Interesting experience with Cingular customer service...

I had an interesting experience recently (I thought).

My teenaged son was messing around with his phone, and got the prompt to
enter his PUK code - I think he was messing around with passwords, and
forgot his. So, being a typical teenager (or maybe thinking it was the same
as his password), he tried enought times to guess it that he locked himself
out of the SIM card.

I called Cingular at night, and got someone that said we needed to buy a new
SIM card, and pay $25. I mentioned that I had gotten a new 64K SIM, but not
him, and the rep said to ask at the store, and maybe they would give us one
for free. OK, not the best solution to me, but I couldn't legitimately
demand anything more.

The next day, I called again. This time, I explained what happened (and I
had a better idea what actually did happen), and asked if I could get the
new 64K sim card sooner rather than later. This agent put me on hold after
apologizing for having to do this, ordered the card, and told me I should
get it in a few days - no charge. When I got a tracking number, I see that
two of them (one for my wife, also) were shipped 2-day FedEx.

I don't know if it's that they have better support during the day, or the
fact that I asked for what I wanted right off, but it shows that sometimes
patience and politeness can get you what you want.

Some might say they should always give better support, but my experience is
that even the best companies sometimes have people that don't do a good job
at some times - either thay are having a bad day, or not thinking clearly,
or maybe even not suited for the job.

So, my advice for the day is to remember that the person on the phone is a
human being, and subject to the same imperfections as anyone else. And
don't expect a bad experience when you need to call, or you might get what
you expect.

Sorry if this post isn't up to the usual newsgroup standards of *****ing and
trolling. I'm not trying to say Cingular is good or bad, just that they
aren't always one or the other, like most companies.

--
Marty - public.forums (at) gmail (dot) com
"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...
well, I have others." - Groucho Marx

---

› See More: Interesting experience with Cingular customer service...

Marty wrote:

> I don't know if it's that they have better support during the day, or the
> fact that I asked for what I wanted right off, but it shows that sometimes
> patience and politeness can get you what you want.

I agree. There is no upside to losing your temper, or using obscenities,
etc. Sometimes nothing can be done no matter what, but often the
customer service person has a little leeway. Politely asking to speak to
a supervisor sometimes helps as well. I never had any problem with
Cingular Customer Service, even when their network was hopelessly bad.
When I finally canceled, on my one year anniversary, they were very
polite, even explaining why their network was so much worse than the
AT&T and Verizon network.

In article <[email protected]>,
Marty <my gmail address> wrote:
>I had an interesting experience recently (I thought).
>
>My teenaged son was messing around with his phone, and got the prompt to
>enter his PUK code - I think he was messing around with passwords, and
>forgot his. So, being a typical teenager (or maybe thinking it was the same
>as his password), he tried enought times to guess it that he locked himself
>out of the SIM card.
>
>I called Cingular at night, and got someone that said we needed to buy a new
>SIM card, and pay $25. I mentioned that I had gotten a new 64K SIM, but not
>him, and the rep said to ask at the store, and maybe they would give us one
>for free. OK, not the best solution to me, but I couldn't legitimately
>demand anything more.

What's wrong with just asking for the PUK code? That would fix your
problem immediately, on the spot. No trip to store, no $25.

