AT&T ‘Authorized Retailers’

I realize that the statements you made above are only your opinion.

"These authorized retailers are not owned or managed by AT&T in any manner. Authorized retailers are like car dealers. They make up their own rules and contracts and will sell you anything they can get away with. The employees in an authorized retailer do not work for AT&T. Many of the authorized retailers want their customers to think they are walking into an AT&T owned store by having a large AT&T logo on the front of the store. Some authorized retailers design the stores to look like AT&T corporate stores. It’s very deceptive.

First off AT&T requires all Authorized Retailers to have their stores look just like any other AT&T store.

They want the customer to get the same feel if they walk into any AT&T in any place at any time.

In order to be an Authorized Retailer you must follow very strict guidelines and rules set by AT&T. AT&T regularly audits their dealers to make sure they are following every single rule set forth in the agreement that both parties signed when they became an Authorized Retailer. They in no way can make up their own rules or contracts.

Next you stated:

"I had a problem with a phone I purchased at an authorized retailer. I went to another AT&T store that happened to be an AT&T corporate store. The corporate store would not help me at all because I bought from an authorized retailer. The AT&T corporate store had no records of me purchasing the phone and they did not have the authority to touch the phone. I was told I am stuck dealing with the specific authorized retailer that sold me the phone."

This particular situation you speak of happened not because you went to an Authorized Retailer, but because you did not go back to them.

Each store has their own inventory, and if you buy something at one store you can not return it to another store. Roles reversed, say you bought the phone at Corporate and then wanted to return it at an Authorized Retailer, they would not be able to take it back.

That being said, the big problem with the statement above is you said corporate refused to touch your phone and help you.

This is actually a huge problem. They blatantly refused to help the customer. They are 100% allowed to touch your phone, that is their job. What you actually encountered was a corporate store employee, that was angry some of his potential sales were going to the Authorized Retailer, and instead of acting like a professional and making your experience as a customer a great one, he pushed you off.

The reason that they had no record of you purchasing the phone is because each store uses a different Point of Sale System to ring out their products and keep track of their inventory.

You then stated:

"Authorized retailers usually do not have the technical skills or equipment that a corporate store has. If you have a problem with the phone, hardware or software related, a corporate store is in a better position to handle your request. Authorized retailers are not interested in follow up service; they are interested in sales.

This is completely inaccurate, a large majority of Authorized Retailers have worked in the Wireless industry for many, many years. Authorized Retailers are completely capable of handling any and all issues you may have. If they can fix the phone they will fix your phone.

However, both Corporate and any Authorized Retailer is a sales based job. Neither of them have a phone service tech on location to service phones. In fact AT&T does not want any of their locations spending hours trying to fix a device. But any of the staff at any locations would be able to troubleshoot any problems that may a rise.

If the representative is unable to fix your phone they would then call tech support.

Corporate and Authorized Retailers call the exact same phone number to help with the issue.

Authorized Retailers are absolutely interested in follow up service. That is how they keep the customer coming back to their location.

We already covered this one, but I will reiterate:

"There are other retailers that also offer AT&T services, like Best Buy, but at least the people walking into a Best Buy know that the AT&T services are a side business. How many people walk into an AT&T authorized retailer and think they are walking into a store that is owned and managed by AT&T?"

AT&T will not allow an Authorized Retailer to operate if they do not follow every detail of the store plan. Every Authorized Retailer is told by AT&T what to hang up, where to hang it up at, What phones to have out on display, when to change out posters, phones, etc.

This is because AT&T wants the customer to get the same feel whatever store they are in. Besides the audits to make sure their Authorized Retailers are following everything to a T. They send in their own Retail Account Executives weekly to insure the store is operating up to code.

Lastly you ended with:

"Stick with the corporate stores if you have a choice. They are well organized, professionally managed, will provide follow up service, and you are dealing directly with AT&T corporate. Not some third party." 

By all means you should go to where you are comfortable and where you feel like you get the best service. But just so are aware, AT&T Authorized Retailers are also well organized, professionally managed and will always provide follow up service when necessary.

In my opinion, you bad experience actually stemmed from bad customer service at the Corporate location.

I hope that you realize what an AT&T Authorized Retailer is and how they can actually help to make your life easier.

Have a great day.