Audiovox CDM-9900 at Circuit City--NIGHTMARE
I Picked up the 9900 yesterday at the L.A. Circuit City on La Cienega. The phone was sold out everywhere else in the area as a result, I presume, of the recent discount deal. To make a very long story short, setting up the account took 1 1/2 hours. The sales staff was severly under trained and had to called a nearby Verizon store for step by step directions no less than five times. On top of that, they misled me regarding number portability and I'm ultimately going to have to return this phone, cancel this account, and start over from scratch with tele-sales. So far the phone seems great, but the customer service is awful. I spoke with 6 different people today trying to straighten out the portability issue and each one gave me completly diff...
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I feel your pain. Its been my experience that perhaps 1 out of every 4 Circuit City employees actually knows anything worth listening to, and that's being kind. ☹️
Of course, even the VZW Stores aren't perfect... when I was first signing up for service, they tried to mislead me on a number of things, such as whether or not it was at all possible to find the phone I wanted (Samsung 530s) and whether or not the plan I wanted was available (1000 Anytime minutes for $39.99- I was told it wasn't available when it was).
I ended up going with a 3rd party agent, which gave me everything I wanted and a wonderful price on the phone to boot, plus free accessories. Haven't regretted it.
Of course, even the VZW Stores aren't perfect... when I was first signing up for service, they tried to mislead me on a number of things, such as whether or not it was at all possible to find the phone I wanted (Samsung 530s) and whether or not the plan I wanted was available (1000 Anytime minutes for $39.99- I was told it wasn't available when it was).
I ended up going with a 3rd party agent, which gave me everything I wanted and a wonderful price on the phone to boot, plus free accessories. Haven't regretted it.
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BetterThanJake said:Actually, Circuit City employees (and that includes me) are very well trained associates that spend a minimum of two weeks in a tiny room doing internet e-learning and ascertaining the ins and outs of Circuit City policy and sales techniques until they are ready to be sent out to the sales floor. As for this gentleman's Verizon meltdown, Verizon's kiosk in EVERY Circuit City store is staffed with actual Verizon personnel. NOT Circuit City employees. We basically rent out the space.
I feel your pain. Its been my experience that perhaps 1 out of every 4 Circuit City employees actually knows anything worth listening to, and that's being kind. ☹️
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BBKahuna said:Well, I'm glad you can handle math...but my point was that CC employees are not at fault here.
2 weeks of training < 8 weeks of vzw employee training.
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Mmmm...Then why did the VZW employee at the Circuit City Kiosk have such a hard time activating the phone if they have 8 weeks of trainging that should me more than enough...just a question.
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Actually, Circuit City employees (and that includes me) are very well trained associates that spend a minimum of two weeks in a tiny room doing internet e-learning and ascertaining the ins and outs of Circuit City policy and sales techniques until they are ready to be sent out to the sales floor.
Umm... ok, then why when I went in there recently to get my Comcast broadband (CC had a deal) the guy who was doing the paperwork basically knew NOTHING about it and couldn't answer any of my questions? I ended up having to ask him to stand aside from the terminal so I could just Google it.
Not saying they ALL suck, nor are they as terrible as the guys at Fry's. But well-trained? CC employees seem extremely hit-or-miss...
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BetterThanJake said:Actually, Circuit City employees (and that includes me) are very well trained associates that spend a minimum of two weeks in a tiny room doing internet e-learning and ascertaining the ins and outs of Circuit City policy and sales techniques until they are ready to be sent out to the sales floor.
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Umm... ok, then why when I went in there recently to get my Comcast broadband (CC had a deal) the guy who was doing the paperwork basically knew NOTHING about it and couldn't answer any of my questions? I ended up having to ask him to stand aside from the terminal so I could just Google it.
Not saying they ALL suck, nor are they as terrible as the guys at Fry's. But well-trained
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Much is a good guy, so i hate to say this....
I have been doing vzw customer service for 16 months and *every* account that i have accessed started at a cicuit city has had a problem. I have no doubt Much knows his stuff, but i really havent seen an account set up correctly by circuit city in 16 months.
I have been doing vzw customer service for 16 months and *every* account that i have accessed started at a cicuit city has had a problem. I have no doubt Much knows his stuff, but i really havent seen an account set up correctly by circuit city in 16 months.
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shadedpain4 said:
Much is a good guy, so i hate to say this....
I have been doing vzw customer service for 16 months and *every* account that i have accessed started at a cicuit city has had a problem. I have no doubt Much knows his stuff, but i really havent seen an account set up correctly by circuit city in 16 months.
