An Open Letter to Ralph de la Vega (CEO of at&t wireless)

Mr. De La Vega

My name is Jon Dale and I recently (about 45 days ago) became an at&t customer in anticipation of the release of the new iPhone 3G.  I wanted to make sure that I had acceptable coverage in the mountain community that I live in (I do) before switching to the iPhone from my Verizon BlackBerry.   Since I had 3 active lines with Verizon I had to pay some hefty cancellation fees but I felt this would be worthwhile in order to complete my move to Apple (I purchased my first Mac in January and have since replaced all the PC's in my home with Mac's). 

When Steve Jobs made the iPhone announcement at the developers conference I was (like everyone else) excited to learn that the sales price of the iPhone would be $199.

I was extremely disappointed to learn today that I am going to be penalized for my early move to at&t.  I was planning to purchase two iPhones on July 11th at the price of $199 each.  But, according to today's announcement, because (as of 4 weeks ago) I am an "existing at&t customer" its now going to cost me a hefty $800 to make this move. 

I'm not going to complain about the other rate increases...they're not significantly different than my current BlackBerry plan with at&t...but I do feel that I'm being penalized unfairly.

I had arranged for a group of my friends to travel up to the Apple Store in Denver (a 3 hour drive) on July 11th so we could buy the new iPhones ...all of them were going to be switching to at&t.  I don't think I'll be doing that now.

I'd love to discuss this issue with you in person.  Please feel free to call or email me at your convenience. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this email.

Jon Dale
www.JonDale.com

(719) 244-1342 mobile

Update 7/5/08 - No response from anyone at at&t...I'm probably still going to buy an iPhone...here's 10 reasons why.

Update 7/7/08 - Still no word from AT&T so I called the Western States "Office of the President" (800-498-1912) and spoke with a very friendly lady.  She assured me that an executive would be in contact with me within 24 hours.

Update 7/7/08 - Just posted Why We Love Zappos and Hate AT&T...picked up by Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media...my site has been slammed all day :-)

Update 7/7/08 - Received a call from Justin with the Western States "Office of the President".  Unfortunately I was in a meeting with a client.  He promised to call me back on Tuesday morning.  This is looking hopeful...maybe I'll be able to become an AT&T fan after all.

Comments

[Jon Dale]

The phone number for AT&T wireless office of the president:

Eastern States 877-707-6220
Western States 800-498-1912

[Me]

I'm an ATT subscriber over 8 years and I get the same price - $300.

[Kyle]

I have been a customer since 3/24/10 and have had nothing but problems with customer service. I purchased and IPhone and my wife wanted a regular phone. I purchased her a Pantech Reveal. After a few days, she did not like it and wanted to upgrade to an IPhone (was told that within 30 days if she didn't like the Pantech she could upgrade). Took the phone back and was told that we couldn't because the phone had gotten wet. She had not gotten the phone wet. Have spent the last two weeks battling with customer service. Surprised that they only thing that they can say is, "we can't do that." All I am trying to do is get my wife a phone that she likes. At this point it is not about the phone but about the lack of customer service that they provide. It is a JOKE!

[Arthur Wilcox]

For anyone still reading this here is another name number and extension from at&t office of the president. I spoke to this person within the last month so I know it's good number.

He helped me smooth over my at&t issue with my iPhone recently and I'm very happy with the results. This guy gets things done!

Kevin Hicks
at&t office of the president
800-498-1912 x 47144

[GHD Straightener]

waaa you r soooo cool

[coach factory]

Long in my youth I traveled the pathway.

[online jobs philippines]

big travel big money!!!it's for all us good!

[online jobs philippines]

I'm an ATT subscriber over 4 years and I get the same price - $600

[stream movies for free online]

Woah$800 for existing customeres - not fair
tell em

[Find insurance quotes]

AT&T wireless is horrible and they've only gotten worse...

[FerrellMarietta]

I think that to receive the credit loans from banks you ought to have a good motivation. However, one time I have got a consolidation loan, just because I was willing to buy a car.

[elliptical reviews]

No offense, but i suggest admin adding a google+ button for easy share!

