Cbeyond review: Cold calling tactics! 23

Doing some research to see what was new out there for CBeyond. This talk about sales tactics only skim the surface of their tactics. I am currently a CEO of several servers at corp. office that host several big clients. We signed with CBeyond because of their packages. Our ISP cost was high for our bandwidth needs, so we went with CBeyond for the so called cost savings. After the fact I was told when getting ready to sign the paperwork, is that the company is going under the "February BeyondMobile Handset Promotion". This allows for the amount of cell phones that we needed, they were free and no activation charge. CBeyond told me that they are cutting this deal because we were also becoming a partner for their products to sell to our clients as well and there is only a couple of days tell Feb. That allowed us to get $300 credit per month on our bill for the partner promotion. First bill came and charged $500 per BlackBerry that was discontinued by Sprint two years ago. Sprint is their cell carrier for the cell phones that CBeyond brands as their own. Also was charged $450 per LG 150, of which is discontinued by Sprint, I believe around the middle part of last year. CBeyond accepted and entered the contract in their system on 1/30/08 and now they say that I do not qualify for the Feb. promotion because the contract was accepted on 1/30/08, not in Feb. 2008. The sales person (would love to say his name on here) said that we were getting the Feb. promotion. I entered a dispute against the hardware cost of the cell phones on the first month billing. Now 4.5 months latter, there is no resolution, no follow up, no acknowledgment to my complaints. Once a week I inquire about it to several people at Cbeyond. They just keep saying that it was not accepted in Feb. Sense the charges are in dispute, the first month bill is over due, because I will not pay something that was not per agreement. Furthermore, this has disqualified us for the $300 partner credit, because the bill is past due. Keep in mind, our network has went down 4 times. 3 times were within CBeyond, 4th CBeyond was out system wide in the whole county. Considering that we host several clients in our datacenter, and was down over a total of 35 hours. You think that wouldn't hurt? Along with feeling like you were taken advantage of a smooth talker of a CBeyond sales and channel manager, so he could wrap as many deals before the end of the month in January, even telling them that they are getting the Feb. promo that was going to save us a lot of money is hardware costs. Think again about CBeyond, it is a negative experience that has a domino effect. Let alone the fact that they found out some of my clients and their locations and have harassed them and have new sales people every week showing up in their lobby. One of them made the CFO at one feel insulted and in-house counsel had to intervene. So, what about sales tactics? I can say I am totally pissed off about CBeyond, and when the name is mentioned to me, I can feel my ears getting hot.

Wow, thanks for the heads up. My partner and I just met with a cbeyond rep yesterday. We had plans to go with them up until I read this. Can anyone reccomend a more reputable company that can help us with our communication needs?

Joe

The Complaint is absolutely right to the core.
C-Beyond cold called my company and visited 5 times to sell their package. We keep saying no till the last meeting; they gave me a 60 day service commitment with money back guarantee, promising "if we can't make things right, we'll release you from your contract and reimburse you for the costs of going back to your previous provider..."
The equipment was installed in May 2008. From the beginning, we have continuous disruption of service. Out of 10 items in their service package, we can use only 4 due to this or that limitations. Within 10 days, we exercise the 60 day commitment and notify them to cancel the contract. NO ONE address the cancellation. We went back to AT&T within a month and repeatedly telling them to terminate the contract. Bills keep coming. First with $877, then with $1523, now it is $14, 823 after they sent some tech to remove their equipment from my office.
Do you have any advice how I can stop them for the harassment? What shall I do to protect my business credit? I have never been late in paying any bills except this one.

Hummm, We signed and got our bill and it wasn't close to what we expected. So we called today and they said they would get back to us. I only wish I read this prior.
So we shall see.
To Be Cont.

Although I can't fault anyone or company using aggressive sales tactics, I will say that CBeyond makes very exaggerated claims in their sales pitch. We switched our service thinking the easy transition and integration into their service but setup has been the worst experience for us as a small business ... and we've been around for 25+ years. Plus, email is critical to our business and we had no idea it wasn't working until one of our customers contacted us asking why we were not responding to her questions. I emphatically recommend not using their service particularly because once you sign up, you're locked in for a minimum of 1 year but will more than likely been locked in for 3. We very lucky that we included the option to get out of our after the first year.

