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Report: #744121

Complaint Review: AT&T Wireless - Redmond Washington

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  • Reported By: SpinningClay — Cincinnati Ohio USA
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  • AT&T Wireless 7277 164th Ave. NE Redmond, Washington United States of America

AT&T Wireless Absurd, sub-standard, unreliable, horrific Redmond, Washington

*Consumer Comment: iPhail

*Consumer Comment: I Had The Same Issue

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The backstory:

My first cell phone was with Sprint in 1997.  I remained a loyal customer until 2009, when
I made the leap to AT&T for the sole purpose of getting my hands on shiny
little iPhone.  Since 2009, I have added
3 additional iPhones to my account (3 iPhone 4, 1 3GS) and consistently pay
just shy of $300 clams every month.

The issue:

Ever since moving to AT&T I have experience spotting
coverage, but it took a nose dive around the first of August, 2010.  After several weeks of dropped calls and inconsistent
service, I made my first call to complain about coverage.  I was on the line with various AT&T reps
for a approx. 90 minutes, with the call resulting in a small credit (around
$50) and be advised by the technician that engineering would look into the
issue and that I would receive a text notification within 36 hours.

Just as the technician said I received a text message in
the nick of time, just prior to the 36-hour mark, almost as if it had been
auto-scheduled to send.  The message
stated that my issue had been reviewed and the issue had been resolved.  At the time I thought to myself that AT&T
have a pretty slick trouble-shooting/engineering process to deliver such quick
resolution. 

After a few weeks I realized there process was anything but
slick.  The dropped calls continued.  I called back in October with the same
complaint, was issued a more substantial credit, and given the same line about
an engineering review and text message in 36 hours.  The text message lit my phone up almost
exactly 36 hours later with the same message as before.  However, the lack-luster service continued.

I called back sometime in December (or maybe January), with
the same complaint, except this time even more agitated.  It was like deja vu.credit issued, told engineering
would review, a text message would be received within 36 hours.  Sure enough, the same text message was
received almost 36 hours later.  I went
through same insanity, yet again in April, with the very same result.

Now, when I say I have dropped calls and inconsistent
service, I feel I should give some more details.  I live and work in downtown Cincinnati, OH, a
major metropolitan area with an urban population over 1.5M.  So, it doesnt seem unreasonable for one to
expect solid coverage in the downtown area, and according to AT&Ts
coverage map there should be stellar service. 
Well, outlined below are just a few of my favorite service experiences:

     
While sitting in a restaurant just last week I
had an urgent issue regarding HVAC at my business and desperately needed to
discuss with my contractor.  The call
dropped 7 times (yes s e v e n) until I gave up, drove back to my office and
called him from a landline.  His service
was fine.  I wasnt surprised when he
said he had Verizon.

     
A 10K business opportunity hinged on quick
communication and coordination.  I texted
details to close the deal and walked into the weekly meeting with my
staff.  After the meeting I checked my
phone and saw the red exclamation mark (something I am all too familiar with) next
to the text message, after 5 attempts and walking the block the message sent,
albeit too late, as the 10K sale was lost (perhaps I should submit an Invoice
to AT&T for the lost opportunity)

     
Working on another sale opportunity of 25K, I
had given instructions for my contact to use my office line, since my iPhone is
anything by reliable.  The contact lost
my landline number and reverted to my cell number.  The cell never rang and hours later a
notification that I had a new voicemail appeared on my phone (this happens
regularly as in daily).

     
Sitting in my office recently I experience 3
dropped calls during one phone call, 9 on a second, and 7 on a third all in
one day.  Needless to say I have stopped
relying on my iPhone as a reliable means of communication (did I mention I pay
nearly $300/month for this level of service?)

During all of the above examples my signal indicator showed
a medium to high signal.  While in my
office the phone will move between 3G and 3, but signal bars are almost always
2 and usually 3+.

One could perhaps assume that Im running old software on
the phone, or that my phone was defective both perfectly reasonable assumptions.  However, I synch mine religiously, applying
the latest updates.  Also, my phone was
recently replaced after taking it to the Genius bar after it stopped
charging.  The service issues have
continued.  Im also not the only person
experiencing the problem every other person on my plan has the same service
experience.  A new employee I recently
hired came with her own iPhone and has the same complaints about AT&Ts
service coverage.

