I had the displeasure of going to this store with someone I know who had an issue with their mobile phone that they received for a Christmas present.
The phone would not hold a charge. She suspected it was the phone, and I suspected that it may be a faulty battery. Either way, since the phone is less than 5 months old, and has a one year warranty on it, we decided to go to AT&T to have the problem taken care of.
Well, we got to the store and were greeted immediately, which I liked. But after that, it all went downhill.
When the phone was checked by the salesman on staff, he could not understand what was wrong. I suggested that they test the battery, but my words fell upon deaf ears. Anyway, since this guy could not hear, or figure out what was wrong, he suggested that the phone be replaced. Fair enough.
I expected him to go into the back and bring out a new phone, much like they do when you purchase a new phone. NOPE! He called their warranty department and gave the phone to my friend, who was literally on the phone with this warranty people for 30 minutes, trying to explain what was wrong, while the salesman went over to another 3 salesmen on the floor to chat with one another RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!
When the warranty department said that they would honor the warranty and replace the phone, they then asked my friend for her credit card number, which is what got my attention. WHY does a warranty department need a credit card number if the phone is covered and being replaced free of charge? When I asked, I was told that this was because they needed the old phone back, and that my friend would be responsible for mailing it back to their headquarters, and if the phone was damaged, then she would be responsible for the damages. WTF?
In contract law, a warranty has various meanings but generally means a guarantee or promise which provides assurance by one party to the other party that specific facts or conditions are true or will happen. This factual guarantee may be enforced regardless of materiality which allows for a legal remedy if that promise is not true or followed.
So why is my friend being held accountable?
I got another salesperson over and explained that my friend was NOT going to give any credit card information out over the phone when a warranty for the phone was in place! I asked the salesperson to go on the phone as an AT&T employee and verify that the phone was not damaged. They did not. I asked why the store does not sell replacement phones, and I was told that they only conduct sales...again, WTF?
Finally I demanded that they test the battery, and when the salesperson took a battery out of a display phone and plugged it into my friend's phone, IT WORKED! 7 salespeople chatting in a store could not figure out what I suspected all along? Is it any wonder why our country is losing it's jobs and reputation?
So, I ask the salesperson about replacing the battery, and they told me to go to a Batteries Plus down the road and buy one! AGAIN, WTF? Hello...warranty?
So now I get the manager and I am very upset. The manager orders a new battery free of charge, but now it is going to take days to get here. I ask why they do not keep replacement batteries on hand and they again state that they just sell phone plans. Yet all of the phones have fresh batteries in them and I am willing to bet that there are replacement batteries for those phones in the back!
Before I left, I told the manager that while my friend may have an AT&T phone, that after what I witness at that store today, that I would NEVER purchase a phone, or any AT&T device from them...EVER!
It is a shame that our society feels it necessary to be slaves to these people. As a consumer, we are the ones giving our hard earned dollars to the corporations. Once upon a time, if we did not like something, we voiced our disapproval, and salesman worked for our business. Today, they just leave you in a corner to fix your own problems, mainly because we, the people, have accepted what they are doing to us! SHAME ON AT&T, and SHAME ON US! read more