All I can say is, we've have spent more time trying to sort out the mess the CBeyond has created then actually conducting business.

We originally were looking for a company to do business with about 2 years ago this Jan and we sent a request for more information to CBeyond and a few other companies. In the end we ended up going with another company which we have had great support from and no hassles.

CBeyond since then has contacted us on a regular basis (monthly) requesting to show off what they can offer us. We have had multiple people from their organization contact us and every time we say no. We have even had them show up at our place of business multiple times when we have requested for them to not come. It has now been 2 years dealing with them, and we keep saying no but they never get the picture.

With the way they (CBeyond) handles their business (not listening) it does not make a favorable impression of them. At this poing I would never work with them ever just because they are becoming a harrassment and waste of my time.

We currently work with Velocity Networks and have never had a problem with them. Great support and great customer service. www.vel.net

Beware of using Cbeyond's services at all. After 4 months of trying to work with their technicians to determine why our basic voice services did not function and losing 10's of thousands of dollars in lost revenue, we were forced to find a new provider entirely.

Our full story can be found at http://cbeyondservice.blogspot.com

I allowed Cbeyond to transfer mt acct from AT&T what a mistake, They not only failed to fulfill their Contractual obligation, They never posted credit's as promised causing my service to be interrupted, Then forcing me to pay a $1600 bill for 1 month service to get my lines reconnected, In the process of geting lines ported back over to AT&T, This company and it's sales agent's are a FRAUD. I just finished posting my complaint with the FCC as wel. I Hear over here in the El Cajon area of San Diego, Several Business owners have gotten together and and are a filing a Class Action Lawsuit. My Mailman is keeping me posted, If any of you out their are interested in joining, Follow up with a E-mail.

Wow I am glad I read all of these comments before I let them back in the door. They cold called us last Friday and we listened and they set an appointment to come back today when our AP person was in to get the rest of the info so they could do a detailed quote. Once we read these comments we called and emailed them to cancel. They showed up any way and were irate that my boss wasn't here and that we decided not to use them. They were very belidgerent with our AP/Receptionist and were arguing with her and saying how rude it was to have them drive all this way for nothing. Um we didn't ask for the appointment and we even called and e-mailed 45 min before to cancel.

Phew glad we dodged that bullet. I am sure they'll be calling again but now that I am completely armed with a defense I am actually looking forward to their call to set them straight.

Thank you.

We got a visit from a rep. We told them that we did not need their services. They continue to call us despite our telling them not to. The guy's number is [protected] if you'd like to complain to him on our behalf.

You all are fools. Haa you think that company would win all the awards if their company didn't live up to them. Cbeyonds stock has made me a ton of money from the begining. You are the few businesses that have had bad experiences and probably because you are too stupid to set up the applications yourself. Thanks CBEY!

I work right across the street from these idiots. These guys are desperate sales people. They keep calling after I said NO THANK YOU several times already. One sales guy told me that he needed a reason WHY I didn't want their service. I asked them not to call, so they show up at my door telling my receptionist they have an appointment with me.
They come across as desperate, rude & unprofessional.

I would STAY away from them...it doesn't smell right - so you know their service will be awful after they sign you up.

@ "haaa haaa" - why are we fools, I bet they are one journal entry away from being shut down by the SEC.

I worked for Cbeyond for three years right after college. I moved up the ladder quickly and was one of the top 3 Sales managers in the company for my last year there. In that time i signed a lot of deals. We were actually trained to make claims that were absolutely false (without our knowledge). Once we went public they made us revise everything we said in the company story because most of it was false. This company is filled with unethical people at all levels. I made a lot of money there but chose to walk away because month after month I witnessed the Houston vp/gm instruct people to commit fraud. He is still there in the Houston branch and I assure you you want nothing to do with this company. I feel bad for all of the people I signed up while working there. They make employees really believe in what they are selling but most reps only last a few months. As someone who was there a long time and sat in rooms with every officer in the company numerous times I can tell you this place stinks from the ground up. There were so many inappropriate things going on daily that it was astounding. HR reps never let complaints get to a corporate level (including extreme sexual complaints against supervisors) for fear that investors would get wind of it. The customer churn rate is fabricated as well to keep the stock prices up. I know they are being investigated by several entities and I am glad to hear it. It is a true "I told you so" moment for me because so many friends have asked why I walked away from a six figure income.

