Bad experience @ t-mo store. Rep open the box. Paid & walk out w/o phone

[SEMIJim]

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[Carolina Media]

When they told you to go back to the store they were most likely going to have the manager waive the restocking fee and exchange your phone for one that was unopened. They have the power to do that.

At this point you're simply being stubborn and unreasonable when they offered you a way already to get what you wanted.

Solution: stop being silly and do what the CSR told you on the phone and exchange your opened one for one that isn't opened.

Some people simply like to create problems out of nothing.

 

[MLSS]

When they told you to go back to the store they were most likely going to have the manager waive the restocking fee and exchange your phone for one that was unopened. They have the power to do that.

At this point you're simply being stubborn and unreasonable when they offered you a way already to get what you wanted.

Solution: stop being silly and do what the CSR told you on the phone and exchange your opened one for one that isn't opened.

Some people simply like to create problems out of nothing.

Please please please take this advice!!!!!

 

[MLSS]

But that's the game you don't want to go back they have your cc and your other numbers they was to call the buyer and try another solution if that was giving him that option of buying without opening it would come down to them calling . And think on sunday a assistant manager is on the real manager wont be there til today to close bills and sales and make a money run . Trust it he will get his way like it or not . And may get a discount on a phone of his choice .

Chances are that he won't get a conclusion that is satisfactory to him at this point.......

Regardless, I hope that the OP learned something from this.

 

[ceva321]

I brought a galaxy note 2 at Verizon last year and I wanted the white phone. The sales person was a young attractive kid and he told me that he had to open the box too make sure it was white. I told him don't bother but he said he had to and also he wanted to make sure the serial number matched the box.
I thought it was overkill. I wanted to open the box myself but he did.

When i bought my galaxy s3 online at the Verizon site the box came unopened.

Let us know what happened. ....

 

[chong67]

When they told you to go back to the store they were most likely going to have the manager waive the restocking fee and exchange your phone for one that was unopened. They have the power to do that.

At this point you're simply being stubborn and unreasonable when they offered you a way already to get what you wanted.

Solution: stop being silly and do what the CSR told you on the phone and exchange your opened one for one that isn't opened.

Some people simply like to create problems out of nothing.

I don't even have the phone. I just walk out. I left in disgust. I actually was sick to my stomach and I had diarrhea. Not cause by food poisoning but I don't know what cause it.

How do find out about a regional manager? It is no use talking to those clowns at the store.

 

[BRAINZ2013]

See as i said don't go just file a dispute . Now that you went and they have you on camera now the only thing is losing the money . See i was a assistant manager for a tire place . What u did show us in the end that is leave cause it will look as if we charged your card . See customers always have the last word. Cause when its all over the store will always need you to come back to buy something .without the customers the store will close .

 

[NYCHitman1]

So, You gave them money(via Credit card) and they gave you nothing?
ROBBERY!!!!!!!!!!
CALL THE POLICE!!!!!!!!!!
jk....
That was really dumb though.
You should never pay before you inspect and are satisfied with what you are paying for.

He was automatically not satisfied with what he had paid for since it was opened.

 

[SEMIJim]

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[ANDROIDFAN99]

Who cares if it's opened? Stick a piece of scotch tape on it and good as new. It's better than giving her a gift that won't power on or some other crazy mishap. My wife was thrilled that I even set hers up for her. I was able to fully charge it and sync her Gmail so it was ready to go out of the box.

 

[NYCHitman1]

Still a awful idea to leave without getting something in return.
If he hadn't paid then leaving would be ok.

He paid then stormed off with no phone/proof that he didn't get phone.

Definitely not disagreeing with you there. OP didn't think this one through, me thinks.

 

[Kelmar]

OP - Try thinking of this from the store's perspective for a moment.

Perhaps the store has had issues with people returning boxes and saying that there was nothing in it or that the phone was broken.

Perhaps, as a result, they've set up a dedicated and recorded "phone check" area to ensure that phones ARE in the box and are NOT broken.


Of course, it may NOT be a new phone and may be a used phone... or it... or it... or it.


IMO, if you didn't tell them this up front, you don't have much of an argument.


Regardless, when you called Tmo, they tried to resolve the issue and it sounds like you wouldn't even try to work with them to resolve the issue.


In the end, were they right? Certainly doesn't sound like it. Respectfully, it also sounds like you are being rather unreasonable.

 

[Carnotaurus]

This is odd, if you wanted a new phone not open they should give you a new one without the restocking fee. You only get charge a restocking fee if you want a different phone.

 

[septembersrain]

Just think about something for a second. It's their policy to open the phones right? It's because of the restocking fee they have to charge. If the phone has an obvious defect, opening it up would allow them to see that. I do think they should tell the customer prior to opening it, explain why they need to open it. Perhaps also, as another stated there may be some form of fraud related to this. As much as I understand how upset you were, I do understand their policy and why it's in place though.

We are required to put an account on the phones we sell due to theft and resellers (Boost Mobile). Yet certain places don't follow that requisite. I'd definitely go back to the store and tell them you were unaware of their "Open in store" policy, so they should waive/compensate the restocking fee. That's just me though.

