AT&T: Store Employees Are Commission-Chasing Liars

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
Wow, this has to be the most brutally honest thing I’ve ever heard a customer service rep ever say. Probably won’t be with the company much longer though after this. :eek:

She said that the employees in AT&T's stores tend to tell people they waive the fees etc., but it's usually not true. Their commissions - so she said - are based on the amount of money made, and they have no interest in taking charges off. So the activation fee wasn't taken off, the phones weren't free, and that GPS service (that we never wanted, but were told would remove itself) also had to be de-activated by us.
Click to expand...
 
Just need to make ATT pay a penalty when it's employees lie about fees.
 
I've never had that problem... but I've also never gone into a retail store for anything. I just handle everything online or via phone. When I call in - I usually choose the options to cancel service and start by asking how much it would cost me to end my contract early. That department seems to have quite a bit of pull when it comes to getting things done.

I recently had to change numbers, transfer my account to a different person (switched on to a family plan), and buy a new phone at the same time... all of which are supposed to have a fee. The person I spoke to was probably the best customer service person i've ever dealt with - and called me back a few times just to make sure everything had gone as planned (which it had), and also threw me a couple extra discounts.

Maybe i'm just lucky though... the only company I've ever had issues with was Comcast - and I got a free iPod out of my issues with them. :)
 
I had a similar problem 5 years back with ATT. Long story short is that my family and I were going on vacation to Alaska. Before we went we stopped by our local ATT store to ensure we had roaming covered on our plan. The reps pulled up our account did their magic and said we were good to go and could make all the phone calls we wanted while in Alaska without worrying we would be charged roaming.

After returning from our trip and receiving our next months bill low and behold there is a $2,000+ bill all for roaming. We call up ATT cust. service and they say they've taken care of the billing error and have had the $2,000 bill removed. Next months bill arrives and the $2,000 charge is still on there.

We ended up calling them countless times and each person said they fixed the billing error only for it to continue showing on the bill. We demanded to speak with a supervisor and they were never available somehow. We threaten them with legal action thinking that'll make them get their shit together (doesn't bother them the least bit) Finally we get some guy who speaks really rough english from India or someplace who says he'll fix it and call us back in a week to confirm its all fixed. (I'm thinking yeah right, this guy won't call back) He actually called back and everything was fixed.

My whole ordeal took 3 fucking months to fix.
 
Yeah I hate AT&T. I have for some time. I had their cell service for all of a 2 or 3 months and that was it.
 
and to think my parents switched over from centennial to AT&T just this week:rolleyes:. I hope it doesn't bite them in the ass.:(
 
Anyone who works in sales is a liar, is that such a revelation? Sit down and look at any sales pitch objectively and it's hard not to laugh at it.
 
I do my part by screwing at&t. I return my phone multiple times within the warranty period and a few other things :)
 
niconx said:
Anyone who works in sales is a liar, is that such a revelation? Sit down and look at any sales pitch objectively and it's hard not to laugh at it.
Click to expand...

Whatever. When I worked in sales I never lied. Of course I was a lousy salesman. :D
 
niconx said:
Anyone who works in sales is a liar, is that such a revelation? Sit down and look at any sales pitch objectively and it's hard not to laugh at it.
Click to expand...

I worked commission sales for a computer retailer/wholesaler and I never once lied to my customers, so that blanket statement is disingenuous at best. Now, granted I did work mostly with corporate accounts so me lying to them would only hurt my bottom line in the long run. I never lied to Joe blow off the street either, as I wanted people to come back to me for their upgrades later on as well. I think that AT&T retail locations probably have a culture of lying to get people to "buy" as much extra crap as possible.
 
niconx said:
Anyone who works in sales is a liar, is that such a revelation? Sit down and look at any sales pitch objectively and it's hard not to laugh at it.
Click to expand...

Certainly in the running for Biggest BS Blanket Statement of the week. I don't lie to my customers. It's hard enough to communicate with some of them sometimes, lieing sure as hell wouldn't make anything easier. I think that working on commission might be the cause for a lot of the lieing/misleading.
 
niconx said:
Anyone who works in sales is a liar, is that such a revelation? Sit down and look at any sales pitch objectively and it's hard not to laugh at it.
Click to expand...

I worked in sales for 7 years at a computer company. I was the general manager, had unmatched job security, and nothing to worry about.

I left. Why? I was tired of bucking the trend for 7 years by being honest and fighting with upper management about the ethics of honest selling.

So yes, while your statement is slightly true, it's a blanket statement that shouldn't be applied to everyone.

Maybe 50/50.
 
eh, my nephew used to work for ATT selling phones. Shifted to them through one of the buyouts. ATT essentially slashed the commission structure and then imposed minimum sales figures (both sales and also "value added" services) which had to be met to not get penalized. 3 penalties and you are at risk of losing your job. A good job before turned into a sucky job. So none of this is surprising to me. If you ever wonder why people in retail push VAS so hard, it is because their jobs depend on it.
 
niconx said:
Anyone who works in sales is a liar, is that such a revelation? Sit down and look at any sales pitch objectively and it's hard not to laugh at it.
Click to expand...

Not true

I walked out of a job because I was asked to lie
 
And none of this crap never happens in any other commission driven workplace. Especially never in Sprint or Verizon stores.

/s
 
Sorry guys, it was pretty bad to say that. I have sat through too many attempted mind washing sessions with people from sales and marketing only.
 
And this is why I switched from att to tmo. It's been about ten years now and tmo continues to be great.

Plus they are hardcore for android. Att+ apple? Fuxor that.
 
When I got my first phone with Verizon years ago, the sales guy did the same thing. Promised to wave a bunch of fees, you'll get a credit for these accessories, etc, etc. Then we get our first bill and realize how badly the salesman tried to rape us. Not only were none of the charges waved, but he signed us up for two SEPARATE accounts - was supposed to be one account with a second phone on a friends and family deal. "Oh, you wanted the two phones for $50 a month, not two separate plans for $80 each?" Verizon CSR took care of us when we called and apologized for the salesman and I've only dealt with phone support or online support ever since and never missed having a salesman.

So yeah, I wouldn't say AT&T is the only one doing this.
 
DirecTV also has this issue. Their phone reps that handle the sign ups will tell you anything to get you to sign up. I don't know if they are comission or not.

When you get your first bill, you may find out that a credit or promotion they promised is nowhere to be found. By that point, it is too late to cancel service without getting hit with the early termination fee. To make matters worse, they will cliam that they don't know who you spoked to when you signed up and they even if they did, there is no recording of said phone call.

This was personal experience from me. I know another person that had similar problems.


I also have known people that have this problem with AT&T. I would never use their stores however.
 
Consumers are to blame because like the idiot sheep they are want these shiny new smart phones that come with a $1200 a year bill.

If the US consumer ever got organized and in a unified effort they soon see they have total control over companies and the whole of the US economy. They could kill corporations, or make investors billions with the choice of where to swipe their cards.
 
This guy and his wife are too gullible if they believe the sales rep. I have never heard of any offer saying they will deactivate it in a month but if you call in they will continue it. Its always the other way around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top