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"They Can Hear Me Now"
All of us use cell phones. They have become a part of our daily lives. So when it comes time to get a new carrier, or even upgrade your present service, it becomes a very touchy and trying matter. At least it does for me.
My wife and I have had the same carrier for years. As a matter of fact my wife had had her portable phone for so long that it was one of those box phones, the kind that is in the car but is not really portable. She loved it and resisted all attempts by the boys or me to get her a new phone. But finally when we updated, the phone carrier said she would have to get a new one.
When we went to talk about updating we made our first mistake. We went to a representative for the phone carrier rather than the actual carrier store itself. We were told they could take care of us and it seemed like they did. We picked out two new phones that had $50 rebates on each phone. Then we picked out a shared plan whereby we could talk all over the country as long as we didn't go over a combined 500 minutes.
We were assured as long as we stayed in that time range our bill would run about $70 a month. That sounded fair to me and I was a happy camper. Then I got the first month's bill. It was for $272.70!!!!!!!!! I almost passed out in the post office. I rushed home and called the lady who had sold it to us. She of course was not at work that day. I asked to speak to the manager who basically told me I should be talking with the carrier and not her. She said they just represented the carrier for sales and problems should be dealt with by calling them.
So I called them on their 800 number. I got a guy we will call Mr. Scott. He listened to my problem and then said my service had been prorated because I changed/updated the program in the middle of the month. I told him no one told me they were doing that. He also said the computer showed I had 400 minutes. I told him that was wrong and that my contract said I had 500 minutes. He then said I should FAX the contract to the store from which I bought the service and that he would get in touch with them. I asked when I would hear back from him and he said by 6 that afternoon. This was on a Monday.
On Thursday I still had not heard back from him or anyone at the store where I bought the service. I called the local store and the lady who manages it said she had been busy and hadn't had time to work on my problem. She said I should be dealing with the carrier. So much for her help!
I then called the main office again. Of course I got a new person and she said she would help me. Mr. Scott was not offered to follow up our conversation, nor did this lady (who we will call Mrs. Palmer) know why he had not called me back. Anyway I went through it all again and explained my problems. She repeated that I had a 400-minute program, and I again repeated I had a 500 minute one.
She also got into the pro-ration bit again and I repeated no one had told me about that. She said it was in my contract and I should have read my contract more closely. By this time I was flipping out and I asked to speak to her supervisor. She said all the supervisors were in a meeting. I asked to speak to the supervisors' supervisor and she said she had full authority to help me with my problems.
Finally she told me to FAX her my contract. I asked if she would call me back when she got it. She said for me to put my name and phone number on the covers sheet and she would. I did as she asked and faxed it off.
Now here's where it gets good. In a few minutes the phone rang. I answered and a guy who identified himself as Chad Rogers said he had gotten a FAX from me and didn't know why. I explained it had been meant for Ms. Palmer and he said he would try to locate her. In the meantime he wanted to know if I was having a problem.
You know I really believe this was a "minor miracle." I think God just connected me with this guy to get my problem solved. I either dialed the number wrong or misunderstood when Ms. Palmer gave it to me. Or maybe she didn't want to deal with me anymore and just gave me the wrong number. But whatever reason I lucked out by getting in touch with Chad Rogers.
Chad Rogers listened to my problems, looked at the contract, gave me a variety of suggestions and ended up solving my problem to my satisfaction. He was courteous, cooperative and concerned. Now when have you met anyone like that?
At one point, as I was thanking him and praising him, he told me if I was unhappy I would probably tell ten people about my unhappiness. He said if I was happy I would probably tell two people how happy I was. He added he would prefer me to tell the two people.
Well I hope more than two people read this. And I hope you take hope in the fact there are people who work who are concerned about their customers. Chad Rogers has now become the patron saint of the disillusioned phone customer. You know why? Because he is one of those rare people who listens and honestly tries to help.
You will notice I have not named the phone service company. But I will say this. They can hear me now. Thanks to Chad Rogers. |
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©2004 Jackie K. Cooper |
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