"Marty" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I had an interesting experience recently (I thought).
>
> My teenaged son was messing around with his phone, and got the prompt to
> enter his PUK code - I think he was messing around with passwords, and
> forgot his. So, being a typical teenager (or maybe thinking it was the
same
> as his password), he tried enought times to guess it that he locked
himself
> out of the SIM card.
>
> I called Cingular at night, and got someone that said we needed to buy a
new
> SIM card, and pay $25. I mentioned that I had gotten a new 64K SIM, but
not
> him, and the rep said to ask at the store, and maybe they would give us
one
> for free. OK, not the best solution to me, but I couldn't legitimately
> demand anything more.
>
> The next day, I called again. This time, I explained what happened (and I
> had a better idea what actually did happen), and asked if I could get the
> new 64K sim card sooner rather than later. This agent put me on hold
after
> apologizing for having to do this, ordered the card, and told me I should
> get it in a few days - no charge. When I got a tracking number, I see
that
> two of them (one for my wife, also) were shipped 2-day FedEx.
>
> I don't know if it's that they have better support during the day, or the
> fact that I asked for what I wanted right off, but it shows that sometimes
> patience and politeness can get you what you want.
>
> Some might say they should always give better support, but my experience
is
> that even the best companies sometimes have people that don't do a good
job
> at some times - either thay are having a bad day, or not thinking clearly,
> or maybe even not suited for the job.
>
> So, my advice for the day is to remember that the person on the phone is a
> human being, and subject to the same imperfections as anyone else. And
> don't expect a bad experience when you need to call, or you might get what
> you expect.
>
> Sorry if this post isn't up to the usual newsgroup standards of *****ing
and
> trolling. I'm not trying to say Cingular is good or bad, just that they
> aren't always one or the other, like most companies.
>
> --
> Marty - public.forums (at) gmail (dot) com
> "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...
> well, I have others." - Groucho Marx


most of the time if you would have went to a corp owned store they would
give you the sime card.
ive never payed for any sim cards and ive lost my phone about 10 times.
just go in, say you need a new sim card. that simple.

Good advice. I use the Rule of Three with Cingular, calling back twice to
verify anything I hear on the first call. It's a little extra hassle, but has
been invaluable in getting past bad information on the first call. First tier
phone reps don't seem to be getting thorough training, and some of them seem
to have a bad habit of making things up. Also, it helps to be polite --
screaming and yelling only makes things worse.

In <[email protected]> on Thu, 15 Dec 2005 16:05:27
-0800, Marty <[email protected]> wrote:

>I had an interesting experience recently (I thought).
>
>My teenaged son was messing around with his phone, and got the prompt to
>enter his PUK code - I think he was messing around with passwords, and
>forgot his. So, being a typical teenager (or maybe thinking it was the same
>as his password), he tried enought times to guess it that he locked himself
>out of the SIM card.
>
>I called Cingular at night, and got someone that said we needed to buy a new
>SIM card, and pay $25. I mentioned that I had gotten a new 64K SIM, but not
>him, and the rep said to ask at the store, and maybe they would give us one
>for free. OK, not the best solution to me, but I couldn't legitimately
>demand anything more.
>
>The next day, I called again. This time, I explained what happened (and I
>had a better idea what actually did happen), and asked if I could get the
>new 64K sim card sooner rather than later. This agent put me on hold after
>apologizing for having to do this, ordered the card, and told me I should
>get it in a few days - no charge. When I got a tracking number, I see that
>two of them (one for my wife, also) were shipped 2-day FedEx.
>
>I don't know if it's that they have better support during the day, or the
>fact that I asked for what I wanted right off, but it shows that sometimes
>patience and politeness can get you what you want.
>
>Some might say they should always give better support, but my experience is
>that even the best companies sometimes have people that don't do a good job
>at some times - either thay are having a bad day, or not thinking clearly,
>or maybe even not suited for the job.
>
>So, my advice for the day is to remember that the person on the phone is a
>human being, and subject to the same imperfections as anyone else. And
>don't expect a bad experience when you need to call, or you might get what
>you expect.
>
>Sorry if this post isn't up to the usual newsgroup standards of *****ing and
>trolling. I'm not trying to say Cingular is good or bad, just that they
>aren't always one or the other, like most companies.

