My wife purchased a T720 Motorola cell phone from Western Wireless in West Covina, CA. I was there when she purchased the "Upgrade". She was told (and given in writing), that the offer came with 2 rebates. The first rebate is a $50 cash rebate and a $50 trade-in rebate totaling $100. The second rebate was a $50 "gift card" that could be used to pay the bill. We have used Cingular for years, but because of the poor customer service from Western Wireless, after the contact is up we will be switching to T-mobile.
When we got home and attempted to fill out the 2 rebate forms, we noticed that they both requested the UPC from the phone (no copies accepted) and that must be sent to two different addresses.
We called that night and never received a call back after leaving a message about this. I went back the next day and spoke with Mayra at the Cingular (Western Wireless) booth. I told her the story and she said would call her Cingular rep. She called the rep, and the rep said just send in a copy of the UPC. I asked from something in writing so we would not be out the $50 or $100 rebate. She said she could not do it.
I indicated that I would like to return the phone per their return policy (which is 15 days). She said she could not do that as a manager has to return phones.
I said, OK, lets get the manager. That's were things went down hill. She said that the manager only comes in once a day for a few minutes to drop something off and I would have to wait. I asked when the manager would be in, she said she did not know. So I asked her if she could call the manager or if I could call the manager to schedule a meeting time. She said no. I would just have to wait around a hope he shows up.
This is a new low for customer service. My wife now refuses to ever use Cingular again and I had to put up with security being called on me at the mall because Mayra could not handle an escalation. As a retired person, I don't appreciate being treated like dirt.
My advice, before you sign on the dotted line at a cellular place, take the paperwork home, read ALL OF IT and ask for a manager and make sure there is one there that can handle any problems that might show up later on. Also, call the local phone numbers and make sure you can get a hold of a live person
By the way, this is the short version. My wife and myself must have called at least 20 phone numbers without EVER taking to a live person. I really don't think there is a Western Wireless
Signed:
X-Cingular user
PS: It's sad a 3rd party (Western Wireless) can destroy a company (Cingular).
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