Coporate store employee fiasco

[SandAngel]

Stopped in Corporate store for an upgrade last weekend.
Looked at all the phones and of course the rep was pushing Android up the wazoo at me. I kept explaining to him i had a sweet deal on my plan and didn't want to change it. here was his reponse.

If i changed to Android from my BBplan I didn't have to pay any extra.
I informed him i was on a grandfathered BB $19.99 plan and was pretty positive I would have to change my data to Android for more. his response was NO he was positive and i got Android for the same amount and also at the grandfathered rate. he then proceeeded to try to push my into this android and also stated how much better off I would be LOSING my Fave 5 , wifi, grandfathered minute plan and going to Unlimited which was required ??????

So then he proceeded to tell me I am NOT eligible for upgrade yet because I am only 9months into plan. I explain that must be wrong and that 9 months ago i got a REPLACEMENT phone from TMOBILE and that was not the same as an UPGRADE. He insisted i was wrong and wanted about $400 for that new android phone he was pushing at me. I told him let's call into tmobile and they can confirm it was a REPLACEMENT and authorize an upgrade. he absolutely would NOT call in and told me I was wrong and he was right so hand over the cash. he then proceeeded to babble he had proof because he could see my OLD phone 8320, on the screen so he knew what he was talking about. he refused to even CALL in to Tmobile. By the way... my 8320 is old news so what did that have to do with anything.

So to top it all off.. he told me i could NOT in any way shape or form UPGRADE another line( which is actually over 2 years old, because I was not Allowed to drop my data on my 8900!. i explained to the genious that i had bought that phone WAY before the data requirements and could drop it any darn time I please. he said absolutely not and data was required on any new or EXISTING smartphone no matter WHAT no matter when it was purchased and NO ONE could EVER drop data if they are using a smartphone.So i was out of luck i was not allowed to drop data on my my 8900 even though I bought it BEFORE data plan was required. He had never HEARD of such a thing as data NOT being required... and basically he was telling me i was an ***** for not handing over $400 plus cash and signing his contract .

And THIS was at a CORPORATE store .

By the way.. I obviously walked away

[K Bear]

He needs to be reported. That was horrible customer service & should not go unreported.

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[saukrateaz]

Objective, while only hearing one side. I agree you should report him, but whether or not it was as bad as you just made it sound is something only you and him will know. Why didn't you ask to speak with the manager about this while it was happening? Sorry you had a bad experience though.

[morales0416]

Not to take anything away from your post but I agree with Saukrateaz, at that point you should have asked to speak to his Superior.....Ive had some real bad situations with Associates so I know this is Highly Likely.....I would ask to speak to a manager right away

[bigtime2]

Most of the reps at these stores are just sales associates. They are there to sell you phones, plans, insurance, accessories, etc. They are not there to assist you with anything else, they are not customer service. They don't give a s*** about you or any other customer who walks in the store. All they care about is making a sale. So if you want good customer service, either talk to a supervisor or call the customer service.


Now, I have a question out of curiousity, since this was brought up in here... Everyone is talking about this "corporate store" and "non corporate store" thing. Doesn't "corporate store" mean owned by T Mobile, and "non corporate" mean a franchise bought by some rich guy, who is now an authorized seller for T Mobile?

How do people know what's corporate store and what's not? Does it say it on their door, receipts, banners on the window, name tags? That way I will know to go back to the corporate store instead of going to authorized seller's store in the future.

[morales0416]

Originally Posted by bigtime2

Most of the reps at these stores are just sales associates. They are there to sell you phones, plans, insurance, accessories, etc. They are not there to assist you with anything else, they are not customer service. They don't give a s*** about you or any other customer who walks in the store. All they care about is making a sale. So if you want good customer service, either talk to a supervisor or call the customer service.


Now, I have a question out of curiousity, since this was brought up in here... Everyone is talking about this "corporate store" and "non corporate store" thing. Doesn't "corporate store" mean owned by T Mobile, and "non corporate" mean a franchise bought by some rich guy, who is now an authorized seller for T Mobile?

How do people know what's corporate store and what's not? Does it say it on their door, receipts, banners on the window, name tags?

if its not a corporate store they have to post that they are an "Authorized Reseller" and TMOBILE employees will always have tmobile garb on and have a rep ID

[Tiassa]

Also if you use the store locator on the Tmo website, when it shows results it will show the ones that are company owned and those tht aren't

[vsuga]

I didn't know some tmo stores are owner operated. I thought they were all corporate owned.

Sandangel - Maybe you were dealing with a new employee who didn't know anything and was trying to make his first sale. I dealt w/a new employee at tmo before, it wasn't pretty.

[dragonsamus]

Sounds like a horrible situation. Good thing you didn't go along with it.

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[CharredPC]

Originally Posted by vsuga

I didn't know some tmo stores are owner operated. I thought they were all corporate owned.

I'm in the exact opposite situation- everything within an hour drive of where I live is an "Authorized T-Mobile dealer" and not an actual corporate store. There's pluses and minuses to the authorized locations. If you're just looking to sign up or upgrade your phone in a normal, routine way, an authorized location which is local to you will probably work fine. But don't ever go there looking for T-Mobile support, or if you are any kind of a 'special case' as the OP (and myself) are. They have basic website access, and little more, with no more pull at T-Mobile than you or I.

