TracFone company falling apart?

The whole TracFone business infrastructure seems to be falling apart.
I ordered a phone (Fone?) a week ago online, finally got (& printed) a
page (with order number!) saying my order was successful and I would
get an email shortly. So far no delivery, no email.

I tried to send them an email on their Contact Us page. It's
impossible. No matter how carefully I fill out the form, the next page
contains the following:

Validation Failed
We're sorry.
Your input was invalid, the following fields were missing:
Your input was invalid, the following fields contained data of the
incorrect type:
You may wish to hit the back button on your browser and try again.

Notice that there are no "following fields" after any of these
messages. I have tried this many times over the past 3 days with the
same results. Has anyone there noticed that no email is coming in?

Just once I got a different result. It was a page full of Apache
server internal error messages.

I called the 800 number. The only live operator you can select is tech
support. They have no access to order fullfillment. You cannot talk
to anyone else. You cannot email anyone else.

Is it just me that is having this kind of problem?

"R"

<junkmail@seventree.com> wrote in message ...
> The whole TracFone business infrastructure seems to be falling apart.
> I ordered a phone (Fone?) a week ago online, finally got (& printed) a
> page (with order number!) saying my order was successful and I would
> get an email shortly. So far no delivery, no email.
>
> I tried to send them an email on their Contact Us page. It's
> impossible. No matter how carefully I fill out the form, the next page
> contains the following:
>
> Validation Failed
> We're sorry.
> Your input was invalid, the following fields were missing:
> Your input was invalid, the following fields contained data of the
> incorrect type:
>
> <snip>
>
> Is it just me that is having this kind of problem?
>
> "R"

JoshIII wonders:
I am not able to add airtime via the website anymore, but their
automated 1-800 system is working for this purpose at least..

Just so I don't have to call the Refer-A-Friend department every
time I want to add one of my referral PINS. The Refer-A-Friend
department wants me to get the person I referred to send the original
referral when problems arise concerning free airtime. No way I can
produce a referral form that TracFone sent to the person I referred.
Why make it my responsibility?

The Refer-A-Friend department will not extend the due date when
they add airtime over the phone, so having to call them to resolve
a free minutes issue does not help when my due date is near
and I need to add more minutes..

If TracFone does not resurrect their Refer-A-Friend promotion
in some shape or fashion in the next 6 months or so, I'm jumping
ship to PagePlusCellular anyway.

America Movil (company that owns TracFone and Net10) is a highly
rated stock and company on the American Stock Exchanges, but why
they are letting TracFone fall apart, I haven't a clue.

They are also trying to convert TracFone to a totally GSM
service, like Net10 already is, and that I don't like either.

Customer service and good coverage/service are two different
things. I will always love the coverage I have with my TracFone,
since it uses the Verizon, Alltel, and other CDMA networks.

I really don't need good customer service as long as their promotions
are setup *and* managed fairly. The last several months,
effective management of their programs and promotions has
been little or non-existent.

Last but not least, the TracFone Executive Resolution Department
has not been responsive to any complaints posted
on www.planetfeedback.com Its like they don't care
anymore either.

TracFone management philosophy of late makes little or no
sense to me. Its sounds like they are trying to outsource
and automate the whole company, but don't have
the programming expertise to accomplish it.

What they need is a new CEO, that will change this
hands-off management philosophy in a hurry.
It won't happen. Companies that think they
can automate will, even if their customer
service suffers from it. Its all about
cost reductions now, and *not* about
supporting the customer.

JoshIII
josh3i at homail . com

junkmail@seventree.com wrote:
> The whole TracFone business infrastructure seems to be falling apart.
> I ordered a phone (Fone?) a week ago online, finally got (& printed) a
> page (with order number!) saying my order was successful and I would
> get an email shortly. So far no delivery, no email.

They are also suing over the recent copyright exemption legalizing phone
unlocking.

"http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/16180668.htm"

Their best bet is to stop selling prepaid phones so cheaply. Charge more
for the phone, but include a large amount of air-time with the initial
purchase.

This would thwart the people that buy their phones and unlock them to
use elsewhere. Unfortunately, this doesn't fit with their sales strategy
of hooking new customers with cheap phones, then reaming them on
airtime. A lot of prepaid customers are not the savviest consumers, and
don't look at the big picture. If they did, they'd sign up with a
company like PagePlus, or use T-Mobile and start with $100 in airtime to
achieve gold status. Both would result in lower airtime costs than Tracfone.

"SMS" <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in message
><snip>
> Their best bet is to stop selling prepaid phones so cheaply. Charge more
> for the phone, but include a large amount of air-time with the initial
> purchase.

JoshIII adds:
Good idea, or include a rebate when purchased that can only be
redeemed upon activation, or 30 days after activation.
It would seem to be on the surface a no brainer, but can TracFone
customer service manage a rebate program like this? Not in its current
outsourced/downsized/mostly automated state they could not.

> This would thwart the people that buy their phones and unlock them to
> use elsewhere. Unfortunately, this doesn't fit with their sales strategy
> of hooking new customers with cheap phones, then reaming them on
> airtime. A lot of prepaid customers are not the savviest consumers, and
> don't look at the big picture. If they did, they'd sign up with a
> company like PagePlus, or use T-Mobile and start with $100 in airtime to
> achieve gold status. Both would result in lower airtime costs than
Tracfone.

Agreed!

JoshIII
josh3i at hotmail . com

Update from original poster: things are looking better. I finally took
a chance and ordered the same phone again online. This time I got a
confirmation email within a couple of hours. Amazingly, it was a
customer service email that actually allowed me to reply to it, which
is almost unheard of these days. So I did reply and asked them to make
sure the original order was not still in the system. Got a reply
almost immediately assuring me that it was gone, that my new order was
in process, and promising a follow-up with tracking# as soon as it
shipped. We'll see, but I feel more confident now. This is obviously
a different service center than I was dealing with before, since the
answers were consise, literate, and dealt exactly to my questions.

