Originally Posted by
JamesRH 
I just had one of the worst customer service experiences of my life. I'm posting my story here in the hope that someone can give me some advice on what to do, or that someone from t-mobile might read this thread and help me out (Mods if this is the wrong forum, please let me know).
My T-mobile plan came with a very basic phone but since it was the first cell phone I'd ever owned, it seemed cool enough. But on 3/25/2008 I decided to get a slightly better phone, the Nokia 6133 and keep my old one as a spare since it was way past the return date. Not long after I bought the 6133 it completely died on me. The screen kept going black and it would only let me make emergency calls, when it worked at all. I tried re-seating the battery, memory, etc--nothing doing.
I had not physically damaged the phone and my local T-mobile dealer here in Oregon agreed to let me return it on 4/25. I got a slightly better phone--the Nokia 6133--as a replacement. I started using it and it was definitely better than my old phone. But now the upgrade bug has got me. I start thinking I should save my money and get something REALLY fancy, like a smart phone.
So I decide to return the 6133 and save up for something better. But how much time do I have to return my current phone? The T-mobile website says 14 days from the date of the original purchase. But does that start with the date I bought the first phone, the one that died on me? Or does it start with the purchase of the upgraded phone--the one that actually works? When I bought the new phone the girl who sold it to me said she thought I had until 9/25 to return it, but she didn't seem too certain either. I find my receipt and read the fine print and I still can’t figure it out.
So I called the 1-800 T-mobile customer service center yesterday to ask how long I had to return my current phone and the customer service guy I talked to didn't know either. He put me on hold for a minute to check and when he got back on he told me I had 14 days from the date I bought the WORKING phone to return it. Great! I have this Friday off so I can return it then.
Today I'm at work and I start worrying about the possibility of not being able to return my phone. (What can I say, I worry a lot). I think I better double check, just to be certain. So I spend a good part of my lunch hour on hold with T-Mobile customer service again. And the same thing happens--the woman I talk to isn't sure, so she puts me on hold, she gets back on the line, and tells me that yes, I can still return my working phone.
I ask if I can get some sort of confirmation and she says she'll put a note on my account in case there is any problem at the store. Great! But then she tells me that I have until the end of business hours TODAY to return the phone. I tell her I'm at work and I don't get off until 10 pm --the T-mobile store will be closed by then. She says she's sorry, there's nothing she can do.
I manage to beg off work early. I go home, grab my phone and my receipt and drive a half hour or so to the T-mobile store.
Can you guess where this is heading ... ?
I show the T-mobile guy behind the counter my receipt and he says the deadline to return the phone was actually YESTERDAY. I'm too late.
I tell him I spent my lunch hour on the phone with T-Mobile customer service, they said that I had until today to return the phone, and that I asked them to put a note on my account DOCUMENTING that I had until today to return it, PRECISELY so I wouldn't have to go through any hassle like this. I tell him I left work early so I could meet the deadline they told me.
He acts like he doesn’t believe me. I very politely ask him to please check my account for the note. He says his computer is off so he can’t look at the note. He seems kind off mad about it. It’s getting near closing time and I can understand his wanting to go home so I politely ask him to please turn his computer back on and just check for the note. He grudgingly agrees to do so and reads the note. Then he says that the person who wrote the note made a mistake. That they must have thought there were 31 days in April but there are only 30, and that’s why they said I had until today to return it.
I tell him I don’t know anything about that, I don't know what was in their minds, I only know what they told me, which is that I had till today. I tell him that the girl who sold me the phone also said something about my having until the ninth to return it. He asks me her name so the manager can have a talk with her. I tell him I don’t know her name.
He tells me it is too late for me to return the phone. He tells me that only a manager can override the something-something and the manager isn’t there. I ask him if there is someone he can call. He calls someone and spends a few minutes on hold. He asks me a few more questions. Then he tells me that since T-mobile told me the wrong return date, they will give me a $20 credit on my phone bill. But I don’t want the $20 credit. That won’t even cover the time I took off work to get here, much less the $200 I paid for the phone. I just want to return the phone. He says it’s too late. I ask when the manager will be back. He says not till Friday. He gives me the phone back and says he will have the manager call me, but the way he says it, it’s obvious that the manager is just going to say the same thing.
Now, I work in customer service. And I know that if my company gave a customer a documented return date on an item, my company would HONOR that return date. Even if it was off by ONE day. I also know we would apologize to the customer for the extra hassle we might have caused him or her. But not only does T-mobile refuse to honor the return date they GAVE me, not only do I get no apology for my time wasted and money lost, but I get treated very COLDLY, like I’ve come in the store to ask for spare change. I know how rude and unreasonable some customers can be and I’ve taken great pains to remain very polite in seeking to return the phone--I even thanked him in the end, though now I wish I hadn't--but it makes no difference. They already have my money—and that’s all they seem to care about. It doesn’t make sense to me: they get to keep my $200 and lose me as a customer for life? Will that really work out well for them in the end?
Thanks to any of you who managed to read all of this. I know it is very long and somewhat rambling. But this experience has left me a little shook up and I had to share it. If any of you have any advice that might help me I would greatly appreciate it. I’ll let you know what happens on Friday, but I don’t have much hope.
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