Best Buy Rant

[dcofsc]

We are under contract with AT&T/Cingular but DH dropped his phone and broke it and of course I didn't take out the insurance. I previously went to an AT&T store and they suggested instead of paying so much for a phone to just get a prepaid "go phone" and put his sim card in it. They told me that I would still have my coverage but the phone would be less expensive that way.

 

Well, tonight I went to Best Buy to buy the phone. I picked up a "go phone" from the rack and took it to the cash register to pay for it. I was told that I could not pay for it there. I must go to the phone center and pay the clerk there. This is a new thing they are doing. I stood in the phone center for over 20 minutes waiting to pay for the phone. There were two clerks who were doing phone contracts. I then went to customer service and asked if I could pay for the phone and leave since it was a prepaid phone. I was told "no" and that I would have to wait for someone in the phone center. I can understand taking care of the contract business with phones in this "phone center" but it makes no sense to have customers stand around waiting to pay for something that has NO contract. They told me that anything phone related has to be paid for in the phone center. Well, who is going to wait that length of time to simply pay for something? I put the phone down and left. Best Buy needs to either change this policy or put in another clerk to allow customers to simply pay for items.

[conj]

I hope you plan to tell them about this loss of sale... ranting to us might make you feel better.. but ranting to them might change things.

[dcofsc]

Yes, I sure did tell them. I told the store manager and I also sent a very long e-mail.

[shiivaa]

they do that because the phone has to be rung up a certain way or it cannot be activated...guards from theft...regular cashiers never get it right. i sold phones for a few years...trust me...youd rather have the cellular associate do it right than come back because a cashier messed up and it can never be activated.

[dcofsc]

The phone I was getting did not have to be activated. I have done this once before because my DH is very careless with his phone. I went to Target after leaving Best Buy and purchased the "go phone" and inserted the sim card from our plan. No problems and no activation needed.

 

That is my point........why wait on the phone clerks for something that needs NO activation or contract???

[alexusrydr]

My Best Buy has horrible customer service and I no longer shop there or any other Best Buys. Don't bother getting a warranty from them b/c they still screw you.

 

And about the phone, I have Alltel and I can buy a phone off of ebay and they'll activate it for free. You may want to ask if it's the same with AT&T, just make sure that the phone is made for your carrier. I discovered this when DH was having trouble with his phone and we were still in contract & no insurance and I didn't want to pay $300 for a phone that I can get for free in 2 months (when contract is up).

[shiivaa]

The phone I was getting did not have to be activated. I have done this once before because my DH is very careless with his phone. I went to Target after leaving Best Buy and purchased the "go phone" and inserted the sim card from our plan. No problems and no activation needed.

 

That is my point........why wait on the phone clerks for something that needs NO activation or contract???

It doesnt have to be activated the way you are thinking. look at the packaging..there will be at least 2 separate bar codes. one for selling and one for letting the phone company know the phone was bought and not stolen. if that bar code is not scanned the phone will not work. its i dunno sort of like unlocking the phone if you will.

[laddhorn]

ATT and TMobile are both GSM type phones. You don't have to let the carrier know what the IMEI number is at all. They are only able to read the sim anyways. I've used many ebay phones for my Tmobile service.

 

If you ever get mad at your hubby for breaking his phone and want to make him suffer for a few days, you CAN get one cheaper off of ebay. It just may take a few days to find the "right" deal.

[kat58]

My Best Buy has horrible customer service and I no longer shop there or any other Best Buys. Don't bother getting a warranty from them b/c they still screw you.

 

 

I'll second that! I finally had to threaten them with an attorney before I finally got results!

[dcofsc]

ATT and TMobile are both GSM type phones. You don't have to let the carrier know what the IMEI number is at all. They are only able to read the sim anyways. I've used many ebay phones for my Tmobile service.

 

If you ever get mad at your hubby for breaking his phone and want to make him suffer for a few days, you CAN get one cheaper off of ebay. It just may take a few days to find the "right" deal.

 

You are 100% correct about how the carrier picks up the phone (except I didn't know all the technical stuff like you). You can buy any phone for our AT&T carrier and it will pick it with no problems. This was why I didn't understand having to wait for a tech to buy one.

 

I did make hubby wait for another phone LOL. He got tired of waiting and went to Wal-Mart yesterday and bought himself one. And all they did was scan it through the cash register. No tech and no activation. Works like a charm! Maybe if he has to buy his own now he might be more careful ??