These are two letters I sent to AT&T. It speaks for itself..arguably some of the worst customer service I have ever had. On top if it..I sent this in April 2009. It is August 2009...no response to my letter. Go figure
Dear Mr. Stephenson, I am writing this letter to you as the top employee of AT&T. In doing so, I hope it will work its way down to someone who can resolve my issue. To date, I have started at the bottom and tried to work my way up. This approach has not worked with your company. Your time is too valuable to deal with my particular issue, so I would ask that you pass the attached letter on to the appropriate person.
Re: 10 Stages of Customer Service Insanity
Dear Sir or Madame, Please help me to understand why I should remain a loyal customer of AT&T. I am a busy professional who wants nothing more than to come home, turn on my HD TV and watch some quality programming. I am fortunate enough to be able to afford to do so in these difficult times our nation is facing. Unfortunately, I have been paying your company to able to do so for the last 5 months, however your company has continually failed to deliver the product I have been paying for. My issues started when I purchased my new home in October of 2008. I signed up for AT&T U-Verse as I have enjoyed AT&T services as an early IPhone adopter and landline customer. Upon my move, your company installed U-Verse service to my home, including the U300 package and Broadband Pro. Further, I also am renting a Motorola HD DVR. Unfortunately this Motorola product is not compatible with my new Sony Bravia KDL-46V2500 HD TV. I know this, because I spend countless hours trying to figure out why your Motorola DVR repeatedly displayed an H10001 error message (not HDCP compliant) on my TV.
After multiple hours on the phone trying to figure out why, I did my own research online (I recommend your technical staff do so as well, given that Googling my issue provided an answer versus the hours I spent discussing with your staff). As it turns out, using an HDMI cable with certain Sony TV’s provides this error message. The AT&T solution was to use component cables with RCA for audio. Unfortunately, this requires the Motorola box to site on top of my fireplace. This option is not acceptable as I have HDMI run through my wall to my stereo components approximately 40 feet away. The Motorola box needs to sit with the stereo components to make use of my home theatre system. So long story short, the Motorola box has HDMI outs that do not work and AT&T is aware of this. I know, because once I realized it was not my inability to hook up equipment, I promptly had a technician scheduled to come by. He was an extremely nice and helpful man who quickly identified the issue as a well known one. He stated that AT&T was aware that the Motorola HD DVR’s do not work with certain Sony TVs. He further stated the AT&T had been working with Motorola to resolve the issue for some time, and had not been able to resolve the issue, therefore they were switching to Cisco equipment. He added the Cisco equipment was not available in Houston, but I could call 1-800-288-2020 to order a Sysco box. It would likely have to be shipped to his warehouse then they would deliver it and install it. This solution was the only one available. At this point in time, I was two months into my service, paying for HD and still had not seen it on my TV.
So I called AT&T and did two things. First I got a credit for the service that was not provided. Second, I opened case #xxxxxxx. Upon completing a lengthy discussion with an AT&T technical staff member, I was assured that a Cisco HD DVR would be promptly shipped to my house in addition to an RMA box for the Motorola HD DVR. Two weeks later, nothing had shown up on my doorstep. At that point I promptly called back. The gentleman looked up the case number and said there was no record of shipping an HD DVR!! He noted the case was a billing issue. I just about fell out of my chair. I spent valuable time talking to an AT&T rep about my issue for the 3rd time and was assured it would be resolved. This is where the insanity started to set in. Surely you have heard the alternative definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”. Well, I couldn’t believe that such a great company, like AT&T, one I owned shares in, would do such a thing. It must have been an oversight. I couldn’t believe that one of your representatives would talk to me for at least a half hour about shipping me a Cisco HD DVR and leave absolutely no trace of it in your systems. So I promptly called, what else, 1-800-288-2020. Five minutes later after going through all the voice prompts, I get a human. Of course, the rep asks me for my call back number, so I give it to him. I explain my situation, which is quite honestly, much more in depth than I am writing here. I ask for a supervisor. The rep puts me on hold, then CLICK! Gone, hung up on. So I wait, no call back. I wait overnight, no call back. So I call again, voice prompts, call back number, human, explain it all again..you get the point. Finally we stay connected. I ask for a supervisor. “Oh sir, please hold while I find a supervisor”. 5 minutes later, “Oh sir, still no supervisors available”, 5 minutes later....and the story goes. Until finally after 20 minutes, no supervisors in sight, “can one call you back”!! Insanity stage 2!! “Sure, of course, please have one call me back”. What can I do, you have me backed into a corner. You have my money, I have no service, all you have to do is ignore me!!
