Cingular Expelled From Local BBB
Sep 12, 2005, 1:58 PM by (staff)
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Upstate New York has revoked Cingular's membership. The local bureau said Cingular had 20 unanswered complaints and ran up over 200 complaints during the last three years. Responding to complaints filed with the BBB is compulsory for members. After failing to do this enough times, Cingular was expelled from the Upstate New York chapter, which covers the area from Buffalo to Albany in Western NY. This event does not affect the carrier's standing in other local BBBs, and Cingular can re-apply to join the Upstate NY chapter in a year.
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Comments
It's because of the merger.
When you're the biggest company you get the most complaints.
A lot of the complaints most likely come from former AT&T Wireless customers who were so used to getting spoiled rotten by AT&T. Cingular not wanting to suffer the same fate won't budge on silly requests like "I want a RAZR for free and my N&W to start at 7 free for life with unlimited text for life."
The customer is NOT always right but they are the customer.
A lot of the complaints most likely come from former AT&T Wireless customers who were so used to getting spoiled rotten by AT&T. Cingular not wanting to suffer the same fate won't budge on silly requests like "I want a RAZR for free and my N&W to start at 7 free for life with unlimited text for life."
The customer is NOT always right but they are the customer.
Stop blaming the merger for cingulars crappy service.
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Verizon is the second biggest company, do they have the second highest complaints per million cust. NO!
Thanks for coming...
Thanks for coming...
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Cingular is overextending
We all know Cingular was created with the merger of 25 or so companies for the purpose of it being a National Carrier. Same thing with Verizon.
However, I think this is starting to show that Cingular has gone too far in it's expansion. I think Cingular should pull out of that market and cancel their contracts.
However, I think this is starting to show that Cingular has gone too far in it's expansion. I think Cingular should pull out of that market and cancel their contracts.
Jeez - grow up. 🙄 These complaints were primarily from the AT&T Wireless side, and are thus problems that Cingular inherited after its purchase of AWS.
If you think Cingular is happy about the type of press this brings, think again. Cingu...
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If you think Cingular is happy about the type of press this brings, think again. Cingu...
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who cares?
does anyone actually contact the BBB to see if a business is good or not first? And who cares, with every company all they'll get is complaints from some irate customer(s). To top it off, it'd probably have been the customers' faults for the most part on the issues....
stuff like this doesn't matter.
stuff like this doesn't matter.
thats the first thing many people do is to check with the BBB. It's a very big deal!
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that doesn't look good for them in that market when it comes to customer service
In response to the other posts: People generally do not contact the BBB unless they are going to complain. So realistically, it does not matter. Even if a major newspaper ran the story, most people would look at and laugh. I know I would think, "It's ...
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These days, many carriers have nationwide - cool phones - the difference is customer service. This will hurt!
I have been in the retail business for 10 years and have only heard customers say "Better Business Bureau" when they are really pissed off, irrate, or not getting the rediclous request they demanded. I have also never been to the BBB website, but perh...
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the BBB keeps track of the number of complaints for each firm but the critical issue is here Cingular did not even respond to the complaints. The BBB appreciates that any large firm particularly those int his industry will receive a larger number of ...
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So. California in the house
And Cingular should be kicked out of our chapter too. I called to get a replacement phone and literally had to repeat the same information, including last 4 digits of my SS, six times to six different people. The call lasted close to an hour. There is no infrastructure, regardless of how nice the employees are. The company makes them all seem clueless and it is a horribly frustrating experience for their valued customers.
Repeating the last 4 of your SSN is a security measure. Otherwise, I could tell a rep the last 4 of *my* SSN, get transferred, and say, "No, you've got the wrong account. My name's John Bradley and my wireless number is 912-555-1212." Now I'm going...
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Cingular is a product of SBC
the reason for this is because its customer service is run just like its parent company SBC. Incase you were unaware, SBC stands for 'Screwed By Cowboys'.
Link and Description
http://search.buffalo.bbb.org/nis/newsearch2.asp?ID= ... »
CINGULAR WIRELESS
2875 Union Rd. Suite 35U
Buffalo, NY 14227
Original Business
Start Date:
1/1/1983
Principal: Karen Johnson, Sr. Coordinator
Local Phone Number: (425) 580-1594
Fax Number: (425) 580-9849
Membership Status: This company is not a member.
TOB Classification: Cellular Telephone Equipment & Supplies
The information in this report has either been provided by the company, or has been compiled by the Bureau from other sources.
Nature of Business
This company offers Cellular Communications.
Customer Experience
On August 25, 2005, Cingular Wireless' membership in the BBB was revoked by the B...
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CINGULAR WIRELESS
2875 Union Rd. Suite 35U
Buffalo, NY 14227
Original Business
Start Date:
1/1/1983
Principal: Karen Johnson, Sr. Coordinator
Local Phone Number: (425) 580-1594
Fax Number: (425) 580-9849
Membership Status: This company is not a member.
