T-Mobile

One aspect of life that I have come to know as a complete annoyance is cell phone shopping. For some reason, I have been burned so many times from the past few phones I have owned. My mother and I have gotten ripped off so many times! My last phone, the pink razor, was really good though! I had it for a few years and it never gave me a problem. Recently I decided that it was definitely time for a new one, but deep down I had this feeling that this would be a hassle!
So in attempts to be proactive and to make everything as smooth as possible, I did my homework and researched the phone I wanted online before stepping foot in that store. I wanted to be able to go in, pick it out, and be out of that mall in 15 minutes lol. Not the case.
I should point out that this poor review is geared more towards the T-​MOBILE STANDS in the mall than the main store. So I decided to go to the stand where I got my razor from first. I wanted the purple sidekick slide. I inquired about it, and the man gave me a red one to look at. I said well I would like it in purple, at which point he told me that the purple one has been «recalled» and carries with it a host of technical problems. Wow, I didn’t know that the simple color of the faceplate had so many technological implications! So the man was seriously pushing for me to get the red phone. Although I have a compliant personality, I had NO intention of getting that phone. I already knew that it was on the expensive side and I did not want to settle. So I asked him how much it would be. He said $ 250. IS HE SERIOUS? The phone was advertised online for MUCH less than that. I had this gnawing pit in my stomach of anger because I knew he was ripping me off. However, I maintained composure, gave back the nasty red one and walked away.
Then I saw a second T-​Mobile stand on the lower level. I walked over to that, and asked about the purple sidekick slide. Now, for some miraculous reason, they had it! I suppose they were only recalling the purple one to stands on the 2^nd floor. I was happy, however, until the guy told me that he only had «one» left and that it was refurbished. I looked to my friend who I dragged with me and he whispered to me «meaning used» and that gnawing pit returned. This phone already had scratches on it and fingerprints. GROSS! I asked the price, he said $ 199. Getting better, I silently thought to myself.
So now I went to the primary store in the mall. The reason I didn’t go there in the first place was because this store had about 35 people waiting in line and I wanted to avoid getting involved with that. Alas, due to the reaming I was getting from the men in the stands, I really had no choice. So when it was finally my turn, I told him what I wanted. He said he has it, NEW BY THE WAY lol, but he had to re-​process me into the computer system. So I’m sitting there, and he says that the computer systems are down. He tried for the next 20 minutes, and it still wasn’t up and running. He said that this problem could last 24 hours and after awhile of waiting, advised me to come back another time. I WAS SO MAD!!!
In addition to all of this, the guy who was waiting on me just really got under my skin. He was just so smug, unaccomodating, and I felt like I was an annoyance to him and wasting his time. He did not have good customer skills. He knew that this was a major inconvenience, and was anything but apologetic. I know it wasn’t his fault, but he really looked like he couldn’t care less.
So I had to come back a few days later, and this time there was no line, and I got help immediately. The woman was great and I got my phone and it was only $ 149. $ 100 less from what that rip off stand was selling. To give the guy the benefit of the doubt, I asked the woman who was helping me if she heard anything about the purple phones being recalled for tech problems. She said she heard nothing about it.
So, true to form, this was another unpleasant cell phone encounter. But it had a happy ending! I am very happy with my phone and it works well :) But definitely be smart if you have T-​Mobile and approach those stands! Ughh! Why is it so hard to be a consumer?