(6/9/06)
This just goes to show that making customer service calls is like playing roulette. It's a game of chance to be able to speak with the "right" CS rep who can handle your issue. Perhaps it's mainly because they don't listen well and probably don't want to do the work involved in addressing customers' concerns, especially the ones not in the playbook. Of course I'm generalizing here, but having spent the better part of the past month with customer service departments in various outfits, I think my experiences and conclusion aren't far from the truth.
Sometime a few weeks ago, I called LetsTalk to see if I could add another line to my plan which is already a "family plan". It only seemed logical that since I was still within my trial period I should be still considered a new customer activation and hence "entitled" to adding additional lines while receiving the benefits of those rebates.
My "workaround" to the MDA network registration problem and evidence that true phones even on the T-Mobile network worked fined was to buy a phone-phone, not a computer-phone...
So I had called LetsTalk and posed this question to the sales guy to which his response was basically that I couldn't add a line and receive those rebates. I would have to pay the full amount.
On day 31, after receiving the two new MDAs I called LetsTalk to take care of a rebate issue with the new MDAs since their website didn't show record of the new order (which is really an exchange in function, but hey, I don't work there and therefore don't know how they handle these transactions). The first lady said that my rebates were back to $100/phone (when the previous order was for $150/phone). Not good. While I was put on hold for over 15 minutes, I decided to play a bit of roulette.
After hanging up and redialing I found another CS rep who this time told me that I should be able to use the rebates from the original order for the new order. Problem was that the rebates were already filled out with the EMEI numbers of the original phones. Oops. Fine. Then I mentioned my desire to buy another phone and she didn't think it would be a problem to do so. As she proceeded to transfer me to a sales rep, I got online and checked pricing for the Samsung t809 slider phone. It would be free after all the involved rebates.
Side note: isn't it funny that I'm actually PAYING T-Mobile more money for something that they failed to resolve in the first place? Bottom line is that I needed a phone that would work inside the house and wouldn't have this network registration problem - hence the gamble on another phone. This SHOULD work, right?
OK, back to the story. I lucked out by speaking with a sales rep who happened to know how to "get it done". She took my order for the t809 and within 30 minutes, I had another phone/plan ordered. I also mentioned the rebate issue and she said she'd send out the rebates with my order (including the ones for the MDAs). Let's see how this pans out. BTW, MDAs are now FREE after rebates from LetsTalk.
As I write this (Monday 6/12/06), the UPS tracking number shows that my phone is due for delivery on the 14th. I had the luck of ordering this phone when LetsTalk is giving out these Motorola SJ0048B / HS815 bluetooth headsets so a review on this will follow shortly.
What a mess!
Posted 06/12/2006 by Administrator | Filed under: Buying A Phone Online
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