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Can we discuss how much I already hate Cingular

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sap483

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Jan 14, 2007
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I need to vent. I switched cell phone carriers to Cingular because I need to get a blackberry and they have the cute little blackberry pearl, and Verizon doesn''t. Clearly that was a big mistake on my part. I ordered it on the website because my company gets lots of good deals that way. The told me that I would have the phone by Wednesday at the very latest. Since my number is being switched, they had scheduled for my cell phone to be disconnected on Wednesday. Well guess what it''s Thursday, still no cell phone. I''ve called them so many times in the last few days. Looks like they can''t have it to me before Monday. Grrrrr....I only have my cell phone, so now I''m going to be without a phone until Monday. This really isn''t a good start.... Has anyone else had any bad experiences with Cingular? It''s not too late, I think I can still go the T-Mobile route.
 

sumbride

Ideal_Rock
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Feb 17, 2006
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3,867
Getting started on Cingular was a little bit rocky, but I''m pretty happy with them now. I just had trouble getting my phone when they said I would and switching off my old phone. Plus FI and I are on a family plan, the lowest one we could get, and we never use all our minutes so we have like 7000 roll-over minutes just sitting there driving me batty because they won''t give me a smaller plan!
 

monarch64

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Well, my DH goes through phones like crazy...he''s been with Cingular for a few years now and rarely complains. However, there have been a couple instances of him being ticked off. Usually it''s because his phone isn''t working and they would rather send it off for repair leaving him with a crappy loaner phone for days instead of just giving him a new phone (he pays for the insurance). He really hates that. OTOH, I''ve been with Cingular for the last 8 years and have never, ever had a problem. Then again, I''m one of those people (if others actually exist) who can go for days without even using my cellphone...I am NOT a phone person, never have been. I don''t even know how to text, don''t want to learn, and had the feature removed from my phone package. I know, I''m the minority in this case.
 

divergrrl

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Sap you have NO IDEA. I worked for AT&T Wireless....I mean Cingular....I mean the New AT&T (for crying out loud!) and it is the WORST COMPANY in the world. They do not care one whit about customers (oh my head aches at the thought now of the fires I used to put out, I was in Large Biz sales, and I used to have CEO''s and VPs calling me to scream at me because their stuff wasn''t working where it was or they dropped an important call....aye.....) and will total hose the customer to make a dollar.

I remember pleading with vp''s to focus on satisfaction (I have this silly notion that its cheaper to keep a current customer than to win a new account, especially when your accounts are all huge businesses) but somehow my views fell on deaf ears....

Get as much new biz as you can, don''t take any customer calls...(Ok, I''d hear "Thanks Divergrrl, we can only call you when we need to order a new line, but if we have a problem with our existing services, I, Mr./Ms. VP of Finance has to wait on hold with your Customer Service 800 number for 20 minutes? Thanks for nothing".

I felt like shizzy. Personally, I can''t take a poo on a customer, so I had to leave.

I have many a friend who still works there,and its getting worse. Run while you still can.....RUN! AND DON''T LOOK BACK!!!!

I have Verizon....love them T-Mobile also ranks high in customer satisfaction.

Divergrrl....
 

FireGoddess

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Jan 25, 2005
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12,145
I love Cingular. The one I actually hate is Verizon. Those a$$es kept billing me after I left Texas and got a new number even though they were the ones who GAVE me the new number. Were billing me twice for the same stupid phone line. Even sent my account to COLLECTIONS, though they were double billing me. The hell I went through, they are pure evil. I eventually won, but it took forever. I have never had a problem with Cingular.
 

KimberlyH

Ideal_Rock
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Date: 3/22/2007 4:23:12 PM
Author: monarch64
Well, my DH goes through phones like crazy...he''s been with Cingular for a few years now and rarely complains. However, there have been a couple instances of him being ticked off. Usually it''s because his phone isn''t working and they would rather send it off for repair leaving him with a crappy loaner phone for days instead of just giving him a new phone (he pays for the insurance). He really hates that. OTOH, I''ve been with Cingular for the last 8 years and have never, ever had a problem. Then again, I''m one of those people (if others actually exist) who can go for days without even using my cellphone...I am NOT a phone person, never have been. I don''t even know how to text, don''t want to learn, and had the feature removed from my phone package. I know, I''m the minority in this case.
Monarch, you have a phone twin...me! I have Cingular/AT&T and have had 0 issues in 5 years, except the time I washed my phone with the sheets and it didn''t work, but I''ll take the blame for that. But I only use my phone to call people...when I have no other way of communicating with them. I am not at all a phone person.
 

monarch64

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Ha! Kimberly, I''m glad there is someone out there who understands, especially in times like these when it seems cellphones are practically like umbilical cords. I don''t even answer the phone at home--how strange is that? Dh picks it up or I let it go into voicemail unless I''m expecting a call. He thinks I''m nuts, I call it quirky, lol.
 

tawn

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 24, 2003
Messages
1,311
I find that my coverage is awesome and I live in an area where that''s a huge issue!! I''m a happy camper until I have to deal with customer service which sucks big time!

