Sep
03

AT&T Represents The Worst Of Customer Experience

I have never had enough fuel to write a post that criticizes a company, but my experience with AT&T has been so terrible I feel that it needs to be discussed.

Quick Background:

I have been a customer of AT&T for over eight years on my family’s plan. Last year my contract was up so I renewed it with an iPhone. The service was decent for awhile, but as of the past three months it went downhill fast.

The Issue:

Every single call I had, whether a three minute conversation with a friend, an hour long call to home, or a half hour long conference call, would drop for no reason. It is not the location that was the issue; I made calls in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and San Francisco and had the same problem.

I brought my iPhone to Apple first because I love their customer service and assistance. They graciously replaced the phone for free TWICE for the same problem, but highly recommended that I go to AT&T to get help with my service issues.

Soon after getting my second replacement phone, I found out I could be put on my company’s Verizon plan so they would cover the monthly costs since we all use our cell phones for work calls. Between not wanting to deal with AT&T to fix my service problem (I know their customer service is not helpful from past experiences) and wanting to be on my company’s plan, I decided that I was going to leave AT&T.

When I signed up for AT&T I signed the contract and agreed to the $125 cancellation fee if I left before the two years were up; I was not expecting to leave this early. However, since my service was so terrible, I felt I had a strong case to fight the cost.

I called AT&T and explained that all calls, work and personal, dropped every time no matter where I was. This was unacceptable for a service we pay good money for. I then told them I was planning on leaving. The woman on the phone immediately copped an attitude to me and refused to understand my problem and would not waive the fee.

I said I understood that I signed a contract which included the cancellation fee, but then I asked, “Doesn’t the contract say that AT&T will give you service that works?” Their commercials even boast that they have the highest coverage nationwide of all services. The woman replied with, “Well we don’t guarantee complete service. Sorry you didn’t receive good service.” (in a very cold tone nonetheless).

Frustrated, I said I disagreed with their reasoning of not letting me get out without paying the fee, and ended the conversation. Since I was under my mother’s account, she proceeded to call them the next day. The man she spoke with was VERY rude to her, and eventually told her, “What, do you want us to put up a cell tower right next to her house?!” (Not to mention this guy was the manager as she escalated the issue to upper management). I live in Boston, there should be great service in a big city.

They refused to waive the fee for her as well. She firmly told him that she would be taking our whole family off of the account as soon as her and my brother’s contract were up since they were so unhelpuful and rude. They did not care.

What this demonstrates:

AT&T doesn’t get customer service. I am sitting here questioning why Apple was even partnering with them since Apple is the epiphany of great customer service. If you want repeat business, loyal customers and great word of mouth marketing, then treat the customers well, take time to understand their problems, don’t get rude or snappy, and act (even though you may not believe) that the customer is always right.

Isn’t that the long standing practice of customer service, that the customer is always right? If you disagree with the customer, you don’t get paid. AT&T was so adament on charging me $125 for leaving the service, but now they are losing three accounts (which pays them over $200 a MONTH!).

Think about the opportunity cost here: lose one account, leave the customer happy even though they are leaving, and continue getting paid by the remaining family members. Or, take your $125 and lose three accounts. Doesn’t it just make sense to waive the fee?! If anything, it is the disappointment of their customer service that really fires me above the actual fee.

In the end, I ended up getting rid of AT&T and having to pay the cancellation fee. AT&T, you win in that aspect, but lose huge with my family and I. Little did they know that I’m a blogger and am writing this right now. I figured it was worth it to get rid of that worthless company and pay a fee to do so and be able to move on with Verizon instead. (Although I’m still not happy that they still made me pay when they didn’t hold up on their end of the service).

Conclusion:

The customer is always right. Take time to understand the customer’s problem. They were not focused on my problem, they were focused on their immediate benefit. If you can’t foresee the wrath a decision like this can have in the future, you are not an ethical company.

A final note to AT&T:  you failed me and those that are reading this. If you chose to understand my problem and realize it is a legitimate one, I would still have left your service but would have left knowing you treated me well and understood me. Instead, you are left with an unsatisfied customer, a degrading post that I hope many read, and are losing more accounts just because you wanted your fee.

If you have AT&T, how have they treated you? Have you switched because of their poor service and support? Let me know your story below. (I hope AT&T sees this post and comment threat).

Feb
02

Government, Obama, and Apple…What do they have in common?

As Peter Drucker stated, “The goal of all business organizations is to create a customer.” In order to create a customer, a company must offer a compelling, valuable product/service/idea, engage in conversations with the consumers, and concentrate on keeping those relationships. What did government agencies, President Obama, and Apple do to instill Drucker’s belief?

Government agencies are now using social networks to interact with the community. A report by ReadWriteWeb stated that about 66% of agencies are now using social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter. The dissemination of local or federal regulations, laws, debates, elections, etc. on these sites will further engage the American population. This trend started after Obama used social networks to develop meaningful relationships with voters during his election campaign. Other agencies saw the high response and engagement rates, and followed in Obama’s steps.

Another report by ReadWriteWeb stated that during his campaign, Obama gained 5 million supporters in third party social networking sites, had a profile on 15 online communities, had 3.2 million supporters on Facebook, and there were 400,000 blog posts written about him. All of these mediums allowed Obama to get his presence known by all generations.

The number of people who voted in the last election shows the exponential amount of people who were engaged with the Obama campaign because they had relationships with him through social media networks. The Facebook strategy that Obama had for students “was so effective at energizing college-age voters that senior aides made it an official part of the campaign the following spring.” (readwriteweb.com)

Traditionally, college aged students (Generation Y) do not put in the time or effort to research candidates and vote, but the power of social media relationships revolutionized the voting numbers for this generation!

Apple has one of the most loyal customer bases today, due in part to the exceeding value provided, but also to the niche community that Apple created. The strong supporters of Apple products are commonly called ‘Mac Heads’ or ‘Mac Loyalists.’ These loyalists are not brainwashed by Steve Jobs to defend the brand no matter what, “the reality is far more simple and obvious: Apple simply has a large group of very satisfied customers- and that is the secret ingredient left out of nearly every analysis or op-ed piece that mentions these ‘zealots’” (seekingalpha.com).

Apple’s customers do not leave a purchase situation with post-purchase dissonance, they just know that they made the right decision. They believe in the brand, know that Apple cares about their needs, and makes them feel confident in the value that will be provided to them. “Apple’s ‘loyalists’ are no more than very happy, deeply satisfied customers, and their competitors should learn from that” (seekingalpha.com).

Apple constantly researches their customers and their needs, as well as interacts with them in various ways; this is shown in their brand image. Everyone knows that ‘Mac Heads’ are loyal to Apple and stand by their products because of the value and quality. A strong brand with related strong relationships equates to high brand equity. High brand equity then leads to high effectiveness of marketing and advertising, and positive, strong brand images are created.

So what do government agencies, Obama, and Apple all have in common? They all strive to get their customers involved with them through social networks and loyalty program, in order to gain lasting customer relationships.

What other brands, companies, or organizations do you think could benefit from CRM and social media programs that have not engaged in it yet?