AT&T

Buyer Beware! They will try to scam you out of your money by tricking you into purchasing then not following the return policy. I went into the AT&T store located on Ogden Ave in Downers Grove, IL. I was looking for chargers for my cell phone, one for the car and one travel charger to plug into the wall. I told the associate what I was looking for and asked him to help in finding the right ones. He clained there was no such thing as a fold up travel charger for the phone. I told him that I just broke mine so I know there was and I was looking for a replacement. He changed his tune and then said he didn't have that one in stock but I could come back later. He said he did have the car charger. I told him I was going to be traveling and needed them both today & asked him to call another store to check. He was reluctant to call but did and was able to find another store (Radioshack) that had them both. I told him I would just go and get them both there but he convinced me to buy the one from him so I did. I was starting to think maybe they are on commision and thats why he was so pushy. I asked him about the return policy and he said I had 30 days to return it.
I then drove to Radioshack to get he other charger. When I got there I decided I should try to plug in the AT&T charger to make sure it fit my phone. It did not. So I went into the Radioshack store and was greeted by a friendly associate who helped me to find the travel charger that I was unable to get at the other store. Since I was there I decided to check on the other car charger as well. Which they did have in stock and it was only 19.99 compared to 29.99 at the AT&T store. So I bought it.

I then drove back to the AT&T store and told the associate that had originally helped me that the one he gave me did not fit and I wanted to get my money back. He tries to talk me into an exchange but I told him a already picked one up at the other store & did not want to be driving all over for returns. After all it was his error giving me the wrong one. Now he says that I will be charged a restocking fee if I return it. At no time was this ever mentioned before when I asked him about the return policy and I had only bought it an hour before and it was his mistake in giving me the wrong one. He said its on my receipt so I went to go outside to get my receipt. By this time I was getting very angry. I looked at the receipt and it says "A 15% restocking fee will apply to handsets originally purchased without a new service and all accessories with damaged packaging". This item is clearly not a handset it is an accessory and I brought it back within 1 hour of purchase in the exact same packaging they gave it to me. So I was livid.
I called the corporate AT&T customer service line on the phone as I sat in the parking lot and asked them about the return policy. He said that didn't sound right and that he would add a comment to my account for the store to refund me without charging the restocking fee. He held on the line as I went back in to readdress the situation with the store. I asked to speak to the manager this time and the same associate said he was the manager. He was very young and I was reluctant to believe that AT&T would have such an unprofessional college kid running the store. His name was Chris Massey which I later found on my receipt. I told him about the call I had made and that it was listed on my account that there should be no restocking fee. He said he didn't have to follow that because he was an independent not corporate store. Can you believe this! I then asked the AT&T customer service rep that was still holding ont he phone to speak with him directly. He did and it was clear that this person was not going to do anything to rectify the situation whatsoever. He told AT&T CS rep the same thing he told me that he didn't need to follow those rules. He said it was right on the receipt which I showed him and asked him to show me where. He referd to the same line I quoted above and I asked him if he needed me to translate for him in case he didn't comprehend the writing on the recepit which clearly states that I can return it within 30 days if packaging is not damamged, which it wasn't. He gave me back the phone & walked away to hpel another customer. The CS rep on the line was shocked and could believe this so he said just to return it and told me he would credit my account back for the restocking fee and a few dolars extra for my trouble.
The store "manager" then helped several other customers while ignoring me as I waited by his desk for him to return to finish with my return. As I waited I heard him treat several other customers the same as he did to me. In one case he was stating that a phone can't be repaired even though it was only a year old and they would have to buy another one. How rude can this guy really be! Are they that desperate for a few bucks that they want an immediate sale versus building a long term client relationship. Not sure where he learned his customer service skills but I am embarrassed for AT&T and shocked that they would want to be assoiciated in any way with this store. Anyway I did get my refund (minus the restocking fees) and will NEVER shop at this store again. I would recommend that everone stay away from this store and especially this so called "manager"!