Alltel
Update: When I finally got through to the manager at the store, through much patience, he went out of my way to make some calls to see if they would be software for my phone. He said they should have it by the end of this week.. We’ll see.
Update, July 2: No call yet.. I’m not expecting to hear anything from them.
Some of the previous saga below…
US Cellular has abandoned us for greener pastures, and AllTel has taken over. It has been a nightmare, a case study in how not to do a merger or transition. From confusing, conflicting communications to clueless employees, this one has it all. I have yet to get my phone to work on their “new” data network when all I need are some settings which I could easily update myself if I knew what they were. I have waited more than an hour in their retail store on 3 occasions, all the while bombarded by a annoying infomercials on a large, loud flat screen TV, only to be told they couldn’t help me, or I need to “upgrade” to a different phone with fewer capabilities. There is not technical reason for requiring an upgrade, and they have supported my phone in the past, and still have the ability to do so.
I tried to pay my bill today…. I got the run around four 1-800 numbers. I spoke with AllTell, Cellular One, some purveyor of Racing supplies, and many recordings.. What happened to dialing 611, and having complete accurate information and being able to pay my bill. I got three different answers for how much my bill is in one phone call, and none of them agrees with the paper bill. I was more than happy to use the automated system to access and pay my bill, expect it kept jumping around and saying Sorry. It was making me sorry that I’m their customer. I also made a payment of $3.50 yesterday, except that I didn’t make any payment.. hmmm. maybe a credit for each hour I have wasted on this? I just want to know how much I owe, who to pay it to, and when it is due.. Could that be that difficult?
On the positive side, the phone service works, and that transition was flawless, so for most people, this was a success. I will wait to see when I get my bill whether all my services are billed the same.. I still have been told about 3 different stories regarding if I would be charged for incoming text messages, and according the retail store, I would be charged, even if I wasn’t before.
While I think that it is not the employees fault, and they don’t have the info they need to succeed.. AllTel seems driven by sales, not substance. Poorly planned, poorly executed transition, they made sure and got the marketing materials done, but how many customers will they lose. Why did you abandon us US Cellular? I was pleasantly surprised with how helpful your staff was, how well your automated system worked, and the value for the money. Things just worked. Now I’m thinking of demanding they let me out of my contract, after I spent a lot of time making things work for me, and I had the plan, phone, and services I wanted and a price I liked. I’m reluctant to give that up. Thanks for listening to me whine, share your stories here….