My iPhone Nightmare

Question

I'm choosing to write this message because I am a little bit angry right now at Apple, a company I had previously adored. I had a problem with my iPhone. The touchscreen had stopped working, a strip along the middle had stopped responding. My first stop was at ATT, but lets you and me be honest, you never go into an ATT store expecting anyone to be able to help; so it was no surprise when they threw up their hands and said, "not OUR problem, talk to Apple."
My next stop was at the apple store. After waiting there for over an hour and a half (that was fine, it was in a nice shopping center and I was able to walk around looking at expensive couches for a while) I was able to talk to Ben. Ben was helpful, and understanding; he informed me that my iphone had 3 days left on its warranty. HurraY! We swapped out the old phone for a refurbished one that was fully functional, but here is where the problems begin.
I get a message this morning from ATT fraud department. Apparently ATT is so surprised by the IDEA of a warranty, of helping a customer out, that me getting a new phone from apple raised a red flag of sorts, and could I please call them back.
I call them back at the number they provided. Keep in mind, this is the phone number that THEY LEFT ON MY MACHINE and still I have to navigate through 3 different touch-tone menus to get to a real live person. I spoke to a guy named Corey, who told me, "I have no idea why ATT fraud department called you today." Nice. There was nothing on my account, he said, that would indicate some sort of fraud. I asked if maybe someone else had opened another account and could he please search to see if another account had my name on it? He said he would need my full social security number to search for that, my FULL SOCIAL on a call that was solicited from them. (Note to self, if ever strapped for cash, leave messages on peoples machines, and then when they call back, ask for there SS#!)
So I call regular old 611 and talk to Adriana. Adriana seems to think that I bought a new iphone a few days ago, and extended my contract another 2 years. WHOA, no that's not right. So after talking with her for a while, and waiting while she talked to her superior, her superiors advice: Call apple, they can take care of it. In what crazy upside down world am I expected to believe that Apple can change my contract status with ATT??? At this point I actually have to raise my voice just to make them realize that, no, this is your problem, YOU call apple. This is all before breakfast mind you!
So she calls the Apple store and verifies that, yes, I did not purchase a new iPhone; but she says, she can't do ANYTHING ABOUT IT. She is powerless to help, only the vaunted and mysterious "upper management" can change my account. And they will get back to me on, wait for it, July 11th. I mention that, in my experience, this is just the sort of thing "upper management" tends to ignore, and could I please just talk to them.
"NO," says Adriana. There is no way you can call them, they only communicate through email. So I guess there is a hut somewhere on the arid plains of Africa where the upper management of ATT customer service live, unencumbered by the technology and cares of modern life, trained only to communicate through the written word. And I will hear back from them soon.
Why is this happening? WHY? I love the iPhone, it is a wonderful piece of technology, as long as ABSOLUTELY NOTHING GOES WRONG. Otherwise you send me to ATT, ATT sends me to you, and nothing, nothing gets done.
Your humble user,
Jeff
<Edited by Moderator>

Answer 1

My first stop was at ATT, but lets you and me be honest, you never go into an ATT store expecting anyone to be able to help; so it was no surprise when they threw up their hands and said, "not OUR problem, talk to Apple."
This isn't at&t's problem. For future reference, Apple handles ALL iPhone repairs or exchanges under warranty.
You can call AppleCare at [phone] to handle everything over the phone in regards to a repair or exchange under warranty, or if an Apple Store is nearby, you can call and make an appointment so you don't have to wait when arriving at the store for support, or for a repair or exchange under warranty.
I don't like any of the automated voice services when calling a corporation - press 1 for this option, press 2 for this option, etc, which all corporations have these days.
Sorry to hear about your unfortunate chain of events, but your initial stop was due to being uninformed about Apple handling all iPhone repairs or exchanges under warranty, and not knowing you can call AppleCare, or make an appointment at an Apple Store so you don't need to wait when arriving. Some of the rest is due to the world we live in with the front line folks you are speaking with either not being up to speed, or being unwilling to take an additional step on their customer's behalf without being given a nudge in that direction.