SMS Text News decided to get a contract-free SIM from AT&T after reading my previous post, and ran into some serious problems.
Matt couldn’t even find the SIM-only deal on AT&T’s website anymore. As such, he decided to engage ‘Natalie’, the friendly online chat sales representative, to see if she could help him. …So it appears as though ‘Natalie’, whom AT&T has entrusted with interacting with consumers online, is not only unaware of any statements that AT&T has publicly made regarding the SIM-only contract-free, but she also has no issues making very direct and absolute statements regarding such deals.
Apparently, the AT&T sales teams have not received the memo yet. As always, I got on the horn, ready to holler and scream (sorry doctor). An AT&T spokesperson tells me
The rep made a mistake. We do not require you to take out a one- or two-year contract if you bring your own device unless you want to take advantage of a promotional offer. We are letting customer care know about this and will make sure our reps have a full understanding.
OK, as I said earlier, let me know if this doesn’t happen. I am going to be keeping an eye on this for the foreseeable future. Feel free to share your story in the comments.
At&t is entering Indian market. Hope they give good service.
The rep did not make a mistake. She relayed what she was told. The management needs to bridge that communication gap that obviously exists for whatever reason.
I was able to purchase a contract free SIM from AT&Ts website early last week before they did a few things:
They claimed that the SIM Cards were sold out.
Just recently they’ve taken the page/SKU off of their web site which was previously located at http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-details/?device=AT%26T+3G+64K+SIM+card&q_sku=sku981990
I think there’s been some basic communication breakdowns that have resulted in some poor customer service. AT&T will get it right, eventually.
Om — that was me on the other end of the chat window with the rep — after I got off the chat with her, I called AT&T’s telesales at the number she had given me. They also denied that it was possible, telling me that even with my own equipment I would have to sign a 2 year contract to get the sim.
I would be very happy if your marketing rep contact would call sales and explain AT&T’s official position!!!
Thanks,
Matt
when are these wireless carriers in the US going to get their heads out of their you know whats and open up their networks? if they are smart about it, will be a win-win for them and the consumer. these half hearted attempts are laughable.
/moishe
http:/mortyandmoishe.blogspot.com
So, it seems like the old AT&T Wireless’ biggest problem is still alive and well at the new AT&T Mobility — corporate silos. When I worked there, sales, customer support, and network barely talked to each other and if something didn’t effect their particular budget, it wasn’t their problem. Promotions were continuously launched that would effect network utilization without giving engineering any sort of heads up. New features would be deployed without anyone bothering to explain them to sales or support. Customer issues related to sales and marketing or network would just enter the black hole of support, never to make it out to the departments who could actually address the problem. Meanwhile, the disconnect between “reality” at HQ vs. the various markets was staggering. Meet the new at&t, same as the old AT&T! Of course, this sort of thing goes on at other carriers too, but not necessarily to such ridiculous extent.
What’s the fine print anyway?
Could I get a SIM and use an iphone without a 2 year contract? After they have sorted this one out. I mean if Management ever bothers to instruct the low lives. I have seen this a few times, even were they run TV commercials and their accounting Systems could not handle what they where trying to sell (Qwest).
Seems to me that today’s Management is about: “Sell today and figure out how to build or support it tomorrow.” Which I believe will be Bill Gates long term legacy, IBM/DOS. Which also shows that AT&T and Qwest Management is able to learn, now if they could figure out how to have a thought on their own. That would be something.
I guess I got up on the wrong food today. So OM don’t make me come over there and get you resting.
Mr. Malik. I have been following your posts on this topic and I think its wonerful that you are staying on top of this. Its ridiculous how companies like AT&T are completely disconnected from how they are interacting with their customers.
I hope AT&T gets this up and running – if for no other reason than it might nudge T-Mobile into doing the same in the States. Then, I really would get my beloved wife an iPhone and add it to out T-Mobile package.
Om – no hollering!
I am a AT&T corporate employee, I work at a major corporate store in Colorado. To confirm, yes we can do no contracts if you bring your own GSM device. You get access to all the rate plans, can make changes at any time without renewing your contract and you get access to regular rate plans. We don’t have the capability because our system hasn’t updated yet to do no contract so we do a contract and revert it in store. We show you, you have no contract and you take off. It is in our paperwork and the problem is some employees don’t care to do all the reading. Customer service over the phone is probably the worst at this and dealers will never tell you this because they get paid on contracts. I will check back and try to post this documentation.
I look on this discussion with a sense of bemusement. The USA presents itself as the bastion of free enterprise and competition. I was in Shenzhen last week and picked up a sim card over the counter at a 7eleven. I expect that the call charges might have been cheaper with a contract, but I was only there for a week and it was certainly less expensive than roaming charges. Still and all, maybe the USA has something to learn about free enterprise from Communist China?
I live in Russia. I use an unlocked iPhone there. I am back in Boston for 2 weeks. I walked into an AT&T store here in the Boston area. I purchased a GoPhone SIM card (I did not purchase a handset). The rep set-up the SIM card and then asked me to activate it in my iPhone. For some reason, it wouldn’t activate. He then put the SIM in his own phone and activated it without problem.
It works great albeit a bit expensive. I purchased $100 worth of minutes which are good for 365 days. It’s 10 cents per minute for voice and 15 cents per SMS message. I also get charged for some data usage although it’s kind of difficult to figure-out the rates.
The set-up works very well. My one complaint is that there is no option for auto-refill to put more money on your account when the account reaches zero. There is an option for an auto-refill on a specific date. You must manually refill the account with money/minutes.
Anyhow, for people like myself who are only in the US for short stretches of time the GoPhone with an iPhone is an excellent option.
The AT&T Website still isn’t offering the SIM-only option (it shows up in search results but the link returns an empty page). I went into 2 stores today and they told me they don’t offer a SIM-only option, even bringing my own unlocked phone I’m required to buy a phone and sign up for a contract, there is no SIM-only option available in retail, so they tell me.
I’ve been reading all the comments about this sim-only offering from at&t and it seems like a big mess. Especially from such a large company. Things like this shouldn’t be happening.
Lo and behold, the website still doesn’t exist. Does it really take months to update their website? Is the service really worth it?
Every company, big or small has made silly mistakes somewhere along the line. Some get publicized and others don’t. In the case of AT&T, the problem seems as if its getting publicized a lot.
It can work and it is expensive. Call with sim only and you will save lots of money on calling minutes and texts
In my experience, it seems the bigger the company the worse the customer service.
Definitely agree when companies get bigger its harder to manage hence the poor customer service.
silly how companies forget the fundamentals once they become a big money earner this is not the case for all but the majority is sad to see sim only contracts are most certainly on the rise though as there are more people looking for one and more choice than ever
SIM only contracts offer great value compared to standard contracts that come with a handset. Their recent popularity is largely due to the economic crisis.
Will be interesting to see if SIM only plans take off in the US, they’re really popular here in the UK and the rest of Europe. Is SIM only thr terminology used in the States? I’ve not really seen many of the deals being advertised…