do some research before buying, its too late for me

Most time you don't check on a company til there is a probelm.
So its is too late for me. but funny how this company is working under
two name is revoked by the BBB

from bbb
On 6/14/2005 this company's membership in the BBB was revoked by the
BBB's Board of Directors due to failure to eliminate the underlying
cause of complaints on file with the BBB.

http://www.bbbnewyork.org/businessre....aspx?id=56789

they also have the worst customer rating I ever seem

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller7831.html

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7817-0....ssageID=340172

http://uk.bizrate.com/ratings_guide/...d--105088.html

---

› See More: do some research before buying, its too late for me

just found out Wirefly is aka Cellular Choices aka Inphonic aka
INTELENET aka A1 different names but same address and support site

Wirefly is running TV commercials and Sunday paper ads.
Lots of hapless new customers will probably respond to them.
God help the people who don't know about their repuation...

"Hello " <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> just found out Wirefly is aka Cellular Choices aka Inphonic aka
> INTELENET aka A1 different names but same address and support site
>

"Hello " <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Most time you don't check on a company til there is a probelm.
> So its is too late for me. but funny how this company is working under
> two name is revoked by the BBB
>
> from bbb
> On 6/14/2005 this company's membership in the BBB was revoked by the
> BBB's Board of Directors due to failure to eliminate the underlying
> cause of complaints on file with the BBB.
>
> http://www.bbbnewyork.org/businessre....aspx?id=56789
>
> they also have the worst customer rating I ever seem
>
> http://www.resellerratings.com/seller7831.html
>
> http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7817-0....ssageID=340172
>
> http://uk.bizrate.com/ratings_guide/...d--105088.html
>

I will be signing up with someone else by the end of the day.

After having Cingular for about three years my trusty old Nokia 5100 series
suddenly showed "NO SERVICE". I took it to the local office, of course they
could not fix it. All they could do was give me the number to customer
service (I thought that is what the local office was). I called up customer
service (on my employer issued phone). They could not fix it and suggested
that I was getting no service because the towers had been moved (their
words). The customer service lady I talked to remarked that it was strange
that my calls had been routed through towers in Jackson, Ms. (I live in 200
miles away.) and that is why voice messages would not show up for a week
(another story). She further suggested that because my phone was old it
might have problems with system changes. I reminded them that I had paid
insurance since I bought the phone, so I should at least get another phone.
She agreed and gave me another number to a separate insurance company (all
payments I made went to Cingular Wireless). I called these people up gave
them all the information and they would send me another phone for an
additional $50 activation fee (why was I paying for insurance?). I thought
what the hell, just agree to it and I would have phone service again in a
couple of days. A couple of days later the new phone comes in. It is a
Nokia 3560. Between the total insurance paid and the additional $50 I feel
a little taken advantage of, but at least I have phone service again. NO.
This phone is supposed to come programmed ready to use. The only number
that I can call on it is #611. I call #611 (oh goody, customer (non)
support again). The lady tells me this time that the Nokia 3560 will not
work with my account. I calmly tell her that I will take it to the local
office and that if they cannot fix it I will cancel my account. I did not
expect them to be able to, and they did not surprise me. The man behind the
counter toyed with it for a couple of minutes and then announced that I
needed to call "customer support". I then said in a calm, non-personal,
business like way, "thanks for looking at it, but I have spent to much time
with this problem already, please just cancel my account." He said
something to the effect "We can't do that here, you will need to call
customer support". This I did this morning. This episode has left me with
the impression that Cingular is a dysfunctional business, with their last
concern being the customer once they are roped in. Its procedures mirror
those of bureaucratic local governments. The people who populate their
local offices are people who are not trusted to make decisions (I do not
know this, but this is the impression from Cingular's practices).

This story is not as bad as some have, but this is really poor performance
on Cingular's part.



Here is the way the story should have gone:



After having Cingular for about three years my trusty old Nokia 5100 series
suddenly showed "NO SERVICE". I took it to the local office, they could not
fix it. After looking at my account on their computer and seeing that I had
been paying insurance every month since I have been with them, the
professional person behind the counter pulled a new phone (a Nokia 3560, the
newer equivalent to the old 5165). Within a few minutes it was programmed
and I was on my way. I am writing this to express my satisfaction at the
quick response of your fine employees to my malfunctioning equipment.
Thanks again, your loyal customer XXXXXX.

But alas the above paragraph is fantasy.