Last Wed (6/13) I had had it there were yet another string
of time sensitive business opportunities that had been dependent on my cell
phone (like millions of other mobile people in the world its not like Im
expecting something thats not already being delivered in mass) and it failed
miserably.  I made yet another call to
AT&T and asked to be escalated immediately. 
I stated my issue bluntly I did not want to talk to tech support, as I
had already lost hours of my life over the past 10 months and that I wanted a
permanent reduction in my monthly bill by at least 50% until the issue is
resolved.  The retention rep suggested I
augment my wireless plan in order to lower my monthly bill. Once I explained
that I had no interest in funding a reduction to my bill thru a reduced plan
and that I expected AT&T to experience some pain he quickly ran out of
options.  He said he would escalate my
issue to an advanced technical team so they could get to the bottom of the
problem and fix it for good.  I said
that would be great, and he assured me that he would personally handle the
issue.  Its a week later and I have
heard nothing from the guy.

 

I guess there was something in that reps voice that made
suspicious that he would follow through on his promises.  Or, perhaps it was the long history of
unresolved issues with AT&T I have experienced.  Or, maybe I had truly just had enough.  Whatever the case may be I started
searching the Internet for additional options and stumbled up the AT&T
Wireless, Office of the President, from Consumerist.com.  I immediately thought my prayers had been
answered! 

I couldnt dial the digits fast enough.  After a short period of rings the phone was
answered, a few questions where asked and I was routed to Sherry Baker.  Shes apparently the person that covers my
part of the country for calls coming to the Office of the President.  I explained my situation, my absolute
frustration, my disbelief that it was ok for a company to receive payment for a
service they are not actually able to deliver, etc, etc.   I must say I have had few run ins with such a
flippant attitude.  Sherrys tone could
not have been more patronizing and disconnected. 

Rather than acknowledging the frustration she just repeated
the same script over-and-over, ad nauseam. I will contact technical support,
which will take up to 36 hours (sound familiar?) and we will go from there
[period].   I got her direct number and
we ended the call.  I received a call,
surprising 36 hours later, on Friday, but I was in downtown Cincinnati, so the
phone did not ring my phone just alerted me that I had new voicemail.  Sherry had a left message asking me to call
her back to discuss the coverage issues we had discussed.

Once we connected Sherry explained that she had contacted
technical support and that the issues I am experience are due to congestion
and that they are working on the problem thats it.  Thats all she had.  I was astonished.  Heres a customer with a long documented
issue with coverage, youre with the Office of the President and all youve
got is there is congestion and we are working on the problem!?  When I asked what would be done for
compensation she said she could issue credit for one months bill, but to
reduce my bill by 50% (my stated requirement in our initial conversation)
simply was not possible.  When I pushed
the issue and pointed out how ridiculous the response was, particularly from
the Office of the President she said I dont know what you want, I have done
everything I can there is congestion and we are working to address the
issue.  When asked when the issue would
be resolved she had no answer.  When asked
if it seemed reasonable to pay almost $300/month for a service that is so
unreliable she had no answer.  When I
said that I would be considering my options with other carriers, that I must be
able to rely on my wireless service she quickly pointed that any early
termination fees would be billed and must be paid.  It was at this point that I asked for my call
to be escalated.  She said I could speak
with her manager James, but that he was in a meeting and that she would have
him call me back.  It is now a day and a
half later and theres been no call from James.

 

So, I have no idea where to turn, other than online consumer
boards.  I left a message for Sherry
expressing my surprise and disappoint that my long documented issue did not
merit a timely call back by James well see what tomorrow brings.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 06/22/2011 05:22 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/att-wireless/redmond-washington-98052/att-wireless-absurd-sub-standard-unreliable-horrific-redmond-washington-744121. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
0Author
2Consumer
0Employee/Owner

#2 Consumer Comment

iPhail

AUTHOR: dum8d0g - (United States of America)

POSTED: Thursday, June 30, 2011

I've never had problems with AT&T coverage.  I think it is more likely that the iPhail itself is what you should blame.

http://news.cnet.com/iphone-antenna/

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#1 Consumer Comment

I Had The Same Issue

AUTHOR: Cycomps - (United States of America)

POSTED: Thursday, June 30, 2011

I was a long time customer of AT&T Wireless and had the exact same issues that you wrote about here. I am in DFW area in Texas and the service here is just as crappy. The are many dead spots IN THE CITIES THEMSELVES. I live 1 mile from a cell tower and I could not even use my phone INSIDE OF MY HOUSE. I went through the same process as you trying to get the issue resolved (it never was by the way). One day, I was trying to talk to my sister who was in the hospital gravely ill and AT&T dropped call 6 times in a 10 minute period. As a side note, I was at a restaurant at this time and I remembered that there was a Verizon Wireless store in the same shopping center. I told my sister I would call her back in an hour. I went to Verizon, switched my service and number to them (my contract with AT&T was expired anyway) and told AT&T what to do with their service. I called her back and she immediately could hear the difference in the call. I have been off from AT&T since February and have not had 1 single dropped call since. AT&T wireless is very substandard and I would not recommend it to anyone.

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