AT&T .. Do Ya Hear Me Now???

We've had a frustrating morning at the Davis household. Calvin tried to install an AT&T model 1739 answering machine. Looks like a harmless enough gadget, doesn't it? The problem is you need an engineering degree from MIT to program the damn thing so it will record incoming messages.

So, after a couple hours of following the instructions word for word, over and over, Calvin called AT&T's Customer Service.

He was connected to a gentleman in Los Angeles, CA. He walked Calvin through several steps. After being on the phone ten minutes, it was clear he didn't know how to correct the problem.  Still, to his credit, he kept on "trying" as he kept Calvin on hold--for another 24 minutes.

THEN, HE SIMPLY HUNG UP ON US. GUESS WE'D USED OUR QUOTA OF CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR THE DAY.

 

We bought the product based on AT&T's reputation--on the value of their brand. Just as we writers are to build our brand by writing quality books, we expect companies to live up to their brands, their slogans. So what is AT&T's slogan? 4G Lite. 4G Lite??? Looks like their customer service was a tad on the "lite" side, too.

 

I know I'm cranky right now, but don't you get tired of paying good money for a product only to find the customer service behind it is lacking?

 

Why do companies even retain such departments if they aren't dedicated--read my lips: DEDICATED--to truly serving the customer? 

 

So I'm showing my displeasure with my fingertips and my feet. I'm blogging and tweeting and facebooking about my displeasure. As for my feet? I'm walking away from every AT&T product. Correction: Running...