Tag Archives: iphone

No satisfaction

So I’ve been having more than my share of iPhone problems. Suffice it to say they were slightly more than annoying and the 2.1 didn’t fix them. So I decided to take it to the genius bar to get a replacement. I had to do this with my 1g iPhone due to a bad battery. That time just walked up to the genius bar and they handed me a new phone.

So I thought I’d do that again. Walked to my local apple store. “Appointments only.” What? But the genius was nice enough to perform a restore on my secure deleted the night before iPhone. I was thankful because I didn’t have an appointment. Told me if I was still having problems to make an appointment and they’d take care of it.

So I went home and that night my problems were still evident. So I made an appointment with another apple store because it had a next day appointment.

So I went to my appointment with my iPhone and the SO’s iPhone, which was exhibiting slightly similar problems and some others. I was just expecting a replacement so I was in the midst of secure deleting her phone.

(I should mention here that in the comment section of my appointment I noted I went to the first apple store sans appointment and that they restored and I was having problems still and thought I might just need a replacement. I was upfront about it.)

So I go to my appointment tell the genius what’s going on. He tells me that in the future to not secure delete the phone prior to bringing it in so they can read the logs off the phone. He looks for signs of user damage (of which there is none, honestly). Asks me if I want to just replace both phones. I say yes. He heads to the back to presumably get replacements.

The genius comes back out and tells me they’ve decided that the problems sound like ATT issues and they can’t replace the phones. I can pretty much assure you, it’s not ATT issues I’m having. He tells me to go to AT&T (weird that sometimes iPhone auto corrects “att” to art and sometimes to AT&T) for a host of possible things.

Much like the iPhone buying experience I leave two stores in two days with zero new iPhones.

If you ask me they probably think I did something to my phone, hack, jailbreak, or otherwise. I’ve done none. I realize the need to read logs. And I have basic confidence that if I had brought in my phone with my info on it, apple would secure delete it too. But fuck that! I’m supposed to trade in my phone for a replacement without being 100% certain that all of my information is wiped securely from the phone?! No way no how no McCain as they say. Did I have anything important on it? No. But that’s not quite the point.

So I still have my crap iPhone. Maybe I’ll try again in the near future. Maybe I live with it. Maybe I try to get an unlocked android htc. Who knows.

(By the way, I wrote this on my iPhone and at least in the wordpress app, with 2.1, keyboard lag isn’t 100% solved. Ugh I have bad luck with the iPhone 3g)

AT&T still sucks, only just a little less so

Here’s a comment I received from an AT&T rep.  I take her at her word that she is indeed from AT&T:

As an unfortunate rep on the phone representing AT&T in iDay as we called it. Yes the stores were not prepared. Also in our defense if we issue a credit even remotely associated with an iPhone, it’s our job. Who made that rule? Apple. Working with them on a regular basis (the visual voicemail is having a lot of trouble) i know that many of their reps are extremely rude and not helpful in the least bit. I put everything i have into every call i take. I get screamed at, cussed out and i’ve even had my life threatened because someone thinks taking an iphone to another country won’t cost anything. If you are using internet on your phone and you don’t have a package…. think about it. You’re getting charged. everything you need is online. Pay attention to your bill. read the fine print it’s there for a reason. every company has the same basic services! yes we mess up on occasion but i have NEVER not called a customer back. The job is incredibly difficult. Today i got yelled at because my customer didn’t know how to use a rebate card and choose credit not debit. but i was nice and explained everything but apparently it was my fault.? I agree that we should be able to give some sort of compensation for iphone customer’s with a bad experience. but first is it really a life or death situation? we’re all adults and patience is something we should have learned by now. but we can’t do things for customer’s with bad experiences because of the iPhone. Who set up the rules? Apple. I have bills to pay and I’m putting this out there for all AT&T haters….. would you loose your job so someone else could get a new cell phone they don’t HAVE to have? Me either.

I agree that she has a tough job.  I only call customer support when something’s wrong.  So of course I feel wronged and angry, but I’m always professional and courteous, if at times a bit short (as in terse).  I have no problems with the AT&T reps I dealt with on the day (save the one that manually ported my number, what sense does that make?).  They were all professional and tried their best to be helpful (though I never did receive confirmation that I was off the Small Business Plan, I guess I need to call AT&T again after all). 

And in fact, after a few emails, I was actually contacted by AT&T Mobility Office of the Executive President.  Did I get anything free?  A month’s credit?  New features for free?  No.  But I didn’t ask for any.  And it wasn’t about getting anything for free (other than my skyrocketing blood pressure that day, the only thing I really lost was time, though a LOT of it, and a day’s worth of cell service).  Did I just want to vent?  Yes.  Did doing so via Twitter and this blog satisfy that?  Mostly.  It was nice to see that AT&T took customer complaints seriously and customer complaints weren’t just dismissed. 

The corporate AT&T person I spoke with was great.  She informed me that people being placed on a small business plan rather than a family plan was a common occurrence.  HERE’s the problem.  Not the AT&T reps on the phone like yourself, dear commentor, though admittedly at times some are extremely unhelpful and their tones of voice are not exactly helping the matter.  But performing a job with a lack of competence or perhaps AT&T corporate needs to do better at training or quality control.  It cannot be that difficult to create a family plan without checking the small business plan box (I’m fairly sure I’m grossly exaggerating how simple/complex the process is, but the sentiment stands).

Even in store, when I finally received my iPhone.  The iPhone plans are set.  It’s a matter of minutes, business or regular data, and the features.  I already had everything set up on my account from the first phone.  Just keep everything, add my iPhone data plan.  Seems easy enough.  The store rep seemed to have some trouble with it, but someone came to help.  But lo and behold, my text message plan was not transferred.  So there was another whole day without a service.  Did I know this?  Not until the next day because there is no notice on the phone that texts are not being sent.  So that was a phone call with an extremely helpful rep.  Then of course there was the matter of being charged for early night and weekends on one line that I did not sign up for.  But that was another call and a credit issued.

