complaint I have is that half of the people we have talked too have just been flat out rude and basically said either pay the $350 to end the contract early or shut up and deal with the garbage service until the contract is up, or get new phones and deal with the garbage service for another two years.
I didn’t agree to their merger, and past experience with AT&T would have scared me away if I had known it was coming when I last renewed my contract.
I just feel cheated.
It’s sad, because I really did love Cingular. Rest in peace, Jack. I will miss you. More than just your name has changed and not for the better.
February 27th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Wow Counting the days– you’re story is ALMOST mine! Okay– i’m in Texas, and I was with Cingular for 7 years before the merger. LOVED cingular. Got great reception out here–and we weren’t suppose to get any according to their maps. Never never had a dropped call, or any problems– until AT&T appeared. And when it started, I was told there were going to be “a few hiccups” while the merge goes into effect (this was before all the advertising started up), but it will be resolved within the month. okay, fine. 3 months later, and i’m still having problems. I was told since I live out of range, of course I’m going to have problems. why didn’t I before then? Oh– you did. Whatever. Finally, I was told there was nothing they could do because it was a copper theft issue with the towers. Fine. I told the rep there was something I COULD do. I walked across the street to verizon.
February 27th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Very cool vid. Read the your story from Business Week. I had to keep myself from looking for my cell phone every time I heard the speaker crackle. I run my own business at home. I live at my computer as a transcriptionist. My speakers are required. Unfortunately I have Cingulair/AT&T. My contract runs up in May. I will not be renewing. I live for the day contract termination fees are at least prorated and feel the pain of the iPhone being attached to AT&T wireless. Thanks for sharing your pain. It was nice to see some humor in the situation and your vid totally made my day.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
I’ve been a customer for probably more than 15 years, back when they where SouthwesternBell, but thanks to the merger between Cingulair/AT&T I know get to experiance more dropped calls than ever before.
March 10th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I have had cingular for years and ofcourse now I have AT&T. I bought my daughter an I Phone in Dec. added the unlimited data/text plan and my next bill went from high 200.00 to $1,514.93 and I haven’t received a bill since Dec. I was also told that my Jan. bill is $931.14. 5 phone calls, over 7 hours of my time and countless lies later, my phones are being disconnected because I refuse to pay until the balance is correct and I receive a correct bill. So, they will slam my credit, I will eventually pay the outrageous bill including the ETF and I will move on to another wireless company to bend over. I will also turn off my internet and directv. Let the games begin.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Hey NoSignal@Home (and others),
There -IS- something you can do about low/no signal strength. It’s called a ‘repeater’ and it’s expensive ($300 - $1000, avg).
Basically involves a directional outdoor antenna aimed at cell tower, cabled to a frequency-specific switching ‘amplifier’, then cabled to a smaller indoor antenna. I think it cuts ’speed’ by half working one direction at a time (tower to phone, phone to tower).
Not an attractive option ($$), and doesn’t mitigate interference issues. Probably why such solutions are designed for corporate and retail environments. But, the technology doesn’t know if it’s installed in a house, an apartment, an office building or a mall.
The frequency-specific limitation of the cheaper units may nearly lock the user to a subscriber - certainly to a technology (CDMA/GSM, etc). Higher-end (costlier) units can work in all bands.
Google ‘cell phone repeater’ for current info as I may have some of this mixed up. It’s been years since I researched this issue for a friend.
I love technology - the basic science of it works. What breaks it is the corporate management - greed.
I certainly have my own issues with telcos; the ‘new’ part of ‘the new AT&T’ means they’ve found new ways to screw us all???
I’ve been without a phone (of any description) for over three years because Bellsouth (local landline) insisted on repeatedly adding ‘features’ to my (dial-tone only) account.
When I called cust svc, they explained the new features were ‘free’ - but the bill arrived with over $30 in unwarranted charges.
Called back - someone else promised to resolve. Next bill added TWO MORE packages I never asked for or consented to.
This rocked on in similar fashion for over a year and a half, each time being told to pay the current (overcharge) bill, that my charges were now adjusted, and B$ would display the appropriate credit in the subsequent bill.
That actually worked -ONE- time, but only after my SECOND call to the Public Service Commission, being disconnected TWICE, and many, many frustrating and wasted hours of unending lies and bull-crap.
When the discrepancy grew over $300 (between what I overpaid and their bill reports), I had had enough. I stopped paying ANYTHING. In six weeks they disconnected me - over three years ago (maybe four?). I’ve been without phone service ever since.