--
Best regards, SEE THE FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS AT
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

Somewhere around Fri, 16 Dec 2005 01:36:51 +0000 (UTC), while reading
alt.cellular.cingular, I think I thought I saw this post from
[email protected] (Mike S.):

>
>In article <[email protected]>,
>Marty <my gmail address> wrote:
>>I had an interesting experience recently (I thought).
>>
>>My teenaged son was messing around with his phone, and got the prompt to
>>enter his PUK code - I think he was messing around with passwords, and
>>forgot his. So, being a typical teenager (or maybe thinking it was the same
>>as his password), he tried enought times to guess it that he locked himself
>>out of the SIM card.
>>
>>I called Cingular at night, and got someone that said we needed to buy a new
>>SIM card, and pay $25. I mentioned that I had gotten a new 64K SIM, but not
>>him, and the rep said to ask at the store, and maybe they would give us one
>>for free. OK, not the best solution to me, but I couldn't legitimately
>>demand anything more.
>
>What's wrong with just asking for the PUK code? That would fix your
>problem immediately, on the spot. No trip to store, no $25.

Sorry, perhaps my explanation wasn't clear enough.

If you are asked for your PUK code, you are supposed to stop, contact
Cingular, and get the code. But if you are a teenager, and you don't really
know what you are doing, you might not realize that it isn't the same as
your security setting you're trying to remember. If you enter the wrong PUK
code a certain number of times, you get locked out permanently, and need a
new card. This is actually what the phone manual says, and Cingular
confirmed this.

So, I could ask for the code, but it was too late to actually get it.

--
Marty - public.forums (at) gmail (dot) com
"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...
well, I have others." - Groucho Marx

Somewhere around Thu, 15 Dec 2005 20:20:33 -0800, while reading
alt.cellular.cingular, I think I thought I saw this post from "Aaron"
<[email protected]>:

>
>"Marty" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> I had an interesting experience recently (I thought).
>>
>> My teenaged son was messing around with his phone, and got the prompt to
>> enter his PUK code - I think he was messing around with passwords, and
>> forgot his. So, being a typical teenager (or maybe thinking it was the
>same
>> as his password), he tried enought times to guess it that he locked
>himself
>> out of the SIM card.
>>
>> I called Cingular at night, and got someone that said we needed to buy a
>new
>> SIM card, and pay $25. I mentioned that I had gotten a new 64K SIM, but
>not
>> him, and the rep said to ask at the store, and maybe they would give us
>one
>> for free. OK, not the best solution to me, but I couldn't legitimately
>> demand anything more.
>>
>> The next day, I called again. This time, I explained what happened (and I
>> had a better idea what actually did happen), and asked if I could get the
>> new 64K sim card sooner rather than later. This agent put me on hold
>after
>> apologizing for having to do this, ordered the card, and told me I should
>> get it in a few days - no charge. When I got a tracking number, I see
>that
>> two of them (one for my wife, also) were shipped 2-day FedEx.
>>
>> I don't know if it's that they have better support during the day, or the
>> fact that I asked for what I wanted right off, but it shows that sometimes
>> patience and politeness can get you what you want.
>>
>> Some might say they should always give better support, but my experience
>is
>> that even the best companies sometimes have people that don't do a good
>job
>> at some times - either thay are having a bad day, or not thinking clearly,
>> or maybe even not suited for the job.
>>
>> So, my advice for the day is to remember that the person on the phone is a
>> human being, and subject to the same imperfections as anyone else. And
>> don't expect a bad experience when you need to call, or you might get what
>> you expect.
>>
>> Sorry if this post isn't up to the usual newsgroup standards of *****ing
>and
>> trolling. I'm not trying to say Cingular is good or bad, just that they
>> aren't always one or the other, like most companies.
>>
>> --
>> Marty - public.forums (at) gmail (dot) com
>> "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...
>> well, I have others." - Groucho Marx
>
>
>most of the time if you would have went to a corp owned store they would
>give you the sime card.
>ive never payed for any sim cards and ive lost my phone about 10 times.
>just go in, say you need a new sim card. that simple.
>
That could be; but it's not very convenient for me to get to a store during
the day; most of the ones nearby are closed fairly early, and when I have
gone to a store, I usually have to wait a while to get anything. So, they
saved me a bit of time during the busy Christmas season, which was pretty
nice of them.
--
Marty - public.forums (at) gmail (dot) com
"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...
well, I have others." - Groucho Marx

