I've had an AT&T account for a long time, and I know from time to time they offer special deals for adding an extra phone line. I couldn't find a current promo, but I've been an account holder for over 15 years, so I thought if I talked to someone they might offer me one. My mother is coming to live with me and I would feel better if she had a phone while I'm out of the house. I don't have a landline, so adding a new line to our cellphone plan seemed like the best idea.
One pleasant surprise was that the wait time was only a minute once I got put on hold for live help. Given the fact that AT&T offers cable, internet, and wireless phone service, I was expecting a long wait time. However, the company takes the time to make sure all of its customers are accommodated in a timely manner, and I appreciate that. I always notice when a company seems to keep in mind that my time is very valuable to me.
When I first called AT&T's 800-246-8464 phone number, a voice answered and said, "Welcome to AT&T. Calls are recorded for quality. Please say what you are calling about." I stated plainly, "Add a line," but the system didn't seem to understand me and repeated back, "Sorry, what did you need help with?" Then, it didn't work again, and it asked me, "Are you calling to add service to an existing account?"
I said yes again, but it continued to question, "Which would you like to do, add a line, upgrade a device, or something else?" Finally, it seemed to get that I wanted to add a line and asked, "I see the number you are calling from and used it to look up your account. Is this the number you are calling about?" This was by far the most frustrating part of the call because the situation seemed easy but the voice system just wasn't listening.
It then said, "Okay, I can send you a link so you can add a line to your account. How should I send that to you, in a text or an email?" This annoyed me also, because if I wanted to do it online I wouldn't be on the phone, but I was able to say "talk to someone." The automated assistant immediately said it would transfer me to someone who could help, so it wasn't too much of an annoyance.
Finally, I had to provide my passcode, and then, within a minute, I was connected to a friendly agent. She offered me a great promotion that included a free phone, so the call was worth my time.