AT&T Customer Support Woes: Are You Trying to Help Me or Get Me Off the Phone?

My AT&T package (phone, internet, wireless and TV) has been underperforming for the past few months. They replaced the modem, which apparently they do quite often as the UPS store in my area indicated they got 6 – 10 a day through their store. Solved part of my problem – phone works – but didn’t fix the frozen TV or the internet problems.

I was saved by a technician that came out and found several problems about which I had previously been unaware. When he finished, he made everything clear and (so far) working very well. That is the way things go when you get a tech, things seem to work. The troubleshooters on the phone will tell you tall tales when management uses AHT and other contact center measures that predictably drive wrong behavior.

One contact center call to AT&T for a problem with my remote was especially egregious. I was told that the Sony TV I have had a known conflict. The tech told me that this was not true and that he isn’t sure why I was given such misinformation. He went on to share that the contact centers agents didn’t know how to troubleshoot and wished that management would actually see and understand the issues.

But why stop myths and legends when we can have BS?

More often than not, customers want something very simple . . . their problem solved. Unfortunately, companies are more focused on saving money than resolving a customer’s problem. The management paradox is that not solving my problem causes failure demand and adds to costs – as I have to keep calling back in to get my problem solved.

Sad, but true, AT&T.