AT&T Store — Local services in Camdenton

Dear owner of AT&T, Camdenton: Today was my second time coming into your store, it was as painful as the first time and it will be the last. The first time, 2 mos ago, I was excited to have gotten a new AT&T phone (my first time with AT&T as a provider); while I didn't purchase it at your location, I popped in to ask for help turning it on and activating it...I am always concerned I will miss a step and I love to have the smart phone kids check for the battery efficiencies. NOPE. Apparently they/YOU have a policy that if I didn't buy it there, NO HELP from there. I was baffled. I was also SPOLIED by CRICKET in Camdenton (a few blocks away, where I left service to jump to AT&T) and went there for help. Guess what? CRICKET peeps told me they were sad to see me go, shook their heads that your AT&T store (at 770 US-54, Camdenton, MO 65020) wouldn't help a new client and proceeded to SET UP MY PHONE. While they did, I went and bought us all ice cream and we ate bars and chatted while the transfer happened. Today (9/11/24, (2pm so you can look at staffing), I went back to your store as my phone dropped and the screen friend, wouldn't call/text out. I know that stores won't do insurance exchanges in-house, but I asked nicely to use a "courtesy phone", I've done that in stores over the years, Cricket and Verizon offer them, happily. While the seemingly new employee "looked up my account" (and made me assume there was help being offered) the manager told me he couldn't let me use the phone because "We can't have that line tied up". Um, I didn't want to use the main business line. He told the kid he may TRY to do the claim on the tablet he could barely operate, the kid didn't acknowledge him, confused, I asked "So, is there help happening or...?" The manager BARKED at me that he JUST SAID the kid could TRY to file the claim on his tablet but I STOPPED HIM (by asking what was happening). I told him, never mind, I'd just grab the little sheet with the claim website paper that they did offer...and go home where it isn't so hostile. I know that had I been to Cricket (BEST EVER) or even Verizon (just fine, but PROFESSIONAL), I would have been offered a phone to text my kid that my cell was dead, and file a claim in store. NOT AT AT&T CAMDENTON, friends. If you want anything at all, you better have JUST spent some money, they are NOT ABOUT CLIENT CARE AT ALL. Oh...and just as an aside, I am an active secret shopper. So this, dear owner, is a freebie. Though, you really REALLY should pay to have the service of a shopper or heed the feedback in these reviews. Both times the store had...

My mom tried to get a new phone without me. She was having trouble with her Apple ID and setting up a new iPhone 11 that was shipped to her. Their first question when she walked in was where she bought it. After struggling to remember her Apple ID password, they changed it so things woul go faster. Sure they asked first, but they still changed it for their own convenience - not because something was wrong with her password. The way they wrote it down was confusing to her (it had a period - she didn't realize it was needed) and she wasn't able to sign in until I made the drive to visit.

She went home twice without a working phone, an unclear understanding of what she needed to do, and felt like they were blowing her off because she didn't know what she was doing and wasn't buying something new. She even felt like the manager was dismissive of her.

We ended up calling Apple so they could explain the reason things weren't transferring and they helped get it straightened out.

TL;DR: Be cautious at this store if you aren't buying anything new and you...

Everything was very quick. Marc knew how to transfer everything from one phone to the next and get the extras we needed, new phones and out the door. We asked about getting a better plan…we couldn’t. Asked about using our AARP, couldn’t use it after the other gentleman from the day before told us to sign up for AARP and we would get the discount per phone. Must work on commission? Only one person walked into the store while he was helping us. Anyway, that was Saturday and today, Monday, I talked to a representative name Tony at AT&T and he got it all straightened out and we are upgraded to premium and pay less for our bill than before! ...