Lets think about your statement for a second before you start bashing on Circuit City employees. You work in customer service right? So you could say that you are there to fix customers problems right? Now that we have that cleared up you can answer this question.......why would any customer that didnt have problems on their account (including customers that activated at Circuit City...
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I get accounts all the time to get a bill explained, to make a payment, service explained, questions about phones, etc.
Im not just there to solve problems, just serve customers. Even happy ones that have no problems.
Im not just there to solve problems, just serve customers. Even happy ones that have no problems.
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shadedpain4 said:
I get accounts all the time to get a bill explained, to make a payment, service explained, questions about phones, etc.
Im not just there to solve problems, just serve customers. Even happy ones that have no problems.
I used to work customer service, I know what the job is like and I know that for every happy customer you get a call from there are 20 customers that are calling you because they have a problem on their account whether it be billing or a service not working.
Ask yourself this, how many times do you call a company to compliment them on their outstanding service each month versus calling them due to an error on your bill or a problem with your service?
You're not fool...
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chris_lt1 said:...shadedpain4 said:
I get accounts all the time to get a bill explained, to make a payment, service explained, questions about phones, etc.
Im not just there to solve problems, just serve customers. Even happy ones that have no problems.
I used to work customer service, I know what the job is like and I know that for every happy customer you get a call from there are 20 customers that are calling you because they have a problem on their account whether it be billing or a service not working.
Ask yourself this, how many times do you call a company to compliment them on their outstanding service each month versus calling them due to an error on your bill or a problem w
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shadedpain4 said:
Im not trying to fool anyone. That ratio isnt even close to true. The majority of my calls do not deal with any sort of problem (unless you consider a lack of understanding by a customer a problem). Most of my calls involve bill payment, information request (when can i upgrade, what is my balance, how many minutes have i used, how does my speakerphone work, etc...), or explaination (why is my bill so high?). Even with the explaination calls, less than 1/3 of them involve problems. Most involve the customer not understanding the bill, or how the price plan features work.
Again, I've taken the same calls you're taking and I know you're full of it. Unless of course you're in the "Im a new r...
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16 months ive been here, so i wouldnt consider myself new, and no we all get the same calls.
Since i track my calls i can give you specifics. i have taken 17 calls and 4 of them involved "problems". One of them was the "circuit city special"... a new account set up at circuit city with a generic promotion code so there are no features on the account (i.e. no nights and weekends, no in-network).
4 of 17.
So, your ratio is hardly accurate.
Since i track my calls i can give you specifics. i have taken 17 calls and 4 of them involved "problems". One of them was the "circuit city special"... a new account set up at circuit city with a generic promotion code so there are no features on the account (i.e. no nights and weekends, no in-network).
4 of 17.
So, your ratio is hardly accurate.
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shadedpain4 said:
16 months ive been here, so i wouldnt consider myself new, and no we all get the same calls.
Since i track my calls i can give you specifics. i have taken 17 calls and 4 of them involved "problems". One of them was the "circuit city special"... a new account set up at circuit city with a generic promotion code so there are no features on the account (i.e. no nights and weekends, no in-network).
4 of 17.
So, your ratio is hardly accurate.
If you want to talk statistics your call count doesnt really tell much about the overall call volume we get everyday. Like I said, your call routing could be "luck of the draw" and your 17 calls arent a good measure of what comes into the call c...
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chris_lt1 said:...shadedpain4 said:
16 months ive been here, so i wouldnt consider myself new, and no we all get the same calls.
Since i track my calls i can give you specifics. i have taken 17 calls and 4 of them involved "problems". One of them was the "circuit city special"... a new account set up at circuit city with a generic promotion code so there are no features on the account (i.e. no nights and weekends, no in-network).
4 of 17.
So, your ratio is hardly accurate.
If you want to talk statistics your call count doesnt really tell much about the overall call volume we get everyday. Like I said, your call routing could be "luck of the draw" and your 17 calls arent a good m
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shadedpain4 said:
I didnt bash anyone. I stated my experiences. Thats it. I didnt say circuit city sucks, i didnt say their reps are bad, i didnt say anything about circuit city except my experiences. Take from them what you will, but please dont accuse me of bashing anything.
In fact, i didnt give an opinion one way or the other. I simply stated my experiences.
Its all in the way you posted it saying you havent seen 1 account from Circuit City setup correctly in the past 16 months, which you are correct, isnt opinion, its your experience but is implied in a negative manner and is implying that Circuit City reps dont know what their doing. Again, you are 1 rep out of many and the way you're coming acro...
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Im sorry you inferred those things from what i said, but thats' your inference, not what i said. I didnt place blame anywhere. For all i know the problem is that VZW doesnt give proper information to CC in a timely manner, i have no idea.