I'd like to add my 2 minutes to the price-per-minute debate. My
current TracFone is halfway through its second 365-day card, and it is
showing over 600 minutes left. I keep the phone so I will have it if I
need it, not just for emergencies but any unusual situation like not
being able to find a store. These happen seldom because generally I
have taken care of normal calling from home before leaving on a trip.
So basically I don't care about per-minute charges - all I care about
is for $8 a month I have a phone available anytime I need it.

Someone mentioned CallPlus as a better choice. It has been some years,
but I tried that several years ago. Anytime I made a call that did not
go through their provider, I had to (a) enter the called number, (b)
enter my cell number, and (c) enter the called number again. Usuallly
it wanted the PIN in there somewhere also. So there's 34 digits and
don't dare make a mistake. Even then half the time it would beep a few
times and disconnect. Like I said, that was a while ago and maybe it
is better now. But as an earlier poster pointed out, TracFone has the
best coverage though several providers; I just dial the number I want
and have never had it fail, whether in a big city or on a 2-lane road
somewhere in the midwestern plains. If they can get their support act
cleaned up I will be a happy customer

"R"

In article <1165684890.357561.296660@73g2000cwn.googlegroups.com>, on 9
Dec 2006 09:21:30 -0800, wrote:

> Someone mentioned CallPlus as a better choice.
>

Not CallPlus, *PagePlus* (a Verizon MVNO):

http://www.pagepluscellular.com/


--
Seth Goodman

You're right, that was my mistake. But there was a company called
CallPlus (or eCallPlus) that I had those problems with. They were
connected with the pre-buyout AT&T I think. Anyway my point was I
prefer a prepaid with multiple carrier arrangements because your odds
of reaching a friendly tower are better in low-density areas. At least
that is my impression, I don't claim to be an expert.

"R"

Seth Goodman wrote:
> In article <1165684890.357561.296660@73g2000cwn.googlegroups.com>, on 9
> Dec 2006 09:21:30 -0800, wrote:
>
> > Someone mentioned CallPlus as a better choice.
> >
>
> Not CallPlus, *PagePlus* (a Verizon MVNO):
>
> http://www.pagepluscellular.com/
>
>
> --
> Seth Goodman

On 9 Dec 2006 14:03:04 -0800, junkmail@seventree.com wrote:

>You're right, that was my mistake. But there was a company called
>CallPlus (or eCallPlus) that I had those problems with. They were
>connected with the pre-buyout AT&T I think. Anyway my point was I
>prefer a prepaid with multiple carrier arrangements because your odds
>of reaching a friendly tower are better in low-density areas. At least
>that is my impression, I don't claim to be an expert.

I agree with you on the tracfone prepaid. It is the perfect
solution for me and runs me about $12 a month. I've traveled all the
way across Texas and had more bars than any of the competition.

When I tried to use my tracfone yesterday, I could not call out or receive any calls. I had over 500 minutes and six months of service remaining on my phone. I called tracfone this morning and they tried to tell me that someone had transferred my minutes to another phone. When I asked for the number of the new phone, they said it was still pending (said the transfer happened on Nov. 17). But lo and behold, I could reactivate my phone and also reinstate my 500 minutes by purchasing a new airtime card. Does this sound like a scam to you?! However, I would lose the remaining six months left on the phone. I bought a year's worth of airtime, only because I wanted to recapture my missing 500 minutes. This is the last money I will spend with Tracfone. What a scam!

JoshIII responds:

The whole story sounds suspicious.

When TracFone deactivates a phone, they take the
remaining minutes off of it.

The only way TracFone knows how many
minutes remaining on the phone
is by entering codes with the customer service
representative in real time (over a
landline phone).

If someone knows your IMEI or ESM number, they
might (if they are mean) be able to call TracFone and
deactivate your ESN claiming it was there phone.
TracFone would not know how many minutes were left on your
phone, and neither would the imposter.

Several codes and check codes are required to remove
the minutes and to deactivate any TracFone. A TracFone
with ESN 3333333 can not be used to deactivate a
TracFone with ESN 4444444. It just won't work.

TracFone customer service isn't being honest with
you if they are claiming "... someone had transferred
*your* minutes to another phone".

Before minutes can be transferred from one
phone to another, they have to be taken off the first
phone and zeroed out during the deactivation process.

Make sense?

A phone with a different ESN would require
different codes to remove minutes and to deactivate
than yours.

Find out who deactivated your ESN and
when was it done. Ask TracFone how they
were able to take minutes off another TracFone
using your ESN?

I asked Tracfone why my phone still had 550 minutes remaining and 6 months service pending, and their answer was that the transfer to the other phone was still pending. And that transaction happened a month ago?! The whole thing sounded like a scam to me and I told them so. It took me one hour on the phone to get my minutes reinstated, but like I said only after I had purchased more airtime. Supposedly, the transfer of my minutes had taken place through Radio Shack, but like you said my phone should have shown zero minutes if all was legit.

(305) 640-2000, this is the number to TracFone's corprate office in Miami. Call there and tell them you have been on hold for hours and they will help you with little or no hold time. Also, if you would like to make this long distance call for free, Google has a cool way to do it. Just go to Google Maps, click find businesses, put TracFone in the business box and Miami in the location box, then click search. Listings will appear on the right of the map, under bubble "A" is the correct phone number. Just to the left of that number is a link that says "Call". Click that like and a box will appear, enter your own phone number into that box and click the "Connect For Free" button. When your phone rings answer it and you will be connected to the TracFone Corporate Offices for free.