TOB Classification: Cellular Telephone Equipment & Supplies
The information in this report has either been provided by the company, or has been compiled by the Bureau from other sources.
Nature of Business
This company offers Cellular Communications.
Customer Experience
On August 25, 2005, Cingular Wireless' membership in the BBB was revoked by the B...
(continues)
credit and billing, I do not work for cingy but I bet you the credit and billing is for all the cheap ppl complaining about a .10 cent text charge. Some ppl are so foolish to me, at the rate gas is, they will drive all the way to my store and complain...
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If I'm not mistaken, since the original start date was 1/1/1983, this would be the legacy AT&T system, or the fallout from that. Even if Cingular had been answering complaints to "Cingular Wireless", if there were any complaints from AT&T Wireless, t...
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Anyone tried Cingular in Upstate NY
I live closer to Montreal than I do Albany, but definatly live in Upstate New York. There is only one problem with Cingular and that is there are no Cingular towers once you're 30 minutes north of Albany or the entire Adirondack Park (EPA - No Cell Tower) which makes up several thousand acres. Granted the included roaming but you're roaming off of the local carrier Unicel.
Good luck with Cingular in Upstate New York anyway.
Good luck with Cingular in Upstate New York anyway.
We're listed as being in Cingular's Upstate NY territory, in Poughkeepsie, and I really have trouble finding anything bad to say about them. They are far more responsive than Verizon was and they actually fix things WHEN you ask them to.
It doesn't matter
No one gives a rats ass. Nobody reads these reports but old farts. This will not hurt Cingular one bit at all. Upstate NY? Oh please.
i would have to agree with PRStateofMind. the BBB is bogus. it has no relavance to anything. i would like to see how many complaints other carriers get in the same area. the BBB has no legal authority, it is like a consumer reports organization.
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PRStateofMind said:
No one gives a rats ass. Nobody reads these reports but old farts. This will not hurt Cingular one bit at all. Upstate NY? Oh please.
You underestimate how bad publicity can snowball. But I stron...
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I imagine that any prospective business customer who is concerned about how they will be treated, and who would thus be inclined to read and/or care about the BBB issues, will also be likely to do some investigations as to the issues behind this.
T...
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It all comes down to one thing
IT does not matter what your argument is, it comes down to cingular got booted and other carriers did not. End of story. you can not argue with that point.
nobody's perfect
i must admit, this isn't good for business, but how many people think any carrier is perfect? None. Just look at the posts. We can bitch all we want, and we will 🤣 , but u just can't please everyone all of the time.
look at the #'s: %10 of BBB complaints were unresolved (20 out of 200), that's 180 complaints solved - are there even 200 people in upstate NY? 😲 seriously, upstateNY is not an easy place to get coverage.
also, imagine the consumer's complaining...
now all u who want to use this as fuel for the ever-burning fire of churn think about how angry these customers are. U know who i'm talking about. U've dealt with them. Try pleasing 9 out of every 10 jerks who throw their cell phones at u, or blame u for a malfunct...
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look at the #'s: %10 of BBB complaints were unresolved (20 out of 200), that's 180 complaints solved - are there even 200 people in upstate NY? 😲 seriously, upstateNY is not an easy place to get coverage.
also, imagine the consumer's complaining...
now all u who want to use this as fuel for the ever-burning fire of churn think about how angry these customers are. U know who i'm talking about. U've dealt with them. Try pleasing 9 out of every 10 jerks who throw their cell phones at u, or blame u for a malfunct...
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No one cares...
As much as I want to say this will hurt their business, it won't. General consumers are starting to care less about customer service and more about how much money they have left in their wallets when they walk out the door. If you have an awesome deal most will overlook shabby service. Great customer service is only required when you are trying to sell something priced higher than your competitors or than customer expectations.
**Generally**
**Generally**
Generaly yes. However to the 'prime' customer (you know the ones who pay their bills on time and do not try to cancel when they cannot get an upgrade every 4 months) a bad rating with the BBB would be a big turn off. I know a lot of the 'prime' custo...
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Does this mean service will be effected now? My mom has cingular and we live in the Buffalo, NY area.
If customers placed good service above price..
then wirefly.com would be out of business already.
Most people don't care about the BBB except for grumpy old men who don't read their service agreements.
Most people don't care about the BBB except for grumpy old men who don't read their service agreements.
That should be on the website hehe
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It matters
I have worked in the area of quality assurance for almost 20 years. Most big businesses have substantial budgets set aside for customer service evaluation. It is very important for these entities to have a good reputation in the eye of the public and the business world. Either somebody at Cingular dropped the ball, or they ought to spend a few more dollars on customer satisfaction. Otherwise, they should not become members of the BBB and the like.
Many people don't care, but many more do care. I promise you, there are people and companies who will see this report and decide not to do business with Cingular .
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Many people don't care, but many more do care. I promise you, there are people and companies who will see this report and decide not to do business with Cingular .
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