Somewhere around Fri, 16 Dec 2005 11:05:27 GMT, while reading
alt.cellular.cingular, I think I thought I saw this post from John Navas
<[email protected]>:

>Good advice. I use the Rule of Three with Cingular, calling back twice to
>verify anything I hear on the first call. It's a little extra hassle, but has
>been invaluable in getting past bad information on the first call. First tier
>phone reps don't seem to be getting thorough training, and some of them seem
>to have a bad habit of making things up. Also, it helps to be polite --
>screaming and yelling only makes things worse.
>
I agree about the polite part. I have s theory that most people I talk to
don't understand. When I get told something that I feel is not right, I
don't blame the messenger (even if it might be their fault). I try to make
the person part of the solution rather than the problem. Something like
saying "How can we get around this", or "That doesn't seem right, isn't
there some way to fix it?" I basically treat them as an accomplish rather
than an enemy. It usually works. Occasionally not, but then I retreat and
try other methods.

Sure, there are a few failures here and there, but not like some people seem
to have.

--
Marty - public.forums (at) gmail (dot) com
"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...
well, I have others." - Groucho Marx

"John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Good advice. I use the Rule of Three with Cingular, calling back twice to
> verify anything I hear on the first call. It's a little extra hassle, but
> has
> been invaluable in getting past bad information on the first call. First
> tier
> phone reps don't seem to be getting thorough training, and some of them
> seem
> to have a bad habit of making things up. Also, it helps to be polite --
> screaming and yelling only makes things worse.
>
> In <[email protected]> on Thu, 15 Dec 2005
> 16:05:27
> -0800, Marty <[email protected]> wrote:
>
John,
You're top posting again. <giggle>

...
bamp

>>I had an interesting experience recently (I thought).
>>
>>My teenaged son was messing around with his phone, and got the prompt to
>>enter his PUK code - I think he was messing around with passwords, and
>>forgot his. So, being a typical teenager (or maybe thinking it was the
>>same
>>as his password), he tried enought times to guess it that he locked
>>himself
>>out of the SIM card.
>>
>>I called Cingular at night, and got someone that said we needed to buy a
>>new
>>SIM card, and pay $25. I mentioned that I had gotten a new 64K SIM, but
>>not
>>him, and the rep said to ask at the store, and maybe they would give us
>>one
>>for free. OK, not the best solution to me, but I couldn't legitimately
>>demand anything more.
>>
>>The next day, I called again. This time, I explained what happened (and I
>>had a better idea what actually did happen), and asked if I could get the
>>new 64K sim card sooner rather than later. This agent put me on hold
>>after
>>apologizing for having to do this, ordered the card, and told me I should
>>get it in a few days - no charge. When I got a tracking number, I see
>>that
>>two of them (one for my wife, also) were shipped 2-day FedEx.
>>
>>I don't know if it's that they have better support during the day, or the
>>fact that I asked for what I wanted right off, but it shows that sometimes
>>patience and politeness can get you what you want.
>>
>>Some might say they should always give better support, but my experience
>>is
>>that even the best companies sometimes have people that don't do a good
>>job
>>at some times - either thay are having a bad day, or not thinking clearly,
>>or maybe even not suited for the job.
>>
>>So, my advice for the day is to remember that the person on the phone is a
>>human being, and subject to the same imperfections as anyone else. And
>>don't expect a bad experience when you need to call, or you might get what
>>you expect.
>>
>>Sorry if this post isn't up to the usual newsgroup standards of *****ing
>>and
>>trolling. I'm not trying to say Cingular is good or bad, just that they
>>aren't always one or the other, like most companies.
>
> --
> Best regards, SEE THE FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS AT
> John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>