Yes, this has made life a bit tedious at times (dr appts, etc), but here’s the breakdown:
1- My records show they owe me ~$180 in credits for overcharges I paid (to retain ’service’).
2- They say I owe them ~$130, and have filed collection, probably credit reports as well. No worries - I realized long ago that credit and lottery are games for people really bad at math.
3- I’m putting together a VoIP solution (I piggy-back WiFi -w/permission, so I -do- have internet) and I’ll soon have a phone again. It’s nice not receiving telemarketer/bill collector calls, but I do have occasional need to make a phone call. And just -try- to find a working pay phone these days!
4- More than three years, I figure I’ve saved at least three whole days of living, not spent in frustration. Average two hours each month, times 36 months = 72 hours. Having that time is great, but removing that stress has been INVALUABLE.
#########################################
>>>– VERY IMPORTANT CONSUMER NOTE: –
March 26th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
(I guess the system didn’t like my choice of border characters!)
#########################################
(…and they’re going to HATE me for this…)
————– CHECK YOUR BILL ————–
—————- every month! —————
———— LOOK at the details ————
——– question EVERYTHING supicious ——
Regardless of your provider -or- your communication services (cable/phone/cell/etc).
I was directly told by three different Bellsouth CSRs that, “Bellsouth routinely -requires- them to add unsolicited packages and charges to customer’s accounts,” further explaining how most people just pay the charges and never investigate the details.”
No kidding. Three different people saying the same thing!
Interesting too, the three times I heard this were the only times I saw proper handling of removal & credit reflected in the subsequent bill. Unfortunately, these CSRs were unable to review the accumulated historical damage (could only go back 2-3 mos). Very interesting indeed.
Don’t let them screw you. Refuse to accept services you DID NOT request. Refuse to pay the overcharges.
It’s such a shame to find such wonderful and amazing technologies we have available today, being exploited as means to rape the public.
But please, don’t take any of it personally - in the immortal words of Ernestine, “We’re the phone company; we screw everybody!”
March 30th, 2008 at 11:53 am
I had and sold cingular and all I have to say is, “more dropped calls than any other carrier.” Oh and the RF noise also sucks.
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:02 pm
If you don’t like the static, buy a 3g phone cheapos. Stop going up to the stores and internet and looking for free phones. They still run on EDGE. This is not for you AT&T people that live in none 3G markets. But when your market your market is upgraded to 3G, please don’t continue to get a non-3G device and complain.
April 29th, 2008 at 10:24 am
here’s just my little two cents about this whole thing.
1. For those who complains about their cellphones breaking or malfunctioning and blaming AT&T
you guys need to realize that AT&T does not make cell phones, they sell a service. Motorola,
Sony ericsson, Samsung, LG etc. are the ones that make your phones. If anything happens to
your phone in terms of breaking, or whatnot its really the manufacturers fault by making lemons.
These manufacturers would make cellphones then sell it to AT&T or whoever carrier you have, then
in turn would sell it to its consumers, which is you.
2. Not all AT&T reps are stupid and rude. Ive had AT&T or cingular since 2000 and I love it. Each
time i would go to a store to get some help they all would be knowledgable and nice. All of them
are willing to help. but i know there are some black sheeps out there in AT&T. For those who are
having a hard time with AT&T try going to different stores to get help, just an advice.
3. Before complaining to AT&t reps about their phones being too hard to use, try playing with it firstt
A lot of people i know would get these complicated phones and wouldnt know how to use it and end
up going back to the store blaming the rep for selling them a complicated phone which they dont
know how to use. Remember that its your job to learn how the phones work. you just dont buy a
computer and have a tech guy go to your house and teach you how to use it. Responsibility is
important.
4. i think that most people take their cell phones for granted. they dont realize that its a very
complicated instrument. A lot of people would just bang it, drop it, scratch it, not on purpose
of course, but use it in a care-free way. cell phones are really an expensive thing sold at a
discounted price by your carrier.
May 10th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Everybody should just get a CDMA phone and all their problems will go away. MUCH fewer dropped calls, if any. You can make a call and it sounds like you’re talking on a landline even with one bar. And guess what? No crazy buzz and interference! So, switch to Verizon, Alltel or Sprint and all your problems will be gone!
July 7th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Did you ever consider that your speaker was just defective? Sure the sound is annoying, but the FCC tightly regulates cell phones and verifies that their RFI levels are safe before it can be sold. Perhaps the speaker should have been designed with better shielding against RFI.
July 13th, 2008 at 8:30 am
I got so fed up with the buzzing I developed a product to stop it.
You can see it at http://www.stopthebuzzin.com.