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Why AT&T Sucks |
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In January of 2001, my wife Kerry and I were enjoying ourselves at home in the evening when the phone rang. Kerry answered, and it was AT&T on the other line.
"We've got an offer you can't refuse" said the telemarketer to Kerry. "We will lower your monthly bill for local service, and give you a $50 gift certificate from American Express for switching your service to us from BellSouth."
Kerry and I hastily discussed it, and decided that this was a deal we couldn't refuse. We accepted the offer, took down the person's name and phone number, and made an appointment for an install of the service.
About a week later, I came home from work to find a cable stretching apx. 250 feet from the telephone pole to the side of my house. Immediately I figured that Kerry had run home from work to meet the installers, but that wasn't the case. They had arrived to install the service while we were both at work during the week, days before the scheduled appointment. Not only had they not followed our instructions for installation, but they had left the line exposed above ground. This wasn't that big of a deal... I remember telling Kerry that this must have been the "pre" installation, and over the weekend they'd probably be out again to dig the trench.
Surprise, surprise, AT&T did not show up that weekend, and as it turns out, never showed up or answered the phone when we called.
After almost two months of phone calls, and still no answer, I realized that at the end of the voicemail message that AT&T uses, they say to fax or email (atl-wecanhelp@broadband.att.com) your request to them. This is a fairly polite message, and then they hang up the phone on you.
----- Original Message ----- From: "J. Lenz" <john@lenzmarketing.com To: <atl-wecanhelp@broadband.att.com Cc: <president@att.com Sent: Monday, March 05, 2001 9:35 AM Subject: My phone line is lying in my front yard Hello, We were offered the chance to switch to Att local service about two months ago. We were promised not only a lower rate, but a $50 certificate from American Express. We made the change, and now you won't answer the phone. Somebody from your company came out and installed a line, and it runs from the telephone pole, is draped over my mailbox, and is lying in my front yard. My wife and I have called at least 20 times, and no one answers the phone. If you want to have a disgruntled ex-customer (of your local and long distance service), who will be calling the Clark Howard show (popular Atlanta local radio show that warns people not to use certain services... ), then don't answer my email. I want someone at your office to call me to set up a time for you to come out and finish the job you started, before some kid in my neighborhood trips over the wire and breaks his arm. Thank you. -John Lenz Home phone 770-493-7922 Work phone 404-373-2025
----- Original Message ----- From: "J. Lenz" <john@lenzmarketing.com To: <atl-wecanhelp@broadband.att.com Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2001 5:40 PM Subject: Fw: My phone line is lying in my front yard I'm waiting with baited breath. ----- Original Message ----- From: "J. Lenz" <john@lenzmarketing.com To: <atl-wecanhelp@broadband.att.com Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2001 1:46 PM Subject: Fw: My phone line is lying in my front yard Still no response... ----- Original Message ----- From: "J. Lenz" <john@lenzmarketing.com To: <atl-wecanhelp@broadband.att.com Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2001 8:45 AM Subject: Fw: My phone line is lying in my front yard Nobody has called me yet. Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 12:08 PM Subject: Fw: AT&T
----- Original Message ----- From: <kerry.lenz To: <john@lenzmarketing.com Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 11:54 AM Subject: AT&T fyi - I have been in conversations with a typically rude person at AT&T local this morning. She said since I did not transfer the phone service within 30 days, then the switch back would not be free. Also, she said the "offer" for the $50 American Express Certificate expired late Dec. so I was not eligible for it. I explained that that is not my problem....I was called by their Telemarketer in Jan., who offered it to me, and she should not have if the offer was not valid. "She" is going to look into it and have someone from their promotional team call us - that was not her department. She was quick to point out what I have NOT done rather than just hear me out and give good service. She also said her only documentation of us calling is your two calls regarding the line. I said they would not have my calls documented because after over two hours of my time, I could never reach a human being. The notes they have logged are from your e-mail and only address one out of the three action items you mentioned! So, I phoned BellSouth. Got right through. Very pleasant Representative. Enough said. She is having someone from their "switch over" team call me within 3-5 days.
Atl-we-don't-and-won't-help-because-we-suck@broadband.att.com, You guys really run a terrible business. No wonder your stock price is near (or at) an all time low. You will never get ANY business EVER from us. We are also changing our long distance to another carrier. I'll be posting a review of your sloppy and negligent business practices on my Web site. Also be sure that everyone I know (and some that I don't know) will hear my story. -John
Thank you for reading my story about how AT&T Broadband sucks. Please post your experiences, or read about other's experiences with AT&T, good or bad.
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-John