Write me a letter

What ever happened to writing letters?

It used to be if you didn't like the way something was occurring, you wrote a letter.  Letters are still the number one way to get things accomplished in the world of politics. Every non-profit knows that's how you lobby for change.  Protests get the media's attention.  Letters get congress members' attention. I write letters for Invisible Children to send in masses to Congress.  And finally, it worked and the US has taken a few stands against the LRA.

Writing letters to corporations you feel have wronged you is still a very widely used format.  Many corporations post their "addresses" on their websites, but consumers would rather scream and yell at the lowest employees on the corporate rung thinking they will get things accomplished.

Today, many people went out or waited for the FedEx man to deliver their new iPhone 4S. Some people ordered their phones through a corporate store and hoped to pick them up today. Problem there, corporate store reps are screw ups.  For AT&T alone, they screw up more accounts than AT&T customer service reps can fix.  Do you complain through the proper channels, no.  You call and yell at the CSR who is lucky enough to answer the call.  They didn't change your plan.  They didn't cause you to go over your minutes. Your plan was changed by the rep who upgraded you. You went over your minutes because you don't watch your usage with their "Star Services" which you can access at almost any time (granted it's not the beginning or end of your pay cycle).

So here I am, an ex-AT&T employee who actually loved working for the company, to debunk all those myths you think you know.

1.  AT&T is activating the phones before they send them to the stores.  Ok, this is somewhat true. When you order a phone through the website, they place a pending upgrade on your account. This is so the proper terms and conditions, which you agreed to/will agree to, are applied to your account. This is to protect you and AT&T.  It's been this way for 6+ years. This is why you call the T&C 800# to activate your  phone. The SIM number and phone IMEI(phone ID#) are added to the account so you don't have to read that tiny little script to someone. And if you have a phone coming to you with these already in place, then the system won't let the reps delete it.  You have to decline the upgrade by sending it back to Texas before the system says you didn't upgrade already. Because basically, you did upgrade.  Granted exchanges can take place, but you have to accept the T&Cs for that to occur. Returns are different. And I don't feel like writing a book.

2.  It's not just this one store, it's every AT&T employee.  Eh, wrong.  Do not pass go.  It's not all employees. I did everything I could to help a customer within my ability.  If I couldn't make something happen, then it means I would lose my job to make it happen. Certain things are just ridiculous to expect, especially when you should be warned when changes to your account are made. Technically, it's all in your terms & conditions of the contracts you agreed to. Does everyone read those? No, but you have to be knowledgeable to what could happen if you go over your minutes, text, roam outside the US, etc.

3.  I'm gonna switch to another company. They are better anyway.  Eh, think again. AT&T is GSM. Used in every part of the world, others not so much.  Also, AT&T is the best. My best friend has worked for a few companies and AT&T was the best. I know from speaking to customers who switched from one of the others, that AT&T was so much better.  Huffington Post just posted a study that for iPhone users, AT&T is the best. You may not like the rules, but every company has to have them.

So to end my rant, I'll post what I said on a friend's thread on Facebook:

Here's an idea, stop using the stores. If you insist on using the same stores write a letter to corporate. There is an address on the website. It goes to regional managers, customer service vp, store managers, and will be used in training if its a reoccurring problem. I dont used stores bc I know from working for AT&T that store reps are the problem with the company, no one else. They change so much crap on accounts to get a commission then pass the blame. They don't do their jobs and no one complains the proper way. They go on social media sites and make threats. Just saying, that's the way things are done now a days. Think back to the early 90s and write a letter. As send it via the real mail. Don't complain to stores or CSRs. They have rules they have to stay within or they could lose their jobs. And in this economy, they want their job just as much as you want yours

 Basically, I repeated everything in the blog.  Some CSRs will take their job serious like I did.  They can submit the complaint for you but others won't do it or they do it incorrectly. Placing the comments on your account won't change it. It has to go to the VP of customer service, Regional Manager, store manager, etc.

