I had a terrible experience at this location, T-Mobile in Highland Park on Ford Parkway.
Last week, I was doing what I thought was a simple maneuver: switching my prepay service to T-Mobile from another carrier. At the time of purchase, the clerk advised me that I might have a temporary T-Mobile phone# for a day until my own phone# was ported over. I had never heard of that before, but I did not find it unreasonable.
The next day, I found that I did still have the temporary T-Mobile phone#. When I called the clerk, she told me that there was a chance that I had shown her an incorrect phone# & PIN. She had me call the wireless company that carried my phone# to confirm that the account# & PIN I presented her were correct. After I re-confirmed with that carrier, I called the T-Mobile clerk back. When I asked her to tell me what account# she entered, I realized that the clerk had entered only 16 digitis of my 20-digit account number! Rather than taking responsibility for her error and working to expedite the port, she had yet a different excuse: she said porting my phone# is probably taking longer than usual because I was switching from a smaller carrier. And, that I should wait yet another day!
This made no sense, so I called T-Mobile customer service, whom I found to be unnecessarily condescending and curtly dismissive. As were two out of three of the original clerk's coworkers. Annoying though it was, it IS understandable since they work on commission. Thus they have no vested interest in assisting each other's clients - only in acquiring more of their own.
That evening, I had the line cancelled. The port was taking entirely too long; the clerks and customer service kept shirking their duty to assist me completely; and they thought nothing of making me wait indefinitely to regain my phone#. Furthermore, in the brief time I had this T-Mobile line, the coverage was abysmal.
The next day - DAY 3, mind you - I went across the parking lot to another carrier. However, we discovered that T-Mobile was still trying to port my number - to a cancelled line! This made it impossible for this new carrier to attempt the port. I was very upset, and the clerk at the new carrier told me to walk over to T-Mobile and demand that they immediately stop attempting to port a number to the cancelled line. He gave me is card and told me to call him if they gave me any more trouble. I insisted the T-Mobile clerk call their customer service - rather than having ME, the customer, do it - and was able to get them to cancel the port.
Had I known that a simple, first-tier clerical error - which could have been corrected on the spot - would have delayed the porting of my phone#, I would have asked the original clerk to read aloud, from her computer screen, exactly what she entered as my account#. Yes, I know I shouldn't have to, but I would have to avoid this issue. The T-Mobile clerk should have been able to troubleshoot the problem IMMEDIATELY, rather that putting the onus on me, who handed her the CORRECT account number and in the first place!
The fact that T-Mobile would have me wait MORE THAN THREE DAYS to have my number ported over is unacceptable. In case they haven't noticed, Americans greatly depend on their phones and their phone#s. In my case, I am taking care of an elderly relative with health problems. I rely on receiving voicemail messages from his physicians and insurance providers. People were trying to get a hold of me, but couldn't. I couldn't even check my voicemail because my phone number was in limbo! It is aggravating to think about. read more
