Complaint Review: Cellular ONE - Salem Ohio

I received a check from Cellular ONE this morning (Oct. 5, 2007) for $50. While I still feel I was treated very shabbily by the Salem, Ohio store manager, Amy Henley, the treatment I received from the people at the EVO (Cellular ONE Prepaid) center in Youngstown, Ohio was the exact opposite. They were courteous, friendly, honest, and helpful. I especially want to thank Customer Care center employees Frank Z., Jennifer G., and supervisor Melody for going the extra mile to insure that I got a prompt refund. I want to thank the Ripoff reoprt for allowing me this opportunity to express my problem.

Sept. 22, 2007- 2pm: Salem, Ohio Cellular ONE Store. Was waited on by store manager Amy Henley. Amy spoke with a deep, gravelly voice that, in MY OPINION, to me, conjoured up images of years of cigarettes and whiskey. Amy sold me a $50 ($53.82 after tax)pre-paid phone after assuring me that it would work in a nearby wooded area where I hike daily. A while later, I drove to the wooded area and found absolutely no signal. I headed back to the store. Sept. 22, 2007- 5pm: Returned to Salem, Ohio Cellular One store to return phone. Salesman Don told me that he regularly boated in the lake adjacent to the area where I hike and coverage was indeed very spotty. Something about the towers not being licensed to beam in that direction. (Hmmm.. I wonder if Amy knew that when she told me it would work there.) Don said my refund would have to come from Amy's register, and unfortunately, Amy had left for the day. I asked him to call Amy which he did, reluctantly. She told him to have me come in tomorrow (Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007) and she would give me a FULL REFUND from her register. I felt very uneasy about this but apparently had no other option. Sept. 23, 2007: Returned to the store. Amy gave me the third degree. 'What's wrong with the phone?' Me: 'Well, it doesn't work where you said it would'. Her: 'Well it should'. Me: 'Well it doesn't'. yada, yada, yada (are you beginning to see a pattern here? Even though she promised me a full refund the day before, she was now going to do everything in her power to see that I didn't get and such refund.) Amy made several calls, supposedly to people who could help resolve the situation. None of this helped, nor do I believe any of it was ever intended to help. They simply wern't going to give me a refund. I was told that I should have brought the phone back in the first 24 hours. Well, duh, I did. I brought it back 3 hours after I bought it! That's when they told me to come back tommorrow! After much discussion about Small Claims court, the Uniform Commercial Code and other relevant subjects, She just kept repeating that she wasn't going to give me a refund. She even tried the old cell phone marketing scam that I just paid for the minutes and the phone was free and unused minutes are non- refundable. This is FRAUD and I told her so. The phone has a value - nothing is free. It just the way the cell phone companies try to avoid giving you refunds on non working phones. I left the store. After about 15 tries, I reached a pleasant girl named Melody in Cellular ONE customer service who said she would have the corporate office in Oklahoma City mail me a rebate check for $50 (I guess I have to eat the $3.86 state tax) and that I should recieve it in 4 to 6 weeks. When I expressed uneasiness about the wait, she said she would mark it 'Rush' and I should get it in a week or two. Stay tuned. (Shortly after talking to Melody, all the minutes disappeared from my phone and the phone was locked. I couldn't use it even if I wanted to, which I don't) After recent dealings with different cellular phone providers, It is MY OPINION that the cellular phone retail store industry is shot full of overly aggressive people, many of whom have the same amount of moral fiber and business ethics that you would find in your average styrofoam cup. P.S. On Sept.21, while I was talking with Amy, she fielded several phone calls. " You talked to a male salesperson? All the male sales reps are gone for the day." Both of them were working within 10 feet of her. Same thing on Sept. 22. "You talked with Don? Don's gone for the day." He was standing right behind us, working. I heard this blatant lying to phone customers 3 or 4 times. Apparently Amy feels that any problem that can be defferred to the next day is a problem solved. Oct. 1, 2007: After discussing this my experience with several people in the past week, I was surprised to find that almost everyone has a cell phone store horror story. I'm not usually a fan of Big Government, but this is an industry crying out for federal regulation or yes, even nationalization. Our landscapes and horizons are being systematically destroyed by ugly cell phone towers owned by who knows how many soup can and string phone companies. The phones don't work half the time. Cute TV ads don't improve the system, either. The government should ban all cell phone advertising until the companies can get their act together and fix the system. Put Chad and his buddies on hold for a year or so and FIX IT! And, of course, the blinded-by-commission sleazy and deceptive sales practices REALLY need regulation. (In all fairness, I have to add that the 3 people I dealt with in the Cellular ONE Prepaid Customer Care Center in Youngstown, Ohio were helpful, friendly, patient, concerned about my problem, and most of all, honest with me. My problem is with the way I was treated in the Salem, Ohio store and the lengthy process required to get a refund - which I haven't seen as yet.)