“AT&T has been on-again, off-again a few times with its offer of free WiFi hotspot access to iPhone users. Today, once again, a page posted to AT&T’s website states that ‘AT&T knows Wi-Fi is hot, and free Wi-Fi even hotter, which is why we are proud to offer iPhone customers free access to the nation’s largest Wi-Fi hotspot network,'” Chris Foresman reports for Ars Techinica.
“However, when we spoke with AT&T spokesperson Seth Bloom, he told Ars that the webpage was yet another error. ‘We have not made any announcement regarding free Wi-Fi and iPhone,’ he said. Though the page is still up at this time, Bloom told us that “the webpage was posted in error and is being removed,'” Foresman reports.
Full article here.
In a somewhat related article, Adam Frucci reports for Gizmodo, “It looks like not everyone in AT&T land loves the iPhone. When reader Dennis’ mom went to the AT&T stand in the Moorestown Mall in New Jersey to ask about iPhone insurance, they laughed in her face. They then handed her a bunch of articles written arguing for the BlackBerry over the iPhone, printed from places like Crackberry.com and Pocket PC Magazine. At the end, there was the name and number of an AT&T regional manager.”
“Nice. I called the manager whose name is listed at the bottom of the documents, and he told me that he had emailed the articles to his employees but in no way intended for them to copy them and hand them out to customers. Instead, they were meant to be used as talking points for getting sales in stores where the iPhone wasn’t available,” Frucci reports.
“It’s understandable for a retail operation to try to get sales when what the customer came in for isn’t available. What’s less understandable is laughing at customers and handing this kind of thing out to try to discourage them from buying their carrier’s flagship phone,” Frucci reports.
More in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Spark” for the heads up.]
It’s plainly obvious that AT&T doesn’t know its ass from its elbow.
AT&T;= A-holes, Tried & True.
Class action time.
Hopefully the reworked exclusivity contract includes a shortened span of years on AT&T;.
@MacDailyNews Take: It’s plainly obvious that AT&T;doesn’t know its ass from its elbow.
At AT&T;, their elbow IS their ass. That is why it is so messy when they lean on the table.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
LOL
Just a thought from an AT&T;user.
en
BAIT AND SWITCH!! SUE!!
Please Apple, we don’t want AT&T;/NSA on our iPhones!!
Psst: TracPhones use AT&T;networks and thus are monitored by the NSA. Since one doesn’t have to give id information to use these phones it’s a trap to think your immune to illegal behavior.
“they laughed in her face”
Class act.
Cripes.
Sh_t or get off the pot!
Does anyone know if you can get a cheap Pay-as-you-go phone instead of a SmartPhone?
AT&T;has to feel a little overshadowed by the iPhone. I have Verizon (:-( ) and my simple phone was made by Samsung, but it’s clear Verizon is the star of the show. It says “Verizon” on the phone and it says “Verizon” when I turn it on.
The Apple iPhone is an Apple product, first and foremost. AT&T;is more of a necessary annoyance than anything else.
——RM
This simply magnifies the issue Apple faces with any big chain reseller of its products. Poor training on the Apple products and employees with an agenda that want to steer customers away from Apple. It’s Catch-22; Apple can’t saturate the brick and mortar outlets without their help, but it comes at price. This sort of story would have come had Apple gone with Verizon or any other carrier chain. It happens with Best Buy too. All we can do is recommend to all our friends that they go to an Apple Store, if there are any near by.
What Id like to know is who the heck shops at the moorestown mall? Cherry Hill is like 5 minutes away. These sales tactics aren’t surprising or new really. They were doing it back last year when they weren’t getting a commission as well.
TracPhone is very reasonable and very widespread with coverage (as it uses AT&T;networks, at least where I am at.)
Get the TracPhone with pernament double minutes when it’s available. My monthly cost is less than $14. Text, web and some office apps too!
Use the money saved to buy a real portable device, a MacBook Pro.
Hey, I’m seeing a Verizon ad on the right for a FREE LG Chocolate phone. Looks nice.
Not that I would buy one, mind you.
AT&T;reminds me of the Cingular commercial. “More clueless reps in more clueless stores”. Apple should just go buy Sprint and become a cellular force.
AT&T;compounds Apple’s errors. It’s getting more screwed up than ever.
Apple and AT&T;- what a lovely couple….. couple of losers. No doubt, these two were made for each other.
AT&T;seems to have a monopolystic thing here! Nothing can be done against this with antitrust law?
I was kind of tricked by that, I read about free Wi-Fi when I was buing my iP1.
I think free Wi-Fi would justify upgrading to iP2 for many.
In the last week, I have twice been to the local At&t;store and witnessed each time a salesperson explaining the advantages of other smartphones over the iPhone…I thought it odd.
If the Apple stores weren’t there to give great customer service to the customers regarding the iPhone, there would be no service at all and the iPhone would have been a flop because of it. AT&T;should get formal customer service training from Apple and learn what customer service really is. Because right now from what I’m hearing from customers, AT&T;service SUCKS!
iBrick.
Big freakin’ deal. AT&T;doesn’t have wifi at any location I actually want to sit and surf the net. It’s not like I need an internet connection with my big mac…
“It’s not like I need an internet connection with my big mac…”
Well you sure need something to take your mind off of what it is you’re eating.
Poor sad pathetic troll.
This could be written up in some business text book as an example of how not to do things.