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shadedpain4 said:The problem you've described is Circuit City abandoning their initial work model (setting up wireless as a separate department with dedicated personnel and a wireless lead). We just didn't get the business we thought we would (southern region), and CC basically let the department revert to the way it was before (absolutely no employees in the department...if you wanted help you would have t...
Much is a good guy, so i hate to say this....
I have been doing vzw customer service for 16 months and *every* account that i have accessed started at a cicuit city has had a problem. I have no doubt Much knows his stuff, but i really havent seen an account set up correctly by circuit city in 16 months.
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muchdrama said:...BetterThanJake said:Actually, Circuit City employees (and that includes me) are very well trained associates that spend a minimum of two weeks in a tiny room doing internet e-learning and ascertaining the ins and outs of Circuit City policy and sales techniques until they are ready to be sent out to the sales floor.
Umm... ok, then why when I went in there recently to get my Comcast broadband (CC had a deal) the guy who was doing the paperwork basically knew NOTHING about it and couldn't answer any of my questions? I ended up having to ask him to stand aside from the terminal so I could just Google it.
Not saying they ALL suck, nor are they as terrible as
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I bought the 9900 last week at a Verizon store (not Circuit City) in Massachusetts. I waited about an hour before I was even waited on, and by the time I had all my questions answered and purchased the phone, I had been in the store about two hours!!! And that was during the week at about 10 a.m.!!! On the upside, I really like the 9900. I was a little apprehensive because it is larger than I had hoped, but I'm getting used to it. So far I highly recommend it.
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I'm porting a Sprint Wireless number.
Here's the little nugget of knowledge I learned in all this.
I live on the west coast but my cell phone number is from the east coast. I moved here a few years ago and most of my family and friends only know how to reach me by this number so I want to keep it. So porting this number is little tricky, but doable.
I should have been advised to call East Coast tele-sales and order a phone with my ported number, have it shipped to an East Coast address and then move the billing to the West Coast with "Easy Move". However, Circuit City's Verizon kiosk either didn't know that or just wanted the sale. So I'll just have to return that phone and cancel the service when my new phone arrives in the mail next...
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Here's the little nugget of knowledge I learned in all this.
I live on the west coast but my cell phone number is from the east coast. I moved here a few years ago and most of my family and friends only know how to reach me by this number so I want to keep it. So porting this number is little tricky, but doable.
I should have been advised to call East Coast tele-sales and order a phone with my ported number, have it shipped to an East Coast address and then move the billing to the West Coast with "Easy Move". However, Circuit City's Verizon kiosk either didn't know that or just wanted the sale. So I'll just have to return that phone and cancel the service when my new phone arrives in the mail next...
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Why are you having to cancel the phone you're receiving? I don't understand. If you ported in a number it should be active on the phone already. UNLESS, you were given a temporary number which, would most likely, be a west coast number. In that case we could to an EZ move to east coast area and process the port from there on in.
It would only make sense that we don't have you ship the phone back and process another order. Because then we're doing churn and having to credit ETF's, Act fees, and etc.
Have you received your phone yet?
It would only make sense that we don't have you ship the phone back and process another order. Because then we're doing churn and having to credit ETF's, Act fees, and etc.
Have you received your phone yet?
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I was given a local west coast phone number at Circuit City with the 9900 and told that a call to Customer Care would take care of the number port. Customer Care said I had to call a store. The store said call Easy Move. Easy Move said that only a store MIGHT be able to port the number with no guarantee. The store said only tele-sales could port the number. Tele-sales put me on with tele-sales support and tele-sales support said I should never have been given a local number but that I should have instead been directed to not buy the phone at Circuit City and to instead call East Coast tele-sales to order a phone and have the number ported on to that. Then that phone could be sent to an East Coast address. My friend who will receive the phone...
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Yeah, I know what you mean there. Unfortunately that is very common with indirec agents. Not saying that there are not good ones out there. Its just that most don't understand the LOCAL part of Local Number Portability. But, I hope all works out for you and at least you found this out early. hehe. If you have anymore probs with the port feel free to post. 😎
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Yeah, I know what you mean there. Unfortunately that is very common with indirec agents. Not saying that there are not good ones out there. Its just that most don't understand the LOCAL part of Local Number Portability. But, I hope all works out for you and at least you found this out early. hehe. If you have anymore probs with the port feel free to post.
Thank you for you kind thoughts.
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JESUS H CHRIST! Their rep needs to get them trained... Ports are cakewalks, over half the phones I sell are port ins from attws... IMHO a port in is easier to do than a virgin customer, because they know how many minutes they need etc... real easy sale, and the paperwork isn't any more complex than a new activation...
