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AT&T customer service

UOQuack

May 2, 2008, 9:52 AM
Please do not tell customer service reps that authorized retailers can handle their internet/telesales channel returns. We can't. The customer doesnt understand the difference between sales channels, but customer service reps should. If you set the customers expectation to be one thing, and it turns out it's not, then you have a pissed off customer, and we are the ones who have to deal with it. Furthermore, by improperly setting customer expectations, you are damaging AT&T's reputation.



Standard forum disclaimer--I know not all customer service reps do this, I know most reps do know the difference between the various channels, blah blah blah. If the shoe fits, wear it.
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Hombre07

May 2, 2008, 10:48 AM
I'd also like to add in that agents don't generally handle any returns from anywhere else, free SIM cards, phone book transfer, not many are payment centers, we do not do warranty exchanges, insurance claims, or keep a stock of batteries to swap out the battery on an LG CG225 because warranty doesn't want to.
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UOQuack

May 2, 2008, 11:30 AM
Amen brother.
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bwag717

May 2, 2008, 12:27 PM
Good to hear we're not the only ones with that problem.
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UOQuack

May 2, 2008, 2:07 PM
On the contrary, my friend, it's a widespread problem. I have friends/acquaintences who also work the indirect channel at other stores in my city, and they experience the same problem. Clearly you do too at your store. This type of thing happens to me daily, sometimes more than once a day. It's completely unacceptable. I've notified my RAE, and I ask every other agent to do the same. Maybe what we need to do is access every account when these types of situations arise, get the Customer Service reps name, and report the misinformation instance to our RAE, rather than just file a general complaint.

Regarding your post though, I get your point: you're not suffering alone!!
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bwag717

May 2, 2008, 2:25 PM
Too many times I have a customer who comes in and has been told that we (i'm indirect) have to give them a free SIM or do a transfer of service for them cause CS told them we would. I would love to help every customer but when CS tells them that I can do this for free. We don't like to have to be the bearer of bad news.
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tnt2k1

May 2, 2008, 3:10 PM
Oregon Ducks suck. But I'm glad that Dennis Dixon got drafted by a classy team after all he went through.

Any idea about that receiver though (the one where his older brothers were gang bangers and his bestfriend, who also got recruited by the Ducks, died days before training camp)? Did he get drafted?
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UOQuack

May 3, 2008, 9:44 AM
I think you are referring to Cameron Colvin, but I'm not sure. As far as I know, he didn't get drafted.

Speaking of Dixon, did you read the article by Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports about his career? Great article!
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pepsijunky

May 3, 2008, 1:18 PM
The problem with Dixon is even if he hadn't gotten hurt he still doesn't have a solid place in the NFL. He would probably end up an Antawn Randle El type, QB turned WR.
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tnt2k1

May 5, 2008, 9:41 AM
I didn't read Silver's article on Yahoo, but I read it on SI and yes. I agree it was awesome. I actually visited his site a couple of times, he was looking really impressive.

For some reason, I think pepsijunky may be right ...
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mark477

May 25, 2008, 9:39 PM
yes i apologize about all the cust reps. I'm a indirect agent (beuc). i do know that cor stores can give out free sim cards but not all the time. sometimes we say that if the customer is really frustrated then we can use the customer rules, and leave a note in the account stating that they get a free sim card. I do agree that alot of our cs reps in alot of our centers are not educated on this issue. as far as returning phones. From MyCsp it states that if the phone was ordered online and not a refurb they can go to a cor store and return the phone. but some stores say they cannot do that, im really not sure why they say that but thats what policy says. unless the phone is purchased through the phone, auth retailers.
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Bubey

Jun 18, 2008, 10:17 PM
Then why can the customer service rep send one out for free, but tell me that by going into the local store I can get it quicker?
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Hombre07

Jun 23, 2008, 7:04 PM
Both those statements are true. Customer service can send one out. And you can get one quicker by going to the local COR store. However agents pay $25 per SIM card, therefore we charge $25 (or more in some cases) for a SIM card.
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Hombre07

May 2, 2008, 10:53 PM
We tried that for awhile. Sent an email to our RAE every day for a month with a name a day and details of the situation. Nothing ever happened. He forwarded it to his boss and it when on until one of them said I don't give a rats and deleted it.
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UOQuack

May 3, 2008, 9:49 AM
So, it seems the squeaky wheel doesnt always get fixed. That sucks. I'm going to try anyway.

