AT&T Store — Local services in Lyman

As promised, here's your review. 🤷‍♂️

Preface: Everyone at the Duncan store was nice. I didn’t find anyone unprofessional or mean. They just seemed inexperienced or maybe undertrained—looking at you, management.

Backstory: My girlfriend needed a new phone due to insufficient storage. We had a great experience at the Wade Hampton store in Taylors with Terrence. A week later, I went back to upgrade my own phone. They were closing, so I went to the closer Duncan location.

On 3/31, I met Trey. Friendly, helpful, but new—and closing solo. He offered to help but said more experienced folks would be in later. No biggie.

Returned on 4/6, met Eddy. He said he had prior phone sales experience. I bought the phone and paid fees but was told they couldn’t print documents due to being out of toner. I’d have to return later to sign them. Bit of a miss, but no biggie.

The next night (4/7), I took the phone out of the box for the first time—no case yet—and realized it was only 256GB. I’d walked in so focused on getting the 512GB, there was no other option to even clarify, but I'm not the expert. I was signing up for a 3-year plan with no early payoff—unless I wanted to fork over the $1000 trade-in credit plus the remaining balance—so I definitely didn’t want to come up short on capacity like my gf's last phone. In hindsight, I expected more guidance. But I stayed hopeful they'd help. After all, how could they hold me accountable for their employees' lack of expertise?

On 4/8, I returned and met Sam—super nice, professional, and helpful. He reactivated my old phone and refunded the screen protector. But he still had to charge a restocking fee. “Restocking fee? I wasn’t properly informed, and now I’m paying for it?”

This is only my 4th phone purchase in 16 years—and the first time doing it in-store. Yet I was the one who failed to ask the right questions?

Sam recommended I speak to Ashley, the manager (same Ashley that left a 5 star for this location). When I arrived on 4/10, she must’ve already known the situation—she didn’t ask questions. Said she’d check with her higher-up, Terrence (not the helpful one from Taylors). After a brief call behind closed doors in the backroom, no exception was granted. Ashley told me flatly it was “policy” to charge the $55 fee.

When I asked why I was being penalized for a sales rep’s mistake, I was told something like, “90% of people don’t need the bigger memory—we usually consult with customers to determine needs.” Cool, but you missed me with that “consultation,” and I have to pay the penalty?

It's kind of like asking for a trim and being given a mohawk—then being told, "Most people like mohawks," and then being charged to fix it. So I decided to return the phone and buy it elsewhere.

Takeaway: No matter the situation, this franchise’s stance felt clear—"We don't care - PAY US." I hope the $55 was worth it.

While everyone I interacted with at Duncan was nice, if you want help choosing the right phone, there are other stores in the area. Terrence at Taylors on Wade Hampton is a great choice. Att.com isn't bad either.

If you insist on going to Duncan,...

GO SEE SAM!!! That is ALL I can say!!! He stayed sooo long past closing time I felt terrible! A+ service from Sam. We just decided to change to AT&T after about 20+ years with Verizon. We got the free phones deal which we did through customer service (not even through this store!). We needed the pro max instead of pro (eyes needed bigger phones! LOL) and he was willing to put forth the effort to help us change them out when I am POSITIVE most people in any other circumstance would have pushed us off because, really, it would not have been unreasonable for him to have done that and it was close to closing time. He was not even sure he could get it done since we ordered through customer service but he put forth the effort to get it done and we left there with the ones we wanted! AT&T is super lucky to have such a dedicated employee that is so passionate and excited about their product and service! If I could give 100 stars for Sam I would! Sam will be our go to for anything moving forward for sure! Thanks...

I HATE AT&T can’t wait to switch. Not helpful at all. The guy who checked me out didn’t even enter my social correctly AND I’ve called 611 multiple times to long into my account which no one seems to be able to help me with. Worst customer service ever. Also purchased my phone during a promotion(AARP) which was suppose to take off the extra fees at checkout. IT DIDNT. I called and went in store and no one would help. ATT is a rip off and they...