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JESUS H CHRIST! Their rep needs to get them trained... Ports are cakewalks, over half the phones I sell are port ins from attws... IMHO a port in is easier to do than a virgin customer, because they know how many minutes they need etc... real easy sale, and the paperwork isn't any more complex than a new activation...
Really? That is certainly not the impression the 7 people I spoke to gave me. At one point there was something mentioned about transferring the West Coast number to an East Coast number and then porting the East Coast number onto that. But that seemed to evaporate as the CSR interactions progressed. I'm not disputing you, only relating my anecdote.
BTW, when I just called *611 to talk about adding...
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here's a step by step...
Customer comes in, says they want to port...
We select the right price plan and phone for customer.
Customer presents ATTWS bill to us, so that we can get the address and name (middle initials are a pain, because they have to match exactly, hence bring in the bill)
We fill out application for credit approval (SSN license number address etc) and hit "port in" instead of submit...
We match the address and names again, and punch in the number to make sure it's portable, if all goes well we hit submit, and the credit approval comes up...
We activate phone normally, the existing number stays etc, and then program phone...
Ring out sale, explain V-mail setup, etc to customer, and by that time the "Thank ...
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Customer comes in, says they want to port...
We select the right price plan and phone for customer.
Customer presents ATTWS bill to us, so that we can get the address and name (middle initials are a pain, because they have to match exactly, hence bring in the bill)
We fill out application for credit approval (SSN license number address etc) and hit "port in" instead of submit...
We match the address and names again, and punch in the number to make sure it's portable, if all goes well we hit submit, and the credit approval comes up...
We activate phone normally, the existing number stays etc, and then program phone...
Ring out sale, explain V-mail setup, etc to customer, and by that time the "Thank ...
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WOW. That's the fastest port from AWS i've ever seen. Most i see arn't completed untill the next day.
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They are all quick now. All the ports I've done in the last several months have been completed in about 10 minutes or so.
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As the original poster, just a little background…
I went in during my lunch hour to purchase the phone. The computer system was down and the salesperson, who happened also to be the manager, apologized and told me that if I came back when the system was back up he would honor the sale price for the 9900.
So the next day I called ahead and spoke with a salesman who said he'd be there until 6:00 and would honor the manager's promise. However, when I arrived at the store at 5:30 he was already gone for the day. Instead, there was one salesperson there and she was up front about saying that it was her first week on the job and that she was unaware of any earlier discussions. 😡
Eventually, another saleperson arrived, perhaps from a br...
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I went in during my lunch hour to purchase the phone. The computer system was down and the salesperson, who happened also to be the manager, apologized and told me that if I came back when the system was back up he would honor the sale price for the 9900.
So the next day I called ahead and spoke with a salesman who said he'd be there until 6:00 and would honor the manager's promise. However, when I arrived at the store at 5:30 he was already gone for the day. Instead, there was one salesperson there and she was up front about saying that it was her first week on the job and that she was unaware of any earlier discussions. 😡
Eventually, another saleperson arrived, perhaps from a br...
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I agree with VZWPort. You can call easy move and get your account setup in the same market as the number that you want to port in. Once your account is setup for that market then you can do the port in. The port center is going to have to be contacted to manually port in the number and then assign it to your phone.
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You're not the only customer who complains about the service and lies you walk into at Circuit City. Just stay away from that place (for cell phones anyway)
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vzw22 said:
You're not the only customer who complains about the service and lies you walk into at Circuit City. Just stay away from that place (for cell phones anyway)
This whole thread is another good reason to stay away from non-corporate stores. Why is it that 85% of the time, when somebody complains about getting misinformed or just plain lied to by a retailer, it's either a Radio Shack or Circuit City to blame?
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Corpo Rat said:vzw22 said:
You're not the only customer who complains about the service and lies you walk into at Circuit City. Just stay away from that place (for cell phones anyway)
This whole thread is another good reason to stay away from non-corporate stores. Why is it that 85% of the time, when somebody complains about getting misinformed or just plain lied to by a retailer, it's either a Radio Shack or Circuit City to blame?
actually, the reps in the Circuit City locations are manned by Verizon Employee's. Now, some of these reps are new, so their background experience may lack..
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verizonrep said:Corpo Rat said:vzw22 said:
You're not the only customer who complains about the service and lies you walk into at Circuit City. Just stay away from that place (for cell phones anyway)
This whole thread is another good reason to stay away from non-corporate stores. Why is it that 85% of the time, when somebody complains about getting misinformed or just plain lied to by a retailer, it's either a Radio Shack or Circuit City to blame?
actually, the reps in the Circuit City locations are manned by Verizon Employee's. Now, some of these reps are new, so their background experience may lack..
That's true. I forgot about that. H...
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