Digital Life Installation and Customer Experience- Worst Experience Ever Buyer Beware

Where do I start?  We have been Direct TV customers for years and decided to stop into our local AT&T to consolidate our wireless phones (from Verizon) and our home security (from ADT) so it would all be with one company.  We started through the process and almost had everything ready to go and realized they setup installation for the basic Smart Security package and we wanted the Premium Security and Home Automation package.  I was told they would take care of it the next day and give me a call to let me know it would be taken care of.  Of course they didn't call me I had to call them.  I was finally connected with customer service and they were able to get the new kit ordered but I had to pay for the equipment up front and once I returned the first box of equipment they sent I would get a credit back for my original up front costs.  I returned the box right away and waited a couple of weeks to call and check on my credit, I was told it would hit my first statement...and of course it didn't.  After a couple of calls they did finally manually add a credit to my account to take care of this one (late January).

Now on to the fun part we had Digital Life installed December 29, 2015 or at least most of it.  To this day we are still waiting on someone to install the Thermostat.  The installer wasn't able to install based on the Trane system we have in our home.  To his credit he wasn't sure on how to install it and openly admitted he needed help he wasn't trained on this type of install.  I appreciate his honesty and not trying he wasn't trained for.  He reached out for help and was told that my house is in a Tier 2 market so he had to do the install I wasn't eligible for an HVAC technician.  He tried to explain he couldn't do it he wasn't trained and they told him too bad.  He told me he would contact his manager and discuss and follow up with me...of course he never called me back.

So in early January I contacted Digital Life Customer Support to see if they could get it straighten it out.  They looked into it and after some long holds and back and forth with what they refer to as "Dispatch" they scheduled an appointment on 1/29 from 4-7 with an AT&T tech and an HVAC tech to finally get my thermostat installed.  On the morning of 1/29 I received a call from the tech and he said he couldn't do the install and there wasn't an HVAC tech assigned to my ticket.  I asked him to check on that because I was told by Customer Support that they confirmed the appointment with Dispatch.  At 7pm I received a call from the tech to let me know that the HVAC tech is not coming out and he was going to stop by and take a picture of my thermostat and the wiring so he could further explain why he couldn't finish my installation.  He showed up and took the pictures and submitted them to somebody at AT&T.  He left and said either him or his manager would follow up with me the next day...and of course I never received a call.  So still no thermostat and still no progress 1 month later. 

On 2/4 I contacted customer support again to find out why the HVAC tech never showed up.  After several long holds while the rep tried to reach dispatch he finally did and there wasn't an answer.  I was told that dispatch needed to speak to Greg who was the area manager but Greg was out of the office that day.  I was asked if I could call back tomorrow and ask the rep to contact dispatch and have them ask to connect to Greg.  What a great plan...call back and start the process over and hope Greg was available.  Of course as a customer I can't speak to them directly I have to play the telephone game.  On a positive note this is the call where I got my $50 credit for the returned equipment.

On 2/5 I called back as I was asked to try and get this resolved.  Again, I retold my story asked them to contact dispatch and Greg per the notes that were left on my count.  After reviewing the notes the rep reached out and I waited on hold and waited and waited.  She came back and said she had an appointment on 2/12 where the AT&T installer and the HVAC tech came finish up the thermostat between 4pm and 7pm.  I told her that would work and she asked if I could continue to hold while she confirmed the appointment with dispatch and the handyman service.  My call time was almost an hour so the rep offered to call me back as soon as she had it confirmed and promised she wouldn't be like the others and would actually call me back.  I took her word and I still haven't heard back from her.

Since my “appointment” was tentatively scheduled for 2/12 I thought I would reach out to Customer Support to see if I could get a confirmation that the HVAC tech would actually be coming to my house to finish the install a month and a half later.  Seemed like an easy question but of course I spent well over an hour on the phone with multiple people.  As I relived my nightmare yet again I had to stop the circle I was being sent in again.  The rep contacted dispatch and came back and said all she needed to do was get a hold of the field manager to get it arranged.  I told her his name is Greg and we have already been down this path and it didn’t go anywhere.  She placed me back on hold while she looked into it further.  She came back on the line with the solution of I’m in a tier 2 market so AT&T can’t install it, I need to contact an HVAC tech on my own and pay for the service call and install.  I was completely baffled by this option…the best AT&T can offer is for me to pay for my own installation.  So my second attempt at an appointment was once again an empty promise.  The tech is not coming to my house and my thermostat is going to remain sitting in the box it came in over 2 months ago.

I asked for a supervisor (Terrance) trying to find a voice of reason that would see how ridiculous this has been and the reason I can’t get the thermostat installed is because I don’t live in the correct AT&T defined market.  If my house was in another market I wouldn’t have this issue.  I still don’t understand what makes my market different from others and why asking to have the installation completed is such a big ask.  I tried to get a better understanding and I was given several scripted answers and again Zero Customer Service.  My last question to Terrance was will AT&T give me a credit on my bill to offset the cost of having an HVAC tech finish their job and he said he couldn’t but he could get me to billing and I could ask them.  This question gave him the opportunity to get off the phone with me and he took it in a heartbeat.  Then to my surprise he cold transferred me to his billing colleague without even giving her a heads up on what I was dealing with.  She had no idea that I just talked to customer service or what my issues were so I got to tell my story again.  The cold transfer seems like complete disrespect to his colleague but maybe that is protocol. After going through my story I was left speechless when the rep told me her shift was over so she needed to put me on hold so she could make a quick decision on how to help.  Really?  She came back on and told me that she talked to her supervisor and couldn’t authorize a $100 credit to help with the HVAC install.  If she put in on my account she basically said she would get in trouble and could have to pay for it herself…again not something that should have been said in my opinion.  I kept her on the phone a little longer trying to understand where the customer service is for AT&T?  Why can’t anyone help?  She finally got a $50 credit approved and I honestly think that was just to get me off the phone.  It still doesn’t fix that my thermostat is sitting in the box it came in and nobody will install it.  The $50 won’t cover an HVAC service call and I will probably still have to have AT&T come back and make adjustments or get it online with the rest of the system.

So what I have gathered from my limited experience with AT&T is you better hope everything goes smooth and you actually don’t need any help because you won’t find it.  They apparently don’t value the customer experience or their customers.  Between Direct TV, Wireless, and Digital Life I’m paying over $300 a month or $3600 a year and AT&T can’t cover the expense of having an HVAC tech come to my house and finish installing their product.  One of the most powerful things in business is the power of customer referrals and although I like what the installed part of Digital Life does I can’t recommend any the service to any of my friends or family based on what I have been through.  Easily the worst customer experience I have ever been a part of regardless or product or industry. 

Good Luck and Buyer Beware if you decide to try out Digital Life.