Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Dear ATT

Your customer non-service is atrocious.
Our internet service has been spotty the past few months. After being without a service we have paid for you make it next to impossible to explain why interruptions keep happening. NO, you don't explain.
Each time I have to 'talk' to one of your customer service help desk employees I have to go through a script. Every. Single. Time.

Your customer service employees made us purchase a second modem we did not need for $80 because she could not see beyond the fact that she could not access my modem. Therefore the only thing it could have been was a faulty modem. It wasn't the modem.

Another time another employee made me change my modem password because of some silly script, guess what? I still could not get on the internet once we did that. ONCE he contacted the second tier of the help desk he found we were in a neighborhood outage. Then he was going to leave my computer set up with the 'test' password. As it was I had a bad feeling that the password he changed in his system wouldn't match the one I had. Guess what? I was right. He actually hadn't shown me the right steps to truly change my password and although your system had the new one, mine was still the same.
Luckily that time, I had to talk with one of your employees that actually knew how to explain how to do something.
Well guess what?
The past THREE days our service has been on and then off.
The previous two days I called it was a neighborhood outage.
I called today after an hour of it being out.
Your customer 'no' service employee wanted me to unplug the cable to the DSL line to the computer. I plead and nearly begged her to check the second tier to find out if there was an outage she said "THERE IS NO OUTAGE". Then she wanted me to unplug the DSL line from the wall jack.
BIG problem.
My office is so small a several hundred pound bookcase sits in front of the jack.
I told her I could not get to it.
Guess what?
She said she could not help me if I didn't unplug the DSL cable from the jack.
That would reset the DSL line and it would IMMEDIATELY come back on.

So I said again with a LOT more frustration to please check and see if there was an outage.
She wasn't going to do it.
ABSOLUTELY.
I said that I would have to call back and she said not if the internet came back on.

My husband and I moved everything off the shelves on the bookcase, he unbolted it, he tugged,and pulled and tugged. I had to move nearly half the office because of how small (7X11) this room is.
He unplugged the DSL filter and plugged in the DSL line to the wall.
JUST.LIKE.SHE.INSTRUCTED.

Guess what?
NO internet.
I called back.
Guess what?
There was a message that said there was a neighborhood outage.

AND we saw the AT&T tech working outside on the junction box because it is right next to our property.

I found the name and street & email address to the CEO of AT&T.
I wrote a 'real' letter.
I know it won't do any good.
But, I really want to know is this the way you truly want to treat customers?
It is so wrong to 'script' each and every call.
Sometimes the customer is right.
And they don't have to tear their house apart nor pull out their hair to talk to your company.
I have a very real frustration right now with AT&T.
Honestly I think that the supposed problem(which they 'fixed') when we lost our connection for several days was never really fixed, but there is no one who will give an answer as to what the problem is nor who to talk to about it.
It is really unfair to the customer, and also unfair to the customer service employee.
The employee today was terribly short with me, and perhaps she felt I deserved it, I was growing deeply frustrated, but isn't the the point my frustration was because she wouldn't listen? She would not listen -- and that is what I needed her to do. She could have successfully handled my situation if only she had checked a bit further. We both would have a better time of it had she simply listened.

13 comments:

  1. That sounds really frustrating! We wish you the best in getting this resolved.

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  2. How awful. If it is any consolation, we will definitely not switch to AT&T ever after hearing this!

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  3. Yep, we get that same excellent service when we call them too!

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  4. OMC, take a deep breath, then SLAM the phone down...hehehehe
    OK, kidding aside, that is horrible. Customer service these days stinks in almost every business because I think a lot of people just do not care.
    Sorry about your problems with the internet.
    xxoo
    Deborah

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  5. Had almost similar problems and got so frustrated that I terminated the landline. I now use wireless broadband internet service with usb plugin.

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  6. Oh, you mean you didn't get the EXCELLENT SERVICE that I always get when I speak to someone in a nation far, far away who is reading directly from a script and does not LISTEN TO A SINGLE FREAKING WORD I SAY? You mean THAT EXCELLENT SERVICE?

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  7. We're sorry you're having all these problems. We use to have AT&T phone service but got rid of it because of their high rates and bad customer service.

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  8. Bad bad bad!! AT&T!!! BAD costumer services!!! How frustrating for you!! What a haphazard unacceptable service!!! Oh dear. I am truly sorry. Big big hugs!!!! It's very difficult when a company insists the costumer is at fault when clearly they are but it's up to you to prove this and up to them to listen. Me and Charlie are shaking our fists and paws at them and blowing them raspberries! Take care
    x

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  9. This is the Admiral's mommy: I knwo exactly what you are going thru! If you could only have know me and read my personal blogs a couple of years ago when I quit them and went to C-o-m-c-a-s-t instead..you would have rolled laughing and felt sorry for me at the same time. I have NEVER EVER had such a horrible time EVER with ANYONE- than them. And they'll spam you unrelentingly if you quit.

    It's like a nightmare.
    (((HUGS)))

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  10. I don't mean C-o-m-c-a-s-t will spam you..I mean your friendly service you presently have. It's hard to have to deal with especially at the amount of money you have to spend.

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  11. being a former Help Desk Manager, I am truly appalled by how bad customer service has gotten. OMG. I just lie to my DSL provider when there's a problem - Yes, I unplugged it from the wall. yes it turned it off and turned it back on. whatever. just fix it. UGH. I hate them. - MeezerMomMary

    Pee Ess: Sammy sends whisker kisses to his gorgeous Abby. He's feeling poorly today.

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  12. OHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYY GOD!!!

    I soooooooooooo feel your pain!!!

    check out my blog posts about Dell and Kodak........
    Where do they find these people?????

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  13. Adelphia and Time Warner Cable must use the same script writers. We understand how frustrating it is! Mom calls it being given "the chick treatment". There was a great XKCD web comic about this issue recently: http://xkcd.com/806/

    Purrs,
    Padre, Panda Bear, Meerkat, Cookie, and Caramel (& fosters Hunter, Sunny, Sky, Silver, and Rico)

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