Cingular Expelled from BBB for too Many Complaints

[Mike Temporale]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://rcrnews.com/news.cms?newsId=24075' target='_blank'>http://rcrnews.com/news.cms?newsId=24075</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has been expelled from the Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York, according to a report in a Rochester, N.Y., newspaper. The nation's largest wireless carrier acknowledged the situation. "We take all customer complaints very seriously, and we're working diligently to address the concerns brought to our attention by the BBB of Upstate NY. We want to set this right," said Rochelle Cohen, Cingular spokeswoman. "We will be meeting with BBB representatives today to address any outstanding issues they may have, and we will apply for reinstatement as soon as possible. It's very important for us to be a member in good standing." The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle said Cingular had 20 unanswered complaints and 200 total complaints during the past three years. The expulsion is effective immediately. Cingular can reapply for membership in a year, said the paper."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Temporale-20050112-Cingular.gif" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />It was going to happen to one of them eventually. Maybe this will get the rest of them to take customer server more seriously in the future. :?

[Jerry Raia]

Unfortunately I think the only thing that gets these behemoth companies to do anything is changes in the bottom line. If CS isn't affecting the bottom line it isn't going to be fixed.

[Mike Temporale]

This should get them a lot of negative publicity (which can be good too...) but that might have an impact on new customers. It's hard to say, but I think this is the best shot there is at Cingular learning that they need to improve their CS.

[gmontielh]

I was an ATT user and allthough it was not perfect, their customer service was always very good, corteous and efficient. You talked to a person whom you could understand almost right away. At least that was my experience. The first phone network I used was SBC which later changed name to Cingular. As its service deteriorated and it did not carry over CDMA I switched to Verizon. As I needed an international phone and a single number I switched to ATT when they introduced GSM. I got concerned when ATT was sold to Cingular due to the latter's very poor service. My concerns have been justified over and over. I keep using Cingular as the T-Mobile option is no better. At this stage I perceive as a consumer that we are "captive" of our service suppliers. I hope that the Cingular suspension is a wake up call to all carriers and to the FCC. Otherwise I agree that unless their bottom line is affected they will do nothing.

[sullivanpt]

Everyone has their own customer service horror stories.

But personally speaking, I have experienced nothing short of fantastic customer service with T-Mobile.

[Kris Kumar]

Oh wow! My city is making news on SmartphoneThoughts.com. :rock on dude!: So what is the article about? :?

:lol:

For those who want to read the original article. It's here. (http://democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050910/BUSINESS/509100309&amp;SearchID=73220275110582)

All I have to add: It's about time. But not sure if it really will have any affect on the Cingular sales.