I made a post in this thread awhile back (message_topic.aspx?topic=614255&page=1#14826793 claiming to people you could get one free for any account with shitty coverage. Two of my good work colleagues have a tower as well as a few of my friends.

I finally went up to the store today. I talked to rep, told her i had shitty coverage. She informed me that the "june special" for the micro cell towers was over. I demanded to speak to her manager.

The manager came out and told me the same thing. Said he wasn't authorized to give any out.

I asked them when my contract runs out, (next early next year in feb) trying to use some "well im going to leave your shitty service" scare tactics. That didn't work either. So i walked out.

I thought this shit was still free or maybe Wilson's store is just full of idiots. Anyone who works for AT&T or in the know, please clue me in.

7/26/2011 1:46:19 PM

Quote :

"That didn't work either."

Of course it didn't. They've got you by the balls for 6 more months.

7/26/2011 1:51:47 PM

I know at least one person who has gotten one for free recently

7/26/2011 2:03:08 PM

call customer service, ask for a note to be made on your account, go to ATT store, get free microcell

7/26/2011 4:21:40 PM

Quote :

"I demanded to speak to her manager"

obligatory - honey:vinegar

1) Were you at a corporate store or just an authorized reseller?
2) If you're going to threaten with contract leverage ask how much it would cost to buy out the remainder of it, not ask when it ends - like you don't already know.
3) Were you being a cockface? No store is just going to give out their $200 femtocells because someone walks in and says they have poor coverage. There's billing zipcodes to consider and technical channels that can have you place and receive test calls before deciding there's a coverage issue.

Mine was handed out easily because I had already been flagged for excessive roaming on one of my lines and it was in danger of being terminated by Sprint. Just call up like ^ said and asked to be transferred to advanced tech support. Talk to them like someone who has been answering calls for the last 7 hours where 90% of the people are screaming and bitching them out because of shitty coverage and demanding that they fix it OR ELSE.

--
I actually had an entire transcript typed out but decided to delete it because of how dumb it seemed that I would actually have to spell out step by step how to be decent to someone that has something you want. =\

7/26/2011 5:47:06 PM

no, i wasn't a douche. I shook the managers the hand and apologized for interrupting him.

It's an official AT&T store. Not a reseller like radio shack or anything.

I'll corporate and see what i can get done.

7/26/2011 6:28:45 PM

Shockingly every interaction I've had with AT&T has been overwhelmingly positive.

7/26/2011 6:49:58 PM

^this

7/26/2011 6:54:05 PM

so I took a jab at the online chat support.



That was a no go.

I guess i'll call and try to get a advanced tech guy.

7/26/2011 7:07:48 PM

except of course trying to sustain a call on their network

[Edited on July 26, 2011 at 7:09 PM. Reason : you could also try being direct.. since online chat is 99.9% someone not in the US pasting responses]

7/26/2011 7:08:33 PM

You're going about it all wrong. You need either someone in advanced tech (that you can talk to about poor battery life, slow internet speeds, terrible call quality or someone in account services (retention) about dropped emergency calls (dead babysitters, missed dr appts, vets calling to say your dog's leg is gone, etc).

Sprint actually has a bomb-ass e-Care department though with some pull. That screenshot just looked like someone had about 50 canned responses and picked a couple. Hell, this was like 2 days after they sent my Airrave.

Quote :

"Thank you for contacting Sprint. I understand your query regarding the shipping fee. Whenever a device is ordered, there are 2 methods to ship it. 1. It is a normal shipping method, which is free of cost. It takes 3 - 5 business days for the device to be shipped through this method. 2. Overnight Shipping : This is the express method of shipping through which the device is shipped to you within 24 - 48 hours. There is a charge of $12.00 + applicable taxes. Your device was sent through overnight shipping method, this is the reason your account charged $12.00 + taxes. Since you were not aware of it, I have applied the credit of $12.00 + taxes on the account. It will reflect on the next invoice. After applied credit the updated due balance on the account is $117.04. If there is anything else we may assist you please write to us. We value your business and appreciate the opportunity to answer your questions. "

7/26/2011 7:17:32 PM

I picked one up this month, just walked in and told them I just recently moved and get terrible service in my new house (which was true). I was in and out in like 5 minutes.

Guess they got tired of giving them away.

7/26/2011 10:36:06 PM

I wish they'd install one of these in my office.

7/26/2011 11:49:12 PM

7/26/2011 11:49:14 PM

Quote :

"Shockingly every interaction I've had with AT&T has been overwhelmingly positive."

you must not interact with their website then. What a monstrous piece of shit.

7/27/2011 12:41:37 AM

I had an AT&T rep screw up my order process one time and I threatened to go to VZW and get Android phones instead (Was in the process of moving 2 lines away from VZW and purchasing 3 iPhone4s at the time, so, while not a major corporate account or anything, it's still a pretty decent sized account for personal use) Long story short, they screwed up several things and I wasn't guaranteed to get my phones on launch day. I had the guy bent over a barrel and he was asking me what he could do to make the situation right. I had read that other thread about how they were in the habit of handing out free Microcells in certain situations, and since the reception at my house was shit (it's actually much better now that I have the iPhone4) I asked him for a free Microcell. I assumed he would be able to pull that off, but he swore he couldn't. He even talked to his manager. They ended up waiving the activation/upgrade fees on all three phones, and giving me $75 credit on my bill and three free cases & screen protectors. All in all, the freebies ended up adding up to about $250, so they would have been better off just tossing a Microcell my way. I still wouldn't mind having one, but I'm not about to pay for it.

7/27/2011 1:34:45 AM

I just moved to Chicago in June and live in a high rise with pretty bad service. I went in to the store and told them I had shitty coverage and wanted to buy a Microcell and the guy apologized for the inconvenience and gave me one for free.

I was in and out in 10 minutes.

7/27/2011 10:07:08 AM