AT&T Store — Local services in Hamden

Not the typical AT&T store I expected...

I was blown away when he REFUSED TO ACCEPT CASH for the new phone that I bought on the website the night before, when I mistakenly chose to pickup the phone at that store, rather than wait for it to be shipped to my home. This was after waiting over an hour in line, and after dealing with an overall unpleasant experience, which I will describe below...

Let me also explain that I did not even expect to have to pay anyone when I went to this store because I thought I had paid for this phone, since I submitted my debit card information, when I ordered the phone the night before, on their website. However, this guy explained that they had just put a hold on my card, rather than actually charging my card, and they would release the hold, after I paid him the same amount that was being held on my card. This did in fact end up being true, the hold was released from my card. After handing him the cash, he went on to explain that he supposedly did not have any cash on hand, not even the dollar I needed as change, so he credited my account with the exact amount of what he should have given me back as change. This of course was after I demanded to pay with cash, and he finally accepted it, after I brought up the literature printed on their website.

On top of the nonsense explained above, I also had to deal with waiting for this guy, who I must say was handling all of his work as pleasantly as possible, since he was the only one there helping customers. I assume he was either one of the owners, partners, or maybe the store manager. He had to help about 12 customers that stood in line ahead of me during my visit. I stood with these other very patient people in this slow moving line, which made the already small store feel very congested. Apparently this store routinely gets busy and congested at the same time every night; someone mentioned this occurs nightly from 6 to 8 PM, which is also the same time I was there. Most of us had stopped there after getting off work, before they closed at 8.

This guy was also then pushing me to buy a different phone, rather than the one I ordered... it was obvious that he was just trying to get me to buy a phone from him at his store. I cut him off though before he got rolling with his sales pitch, and told him I just wanted the phone I ordered, and to be on my way.

In the end, I must say that despite the unpleasant experience, it was an overall success. I completed the task I went there for, and I got the phone I ordered, and I was able to...

Cliff is awesome! I was having issues with a line on my wireless plan, and I had spent several hours on the phone with AT&T going in an endless loop from department to department with no results. I went to the AT&T location in North Haven for assistance, and was met with a shrug and a “We can’t help you.” After another hour spent on the phone in that hopeless AT&T customer service loop, I decided to see if I could find a human to help me at the Hamden Plaza AT&T location. I was greeted by Cliff, who instead of dismissing me, listened to the issue I was having and helped me out. It took all of 15 minutes to solve my problem, and I was on my way again. This is the type of customer service experience I truly appreciate. My entire career of over 20 years has been spent exclusively in customer service, so I am keenly aware of how hard it can be to find people who care about the job, and want to do a good job. Cliff is one of those people. Thank you...

Firstly, both of the salespersons were great. We were welcomed and informed of how long the wait would take, which allowed us to know that we were seen. They were very pleasant; Mehkai, was the person that addressed our needs, but between them both, we really did not mind whom we received because they both had a professional warmth! Mehkai was thorough, patient regarding all our questionings, and informative. When we entered the store I observed the interaction both reps had with other customers and found that we experienced the same exact treatment with different circumstances; I felt like we were all that mattered at that time... not just for a sale, although important, but because we were there, and you can see and feel that they enjoy what they do. Hubby and I both felt this ... I can't explain better than that. Thank you for hiring these...