I decided to switch to Cingular when T-Mobile's customer service wasn't what I expected. Boy, did I make a mistake. No matter how bad T-Mobile's customer service was, at least they were ethical.
I went to the Cingular store and said I wanted to switch. I went over the plan with the rep. He never mentioned an activation fee of $36.
After about an hour (since I had to go home and get my T-Mobile account number) everything was ready. When I went to sign the contract, I saw the activation fee. He told me not to worry about it and gave me a phone number to call that would get the fee waived. He said, that my first bill would seem high, but after I got the fee waived, it wouldn't be that much.
When I activated the phone at the store, I had to listen to an IVR that mentioned the activation fee again. He told me not to worry about it.
Keep in mind, I was the only person in the store and his manager was standing right there.
After a couple of hours, I finally finished and went home. The first thing I did was call the number to waive the fee. The customer service person said they couldn't do it. I told them that the store told me that they would. Still, they didn't budge. They conferenced in the manager of the store. She agreed that the offer had been made to waive the fee, apologized for it and said, "You listened to the IVR and agreed to it then." I told her that I believed the live person standing in front of me, telling me it would be waived.
Then she offered me some accessories that I didn't need. (A very sneaky upsell.) I told her I just wanted what was promised — waiving the fee. Besides, the last time I studied business law, bait and switch was illegal.
Then another person called from Cingular but I wasn't available. I called back 5 days ago and still haven't heard back.
I emailed the VP of Customer Service and got a call back from someone yesterday. She said that I should have had that written into the contract before I signed it. COME ON! Their rep told me it would be waived. To me, that's a verbal contract.
I know that I had 3 days to bring it back. But I was leaving town that day. That's why I had to get the phone that day. I couldn't bring it back within the 3 days. Besides it was Memorial Day weekend. They weren't even open.
For $36, they have lost a lot more. I will switch as soon as my contract is up even if I have to pay an activation fee with the other company. (I stuck with T-Mobile for 5 years.) I will tell everyone I know about the experience and I will use Cingular as an example of poor customer service when I discuss it in my business.
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