This may very well be the worst telecom customer service I've ever had. Understood caveats: one, I'm an American and two, my Portuguese is virtually nonexistent. After being ripped off at GIG for a TIM SIM card, and plan that was made up, I made two visits to this locale to recharge my account. The clerks there act as if they couldn't be bothered and when they did try to help it took a while just to access Google Translate to explain the simplest things. I was told that there's nothing they would do at all unless I had my actual passport (a copy won't do). SO PLEASE ALWAYS BRING YOUR ACTUAL PASSPORT WHEN DEALING WITH YOUR TELECOMMUNICATIONS NEED AT AN OFFICIAL STORE. To recharge without a passport I was instructed to go to the 4th floor to to another store, Lojas Americanas to purchase it there. After finding a friendly cashier who understood my needs, I was this informed that the servers at TIM where down for the day, so no go. I was informed that that wasn't so unusual. Ok, day two: after going to another Lojas Americanas in Ipanema and buying a recharge there. I waited and waited. Still no cellular service. Making a second trip to this location, again, I encountered nobody who seemed adept at customer service (i.e. Don't sigh and practically roll your eyes at a customer who's been really patient). After doing something on his laptop, the young man who was instructed by his manager to help me types that I have to pay another 100 Reias for the promotion. To which again I show him the flyer for the recharge I already paid for. He nods and types, "Enjoy your stay in Brazil".
Standing my ground, he then types that it'll go into effect in two hours. We'll see...
Try Claro or Vivo first. I've heard the customer service there is much better. read more
