How do you get a real person from AT&T to help resolve a problem?

I bought a new phone.  Pro-tech hit a wall transferring my data.  After several days of not getting a response from them I went back to the store where I was told they can't do contact/image transfers.  They offered no other way of getting help with the problem - brushed it off saying "AT&T hasn't been involved in this situation - it's a 3rd party vendor we use so we're not the ones having the problem."  I wanted to have a new phone but I can't live with 2 - one for phone numbers and one with dial tone.  The store manager told me that they weren't responsible for the problem I should have written down my contacts and put them in the new phone myself.  She then asked if I wanted to return the phone.  I said yes - and she charged me a restock fee because the new phone did work and it's not AT&T's fault that Pro-tech didn't get the transfer done.  She played a little revisionist history with our conversation.  Claiming after the fact that she had offered to help me transfer.  Good thing a friend told me not to trust anyone in the store and I recorded my conversation with the "manager".  I can prove she lied.  Since then I've called the corporate office and was told they couldn't take a complaint, I need to send a letter (another conversation fully recorded), I've e-mailed, I've reached out - no one calls back.  Except for Verizon.  Who I will probably be moving to because AT&T is a rip off and customer service nightmare.  So I'm trying one more time - how do you get a real person to help with a problem at AT&T instead of being blown off and ignore?  If my bill is a day late they are up my butt but I have a problem with them and they just transfer the call or tell me there's nothing they can do.  Is that the real answer AT&T?