So many reps are plenty helpful.  And they all have a tough job because 90% of callers (probably more) are just ready to dump all their anger and frustration on them.  But it doesn’t excuse the initial mistakes.  (Yes my family plan creation was on the phone with a rep not in store.  And per above, my text thing was a problem with an in store rep.)  And since customers can’t really get back to the root of the problem, the CSR they get on the phone is the person who gets it.  As the public interface of the company, its the CSRs job to deal with the problems.  Though I understand if it get really old, really fast to have people just dumping anger on you all day, every day.

My iPhone ordeal tweets

I didn’t have wifi or cell service on 7/12 until post line.  You can follow me on Twitter here.

Way too lazy to format this right now.  Just a copy and paste.  Read from bottom up.

 

 

seoulfully @sorrydad yeah, they gave me a new sim. i did get discount pricing on both lines so att must’ve resolved that. i guess 7-10 bus. days for me 12:20 PM July 12, 2008 from web in reply to sorrydad

 

seoulfully after yet another 5am line, again no iphone. just directe 11:33 AM July 12, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully @sorrydad f-in’ awesome after your day long ordeal glad you got a resolution. wish me luck tomorrow (at at&t no less) 08:35 PM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific in reply to sorrydad

 

seoulfully @sorrydad congrats man, i’m at att uber early tomorrow to try all over again 07:25 PM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific in reply to sorrydad

 

seoulfully @sorrydad, i have a bricked G1. no 3g. no phone service. and att fucked so bad that i cant buy from apple and have to go to att tmr 06:53 PM July 11, 2008 from web in reply to sorrydad

 

seoulfully i dont have iphone 3g either 02:08 PM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully my G1 iphone bricked 02:07 PM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully @Veronica i used to write haikus instead of taking notes during law school. all were basically time moving slowly/why am i in law school ha 01:47 PM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific in reply to Veronica

 

seoulfully @ayn worst day ever… i’m going to call att again if they say i can have 2 i’ll sleep there probably, if not i doubt it 12:19 PM July 11, 2008 from web in reply to ayn

 

seoulfully unless i do the overnight thing, there’s no way i get an iphone within the next 7-10 days… sadly, i’m actually debating it 12:07 PM July 11, 2008 from web

 

seoulfully i had so much faith in the process, but my sitch is the exact clusterfuck ppl worried about with in store activations 11:23 AM July 11, 2008 from web

 

seoulfully att csr has no idea if (a) she can remove the bus. flag and (b) how soon it’ll refelct on my acct. att stores sold out already 11:20 AM July 11, 2008 from web

 

seoulfully when i created my family plan, some bozo at att put me down as a small business, hence my issues. even though my plan says family 11:17 AM July 11, 2008 from web

 

seoulfully not only do i NOT have an iphone 3g, i no longer have cell service to my current iphone 11:14 AM July 11, 2008 from web

 

seoulfully Btw I have no cell service right now any more 09:54 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Looks like no iPhone for me unless I go to AT&T store. Which means I need an extra body to do so. My faith = shattered 09:53 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

 

 

seoulfully This is a clusterfuck hard core. 09:30 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Miss at home activation 09:11 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Problems! Apple on phone with AT&T 09:05 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Buying 08:52 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully I’m in 08:48 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully I’m still not in. 6 from door 08:34 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully They seem to be letting in a rolling 5 08:27 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Cig 13 08:27 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Second guy just rolled out with 2 08:24 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully First guy just walked out of store no cheering 08:23 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully I think pol in there getting set up after purchase 08:22 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Just me or does iPhone 2.0 software not like the curse words like 1.1.4 and earlier 08:21 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully 15 min in first person not out yet 08:15 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Cig 12 08:11 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Cig 11 07:46 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Cig 10 07:30 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Cig 9 07:21 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Cig 8 07:06 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Fail on my part forgot to turn off alarm clock just got an angry call from the wife 06:42 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully News guy says great weather this weekend 06:13 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

 

 

seoulfully I’d put the average attractiveness of this line at a 4 and I’m including me 06:11 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Cig 7 06:11 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Apple store employees filing in. Unless a lot of casual Friday only a handful look like they’re headed straight to work 06:08 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Cig 6 05:59 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully 3g would be nice in the line for 3g muni wireless not cutting it 05:59 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Cig 5 05:54 AM July 11, 2008 from txt

 

seoulfully Here he is 05:46 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Cig 4! 05:45 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Kid said he’s been here since yesterday at 645! 05:42 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Paucity of apple gear. Tv guy asking the kid if all the kids these days have laptops and cellphones while making weirdo hand movements 05:41 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully I’m bored so many tweets I’ve been here like 10 minutes 3rd cig for the stonewashed head to toe wonder 05:38 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Little kid ftw getting interviewed by news channel 8! 05:35 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Based on what they have with them and how they look I’m 3rd after the group who was here overnight 05:33 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Entrepreneurial little tyke is greasing the tv guys with doughnuts 05:32 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully News channel 8 here I will NOT be on tv 05:31 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Dude behind me has a BB and one of the sprint iPhone killers 05:30 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Maybe 3 women in line. 05:30 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Mind you line is maybe 50 deep now. Argh fucking smoker is chain smoking 05:29 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Some little kid is trying to sell the seats of his friends. “I really don’t know if they’ll have that many phones” at apple store 05:28 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Smoker in the Texas/Tennessee tuxedo no less 05:25 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific

 

seoulfully Good news I’m either in the first group at apple store or the start of the second bad news behind a smoker. 05:24 AM July 11, 2008 from twitterrific