 

[chong67]

I finally get a letter from my cc today saying I win and T-Mobile did not contest the charges.

Moral of the story, if you don't want your phone to be opened, buy it online from the phone carrier website and it will be shipped to your house UNOPENED! Do not buy at the store!

Case closed.

 

[chong67]

I copy this from somewhere. As you can see, it seems like each store have their own mind and follow their own rules VS the corp. rulez!

This is sad.

=========

Hi Keith. I really appreciated your help in answering my question, but I could use a bit more help regarding this matter. In planning to purchase my Note 3 this weekend I called up my local store to verify with them what you had told me, that I can purchase it from them without having to activate any plan as I'm already an existing prepaid customer. The person I spoke to who said she was the manager at the store today told me that the only way she could sell me the phone was if I activated the phone with a plan and that the plan must be at least $50, and dismissed the fact that I got confirmation from a t-mobile rep by essentially saying the stores have their own policies that don't necessarily match the information given by t-mobile over the phone or online, which made no sense to me. So I called up another t-mobile store: the rep at this store told me that I did not need to purchase a plan, but I had to pay $740 instead of the current $700 retail price at t-mobile because prepaid customers have to pay extra and in addition I also need to pay an activation fee making the total approximately $760 before taxes. I called up a third store just to see what they would say and I was quoted $740 but this time no activation fee. I am confused by the different answers I am getting at official t-mobile stores. I just chatted with an online rep regarding the matter and he confirmed exactly what you have told me Keith, that I should be able to purchase the phone for $700+ tax at stores without having to pay anything extra or adding any plans or activation fees. So it seems on a corporate level you have a policy which is not being enforced in stores, plus different stores seem to follow different rules. Also I wanted to confirm that these were official T-mobile stores and not some authorized retailer. Would you mind looking into this for me and letting me know what I can do in store that will enable me to purchase the phone without any hassles. Thanks.

 

[septembersrain]

I copy this from somewhere. As you can see, it seems like each store have their own mind and follow their own rules VS the corp. rulez!

This is sad.

=========

Hi Keith. I really appreciated your help in answering my question, but I could use a bit more help regarding this matter. In planning to purchase my Note 3 this weekend I called up my local store to verify with them what you had told me, that I can purchase it from them without having to activate any plan as I'm already an existing prepaid customer. The person I spoke to who said she was the manager at the store today told me that the only way she could sell me the phone was if I activated the phone with a plan and that the plan must be at least $50, and dismissed the fact that I got confirmation from a t-mobile rep by essentially saying the stores have their own policies that don't necessarily match the information given by t-mobile over the phone or online, which made no sense to me. So I called up another t-mobile store: the rep at this store told me that I did not need to purchase a plan, but I had to pay $740 instead of the current $700 retail price at t-mobile because prepaid customers have to pay extra and in addition I also need to pay an activation fee making the total approximately $760 before taxes. I called up a third store just to see what they would say and I was quoted $740 but this time no activation fee. I am confused by the different answers I am getting at official t-mobile stores. I just chatted with an online rep regarding the matter and he confirmed exactly what you have told me Keith, that I should be able to purchase the phone for $700+ tax at stores without having to pay anything extra or adding any plans or activation fees. So it seems on a corporate level you have a policy which is not being enforced in stores, plus different stores seem to follow different rules. Also I wanted to confirm that these were official T-mobile stores and not some authorized retailer. Would you mind looking into this for me and letting me know what I can do in store that will enable me to purchase the phone without any hassles. Thanks.

Welcome to the world of franchisees. This is a known issue and it's a headache for all involved. I work in an environment like that and it always makes me shake my head. Companies are fractured and they are all in it for profit. Unfortunately they go about getting that said profit differently. :banghead:

Can you buy it online? How about going to a corporate store and just telling them what the rep on customer service told you? If it's a smaller franchise store, they'll let you walk out. If you get employee/manager names and ID's in a corporate store, You'll likely get some cooperation. Keep in mind "Official" and "Corporate" can be two different things.

That's my input based on 4 years in a cellphone business.

Edit: If they have no badge/employee ID, it's a 99% chance that store isn't corporate.

 

[Bodycount]

Come to think of it, all the phones I bought at a store have been opened in front of me. My note 3 is my first t-mobile phone which I bought online so it came factory sealed to my door. However I've used Verizon for my past three phones and bought them all at the Verizon store and all three have been opened in front of me and turned on to make sure they worked. They had to get it working on the network before I left the store and needed to make a test call before I left.

But like I said, they opened the sealed box in front of me which I didn't mind.

 

[Peaches037]

:thumbdown:

Peaches Galaxy Note III

 

[Petrah]

Generally they do open the box to put the SIM card in, or to activate it in some way. This is a common practice.

Two things we can learn from your story;

1: Communication is key. Make sure you let the employee know ahead of time not to open the box, and that you'll be coming back later to activate the device.
2: If they are going to open the box, make sure they do so in front of you.
3: If they wanna be hardheaded, purchase an unlocked device from Google. They don't open the box!