This is all painful to read. I am currently trying to exit our contract and it is a nightmare. To the previous poster that says we are fools...you are correct. Never again will I allow myself or my company be taken advantage of so blatently. And I will be telling everyone I know what a fool I was as well. Please, anyone reading this considering entering into a contract, READ THE FINE PRINT with a magnifying glass.

Same EXACT thing is happening to me right now at my company and I have had it! I was actually looking online where to complain when I found this site. It isn't only in California because I am in Minnesota. LOL! They just called again!

The same EXACT Thing is happening to me right now and I am in Minnesota so it isn't just happening in California. In fact they just called me again!

It's happening in Colorado Too! We've lost so much business. I am contacting our local new station about CBeyond for an investigation.

I have been a Cbeyond customer for 6 years and have no complaints. Their services have helped me grow my business and they have kept every promise they made during the sales visit. I am in Woodstock, GA near their HQ, so maybe it's different here...

If you are a victim of CBeyond's false promises and/or extortion then please contact munzer@OmnicureHomeHealth.com for a possible class action lawsuit against them.

I own a business in the Midwest, and have had the Cbeyond sales people call on us many, many times. Despite the fact that we have a locked, private building, with multiple "no solicitation" signs, they somehow gain entrance to our building and drop in on us anyway. I have repeatedly told them to leave, and never come back. I have left messages with their corporate and district offices complaining and asking that they leave us alone. Twice now they have somehow gotten into our building after hours (I suspect they hover by the door and sneak in when an employee leaves) and have been found wandering through our half empty office where they then accost one of our employees. I have literally threatened to call the police on them for trespassing.

CBeyond is like another Winstar before the internet crash. Same Sales Technique but a simple thing to understand about any company. Always check to see if they are a "true" Tier 1 company that offers complete Integrated VoIp Solution. Most of their sales reps are recent graduates that were taught to canvas a building.

I have a client that has an office of 3 people paying $900.00 month.

Tier 1 Solution is easy to understand. If one buys a T1 from Verizon or At&T and the T1 goes down for some reason. CBeyond can not fix the problem.

CBeyond has similar techniques as Winstar. So they acquire contracts aggressively but their service is extremely poor because they don't own their core technology.

Winstar goes out of business because they are not able to provide a quality service. Too many broken promise. So I see this same similar problem.

CBeyond needs to resell other service because their core solution is failing. Good luck to all of you.

I read all these posts, and it makes me mad. We live in a world that more and more allows predators to eat the nice, polite and honest people. ENOUGH! I have never had to use Cbeyond, thank God, but even the few cold calls that keep going while I tell them not to is much more than annoying. Their calls interrupt me while I am working, delaying me in my work. It costs money. Their calls raise my stress levels, I am more tired and less efficient during the day. It costs money. These [censor]s keep costing us more money than we think every single day. So why don't you use this money to hire some sort of Mr. Catastrophe, a guy trained to inadvertently stumble and spill his entire diet coke directly in the shirt of these society's warts when they visit your building? Oops! Be creative, but stay within the law. If you're lucky, they will react violently, and you'll get them arrested. You can outsmart them, but you will not get any result whatsoever by requesting them to stop harassing you. I'd like to ask jbo56 who worked for Cbeyond to go a step further. Could you tell anyone who currently has to deal with Cbeyond employees how to react so it would stop them from wanting to ever harass you again? I am sure you also had a few things you wished never happened to you while on the job back then. Thank you for reading.

I am in San Jose CA and would like to sue Cbeyond. I would like to see if there are anyother companies in CA that are wanting to do the same? I am going to file with the FCC in hopes that they help. We were a victum and I dont want these people to get away with what they are doing. I actually found my Cbeyond sales rep on facebook. I sent her a message asking why she had left the company right after she got our account. She messaged me back telling me the truth about what they had lied to us about just to get us to sign the contract. She said she felt bad about it and that she could not work for a company that is based on fraud and lies. ANYONE THAT IS LOCAL TO SAN JOSE CA, PLEASE EMAIL ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO START A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. My email is ama.autorepair@gmail.com. They are now coming after us for 16, 000, for only four months of service that never worked.