September 7, 2006

Are Telcos Changing Their Ways Now?

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 9:53 am

AT&T Call Number One

Customer Think Logo

About 6 weeks ago, I paid my ATT bill online, as I have for months. I finished. I got a receipt that said, “Successful.” I put it with the bill in the file where such things go. It was 3 weeks later when I got a notice saying my bill was unpaid.

I wasn’t happy. I called them up.

My first surprise was that my call didn’t cross an ocean. My second was that the person at that end listened and wanted to help. She was patient and as perplexed as I was at what happened. She gave me the time I needed to be sure that no money was taken from any of my accounts.

We settled the amount due. She removed the late fee. Subject closed. I said thank you for a most pleasant call. I meant it too.

I was surprised that things went so well.

AT&T Call Number Two

This morning I received the usual update reminder. It’s the one that tells me that my next online bill was about to come due. The “wonky” amount was sitting there again. “Too good to be true,” were the words in my head.

I wasn’t happy. I called them up.

My first surprise was that AGAIN my call didn’t cross an ocean. My second was that AGAIN the person on the other end listened and wanted to help. She assured me that my account was fine.

Then she let me know how I could get FASTER INTERNET SERVICE AT A LOWER PRICE. Did I want that?

Our conversation was professional and pleasant — so much so that I asked her whether AT&T had moved their outsourced calls back to the US. She said that they never had all of them there, but that yes they had moved many calls back here now.

She sounded like a telephone blogger — authentic, transparent.

I’m thinking that NET NEUTRALITY and bloggers have their attention. I’ve never enjoyed a conversation with AT&T until these two — I was thoroughly frustrated with them as recently as June 22, 2006. — Now I’ve just enjoyed talking to them twice in a row!

I’m not at all sure what to think, or what to do with this information. If they start actually doing customer service, I’m not sure I’ll remember how a customer acts.

–ME ‘Liz Strauss

Related articles
AT&T & ME w/o DSL — Why AT&T Won’t Fix Problems
See Net Neutrality Page I and Net Neutrality Page II.


Filed under Analysis, Business Life, Customer Think, Successful Blog, Trends |



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6 Comments to “Are Telcos Changing Their Ways Now?”

  1. September 7th, 2006 at 10:40 am
    TechZ said

    Telco’s like most industries are realizing the importance of good communication with customers. It’s taken them ages, but atleast they are getting there.

  2. September 7th, 2006 at 10:43 am
    Char said

    Maybe sites like http://www.gethuman.com and http://www.nophonetrees.com are helping get the word out that companies have gone too far with automation. Maybe companies are beginning to realize that when you need customer service the most, you need to talk with a human - one who is living in the country you are calling from; one who experiences the same frustrations and daily challenges as you. Or else, you just might take your business elsewhere!

  3. September 7th, 2006 at 10:49 am
    ME Strauss said

    Techz,
    I can only hope that in the middle of all of this Net Neutrality that their motives are as pure as you paint them. I sure hope so.

  4. September 7th, 2006 at 10:51 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Char!
    I’m about as far as a girl gets from being a cynic, but when it comes to the telcos, I’ve been too long at the wrong end of the phone to believe too quickly, you know.

    I’m ready to give them a chance, but I’m watching for potholes in the road. :P

  5. September 7th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
    Big Roy said

    I had an incident similar to yours that happened 5 or 6 years ago.

    I was a very loyal AT&T long distance customer for years, all my adult life I think. Even to the point that I bought AT&T stock over the years. I also got a notice that my bill had not been paid. I used online banking and I had a copy of payment made by my bank. I called and got an out-sourced customer service center. I asked and they told me they were not AT&T employees. To make a long story short I had a hell of a time convincing them that I paid my bill. They just kept saying they were going to cut off my long distance and at the time dial-up service. Even though I had never had a late bill in my life. They didn’t care or believe me. Finally after several phone calls it got resolved.

    Within weeks I changed my long distance company to Sprint (which is another story) and my dial-up service. Within months I sold my AT&T stock, not that they cared. But they lost a customer for life.

    As Liz would say +1, I still have an AT&T email address that I have had for years and years that I use for family and such. I pay something like $4.00 a month just for the email. It’s a good email address that many people had and I just hated losing it.

    Sorry for the long rant.

  6. September 7th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
    ME Strauss said

    I steered clear of At&T for the longest time, Roy, because of bad customer service, but then they bought SBC and I got them back again. It wasn’t my choice. So this nice pair of phone call is more than a surprise to me.
    I’m watching and waiting to see where it goes.

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