On a related note--I had a similar situation almost occur late yesterday. Except this time, the customer service rep called the store before sending the customer here. He asked if we were COR or indirect. He also asked about the next nearest store. I thanked him for calling ahead, and identified the nearest COR store for him to tell the customer. Kudos to that rep for taking two minutes to call ahead, and save that customer (and me!) a load of grief.
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Webb

May 3, 2008, 11:54 AM
UOQuack said:
So, it seems the squeaky wheel doesnt always get fixed. That sucks. I'm going to try anyway.

On a related note--I had a similar situation almost occur late yesterday. Except this time, the customer service rep called the store before sending the customer here. He asked if we were COR or indirect. He also asked about the next nearest store. I thanked him for calling ahead, and identified the nearest COR store for him to tell the customer. Kudos to that rep for taking two minutes to call ahead, and save that customer (and me!) a load of grief.


Speaking as an AT&T rep, you're doing the right thing. It's as easy as falling off a log to tell which stores are COR and which aren't, and CSP...
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plunderbunnie

May 4, 2008, 10:44 PM
Since we're discussing what NOT to do, those of us who deal in the Customer Service end (or Business Care) are sick of store reps lying to their customers.

I had one lady today call in all sorts of pissed because a COR rep told her the family messaging unlimited was $10.

Also, stop telling customers, "Oh, just call customer service and they can handle it." I've had more calls from people that could've been handled in stores and weren't.

It goes both ways. I think we'd have a much better reputation if we all communicated a bit more and people stopped lying to increase their commission.

/rant
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bwag717

May 5, 2008, 10:09 AM
How about a good description of what you can do? I hate calling in and getting one person say "No, I can't do that," then calling back and getting another person who says "No problem, let me take care of that for you." Why does one person say no and another say yes? Shouldn't both say yes or both say no?

Also, I can't stand it when I look at account notes and its all gibberish. Stop using short hand and write out exactly what was said. Nothing ticks off a customer more when they say CS told them one thing and all I see is, " Tkd to Cust, Edu on upgr, one and done." What did you talk about? Are they eligible are the never eligible? Then I have to waste your time calling you to see what was said.

Sorry for ranting
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plunderbunnie

May 5, 2008, 8:53 PM
If you're told "yes I can do that" by one person and "no I can't" by someone else, it's probably because it's something we don't normally handle, but if it's yes, it's probably just someone being nice.

As far as notes on the accounts, we take around 60 calls a day, and most of them are very long and very detailed. We have 20-30 seconds between calls to notate accounts. I don't know about you, but I don't have the time or patience to type out "The customer called today to discuss upgrade eligibility. Educated the customer that he is indeed eligible for an upgrade. Have a pleasant day." in 20-30 seconds.
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Ashlizzle007

May 18, 2008, 1:31 PM
Exactly! We get call after call after call all day long with no gap in between to type notes. I don't type with shorthand unless I absolutely have to. I agree that some reps are alittle overboard with the shorthand but honestly we don't have time in between calls for long detailed perfect notes.


I also agree that a lot of customers get sent to us for things that should have been handled in the store. You guys worry more about that sale then helping a customer when it could be resolved within 5 minutes. Especially if it's a phone issue, we can't see the darn thing.
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bwag717

May 21, 2008, 9:26 AM
I don't mind helping out a customer with a phone issue, but when they come in saying that they are supposed to get a free belt clip cause CS said so, is when I get a bit upset. Or when they have been approved for an exception upgrade and it's not notated. We are really not paid to do CS, we are paid to sell. Most of us realize that a good rep does both to get the sale and future sales. It just isn't fair to other customers who are looking for a sale to have a customer come in a waste time on an issue that should have been taken care of over the phone.

I really don't like it when a customer comes in to look at our phones so they can buy it online or over the phone later, but want me to "sell" it to them. Sorry, but that is a waste o...
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mark477

May 25, 2008, 9:50 PM
wow im sure if att were to look at this forum on att store agents it will definitely have to fire alot of people. i know for one store agent do allll sorts of things the customer does not want and it seems like alot of store agents are lazy, uneducated, rude, and dont want to help anybody unless they get commission on something. cor stores are supposed to be a place where a customer can talk to somebody and get clarification or just some plain help. you get paid from att so act like it. we dont get paid higher for commission or very angry customers that you promised something or you gave them misinformation.

im very sorry if you are a cor agent who does the right thing and tell the customer everything and helps them every way you can even...
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UOQuack

May 6, 2008, 11:02 AM
You are absolutely right. There are some retail reps out there--COR and indirect alike--that either deliberately or accidentally give incorrect information to customers. AT&T has closed most of the shady or under-performing indirects, so deliberate misinformation shouldnt be as much ofa problem now as laziness or lack of training.

