horrific issue resolution process

AT&T has decentralized issue resolution and left well intentioned (at best) or completely inept (at worst) reps with zero authority to resolve billing issues. Customer gets stuck in endless loop between reps and departments, having to explain issue from beginning every time. Information is not being shared, reps tell lies to pass customer off to another person or department with no recourse or information trail. Customer with legitimate grievance becomes exhausted, frustrated and angry. Quick snapshot of my issue:

-10/16/17 upgraded primary mobile phone and redeemed Buy One Get One (BOGO) offer. BOGO Phone was not in stock so was to be mailed to me that week.

-Received notification next day that phone shipped with Tracking Number. Great! Phone made first leg of trip but once in Dallas, UPS could no longer locate the phone. Tracking stopped and the phone was either lost or stolen en route. The tracking that AT&T provided me and I shared back with them was black/white. I was then charged for the phone and billed monthly usage fees on the phone that never arrived.

-That was the start of the worst customer service experience I've ever experienced. 

>Stats

-42 phonecalls to AT&T

-858 minutes of phone time (Over 14 hours!)

-Passed along 2-3 times per call. Often, those transfers would just 'accidentally' hang up the line (after being on for an hour or more). Often the first rep would say they would stay on the line to inform the next rep of the issue.... never happened. 

-Passed between 6 different departments; uverse combined billing, integrated billing, mobility, Loyalty. Backoffice (the team that can actually get something done, but here's the catch.... you can never talk to them directly), Smartcheck (not even sure what this was), and finally Assurian (at&t's insurance team). 

-3 store visits, back to where I made the initial purchase. Reps (including manager) either wasted a ton of my time or were completely inept. 

-Given 5 case numbers with promises I'd receive returned phone calls with the issue resolved. Nope. In fact, when Id call in after the promised call was not received, nobody i spoke with could locate a case or had any knowledge of my account or its status.... 

-After 4 months of this, I was covering a lot of costs related to AT&Ts error(s) and when I finally used the term 'financial hardship,' my issue was expedited.

-5 months after initial call, I received a $1300 adjustment... but the experience was so frustrating, it was actually traumatic. 

I'm confident this process is part of AT&Ts business model to reduce customer credits, valid or otherwise. Allowing customer financial hardship due to AT&T's purposeful decentralization of issue resolution.

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