I have friends who are moving abroad, and I want to stay in close contact with them, but their move made me realize that I have no idea what type of international fees are associated with my cell phone. While I consider myself well versed and traveled, it has never occurred to me to make an international call, or not at least frequently enough, to be worried about the billing. Therefore, I figured it was time to call AT&T to see what they could offer me. Plus, I didn't want any surprising bills popping up.
I had no idea what to expect when calling AT&T Wireless. This seemed like more of a niche topic area, but then you never know when there are so many different reasons people could need assistance with their cell phones. I wasn't sure if the international line was strictly for questions about international phone calls or if anyone with an AT&T cellphone could end up there. This would impact how long I ended up waiting due to higher call traffic, so I went in thinking I might be on hold for a while and figured that I would just see what happened.
When I called, I heard the AT&T ringtone, and then an automated voice said, "Welcome to AT&T International Care. Tell me the phone number you are calling about, starting with the area code." After saying my phone number, the voice then asked me to say what I was calling about. However, before I could say anything, it cut me off and asked "
Are you calling to remove a plan, add a plan, or get information about your international coverage?" This was slightly annoying, but I did need to get information, so I responded with the last option. Then it asked me to give my phone number again, which seemed silly, but once I gave my number, it said, "I’m happy to help; I can send you a link to help you learn more about your coverage. If you have an unlimited plan, you already have coverage in Mexico and Canada."
The next part is sort of laughable because I said no, that I didn't want a link since I wanted to talk to someone, and it said, "Okay, I will read you the information. You might want to write this down. Go to AT&T.com/international. What else can I help you with?" That was a pretty short link to worry about remembering, but after a silent laugh, I said, "Talk to someone." This time, it transferred me to an agent after about ten minutes of waiting on hold. The voice assistant said there would be an eight-minute wait, so it wasn't too far off. When I got to the agent, they went over my plan and costs to give me a good idea of what I was looking at and whether upgrading to an actual international plan was a good idea or not.