Holding AT&T authorized retailer accountable for terrible service?

April 24, 2013 1:21 PM

I was verbally abused by a terrible employee at an AT&T store but they're not part of the corporate machine. What do I do?

I have had this drop-down, drag out issue with my local AT&T store when trying to get a pay-as-you-go SIM card for my phone. The guy at the store sold me a crappy phone under the table after lying to me, telling me that the SIM card wouldn't work in the used, unlocked iPhone that I had with me. When I got home, I put the SIM card in my iPhone and it works perfectly fine. I went back to get my $30 back for the used phone that he sold me and he called me names, yelled at me and was generally terrible and abusive. His manager is clearly intimidated by him and is remaining this strangely neutral doormat, even though I am trying to lodge a complaint. Turns out that the store is just an authorized retailer, not a part of the corporate machine. Therefore, technically they don't answer to AT&T itself. How do I hold them accountable for this terrible and abusive service? I can't get an owner's name out of them, and it's no longer about the lousy $30 - it's really about the verbal abuse. What can I do? What recourse do I have and to whom should I direct my dissatisfaction (and general ire)?

Thanks in advance!

posted by cachondeo45 to Technology (13 answers total)

Review them on Yelp. Document your experience there in detail.
posted by rhythm and booze at 1:26 PM on April 24, 2013 [3 favorites]

Did you buy the phone under the table knowingly or were you mislead into believing it was a legitimate transaction?
posted by You Guys Like 2 Party? at 1:26 PM on April 24, 2013

I would leave this complaint on Yelp. It's not a particularly satisfying conclusion, but it will prevent other people from doing business there, so it's does end in money loss for them.
posted by troika at 1:28 PM on April 24, 2013

File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, write a negative review on Yelp, call your credit card and report the deceptive business practices and ask to dispute the charge, call any local consumer advocate (NYC has one, for instance), file a small claims action or other remedy you may have (Massachusetts, for instance, has a so-called Section 93A Claim, which is kind of awesome), tweet/post on FB about it, and call AT&T (on the basis that even if they're just an authorized retailer, they are "authorized" by AT&T and would want to know about their abusive practices); call your local TV station (they often have consumer advocates).

That's just off the top of my head. None of the foregoing is legal advice, and I am not your lawyer.

Good luck!
posted by Admiral Haddock at 1:33 PM on April 24, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Wow! Fabulous advice one and all. Thank you!
posted by cachondeo45 at 1:38 PM on April 24, 2013

The attorney generals office of the businesses home state is the one to contact. I have always gotten immediate correction once their office makes an inquiry on my behalf.

The form should be online; you should provide to them dates, names, contact info, and a brief description of the complaint.
posted by couchdive at 1:39 PM on April 24, 2013

Did you contact AT&T? I'd think that they'd be interested to know that one of their authorized retailers is selling phones under the table.
posted by amarynth at 2:28 PM on April 24, 2013 [3 favorites]

Seconding amarynth - even though they don't answer directly to AT&T, that 'authorized retail' status is still something that would have to be approved by AT&T. If AT&T corporate found out about these issues, they could certainly take away the store's authorization to use the AT&T brand.
posted by augustimagination at 3:58 PM on April 24, 2013

Agree on amarynth's advice. Go to an corporate AT&T retail store in the same area and speak to the manager about your issue. The manager should be able to provide feedback to the area manager that works with this authorized dealer. They have the authority to tell the authorized dealer how to do their business, including addressing personnel issues. After all the authorized dealer bears the AT&T brand, so they are liable to deliver a certain level quality of service. Providing documentation will help you go further. Sorry you had a bad experience on this.
posted by aseno at 4:04 PM on April 24, 2013 [1 favorite]

Credit card chargeback. Enough of those and they'll be reduced to a cash only operation.
posted by oceanjesse at 7:12 PM on April 24, 2013

1) Chargeback if you paid by credit or debit
2) Yelp review
3) BBB complaint
4) Call AT&T. Go up the food chain. They'll want to know that a company representing them is not treating customers fairly.
posted by radioamy at 7:28 PM on April 24, 2013

Contact Consumerist. I had an issue with a well-known computer company last summer, contacted Consumerist, and had an offer of a full refund (which was about $700) within a day. They've lost a lot of readers since they got rid of the comments section, but it's still a great consumer advocacy resource.
posted by littlegreen at 10:10 PM on April 24, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks, folks! I just filed with the BBB, left a review on Yelp, and am now contacting my AG. A friend who runs social media at our place of employment also suggested that I tweet my dissatisfaction to AT&T - she said that they often respond to negative tweets, trying to rectify the situation. I'm in the process of contacting AT&T, which is a bit difficult to find the right people, but I'm working on it. My wrath is great. I will have my (business-y) revenge! And my damn $30.
posted by cachondeo45 at 11:10 AM on April 26, 2013