AVOID THIS BRANCH AT ALL COSTS. Head over to the Best Buy down the street in Levittown and be…read moretreated like a human being.
My uncle suffered a stroke last month and is recovering but currently has limited dexterity in his hands and is wheelchair bound. As such, we were hoping to upgrade his phone/plan from a flip phone (I KNOW!) to an iPhone so he could use Siri voice commands to make texts and calls. Unfortunately, we wrongly believed that we would be able to get proper assistance at an AT&T corporate store. The customer service, or lack thereof, can only be described as ARROGANT, DEMEANING, and DISMISSIVE. In our 20-minute interaction with CHRIS, he made my family feel like we were inconveniencing him with our common questions anyone shopping for a phone plan/new phone would have. It did not matter that we were current AT&T customer seeking to buy a phone and upgrade a plan, loyalty meant nothing and our business was unappreciated; things the staff here made that all too clear multiple times throughout our short but painful interaction.
From the outset, Chris was unemphathetic. Despite seeing my uncle in a wheelchair, Chris directed us to a high-top table despite two regular height tables being readily available. From there, the service continued its downward spiral into the offensive. When we inquired if there was any way to retrieve contacts and texts from my uncle's current flip phone (since his screen is damaged and unreadable), it was made absolutely clear that there was NOTHING that Chris could do for us here. He said NO many times and only told us that another AT&T store might be able to help. When asked which AT&T store, Chris made no offer to call or find out what store - instead we were instructed to just drive around aimlessly to any local AT&T store and give it a shot. Wow.
Then we went into questions about the a new iPhone and data/service plan. My uncle, who has only ever had a basic flip phone plan and had no experience or knowledge re: buying smart phones/data plans/pricing structures (which is the reason he asked us to accompany him on this assignment), had a tough time understanding all the different options and pricing plans. Chris babbled out a bunch of random costs/pricing which changed numerous times (for example, we asked about promos and were told there was a $100 discount. However, a minute later, Chris quoted us the monthly plan cost but did not factor in the discount he offered - we had to ask - and so Chris quoted the monthly plan cost again). Due to the lack of clarity from Chris's end, I respectfully asked Chris to break down the cost of the plan, cost of financing the iPhone SE, duration of financing, any promotions, and any other costs, he flips his iPad around for about 2 second and says "all the info is right here" and flips the iPad back to himself. We then asked for Chris to write down the pricing info so I could show it to my uncle (who could hardly see over the high top table from his wheelchair, let alone Chris' iPad which had "all the info") and help explain for Chris the pricing to my uncle, Chris only could muster the time/energy to flip his iPad around again a second time for another second or so and proclaim "I already showed you." Unbelievable.
I can only imagine the countless number of customers who were bombarded with the litany of non-responses, rudeness, and changing price quotes/statements at the hands of this customer "service" agent. He makes you feel like you are an idiot for asking questions. Luckily, as a millennial, I have a better understanding of these plans work but even for me, after speaking with Chris, I could not say for certain or relay to my uncle how much his plan would actually cost. What a shame.
Needless to say, at that moment, I knew we could no longer proceed with this individual. Chris was unapologetic even after I spoke to him about how his rudeness, lack of empathy, and refusal to answer questions properly and accurately was making this process very difficult for my uncle to comprehend. This is the story of the horrific experience we had at the AT&T store. This is the type of "service" you receive even when there are no other customers waiting - there was no line, no other people waiting behind us for help. Therefore, AVOID AVOID AVOID.
(PS: Happily, we went over to the Levittown Best Buy after the horrific AT&T experience and Joel from Best Buy offered the same AT&T products and plans while respectfully helping my uncle. Joel finished up with a customer at a high top counter and when he called us up next, upon seeing my uncle in a wheelchair, he immediately moved us to the lower/accessible counter. Within 30 minutes, my uncle had a new phone and knew exactly what his monthly bill was. Joel may not have realized, but his compassion and professionalism yesterday gave my uncle back some of the dignity he felt was lost as a result of his stroke and for that, I am truly grateful.)
