Convert two AT&T lines to FamilyTalk plan –part two

Here’s part 1 -
http://iponderus.com/2010/07/convert-two-at-lines-to-familytalk-plan.html .

Ok I’m on the other side of this process finally, and I want to say it was even more of a nightmare than I imagined. I did some more reading after the first post, and a lot of the comments indicated that you really would have better luck going into the store. So I did.

Bottom line is that whether you go into the store, look all over their website, or call customer support, you cannot go from one line to a Family plan. No way. You first have to order a second line with it’s own plan, receive the phone and activate that second line, and then you can begin the process to covert those two lines to a Family Talk plan.

Does anybody besides me see how CRAZY this is? That I have to order a whole bunch of stuff I don’t want, receive it and activate it, basically start using it? Why can’t I, with one click, change from a single line to a family plan, and then order the phones for the new lines under the family plan. This is insane!

Want to know what makes it worse? They want to charge you BIG-TIME for this plan you never wanted. They wanted to charge me for a full month of two plans, at a cost to me of somewhere between $70-$100.

I ended up calling support to change to the family plan (after I received and activated the new phone and second line. One problem with this method – NO PAPERWORK – I got no emails confirming any of the changes (though I get emails for stupid changes like confirming I don’t want them spamming me with marketing).

When I got my bill I was livid, it was still roughly $70 higher than I expected. They did not charge me for an extra full month from the second line’s single plan, however they did swap primary and secondary lines, which messed up all my accounts, discounts, and history. They also prorated plans, somehow charging me for 20 extra text messages, during time-periods when I was fully covered by texting plans.

However when I called I got a very patient, very kind, support person, who worked through the whole bill with me. In the end they credited all the problem charges back to me, plus a $25 credit for my trouble, and fixed the swapped numbers etc. As mad as I was, that support person really gained some company loyalty from me by sticking with me and helping me. I’m well aware that support is considered a commodity, but I for one think it is a differentiator. Companies that provide good support promote their brand and gain customer loyalty, and the value has been set unreasonably low on that up to now.

So kudos to AT&T for good support folks, both on the line and at the store. However your website is a nightmare, an absolute train-wreck. Somebody who works on it needs to try to use it like a user. And going from one line to a Family Talk plan? That process is an absolutely stupid black eye on you AT&T!