On another positive note, I recently ordered a new phone (at approx 4pm) and had it by the next afternoon!
 

ellchris

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 6, 2006
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28
If I could find a company that''s GSM and has their coverage, I would switch in a heartbeat.
True story what happened to us a few weeks ago with Cingular.
My husband gets am email at work that the phone we ordered (for my number) was shipped via fedex. He forwards me the email and asks if i had ordered a new phone since i mentioned mine was having problems.
Well, he received the email on a sunday (he happened to go into the office) but i never read it until monday.
When i saw it, i thought it was a joke since i never ordered anything. Called Cingular anyway and it turns out that apparently I DID!
Someone went into one of their stores, gave my number (no I.D. though) ordered a blackberry and had it shipped to IBM in Westchester NY (I live in manhattan)
under the name ''Jennifer Smith".
Their fraud department started asking me questions like do i know this person etc. I was beyond annoyed but we managed to stop the shipment since it was still on the fedex truck and Cingular got their phone back. It turns out this person also extended my contract for two more years. I was livid. Didn''t understand
how something like this could happen and insisted that they revert my contract back since it was expiring in September. They assured me they did.
Well, low and behold this past Monday I get our bill. I have an additional charge of 130.00 for cancelling my contract. I call Cingular, wait over ten minutes to speak
to someone live and then it takes them another 15 minutes to go through my account to see what happened before they finally take the charge off.
I can''t wait for Verizon to go GSM so I can finally leave this god awful company.
 

eks6426

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 19, 2004
Messages
2,011
I don''t have any Cingular experience but my husband and I own a Nextel dealership. The number porting issue is always sticky and depends not only on the new phone service but the previous service as well. Your old company has to "release" the number on a certain day so that it is available for the new company to pick up. Each cell company has a different way process of getting it done. The delay can be on either end. We find some companies are better at getting it done than others.

We have had a lot of nightmares with the port issues. One customer was going to port from a different service and the old company released her number...but it got snatched up before it got transferred to her new Nextel service....so someone else suddenly had her phone number and was getting all her customer calls. A lot of times the old company has a retention program that has to be done before they will release the number...to try to keep you.

That being said, what we do that reduces the amount of screaming we take from customers (like Divergirl said...they want to call the person who sold them the phone even though we have nothing to do with the technical aspects!) is to order in the new phone with a new number. Once we have the phone in our hands we start the port process. It usually goes faster this way. There is also less room for error and if all else fails the customer still has a working phone even if it is not their "old" number. That way, like in sap483''s case, there wouldn''t be a weekend without a phone. If all else fails, we have "sample phones" that are active that we would give someone to use for the weekend just so they wouldn''t be without a phone. But generally you can only get this kind of service by going through a local person rather than just ordering off the internet.
 

sumbride

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Messages
3,867
Monarch and Kimberly - I''m in your club too. I hate the phone! I use my cell when I want to reach someone while I''m out (i.e. I can''t email!) and only my friends have that number. Email is my preferred method of communication and most everyone in my life accepts that. As for the home phone, I don''t answer unless I recognize the name on caller ID. There''s a reason we have voice mail and caller ID. Talking to me on the phone is not a "right" I extend to telemarketers, etc.... Just because you call me doesn''t mean I have to answer!!!

Oddly, I''m also getting the same way about the door. We''ve been getting a lot of random solicitors lately while I was sick. If I wasn''t expecting anybody and they knocked instead of ringing the bell, I wouldn''t get up to open the door. Our neighbors know we have a door bell but nobody else seems to ever see it. It feels really freeing to remind myself that just because they''re knocking, it doesn''t mean I have to give them my attention! Or open the door in my pajamas!
 

onedrop

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 24, 2006
Messages
2,216
I have Cingular as well, and I was an old AT&T customer that was transitioned. I haven''t had major problems with them. What I like the most is the GSM capability because when I travel outside of the US especially in Europe or Africa I can still use my phone. And also I love the equipment! They seem to get the best and latest phones. Customer service hasn''t been bad, because whenever I have a problem they seem to resolve it. The biggest problem is that sometimes I can''t get a signal in my own house at times. Other than that I have few complaints.
 

KimberlyH

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 15, 2006
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Date: 3/23/2007 1:12:43 AM
Author: monarch64
Ha! Kimberly, I''m glad there is someone out there who understands, especially in times like these when it seems cellphones are practically like umbilical cords. I don''t even answer the phone at home--how strange is that? Dh picks it up or I let it go into voicemail unless I''m expecting a call. He thinks I''m nuts, I call it quirky, lol.
Monnie, I make John crazy because I just let the phone ring, whether it''s the house phone or the cell phone, unless it''s him, my mom or my sister calling. I do not understand how people have become so attached to these devices. I don''t want anyone to think that they have 24 hour a day access to me.
 

mercoledi

Ideal_Rock
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Jun 20, 2006
Messages
2,822
Date: 3/23/2007 10:46:52 AM
Author: onedrop
I have Cingular as well, and I was an old AT&T customer that was transitioned. I haven't had major problems with them. ... The biggest problem is that sometimes I can't get a signal in my own house at times. Other than that I have few complaints.

