Those of you who have read any of my reviews know that I can be pretty long-winded at times. When I write about something, I spend all the time I can with the product and then make notes about the things I find most important or interesting about that particular product. When it comes to audio and cars, look out, because I can go on for days! But this review is going to be short, if only because my experience with Cingular was short. In fact, it was so short that it never really happened. Read on…

Two Sundays ago, I had finally gotten fed up with my current cellular provider, Nextel. Those of you who care about why I want to leave Nextel can read my review in this section. I did some research and decided to give Cingular a try, so I ordered service and a Nokia phone from their website. The ordering process was as painless as can be expected, and at the end I was shown a page indicating that I would receive an email confirming my order in about a day. Two days passed with no email, so I wrote to Cingular asking why I hadn’t received any confirmation of my order. Two more days passed with no response, so I emailed again. This time, a week passed and still no response. Finally, I called and was placed on hold for over 45 minutes without ever talking to a single person! Could it be that Cingular actually doesn't want my business?

Most people would probably give up there, but I decided to at least try and get to the bottom of this strange situation. Cingular provides a section on their website that allows new customers to check the status of their order. I checked on my order, and it indicated that my order had been processed and shipped. However, my credit card was never charged and I never received a shred of information or product from Cingular, either electronically or via mail, that indicated I had ever even placed an order. Finally, I sent another email to Cingular customer service indicating that if an order was still pending to cancel it. Did I ever receive a response to THAT email? Nope!

I have dealt with numerous companies that, after they bait you in with a flashy sales pitch, provide you with lousy service. I have never, though, dealt with a company that simply ignored someone who was simply trying to do business with them. If their cellular service is anything like their new accounts service, I’d be surprised if anyone ever completes a call. I consider it a blessing that my order was ignored… now I just have to find yet another cellular company.

If there was a rating lower than "One Star", you'd be sure that Cingular would get it from me!

UPDATE 3/20/2001

- STILL NO CONTACT WHATSOEVER FROM THIS AMAZING COMPANY!!

UPDATE 4/2/01

- GOT A BLANKET EMAIL YESTERDAY INDICATING THAT CINGULAR'S EMAIL SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS (A LAME EXCUSE, IN MY OPINION). STILL NO RESPONSE TO MY NUMEROUS REQUESTS!!!

FINAL UPDATE 5/9/01

- STILL NO RESPONSE FROM THIS COMPANY!! I WENT BACK AND COUNTED HOW MANY EMAILS I SENT THEM TO WHICH I RECEIVED NO RESPONSE. THE NUMBER? THIRTEEN!


Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 0.00