Customers gripe about ‘authorized retailers’

Telecom firms use third-party dealers to grow

If you walk into a Verizon retail location in the Pittsburgh region, odds are, you’re encountering a store that is managed and staffed not by the New York City-based telecom giant but by another retailer — whether you realize it or not.

The same goes for AT&T, which owns and manages only about half the stores that bear its name in the Pittsburgh area.

AT&T and Verizon, along with rivals Sprint and T-Mobile, have increased their sales in recent years by appointing third-party dealers to open new retail locations selling their cell phones and other products.

The setup with so-called “authorized retailers” is not unlike fast food restaurants growing through franchise locations or auto manufacturers reaching consumers directly through car dealerships. Distributors peddling everything from cosmetics to wall paint use authorized retailers to expand their customer bases.

But in the case of telecom companies, the system is confusing some customers and drawing barbs from unions who see authorized retailers as rogue entities with little accountability for customer service and worker standards.

Customers have aired gripes on online forums for both AT&T and Verizon, where debates over the stores are frequent topics. Some share negative personal experiences with authorized retailer employees as evidence of customer service lapses, while others defend the stores as reliable.

In an era when many live on their phones and need to rush in for a fix when that phone cracks on the pavement or has problems, sorting out where service is available or where the policies may