The local authorized dealers here promised for weeks they were getting the Bold 9700's "in a few days." When one finally got them in, he couldn't give me the upgrade because my wife's line showed it had already upgraded, even though the account was noted by T-Mobile that it was rendered invalid and we were still due for it. He didn't have the power to do anything, since the point-and-click web system they have doesn't allow for any overrides or manual actions. Finally I had to drive an hour and a half away (to my nearest Corporate store) in order to get one.

But just so you don't think they're all bad, I got my 9700 at an authorized retailer at a mall, which is where I learned that you don't need a data plan when getting a Blackberry, just a $14.99 or above service. I mentioned this to the actual T-Mobile store while picking up my wife's Bold. They had never heard of it, but checked with their support, and verified that it is indeed an option... just one no T-Mobile sales rep is ever trained to sell They even showed me their in-store computer system, which shows the data plan in red when pulling up a BB account without it. They can't even submit changes to the line without a pop-up prompting them to add it. It's about the upsell.

The mall store sold more BlackBerries by knowing how to make the monthly bill only $14.99 higher, not $30. Because they aren't locked into T-Mobile's official (upselling) software. But because they aren't a corporate store, they can't do account exceptions, manager overrides, manual by-paper upgrades, or give the level of customer support we expect / need.

[NorrisCell]

All I can say is wow.

If you remember the rep's name, I will gladly call and straighten him out at whatever store you went to. He needs to be called out.

His career will not last long at TMO if he acts that way. He spouts off and it will come back to bite him very soon. Sorry you had that experience. I would definitely call back and speak to the manager if you do not wish for me to do it

To the others in this thread, all T-Mobile stores are corporate owned. Look for cleverly worded signs, such as "The Mobile Store: A T-Mobile Dealer" to indicate indirect dealers.

[SandAngel]

Well hate to burst a few of your bubbles but that is EXCACTLY what happened.

Just for clarification.....i usually go to the big brick and mortar tmobile corporate store. That day I was at the mall where there is a large KIOSK situation that I KNOW is corporate(Tmo uniforms and signs saying corporate).

Approximately sometime last year one of the TMOBILE only dealer kiosks switched up and now says COPORATE and they now wear the uniforms. i would assume this is legit. i usually don't go to this one but I was right there so I did.Plus the fact i could SEE the guy pull up all my phone info for years so i also assume that makes it legit since i believe only TMO stores can get the more detailed info( but I guess I could be wrong about that)

I also want to point out i have a great Aplus rating with tmobile so no problems there. i also know WHEN i got my last phone and WHEN they sent a replacement for it malfunctioning.
I also know that most of you here know that there is NO WAY you are required to have data on a phone purchased before the new rules went into effect about requiring data....not to mention he was also sayng ANY smartphone i used(even if i bought it elsewhere on the market) was required to have data.

Actually it was all down hill from the getgo when he told me ANDROID was the same price as my $19.99 data plan. I have no idea why i kept going... maybe it was to see how many stupid things he could say and try and make me believe. I was tempted to change just for the fact that I was going to make him put in writing on the contract that i was getting android for $19.99. Whenever I change ANYTHING on my plans i always make the salesguy write and sign the contract with notes.

Oh yeah as far as the manager thing... he was the ONLY person there and I knew if i wanted to ***** i could just call into Tmobile and then make them call into the store and MAKE him upgrade me... but by then i had had enough. i'm fine with my 8900 and don't need the stress of wasting anymore time on my day off

[SandAngel]

Originally Posted by NorrisCell

All I can say is wow.

If you remember the rep's name, I will gladly call and straighten him out at whatever store you went to. He needs to be called out.

His career will not last long at TMO if he acts that way. He spouts off and it will come back to bite him very soon. Sorry you had that experience. I would definitely call back and speak to the manager if you do not wish for me to do it

To the others in this thread, all T-Mobile stores are corporate owned. Look for cleverly worded signs, such as "The Mobile Store: A T-Mobile Dealer" to indicate indirect dealers.

Thanks Norris but the only name that comes to mind is *****

All I know is blonde guy at the smaller Tmo corporate kiosk

[SandAngel]

And by the way... i might be a bit overbearing and a pain .... but I am also the person that writes or calls in to Tmo when a rep gives me great service and treats me with respect instead of like I'm an *****.

and if you all think Tmo doesn't read or care about customers then you are wrong. i have had them more then once email or call me thanking me for writing saying i was satisfied with TMO reps.

[bp3dots]

Originally Posted by SandAngel

Oh yeah as far as the manager thing... he was the ONLY person there and I knew if i wanted to ***** i could just call into Tmobile and then make them call into the store and MAKE him upgrade me... but by then i had had enough. i'm fine with my 8900 and don't need the stress of wasting anymore time on my day off

I would have done it just to put him in his place. And then I would have filed a complaint about him right there on the spot. That's ridiculous.