Authorized Retailer = Doody
Two days ago C’s phone died — completely. After much persuasion I convinced her to come over to the glorious world of Cingular. After work yesterday, we both went to a Cingular Authorized Retailer — (note I didn’t say “Cingular Store”) to look at new phones.
The phone she wanted: a pink Motorola Razr. When asked about it, the woman in the store said, “Ohhhh.. no. I don’t think we have anymore — but let me check”
She comes back moments later to return with a box.
“We actually do — it’s our last one”
Hooray!
We sit down to go over modifying my plan to essentially add her as a line in our new “FamilyTalk” type plan. We fill out the paperwork and are told that her number will switch over within 3 hours but she’ll be able to make outgoing calls immediately because the phone’s battery is fully charged.
Hooray!
The woman boxes up the phone, receipts, rebates and sends us on our merry way.
New phone! Hooray!
We continue on errands and before getting out of the car in the parking lot of Tar-jay we turn on this amazing new toy to play with it.
We turn on this phone…
We turn —
It doesn’t work. The battery is dead. It’s not fully charged like we were told.
We plug in the car adapter — well this will most certainly work.
Nothing.
After discovering that there was NO MANUAL in the box, a power adapter from Asia (with a cheap-ass-US-wattage adapter attached to it) we call the saleslady.
“How do you turn this thing on?”
“Hold the button down.”
“Really? Yeah. It ain’t workin’.”
“blah blah blah — come in for a replacement”
After plugging in the P.O.S. at home, it didn’t work. Nothing worked.
I had been talking to C about switching to Cingular cuz “they’re so great!!”
The Cingular “authorized retailer” of Clarendon, Virginia located next to the Courthouse movie theater made me look like a complete ass. Don’t go there.
I tried calling C’s “new” number, as the woman said her number would switch by 10pm and she’d reach a voice-mailbox.
Nope…number didn’t switch. Even as of this morning — same old voice mail. No switching, no manual, no working phone, and a power-adapter from another hemisphere.
Holy hell, I was pissed. I’m hoping I get to go back with C this afternoon and explain precisely where this salesperson can put this POS Razr she sold us.
:divbar:
Update: C went there herself this AM –they were very apologetic, offered a replacement phone until the new pink Razrs come in.
The new phone works, came with a manual, was completely wrapped-up and packaged well, but still came with the Eurasian-power-adapter with clunky-US-wattage plug attached…
Apparently they have a very “high-demand” for customers that request that particular power-
plug.
Yeah –and I’m 6 feet tall and my arms are made out asparagus.
I call BS on them for that…. but glad everything ELSE is fixed.
hooray.
4 Responses to “Authorized Retailer = Doody”
good one, M. C got a POS phone and I have one less person on my unlimited PCS to PCS calling list. I just changed MY plan to many less minutes and you go and make one of my number 1 minute takers (and by that I mean lovely people I like to spend hours on the phone with b/c I can’t be there in person to talk to them) jump off my free-PCS bandwagon. Not saying Sprint doesn’t suck. Just saying I’ll probably be calling a lot more after 7pm my time.
Not only do you have me, but you also have Sprint to thank for not offering pink Razrs.
You should SPRINT your way out of that contract.
chuckle.
meg’s loss is my gain… let the unlimited phone calls begin!
and unrelated: i don’t think we’ll overlap in nyc… my trip got changed to tues-sat. let me know if you’ll still be there.
aww, horse apples! Probably won’t see you — but enjoy NYC, good luck with the blue-man audition we’ll see you in good time.
rock.