Some of us indirects that are left know that our best way to make commission is to help the customer in every single way possible so that word of mouth spreads and we become known as THE place to go for help. Increased traffic of course results in increased commissions. But of course that means actualy providing customer service in the store, not just pawning off simple problems to 611 and going back to pla...
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bwag717

May 6, 2008, 12:04 PM
We can't play solitare on our computers anymore ☚ī¸ Work Secure is our new OS.

Big question: Why does transfer of service keep sending people in to us to do the transfer if I can't do it even when the customer tells them that I'm a Indirect and they have already been told that I can't do them? I'd love to to ToS but cannot.
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UOQuack

May 6, 2008, 2:55 PM
When customers come to my store (indirect) to do a TOS, the first thing we tell them is a TOS can be processed at our location, but they will be required to pay for their new SIM cards at $25 each. If they are willing to do this, then we get on the phone with the TOS department and take care of the process ourselves. Are we able to actually do the TOS ourselves? No. Do we make money off this? No, not immediately. But, these are customers who are new to the area, and the last thing we want to do is give prospective future sales the impression that we can't help them. No, we can't do a TOS, but we can pick up the phone and get someone to do it for us, and it makes us look like we are able to help the customer, and they (hopefully) come ...
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ralph_on_me

May 6, 2008, 4:40 PM
What you're describing is a Relocation. I believe when most people say Transfer of Service it's synonymous with a change of financial responsibility (COFR). A COFR doesn't require a new SIM since they're keeping the same number, but a Relocation does.

I'm just putting that out there for anyone else who was as confused as I was.
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UOQuack

May 7, 2008, 9:45 AM
You're absolutely right, dont know what I was thinking. Just came back from 2 days off and my head must have been in the clouds.

We do also get customer service on the line for TOS though, as well as Relocations. Anything we can to keep the customer from leaving and going somewhere else with the impression we cant help them
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bwag717

May 6, 2008, 4:46 PM
We can do relocations, no problems, but when we call in to do a ToS they won't accept our agent code. I don't mind helping a customer by doing a ToS for them but they really send them in if one of the customers have a deposit or when they can't do it for whatever reason.

I don't mind helping a customer out but when I can't help three other customer who are making my store money it doesn't make sense. I don't want to sound like a jerk but I am paid to make money for my store, not sit on a phone and wait for a ToS rep to do something that the customer shouldn't have to come to the store to do anyways. The waste of gas that a customer has to pay for to do something they can do at home is stupid. We should help them by letting them know t...
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ralph_on_me

May 6, 2008, 5:06 PM
We don't do TOS's (COFR) either. It doesn't involve us at all, so we provide the interested party with the telephone number to the TOS department and instruct them to either contact that department on a conference call, or call them individually beginning with the current account holder. If the new customer needs to pay a deposit, they couldn't do that with us anyway (since our agent code isn't attached to that transaction, AT&T wouldn't know who to get their money from) so there's no point for them to be in store. It can all be done from the comfort of one's own couch
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UOQuack

May 7, 2008, 9:49 AM
We dont sit on the phone with them either. We tell the customer we will start the process for them, but they will be required to speak with the TOS department. We also inform them that both parties (current account holder and prospective account holder) will have to be involved in the conversation. Basically all we do is dial the number, advise the TOS rep of the situation, and hand the phone to the customer. Takes us a couple minutes. Sure, it doesnt make any money right then and there, but it does set the stage for future sales. Of course, we do have to use our time wisely, and if we have just one rep on the sales floor and multiple customers waiting, then yeah we just provide the phone number and instructions and send them on their ...
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bwag717

May 8, 2008, 10:10 AM
I din't mean to sound crabby. We only have 2 guys on at any given time. Most of the time a ToS shows up right at close or when we have 10 people waiting. Didn't CS apply the deposit (if there is one) on the first months bill of the new account holder? They were doing that for a while but I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't supposed to or cannot do it now.
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UOQuack

May 6, 2008, 10:56 AM
So check it out. Later the same day as my original post, I received a call from a customer service rep. He wanted to know if my store was a COR store so he could send a customer here to do a return from an online purchase. Essentially the same issue as I'd dealt with previously. Difference? This guy took 2 minutes out of his day to call me and find out the facts before he set the wrong expectation with the customer! I helped him determine where the nearest COR store was, and thanked him profusely for not sending me a problem that I couldnt resolve. Had he been lazy, he wouldve just picked the nearest store to the customer by address and gone to the next call. Might have helped his call matrix, but it wouldnt have helped the customer....
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bwag717

May 6, 2008, 4:47 PM
Wish that happened more.
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UOQuack

May 7, 2008, 9:51 AM
I just realized I already posted this update a couple days ago. God, I'm violating forum netiquette left and right. Somebody whip me with a wet noodle.
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tadams

May 9, 2008, 4:32 PM
Its been awhile!

