Ask me about Cingular Wireless

[TheCroShow]

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Ah, one final question. Will I just need to pay for the phone and activation or will I have to go through credit checks and all that other BS to get my own plan? I'm 21 if it matters and work approx 40 hours per week.

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you will need to provide the following: social security number, driver's license number and billing address. you will have to pass a credit check, if you do not pass, you will have to put a damage deposit on your account. i've seen dmg deposits ranging from $200 to $500

If your workplace has a business discount agreement with Cingular, we will waive your $36 activation fee. You can likely charge the price of your phone to your billing account.

[kipin]

Do you think it is funny that with the recent acquisition of SBC by AT&T, that cingular (After spending about $700M on its own transformation to include AT&T wireless) is now going to be rebranded into AT&T wireless?

Also, Verizon customer service is about 10x greater than Cingular customer service in terms of wait times, and professionalism. Do you contest this fact?

[TheCroShow]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you think it is funny that with the recent acquisition of SBC by AT&T, that cingular (After spending about $700M on its own transformation to include AT&T wireless) is now going to be rebranded into AT&T wireless?

Also, Verizon customer service is about 10x greater than Cingular customer service in terms of wait times, and professionalism. Do you contest this fact?

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I think it's hilarious that AT&T purchased Cingular's parent company.

In terms of wait times, I cannot really comment. I have special internal numbers I dial so I get through to other reps right away. Mind you these are numbers that will only work while at work.

If you are a "regular" customer, then it's not surprising that Verizon has better customer service. I work in the Business dept, and my center is actually the best CIngular has to offer. Of course we are located in Canada lol Some of the reps from Washington State and South Carolina are stupid, I would say at least 40% of my calls are spent fixing the problem a previous rep made.

*edit* I provide great customer service. I had one guy call in to cancel service, by the end of the call he felt so good about the service I provided that he purchased 3 new phones haha Sadly I do not make commission, oh well. Also convinced some dude today to stay with Cingular, by the end of the call he was psyched and told me I restored his faith in Cingular haha

[kipin]

[ QUOTE ]
If you are a "regular" customer, then it's not surprising that Verizon has better customer service. I work in the Business dept, and my center is actually the best CIngular has to offer. Of course we are located in Canada lol Some of the reps from Washington State and South Carolina are stupid, I would say at least 40% of my calls are spent fixing the problem a previous rep made.

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This is why I am now with Verizon.

Funny story about VZ customer service, I pay my phone bill over the phone, and although Verizon has an automated service, I prefer to talk with a person. Every time I do this they inform me I can use the automated system and save time (I don't actually think it is faster) so I actually told one of them I prefer speaking with a person, and that he is talking himself out of a job, he kind of laughed and was like "Hmmmmmm". He then told me it is good to pay over the automated system because it keeps wait times down for customers with phone problems. What do you think?

[ QUOTE ]
I provide great customer service. I had one guy call in to cancel service, by the end of the call he felt so good about the service I provided that he purchased 3 new phones haha Sadly I do not make commission, oh well. Also convinced some dude today to stay with Cingular, by the end of the call he was psyched and told me I restored his faith in Cingular

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You should be a trainer for the idiots then.

[TheCroShow]

At Cingular we do have scripted phrases for when customers are making payments, so we are supposed to say stuff like, "Are you aware of our self serve options, such as *PAY or online account manager at www.cingular.com?" I feel like an [censored] when I tell them that and I would never tell a customer they should call the automated system to decrease call volume, I tell them it's all about preference.

Me a trainer? I wish, for now I will have to stick with taking calls and helping ppl out. And if the reps did everything right the first time, I may not have a job with Cingular lol Cingular would not have to outsource! lol

Customer tip for all, no matter what the issue, yelling will get you absolutely nowhere. The reasonable customers are the ones I bend over backwards for, the yellers that make it personal, I do the absolute bare minimum for them.

Mind you a bit of yelling is just fine, but if they persist and do not calm down, I say "[censored] 'em, good luck to you buddy, not happening with me!"

[El Diablo]

Cro,

Why does the Cingular website say this?

"What is the pricing for Group Messaging?
Group Messaging is billed at the normal Text Messaging prices. There is no additional monthly charge or per message fees. Cingular customers are charged for one message sent regardless of how many people a message is sent to at the same time. For example, if a user sends a message to a group of 10 people, the sender is billed for one message and each of the 10 recipients is billed for one message."

[TheCroShow]

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Cro,

Why does the Cingular website say this?

"What is the pricing for Group Messaging?
Group Messaging is billed at the normal Text Messaging prices. There is no additional monthly charge or per message fees. Cingular customers are charged for one message sent regardless of how many people a message is sent to at the same time. For example, if a user sends a message to a group of 10 people, the sender is billed for one message and each of the 10 recipients is billed for one message."

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That is a really good question, which part of the site did you see that? I'm off today, but will have to investigate on Sunday. As far as I know, you are billed 1 per group member.

[Tilt]

Why do I have such spotty coverage in areas of North of Boston? Particularly NH. Cingular has been by far the worst provider I have ever experienced with NE coverage.

[TheCroShow]

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Why do I have such spotty coverage in areas of North of Boston? Particularly NH. Cingular has been by far the worst provider I have ever experienced with NE coverage.

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Hmmm, hook me up with a ZIP code and i'll check your coverage on Sunday. Do you practice turning off your phone regularly? I advise once a day to ensure optimal connection to the network. SOmetimes if the phone is left on for too long, you can experience coverage issues, issues with making/receiving calls, and text message issues. Give that a shot, and in the meantime I'll check your area on Sunday.

[Tilt]

Thanks Cro. Areas between 01742 and 03253. I travel back and forth a bit.