Why WSC hates Cingular store representatives

[the_sadist_God]

Now, after reading the "Cingular Sucks" thread, I figured I could shine a little light on some aspects of Cingular that truly do, in fact, suck. I'm a Warranty Service Center rep, I'm the guy you call when your phone goes on the fritz (whether it's your fault or not) so that you can get another one sent to ya. Now, I'm not hear to talk about my job, so if you're gonna read this and bitch about how the WSC didn't get you a brand spankin new phone just because your fat ass sat on and broke your old one, I got one word for you: Insurance, now shut the hell up, I deal with enough of that garbage everyday as it is.

Anyway...I'm sure you all have been to a Cingular store at some point in your life. I'm sure one of you can relate to the example I'm about to present. "One day you're phone, lets say, starts to power off on it's own. You drive down to the Cingular store to get some help. The guy at the counter takes a look at your phone, types something into his computer, tells you it's under warranty, then gives you a card with the WSC number on it, and tells you to call us." Sound familiar? It should, cause with most (not all, but most) store reps, that's pretty much all they ****in do. Then you contact us, and find that you cannot get an exchange done for one of many reasons...I'll name a few of them here:

1.) You are calling us on the defective phone while on your drive home from the store
2.) Your phone's warranty has yet to exceed 30 days, or it has already expired
3.) Your phone has physical/liquid damage
4.) You need to verify more than just the wireless #
5.) You cannot get the uber-expensive phone the store rep promised you

Now, you know why you're SOL? Because you trusted the store rep, thinking they were the trained proffessional they SHOULD be. WARNING: BELIEVE WHAT THEY TELL YOU AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! They may be trained, but they are far from proffessionals. Most of the time, they just tell you what you WANT to hear just so they can get you out of the store and out of their hair. I can't count the number of poor souls who called in all happy-go-lucky, thinking that there phone was still under warranty, despite it having a cracked screen, and that they could get a new Sony Ericsson W810i instead of their shitty Nokia 6102, because of what some rep told them. No matter how much you think you've just met an angel in disguise, he/she was nothing more than a lazy rat. Sure, it is possible to go from a 6102 to a W810i in some cases, but a store rep cannot, and will not help you with that. They are just there to look pretty and tell you what you want to hear, some idiotic ploy to increase Cingular's reputation I'll bet.

Also, did you guys know that if your phone's warrnaty is under 30 days that you HAVE to get your exchange done in the store. You may be thinking, why the hell should I bother...here's why. If you get it done in the store you are GUARENTEED a brand new phone, not a remanufactured one. Awesome huh? But most store reps won't let you know that, cause it would be too troublesome for them to truly help you. That is why you should be sure to have them show you the warranty, not just tell it to you. And if any store reps are reading this, please, if the warranty has any more than 335 days remaining, it's your job to help them out with getting a new phone, not ours. But once again they seem to just want to get you out of the store as quick as possible, so they lie...wonderful eh. That only causes more stress when you've gotten home and find out that you have to go all the way back to get the thing done...I've dealt with this problem countless times, and I truly feel sorry for those people who have to put up with that shit.

So, in closing, for the love of God, don't believe their empty promises, because most of the time you'll be left empty handed. That is what Customer Care, Warranty Exchange, and Tech Support were created for, because the store reps are there for one reason, to sell and advertise. So please, don't get angry when you call us and find that your phone's warranty has expired, even though your buddy the store rep said you had months left; or that we are unable to upgrade your phone, or even get you a brand new one for that matter, just because the amazing store rep promised you could.

Finally, I am in no way criticizing all store reps, just the one's described above. I've seen and spoken to some who were actually quite knowledgable in their field, and were overly useful to their customers, and to those of you out there I thank you. As for the rest of you (and you know who you are), get off your ass and do your job correctly. People may not always enjoy hearing the truth, but it's something we all have to accept, and in the end, that should earn us some real respect for once.

[Unregistered]

..."the trained proffessional they SHOULD be"

Man...I agree with you in many ways. Making clear I do know true professionals in RS.

The best tool at your disposal is to make a Quality Feedback, be it through your supervisor or direcly with the RS supervisor.

No use (well other than how good it feels to let it out:)) to write this booklet if you are not going to do something corrective about it.

Make it a Q Feedback, an advice rather than a demand.

Quick Note: Please dear WSC's, don't dump your calls to the Techs, specially w/out a good note. (...or else expect your Friendly Neighbor Quality Feedback)

[Unregistered]

First of all.. there are lousy employees in ALL depatrments, including yours.
I NEVER hand a customer the XBM number before checking a host of things.
1. Always look for liquid damage.
2. Check the sim.
3. Trying a master reset.
4. Try a different battery.
5. Try a different charger.
This list goes on...

When all else fails I:
1. Check acount for the purchase date
2. Check for insurance.
3. Hand customer XBM or insurance number instructing them to call from any other phone but the damaged one.

I can't tell you how many times I've had customers call from the store only to get a XBM rep with a bad attitude. These people are already stressed about having no phone for a few days that they are paying service fees for. Now we have to tell them they don't walk out of the store with a replacement for something that is not their fault. Do you know how many times I've had to console or talk down an angry customer because the XBM rep made them think their phone's issue will result in big costs? Is your speech designed to scare these people into filing unwarranted insurance claims? I understand you need to inform them that if their phone is damaged at their hand it could cost them money. Try making these speeches a bit more empathetic and tactfull.

Rant over...

[Unregistered]

If you want to talk about "professionals," why don't you be a little bit professional yourself? If you are going to write a thread, try writing a thread with less grammatical errors. I understand you are upset with sales representatives, and trust me, I can understand your point. You also have to understand that there are people in your department that are in fact purposely downright rude. I have done several warranty exchanges for customers and have had to deal with the rudeness as well. There are sales representatives and warranty representatives that are very nice and very eager to help the customer.
So how about you stop complaining and vent elsewhere.