Comments on: far short of the call of duty http://dan.hersam.com/2005/01/24/far-short-of-the-call-of-duty/ A computer programmer's commentary on news, Linux, programming, music, web design, trivia, humor, usability and whatever else strikes his fancy at the time. Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:39:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: dan http://dan.hersam.com/2005/01/24/far-short-of-the-call-of-duty/#comment-5468 dan Sat, 29 Jan 2005 08:07:46 +0000 /?p=1008#comment-5468 Today we got a call from AT&T informing us that they will let us cancel our contracts, or give us a $30 credit on our bill. I'm shocked at how fast they got back to us, but I'm not complaining; better late than never. My only regret is that we didn't do it sooner. Thanks for the suggestion McKay, we owe you one. Today we got a call from AT&T informing us that they will let us cancel our contracts, or give us a $30 credit on our bill. I’m shocked at how fast they got back to us, but I’m not complaining; better late than never. My only regret is that we didn’t do it sooner.

Thanks for the suggestion McKay, we owe you one.

]]> By: dan http://dan.hersam.com/2005/01/24/far-short-of-the-call-of-duty/#comment-5459 dan Thu, 27 Jan 2005 22:46:30 +0000 /?p=1008#comment-5459 I just got a response from a producer at KUTV. They agreed with my assertion that I should have been allowed to cancel and are going to pass my letter along to someone in AT & T's public relations dept. to see if anything can be done. I just got a response from a producer at KUTV. They agreed with my assertion that I should have been allowed to cancel and are going to pass my letter along to someone in AT & T’s public relations dept. to see if anything can be done.

]]> By: dan http://dan.hersam.com/2005/01/24/far-short-of-the-call-of-duty/#comment-5456 dan Wed, 26 Jan 2005 22:38:05 +0000 /?p=1008#comment-5456 Okay, you guys convinced me. I sent him an e-mail with a link to this site and attached a PDF of the complaint letter we sent. I'll let you know if he takes on the case. Okay, you guys convinced me. I sent him an e-mail with a link to this site and attached a PDF of the complaint letter we sent. I’ll let you know if he takes on the case.

]]> By: jason http://dan.hersam.com/2005/01/24/far-short-of-the-call-of-duty/#comment-5454 jason Wed, 26 Jan 2005 20:30:46 +0000 /?p=1008#comment-5454 Dan, I agree with Mckay and David. The fact that you've been dealing with it for such a long time might draw more attention to the problem. I've seen his segment on T.V. a couple of times, and he gets results. And on things I think were much more trivial than this. It's worth a shot. Dan, I agree with Mckay and David. The fact that you’ve been dealing with it for such a long time might draw more attention to the problem. I’ve seen his segment on T.V. a couple of times, and he gets results. And on things I think were much more trivial than this. It’s worth a shot.

]]> By: DavidH http://dan.hersam.com/2005/01/24/far-short-of-the-call-of-duty/#comment-5452 DavidH Wed, 26 Jan 2005 04:41:52 +0000 /?p=1008#comment-5452 Hey, you could always e-mail Gephardt -- nothing lost but the time to write a brief e-mail. Jason -- it was in quotes, so I don't know how seriously you meant it, but as Dan's brother, I doubt that he's ever "flipped someone the bird" (Dan?) so as frustrating as anything might get, I wouldn't see that as something he'd choose to do. This stinging blog entry was a pretty strong reaction itself from him, I think. Hey, you could always e-mail Gephardt — nothing lost but the time to write a brief e-mail.

Jason — it was in quotes, so I don’t know how seriously you meant it, but as Dan’s brother, I doubt that he’s ever “flipped someone the bird” (Dan?) so as frustrating as anything might get, I wouldn’t see that as something he’d choose to do. This stinging blog entry was a pretty strong reaction itself from him, I think.

]]> By: dan http://dan.hersam.com/2005/01/24/far-short-of-the-call-of-duty/#comment-5451 dan Wed, 26 Jan 2005 00:34:17 +0000 /?p=1008#comment-5451 mckay: That's not a bad idea but I think it's too late. If I was still in the thick of the issue I would do it in a heartbeat, but it's been a while (this entry was in draft mode for a month or two) since it all happened. mckay: That’s not a bad idea but I think it’s too late. If I was still in the thick of the issue I would do it in a heartbeat, but it’s been a while (this entry was in draft mode for a month or two) since it all happened.

]]> By: mckay http://dan.hersam.com/2005/01/24/far-short-of-the-call-of-duty/#comment-5450 mckay Wed, 26 Jan 2005 00:18:32 +0000 /?p=1008#comment-5450 I just had a wild thought...maybe you should email <a href="http://kutv.com/gephardt">Bill Gephardt</a>...this is exactly the sort of thing that he feeds on. Even if he can't get your contract cancelled, the store that screwed you over will get a ton of bad publicity (assuming he takes your issue). Just a suggestion. I just had a wild thought…maybe you should email Bill Gephardt…this is exactly the sort of thing that he feeds on. Even if he can’t get your contract cancelled, the store that screwed you over will get a ton of bad publicity (assuming he takes your issue).