You have it good if you are an AT&T customer.  Everyone always says the grass is always greener on the other side, but how true is that? Not very.

Peace & Love my friends.

Cough drops & tissues & medicine, OH MY!

It's been a while. College classes have taken up a lot of my time.  I hate that I haven't been as diligent with writing as I was before. But managerial accounting is a horrible class which I'm not certain why I really retook this class.  Since I haven't written in a while, I have a few things to talk about.

After being sick for a week now, I've spent a lot of time in front of my television watching every movie I love; among new episodes of my favorite shows.  Seriously, Zooey Deschanel's new show is pretty frickin' amazing. I am beyond thrilled that Netflix finally added Halloween: H20 to Instant. I've been wanting to watch it again for a while, but let's face it, I don't need another movie in my DVD collection which is gonna be there late at night for me to watch only to give me nightmares.  (I like watching horror movies at night. I haven't had a nightmare in a while.)

So what did I watch this afternoon?  "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead"  Such a classic. Before I knew how great a movie this truly was, I wanted to be an "executive administrative assistant to the VP of Operations". Yeah, high hopes! I thought it was a glamourous job in fashion which would lead to travels to Paris and Milan. I was eight years-old.  I now know better, yet the salary for said job I think is still $37,000.  Kinda sad, that was twenty years ago.

I watched a few movies which I tend to watch over and over. I watched the second episodes of my favorite shows:  Criminal Minds, How I Met Your Mother, Glee, Parenthood, NCIS, L&O: SVU, New Girl, 2 Broke Girls, etc. I watched Weeds and The Big C end seasons.  And one night when I was unable to breathe or sleep, I watched Sister Wives.  Yeah, I'm not proud of it, but I watched it and I kinda like watching the family dynamic.  It's intriguing.

The episode I caught one night was pretty interesting.  They were trying to find a social setting for their teens to meet kids their own age and help them adjust to moving to Vegas from Utah.  They visited a church to speak with the pastor to determine if it was a place for their kids.  They were really concerned the kids in the youth group or their parents would judge or not be accepting.  And while I may not agree with their lifestyle choices, I can't help but disagree with anyone willing to judge them for it.  I'm a Christian.  I was raised with the understanding in which God is our only judge.  It's now our job to place judgement, and in a church setting, you should have a guarantee of this.  It's just something that stuck with me from watching one episode.  And that's what I'm watching right now as I write this.

I'm a very open-minded person so it is hard for me to see people be judged by individuals or groups who claim to be Christians.  I'm a very non-conforming person.  I'm not main stream in thinking or actions. I may dress 'normal', but I'm so individualistic it's not funny.  I don't like for anyone to feel left out or secluded; especially anyone under the age of 18.

I feel like I've written enough for one blog, hopefully I can stay on one topic in the next one.  I'll probably have something to discuss tomorrow.

Peace & Love my lovelies.

Moving BLOWS!!!

Moving sucks. Moving sucks even more when you have 12 days until you need to move and you haven't secured your next habitat. Yeah, I'm not happy.

I have tried with individuals, complex apartments, and even real estate office property management. The complex showed me an apartment that REEKED of smoke. The individuals just left me hanging. And the real estate office WILL NOT REPLY BACK TO ME! Five times I have requested info on condos/townhouses that are on their websites & craigslist. Five times they have replied back 5 plus days later to tell me the place has been rented. I feel they aren't even giving me a chance. I have to have a place by Monday, I can't wait any longer. I don't want to live in an apartment complex anymore. I'd rather live in a condo complex or townhouses. People are just better in those places. And by better I mean, not ghetto.

I have started packing up my apartment but I still have A LOT to do. My kitchen is a mess. My livingroom looks like a bomb went off. My bathroom and bedroom are the only places I can truly relax without thinking "what should I do next?"

I have also downsized a lot. I have over 8 bags ready to go to Goodwill. I'm sure I'll have more soon. But for now this is all. I have an ear ache and can't really do much because it just hurts.

To anyone moving, I feel your pain.

Peace & Love