I transitioned too but wasn't as lucky. I was an AT&T customer for about 3 years, and pretty happy with my service. There were issues, but they were handled quickly and politely and usually ended in a $30 credit. Eventually I added my husband to the plan about two weeks later AT&T becomes Cingular. Now, we were on the old CMDA network, and began losing coverage. We were roaming in the yard and got no signal where either of us worked. Umm, that's a problem. Cingular insisted that there were plenty of towers in the area, and that it wasn't their problem. Eventually someone told me that Cingular was phasing out the CMDA network entirely.

Ok... nice to know... so were we offered TMDA-compatible phones? No. We were told that we could pay the $300 for new phones, and an activation fee to change to TMDA. It was truly ridiculous and no one was willing to make any concession to the fact that we were paying for phones with no network coverage, and that the change over was both unpublished (ie, we had no way of knowing) and beyond our control.

In the end it was marginally cheaper to end out contracts early (we had just renewed when my husband joined) and switch than it would have been to ride out the contracts with Cingular, so we quit. We have Verizon. It's fine. But I am unimpressed the Cingular and don't plan on giving them any more of my money.
 

sap483

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 14, 2007
Messages
988
So update, I called again. They haven''t even begun processing it yet. If somehow it gets processed today they won''t be able to ship until Monday, so it''s now pushed back again. I just called a supervisor at Cingular and they told me that there''s nothing they can do. They''re told by the head office that they just need to tell the customer that it will be processed in 24 hours whenever they call. Can you believe that? The guy actually admitted that to me. He then didnt have a number for the head office and could only give me an address. I''m starting to wonder if it''s too late for me to just cancel it and keep Verizon. I haven''t had any problems with them in the 6 years I''ve had service through them. The thing is I understand that there''s not much the agents that answer the phone can do, and it''s not them I''m mad it. I''m furious at the company, and plan on giving them a piece of my mind. Clearly though from some of your posts, I''m not alone.

On a sidenote, I''m one of those person that needs my phone to survive. I travel 80% of the time for work, and clients contact me on it at all times. Needless to say it''s been very hard explaining to them why I haven''t been available. Even worse, my boss is furious. Apparently knowing that this is a corporate account for one of the Big 4 makes no difference to them.
 

eks6426

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 19, 2004
Messages
2,011
You are definitely still in the window of time when you could cancel. Most companies have a 15 if not 30 day policy. You will probably still get billed and need to fight that. Just a thought.
 

codex57

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 18, 2004
Messages
1,492
Before you switch again, just note that all the major companies have horrible reps in regards to customer service.

I stay with Verizon mainly b/c their network is so rock solid. Actually, the real reason is my wife gets a discount. But we were trying to switch regardless b/c Cingular kept dropping on us where we lived.

Hopefully, Cingular is better now that they''ve had time to merge with AT&T cuz I''d like to go back to them since they have the best phones. I never bothered with T-Mobile because T-Mobile''s reception is pretty bad in CA compared to Cingular.
 

mrssalvo

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 3, 2005
Messages
19,132
I want the new apple Iphone when it comes out but hubby said he wants to wait a year b/c 1) Cingular is the provider and they have a horrible reputation in my area and 2) he thinks there are going to be kinks in the system and wants to wait a year for them to get worked out 3) he thinks the price will drop like all the other apple products after they are out for a while...but man I want that phone sooooooo bad.
 

monarch64

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Messages
19,213
He, Kimberly and Sumbride: I thought I was just like, antisocial or something! What a relief to hear that others are slightly bothered by the damn phone as I!

A funny: I had a cell for safety purposes while living on my own post-college when I met DH...then I moved to the Chicago area and he insisted I have one for the same reason even though I only had a 12 minute commute (sans freeway) to work. The whole time I''ve been with Cingular (never switched in 8 years) and I now have over 8,000 rollover minutes! I do try to use my cellphone when making long distance calls to friends or relatives but it seems my battery goes dead first and other than that flip phones like mine just aren''t that comfortable and I can''t handle staying on the phone longer than ten minutes anyway, lol!

Thank you both for stating that there is life besides phone connectivity!
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I''d just SO rather talk face to face, or via email!
 

diamondfan

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 17, 2005
Messages
11,016
Verizon has the best nationwide coverage, or at least is did. But trust me they stink too at customer service. STINK. The store near me gets overcrowded, the employees are slow and seem lazy, and you can stand there for hours literally trying to get helped. Finally they put in a sign up board and you put the time and why you are there...it has cut the weight a little. When you complain they say they are understaffed. HELLO? HIRE MORE PEOPLE. Seems simple. But no, and I get a stress attack every time I have to go in there.
 

aljdewey

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 25, 2002
Messages
9,170
Gosh, they ALL seem pathetic at customer service.

For my area (New England), Verizon seems to have the best connection rate. I never get dropped calls.
 
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