Just a suggestion.

]]> By: jason http://dan.hersam.com/2005/01/24/far-short-of-the-call-of-duty/#comment-5449 jason Tue, 25 Jan 2005 23:02:49 +0000 /?p=1008#comment-5449 That is really strong language, and personally, I'm surprised you didn't "walk away flipping them the bird". I'm still curious though if Cingular will wind up fixing things for pissed-off customers like yourself. That is really strong language, and personally, I’m surprised you didn’t “walk away flipping them the bird”. I’m still curious though if Cingular will wind up fixing things for pissed-off customers like yourself.

]]> By: dan http://dan.hersam.com/2005/01/24/far-short-of-the-call-of-duty/#comment-5448 dan Tue, 25 Jan 2005 19:59:25 +0000 /?p=1008#comment-5448 Jason: It was bad timing on our part, but we were told nothing about the impending obsolescence of the TDMA network. In fact, when we returned to talk to the manager, sales guys were busy selling more TDMA phones to unsuspecting customers. I wanted to warn them, but at the same time I didn't want to upset the manager and jeopardize my situation. I don't have a problem with their coverage in general, but where I live there is a real problem. My main complain was that coverage went from acceptable to totally unacceptable and they refused to do anything about it. I'm glad to hear you haven't had problems, but you're the exception. Here's a quote from the article. "The line from the company was that we lost those people out of bad luck," said a regional sales manager. "But they walked away flipping us the bird. They aggressively walked away from us. They couldn't wait to get away from us." They earned that response from their customers and I too look forward to walking away from them and never looking back when my contract is up. The switch to Cingular may be an improvement but they've already burned the bridge in my mind. I want to get as far as possible from anything associated with AT&T. Jason: It was bad timing on our part, but we were told nothing about the impending obsolescence of the TDMA network. In fact, when we returned to talk to the manager, sales guys were busy selling more TDMA phones to unsuspecting customers. I wanted to warn them, but at the same time I didn’t want to upset the manager and jeopardize my situation.

I don’t have a problem with their coverage in general, but where I live there is a real problem. My main complain was that coverage went from acceptable to totally unacceptable and they refused to do anything about it.

I’m glad to hear you haven’t had problems, but you’re the exception. Here’s a quote from the article.

“The line from the company was that we lost those people out of bad luck,” said a regional sales manager. “But they walked away flipping us the bird. They aggressively walked away from us. They couldn’t wait to get away from us.”

They earned that response from their customers and I too look forward to walking away from them and never looking back when my contract is up.

The switch to Cingular may be an improvement but they’ve already burned the bridge in my mind. I want to get as far as possible from anything associated with AT&T.

]]> By: jason http://dan.hersam.com/2005/01/24/far-short-of-the-call-of-duty/#comment-5447 jason Tue, 25 Jan 2005 17:10:11 +0000 /?p=1008#comment-5447 I've been with AT&T for about 3(+) years now and to be honest, I've been pretty happy with my coverage. Just about five months ago, my old cell phone (on the old network) was dying and so I signed up with a 1-year contract and receive a <b>free</b> cell phone as a part of the package. My monthly minutes and area coverage are exactly what I need and have never had any real issues with lost calls or poor reception quality. However, I realize that if my timing had been just a bit off, I would probably have purchased one of those phones designed for the older network, like you did. I'm surprised that the sales person didn't inform you that they were switching over to GSM. As for the customer service, after reading that article about AT&T's demise, it's as if the executives knew they were going under and didn't give a sh*t about their customers. In the long run, the executives received nice golden parachutes and the customers and employees received pink slips and useless cell phones. Now that Cingular has taken over, is there any chance of your situation improving? I’ve been with AT&T for about 3(+) years now and to be honest, I’ve been pretty happy with my coverage. Just about five months ago, my old cell phone (on the old network) was dying and so I signed up with a 1-year contract and receive a free cell phone as a part of the package. My monthly minutes and area coverage are exactly what I need and have never had any real issues with lost calls or poor reception quality. However, I realize that if my timing had been just a bit off, I would probably have purchased one of those phones designed for the older network, like you did. I’m surprised that the sales person didn’t inform you that they were switching over to GSM.

As for the customer service, after reading that article about AT&T’s demise, it’s as if the executives knew they were going under and didn’t give a sh*t about their customers. In the long run, the executives received nice golden parachutes and the customers and employees received pink slips and useless cell phones.

Now that Cingular has taken over, is there any chance of your situation improving?

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