And I come back and read this. I have some things to suggest.

I can totally relate to the gripe here. There ARE things that we cannot do not being a COR location, but there are alot of times you can turn the experience in your favor.

TOS- Ralph already addressed that no SIM change is needed here. If I am not busy, I will GLADLY call in a TOS. I educate the customer on everything, make sure we can contact the releasing party to not upset our Rep, and sell them on some features! When they talk to the Rep I tell them to just give them the rate plan they are wanting and I will take care of the features. Great opportunity for me and it cost me nothing but time.

SIM cards- Give them out! Why so focused on ...
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gibson714

May 21, 2008, 5:09 PM
Drives me crazy when sales reps say " I am a sales rep not a customer service rep," unless you are paid off straight commission(which I know most Indirects are), then it is your job to do customer service. If you get an hourly wage, you are suppose to try and handle anything that walks into your store. If you don't believe that then tell ATT to take away your hourly pay and just pay you when you sell something.
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bestrepinworld

Jun 22, 2008, 1:40 AM
im a csr and this has been a post i have long needed to see applause for tadams
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comewhatmay

Jun 19, 2008, 4:08 PM
tell our supervisors that. its the higher up management that tells us that you all can do these things. honestly, i was told even by a store rep that they could do internet exchanges as long as it was not a refurb.

i know these things are incorrect, just like how transferring someone to CLM for a price match is incorrect, but if a manager tells me to do it, i have to. the problem with at&t and the reason we have so many pissed off customers is because of communication issues. a lot of agents think that we can do things such as reverse contracts and perform upgrades for them when their opus or posII is down. we can reverse contracts, but we are never allowed to. only under rare circumstances.

it really goes both ways. we are told you ...
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comewhatmay

Jun 19, 2008, 4:10 PM
disregard that. i didn't read where you said "authorized retailer." duh on my part. 🤭
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Webb

Jun 23, 2008, 12:02 PM
comewhatmay said:
tell our supervisors that. its the higher up management that tells us that you all can do these things. honestly, i was told even by a store rep that they could do internet exchanges as long as it was not a refurb.

i know these things are incorrect, just like how transferring someone to CLM for a price match is incorrect, but if a manager tells me to do it, i have to. the problem with at&t and the reason we have so many pissed off customers is because of communication issues. a lot of agents think that we can do things such as reverse contracts and perform upgrades for them when their opus or posII is down. we can reverse contracts, but we are never allowed to. only under rare circumstances.

it r
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LicorShot

Jun 23, 2008, 12:20 PM
whats the policy on premier website?
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Webb

Jun 24, 2008, 1:59 AM
Mmph. I meant to look that up for you before I headed out. Sorry. Mad queue. 😛
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mandizzle

Jun 23, 2008, 5:54 PM
You gotta love csp, it does have everything you could ever want or need to know about att if you just take the time to look. That's why customer service reps make so many mistakes... they really hate having to search in csp for five minutes while the customer is going nuts.
Sorry retail agents... our bad.
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Webb

Jun 24, 2008, 1:58 AM
Yeah. Admittedly, I hate that about CSP myself. It is anything but intuitive, though the 'top interactions' link off the main page is a great place to start.

I personally preferred the old CCNet of AWS - a simple menu-tree based system, with logical headings to look for things under. It also had the advantage of being designed by someone who wasn't obsessed with making it look pretty, so it loaded quickly. Alas, that was one of the few things I liked about old AWS, and productivity-wise it was probably offset by Axys being as slow as as frozen ****.

Correction. I HATED that about CSP. Today was my last day in wireless. It's surreal to think that I'm not going to be dealing with this stuff anymore. Hmm.
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mandizzle

Jun 25, 2008, 12:45 PM
How funny... It is my last month in wireless... It is really strange to think I would have to known anything about at&t ever again. Nice.
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Crapbag

Jun 23, 2008, 8:36 PM
comewhatmay said:
A lot of agents think that we can do things such as reverse contracts and perform upgrades for them when their opus or posII is down. we can reverse contracts, but we are never allowed to. only under rare circumstances.


And this is where agents should know better. We have a BRE tool just for reversing contracts. We also have C&A for doing upgrades.
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