I'm very disappointed with AT&T's recent service. Before I even get into this specific location,…read morelet me explain why I -- a long‑standing, good‑standing customer -- had to go in person in the first place.
I recently moved and needed to transfer my internet service. According to AT&T's website and reps, it should be simple: enter your new address, confirm coverage, and find out whether you can bring your existing equipment or need a tech. Easy, right?
I started with a phone call. The wait time was long, but I followed the texted link and tried the website. I got a "something went wrong" message. No biggie -- maybe the app was down. I gave it the weekend.
Sunday evening, I tried again: website, app, even resetting my login. Same issue. My thought process was: it should be as easy as unplugging the box at point A and plugging it in at point B. I'm not an internet provider, so I wanted to confirm the right steps and keep my service with the company. So I called again Monday.
The rep (JJ) said he needed to transfer me to another department to "plug in my address," even though I already knew AT&T serviced the area. He said it would be a two‑minute wait -- fine, considering I'd already been on the phone for 20+ minutes.
The transfer barely connected before the call dropped. The line was busy. No call back. Just... goodbye.
At this point, I was frustrated. I work from home and had a meeting within the hour. I'd already burned through my hotspot data from the move, so my work laptop wouldn't connect for security reasons. I ended up taking my meeting on my phone with spotty service. Afterward, I drove to this AT&T location hoping to finally get things resolved.
That was another 20 minutes gone.
When I arrived, I immediately noticed a shift from the AT&T service I'm used to. There seemed to be three staff members: one man and one woman helping a customer together, and another woman helping a man cancel a service.
Two things stood out right away:
* The woman assisting the cancellation was clearly texting or scrolling on her personal phone behind the tablet.
* In the pair, one staff member was acting as a translator.
My issue is this: I needed a simple service that took less time to complete than my entire wait. I don't understand the staffing execution that day. It took 11 minutes from the moment the rep asked what internet I had to the moment I walked out the door. And -- as I suspected -- the box is a self‑install. He only ordered me a new one (oh, woo flippin' who ), which still takes days to ship.
I can understand if the staff member translating was in training, but they weren't really contributing to my interaction. They barely spoke, barely assisted, and it made me wonder why customers weren't being divided and helped more efficiently.
And to the staff member on her phone: as a young person myself, it was disheartening. Whatever was on your phone, I'm not sure why it took priority over the customers in front of you. In the adult world, respecting the business you work for -- and the people who pay their money for it -- matters.
Overall, this experience was inconvenient, frustrating, and far below the standard I've come to expect from AT&T.