"JHNichols" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Hello " <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Most time you don't check on a company til there is a probelm.
> > So its is too late for me. but funny how this company is working under
> > two name is revoked by the BBB
> >
> > from bbb
> > On 6/14/2005 this company's membership in the BBB was revoked by the
> > BBB's Board of Directors due to failure to eliminate the underlying
> > cause of complaints on file with the BBB.
> >
> > http://www.bbbnewyork.org/businessre....aspx?id=56789
> >
> > they also have the worst customer rating I ever seem
> >
> > http://www.resellerratings.com/seller7831.html
> >
> >
http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7817-0....ssageID=340172
> >
> > http://uk.bizrate.com/ratings_guide/...d--105088.html
> >
>
> I will be signing up with someone else by the end of the day.
>
> After having Cingular for about three years my trusty old Nokia 5100
series
> suddenly showed "NO SERVICE". I took it to the local office, of course
they
> could not fix it. All they could do was give me the number to customer
> service (I thought that is what the local office was). I called up
customer
> service (on my employer issued phone). They could not fix it and
suggested
> that I was getting no service because the towers had been moved (their
> words). The customer service lady I talked to remarked that it was
strange
> that my calls had been routed through towers in Jackson, Ms. (I live in
200
> miles away.) and that is why voice messages would not show up for a week
> (another story). She further suggested that because my phone was old it
> might have problems with system changes. I reminded them that I had paid
> insurance since I bought the phone, so I should at least get another
phone.
> She agreed and gave me another number to a separate insurance company (all
> payments I made went to Cingular Wireless). I called these people up gave
> them all the information and they would send me another phone for an
> additional $50 activation fee (why was I paying for insurance?). I
thought
> what the hell, just agree to it and I would have phone service again in a
> couple of days. A couple of days later the new phone comes in. It is a
> Nokia 3560. Between the total insurance paid and the additional $50 I
feel
> a little taken advantage of, but at least I have phone service again. NO.
> This phone is supposed to come programmed ready to use. The only number
> that I can call on it is #611. I call #611 (oh goody, customer (non)
> support again). The lady tells me this time that the Nokia 3560 will not
> work with my account. I calmly tell her that I will take it to the local
> office and that if they cannot fix it I will cancel my account. I did not
> expect them to be able to, and they did not surprise me. The man behind
the
> counter toyed with it for a couple of minutes and then announced that I
> needed to call "customer support". I then said in a calm, non-personal,
> business like way, "thanks for looking at it, but I have spent to much
time
> with this problem already, please just cancel my account." He said
> something to the effect "We can't do that here, you will need to call
> customer support". This I did this morning. This episode has left me
with
> the impression that Cingular is a dysfunctional business, with their last
> concern being the customer once they are roped in. Its procedures mirror
> those of bureaucratic local governments. The people who populate their
> local offices are people who are not trusted to make decisions (I do not
> know this, but this is the impression from Cingular's practices).
>
> This story is not as bad as some have, but this is really poor performance
> on Cingular's part.
>
>
>
> Here is the way the story should have gone:
>
>
>
> After having Cingular for about three years my trusty old Nokia 5100
series
> suddenly showed "NO SERVICE". I took it to the local office, they could
not
> fix it. After looking at my account on their computer and seeing that I
had
> been paying insurance every month since I have been with them, the
> professional person behind the counter pulled a new phone (a Nokia 3560,
the
> newer equivalent to the old 5165). Within a few minutes it was programmed
> and I was on my way. I am writing this to express my satisfaction at the
> quick response of your fine employees to my malfunctioning equipment.
> Thanks again, your loyal customer XXXXXX.
>
> But alas the above paragraph is fantasy.
>
>
>

I will add these comments and leave it at that.
1) The retail stores are SALES CENTERS, not repair centers. There is very
little a retail store rep could do to your phone that would fix it.
2) The retail rep. "should have" taken the time to make that call for you
and made sure you were active and working before you left the store. That
would have been the good business practice idea that should have been
followed upon.
3) Not all stores that say "Cingular" are company owned stores. Therefore
the level of service that you get is directly related to the amount of
commissions that this retail rep sees (only short term results - no long
term vision here.) Yes this is a very sad and pathetic commentary on the
way Cingular allows dealers to "brand" themselves without letting the
customer know that Cingular does not own the store and therefore has very
little to do with the Customer Service Experience that you receive.
4) Anyone who gets to the point that he/she is tired of a company that
provides a service SHOULD change.

Point 1 and 2 are as valid as valid points can be. Sales people are
not equipped with the training to troubleshoot technical issues and
sales reps should go the extra mile for every customer that walks in
the door. Unfortunately a basic fact of life is that if you go to
McDonald's they're gonna screw up your order at least once in your
lifetime. That's no reason to stop going to McDonalds (and, yes, I
know you don't spend 60 bucks at McDonalds every month.

At any rate, point three I would have to disagree with a little. Short
term commissions definitely do play a part in the level of service you
get at a store, but I think the main factor is a salesperson's
inability to handle tech issues. Also, I know, as a Cingular premier
agent -- which is a store that looks identical to a corporate store--
that we have to display the fact that we are privately owned in a
highly visible place. For our store it is on the glass at the very
front of the store by the door. We also make sure and put it on all of
our business cards. Every agent is held to these standards so I'll bet
if you pay attention you'll see that you probably just overlooked the
notification.

And point 4 I wholeheartedly agree with. If you are tired of a company
due to dropped calls, poor customer service, technology upgrades, etc I
think you absolutely should try to find a better company -- or just
move here to Atlanta and let me take care of you.

Here is a good point 5.
5) The wireless industry is a frustrating one for customers.

> >
>
> I will add these comments and leave it at that.
> 1) The retail stores are SALES CENTERS, not repair centers. There is very
> little a retail store rep could do to your phone that would fix it.
> 2) The retail rep. "should have" taken the time to make that call for you
> and made sure you were active and working before you left the store. That
> would have been the good business practice idea that should have been
> followed upon.
> 3) Not all stores that say "Cingular" are company owned stores. Therefore
> the level of service that you get is directly related to the amount of
> commissions that this retail rep sees (only short term results - no long
> term vision here.) Yes this is a very sad and pathetic commentary on the
> way Cingular allows dealers to "brand" themselves without letting the
> customer know that Cingular does not own the store and therefore has very
> little to do with the Customer Service Experience that you receive.
> 4) Anyone who gets to the point that he/she is tired of a company that
> provides a service SHOULD change.