[melia]

AT&T has shady practices. Often, you don't find out about fees or your contract being pushed out- this is not in the contract of course, but in their policies, that by the way, I tried to get and they will not give them up. We are just suppose to be slave to policies, we never even knew exited. Check out this short clip from a recent customer service chat I had:

melia marzollo: Also, I still need to know where I can view my contract.
Korea Washington: I'll email it to you.
melia marzollo: And where, specifically it states information on contract being pushed for late payments.
Korea Washington: That information is not contained in the contract. Here is what our policy is:
Korea Washington: A customer's account must be in good standing to qualify for a discounted equipment upgrade. The following criteria is checked to determine whether a customer's account is in good standing:
Korea Washington: Active status .Off-network usage. Account type .Past due balance less than $35 . Non-pay suspensions - Three or less in the past 12 months.
melia marzollo: Policy and contract are two different things? No? How was I suppose to know of this policy if it is not in my contract?
Korea Washington: When you inquire about the upgrade, you are informed at that point. Yes, policy and contract are different. We do not provide our customers with every single company policy in there contract. It would be a bit excessive.
melia marzollo: Excessive, but honest. I did my sign up throughthe computer, so how does it work then? How would I ever have that information?
Korea Washington: When you activate service online, you are emailed a customer service summary. That is how you are informed. I am aware that your time is valuable. Since you intend to cancel your service with us, I would recommend speaking with the retention's department about any further inquiries.
melia marzollo: When you inquire is not obviously ( or most likely) at the time of your new service, this doesn't even seem like it can be legal.
melia marzollo: Great hook me up with them.
Korea Washington: You can either dial 611 from your device or call Customer Care at 1-800-331-0500. Hours of Operation are Mon-Fri 7 am-10 pm and Sat-Sun 9 am-7 pm.
Korea Washington: Is there anything else I can assist you with today?
melia marzollo: I am interested not only for myself, but for others who have gone though this, and we should have specific answers, that is the way good business relationships work. isn't that what AT&T strives to do, good business?
Korea Washington: Absolutely.
melia marzollo: I would like to be able to email a person directly, so I can include all of our chat information.
melia marzollo: as you noted, my time is valuable, and I hate to start at the beginning with another agent again.
Korea Washington: We do not have a retentions chat for customer who wish to cancel Mrs. Marzollo. You will have to call in to speak with an agent. I am also unable to provide you an email address of someone you can discuss this issue with. However, I have thoroughly noted you account with the details of this chat. All of our reps are able to view your account/payment history as well as when you contacted us and what the contact was in regards to. I assure you the next person you speak with will be well informed.

[Merna Krim]

January 26, 2012

Re: Merna Krim

I have been an AT&T customer for many years. At first you were the only game in town; and then you simply seemed convenient. Now, more than ever before, I am astounded that an organization which deals in communication, communicates so ineffectively. Your bills are difficult to decipher, and your customer service people, while patient, do not do a comprehensive job of explaining your outrageous billing procedures!

Your website leaves a great deal to be desired; from trying to download ringtones to navigating your whole site! This all contributes to difficulty in paying the bill through internet; and still you want me to switch to U-Verse! Why, so I could become more frustrated?! Frankly, at this point, I’m considering switching to Metro; and while they may not have the selection of phones that you have; and they may not have as many towers as you have, their monthly bill represents no muss, no fuss, no bother. In other words, I know exactly what I’m dealing with. Yes, there was a time you were the only game in town, but that hasn’t been so for a long time. As an organization, you are not very accommodating to your patrons.

A year ago I added a line on my service (more money for you), and since that time I’ve had nothing but problems. Recently, through an oversight, for the first time ever, my phone was turned off momentarily. I had no forewarning either through email or any other mode of communication; and since my phone was turned off, I couldn’t even call you. My daughter and I each pay our portion of the bill. Usually we pay it before the due date or within 5 days of the due date. We are NOT dead beats, have never hung you out to dry, and yet, we are plagued by calls and threat of service interruption on a balance that we’ve zeroed out three different times, and the balance keeps changing!! We call only to be told that we DON’T pay on time (not true) and that’s why we keep having this difficulty.

Today my daughter called and was told the same thing. In the same breath the representative told her we didn’t pay on time she told her that the cost of the service interruption was $40.00, at which time my daughter figured out that the $44.00 past due balance on our bill was the interruption charge plus the late fee, which we had not known about previous to this conversation. I have NEVER seen this broken down on my bill.

My daughter asked if we could receive separate bills and was promptly told no. My daughter zeroed out the bill yet again, paying the $44.00 and told the young lady if there was another balance beyond our regular monthly usage, we would be putting our contract in dispute and switching to Metro. At that point the representative asked if she could switch her to the retention team. My daughter asked the rep what that was only to be told that it was so she could be offered another service through AT&T….ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

I’m putting you on notice; we currently have a zero balance. Our next bill should ONLY reflect what we owe for usage! If this is not the case, I am putting this in dispute, breaking the contract and moving on.

Multiply me by your thousands and thousands of customers. Just last night a friend on Facebook moaned about the difficulty she had dealing with your organization!

Are you that independent, are you TOO BIG TO FAIL!? Perhaps after you take a look at this link, you’ll think again! I myself am posting this letter and telling them to contact the FCC!

http://victorcaballero.com/att-customer-relations-office-of-president/

Merna Krim

Cc: Federal Communication Commission