I have had decent experiences - AT&T Wireless Customer Service
Written: Jun 13 '09
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Pros: 99% of things can be done online, Reps are generally helpful
Cons: Not much explanation of number porting and your first bill
The Bottom Line: I don't know if AT&T has the best customer service in wireless carriers, but in my mind, it certainly doesn't have the worst
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| jps246's Full Review: General Reviews of AT&T Customer Service |
I had honestly been expecting the worse with AT&T Customer Service. My customer service experiences with Verizon Wireless hadn't been stellar and considering the number of reviews I see here on Epinions complaining about various wireless carriers, when I switched from Verizon Wireless to AT&T I held my breath.
Turns out that I didn't really have to. I'm not sure if I managed to luck out, or AT&T has just managed to make the process fairly painless. I had thought there would be trouble since I was porting over my two phone numbers from Verizon, however it turned out to be very easy to do.
In General
I think one of the best things that's happening to wireless customer service in general is how robust their online offerings are becoming. I did about 99% of the work of porting my phone numbers, picking phones, picking a plan and getting everything set up online without any interaction from a customer service person. The only times I had to actually speak to someone was when I had to activate the two phones. After that, I did call customer service once again when I received my first bill and they helped me out there too.
Since the intial startup of my AT&T wireless service, the customer service has been okay. I haven't really had any specific service problems that I needed addressed, though I did have to go into an AT&T store to find out how to get the trackball on my BlackBerry working again and then I had to contact AT&T after my BlackBerry crashed on an upgrade and I needed to reactivate it when I finally got it working.
Considering how much you can take care of online, you don't really need to be bothered with actual customer service representatives all that much unless you have a significant problem. I didn't have any of those, but with the problems that I have had, the representatives have been helpful and gave me the information that I needed.
Initially getting my phones
Like I said, 99% of my switchover from Verizon Wireless was online at the AT&T wireless website. They have everything set out so that's its easy to either sign up for completely new service or switch your service from another carrier. My only complaint in the process was that I would have appreciated a bit more explanation of how the actual phone number porting process worked. It was sort of explained on the website as it'll "just happen." As for picking phones and plans, there is a ton of information on the website about each phone and plan and the ability to compare phones and plans.
After receiving the phones, I did have to call the customer service line to have each phone activated. They walked me through the easy process and within a few minutes I had both phones working normally.
My first bill
Here's really the only area where I think I had a bit of wool pulled over my eyes. Nowhere when you sign up does AT&T say that they are going to roll your first two months of bills together along with your activation fees and everything else. The first bill I received was over $400 and included about a month and a half of services, the activation fees and the other various taxes and fees. I had figured I'd receive a bill for the partial month of services with the activation fees and then they'd start billing me regularly on the next month.
So I had called just to make sure that it was right and it was. I can't really fault the person I talked to, but it would have been nice to have something along the way when I was signing up saying you're going to get knocked with a huge bill the first month we bill you. It wouldn't have been so shocking.
BlackBerry trackball issues
One morning I went to use my BlackBerry and the trackball wouldn't work. I went down to the local AT&T wireless store and asked what I should do. They told me how to pop out the trackball, how to clean it and how to put it back. I did that and things started working normally again.
BlackBerry upgrade issues
I don't think it was AT&T's fault, but I went to upgrade the OS on my Curve and it crashed. The crash completely wiped the memory of the Curve out so I was forced to completely reinstall and rebuild the OS for the Curve. AT&T's website had little if any useful information on this process. I ended up in the forums on the BlackBerry finding the answer.
I did have to use the online chat customer service support on the AT&T wireless website though after I had gotten the OS up and running again. They had to resend the service books for my email services so that they would run correctly. That was a fairly painless process. I logged onto the chat, told them my problem and they sent the service books and test emails. I confirmed that it was working and I was good to go.
Final Thoughts
I can't say that I'm overwhelmed or underwhelmed by AT&T's Customer Service. They have been there to help me when I've needed it, either online or on the telephone and I haven't had a problem that they haven't been able to solve. My only real complaint is that I wish there had been more disclosure about my first bill.
Beyond that, I'm glad that they have such an extensive website that offers a lot of things that you can do without having to deal with a customer service representative. It makes simple tasks easy and quick and saves you from having to deal with customer service all the time. However when you do, my experiences have been generally good. The representatives have all been pleasant, easy to understand and have helped me out.
I don't know if AT&T has the best customer service in wireless carriers, but in my mind, it certainly doesn't have the worst.
BlackBerry Curve 8310
AT&T Wireless Service in the Boston Area
Verizon Wireless Service
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 125
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