So a week goes by, no call. Are you lost yet! I surely am, however not enough to forget how I have been treated by AT&T, so let’s continue. I call 1-800-288-2020, talk to a rep. Remember my alternative definition of insanity…this is the short version. Me: “Hello, this is Bob Smith. I’m calling about case #Fxxxxxxx” AT&T Rep: “Oh Mr. Smith, that was in regards to billing…..blah, blah” Me: “So what can we do to resolve this” AT&T Rep: “We can ship a Cisco HD DVR to the technician” Me: “That’s not going to work, we’ve already been through this” AT&T Rep: “We can send out a technician again” Me: “I give up. You win. Let’s do it your way. You have said nothing different than the last rep I spoke with and we are going to end up at the same spot”. AT&T Rep:: “Oh no Mr. Smith, I am sure it will work” Me: “Fine. Let’s do it. If that Technician calls me at 7 am Saturday morning and tells me he is on his way. I’m going to ask him if he has a Cisco HD DVR. If he doesn’t, I’m going to lose it” At this point we are at insanity Stage 4…not sure how many stages I can take, but you can tell from this letter, I am pretty patient. So I waste another Saturday waiting. Sure enough, on time, very nice technician named Lewis (employee #xxxxxx) calls me. I ask Lewis if he has a Cisco HD DVR. Of course he doesn’t! Why would he. Of course the ticket says he should have one, but no one sent him one. No one sent me one either. So Lewis and I conference call 1-800-288-2020. We get Al (employee #xxxxxx). Lewis, Al and I get on the same page….as I explain my issues and the history of it, which you have read to this point. That takes about a half hour as I explain everything for the 4th time..as we are at insanity stage 4. Al promises me he can get this resolved! Yay. His resolution, send the Cisco box to me! What a novel idea. I figure, what the heck, take a chance. I’ve got Lewis on the phone, Al on the phone, me on the phone, one big happy conference calling family. The right and the left hand are actually talking to each other. So Al tells Lewis he is going to ship the Cisco HD DVR to my house. When it arrives, I am to call Lewis to let him know and we will coordinate an appointment to have it installed. Insanity stage 5…coming up after the break. Break…Two weeks. No shipment. Dial 1-800-288-2020. Ring, ring. “Hello, this is John (employee #xxxxx, how may I help you”. Insanity stage 5!!! Explain story, reads like a book at this point. Half hour later, John is destined to help. His solution is to send a technician with a Cisco box!! Now where have I heard this before!! So another 10 minutes of me lecturing and explaining that we need to get Lewis involved as he knows the issue. John puts me on hold, John calls dispatch, John does all in his power. Not good enough. “John, please let me talk to a supervisor”. John, “None available, will call you back.” Wait Wait Ring, ring on my IPhone…”Hello this is John”. Me: “Hello John, you are not a supervisor are you?”. John: “No, there are none available. I have contacted dispatch and they will send Lewis on Saturday with the Cisco HD DVR”. Me: “John, I don’t believe you. It will not happen” John: “Oh sir, I promise’ Me: “John, have you talked to Lewis?” John: “No sir” At this point, I called Lewis, as he had given me his cell number xxx-xxx-xxxx. Of course, no answer. Left a message. Actually, have since called him 2 more times and left messages. No calls back after a whole week. Me: “John, please call Lewis to confirm. I guarantee he will tell you that it is a waste of his time and mine until you guys send a Cisco HD DVR”. John: “Mr. Smith, I John, AT&T employee # Jxxxxxx, do solemnly swear to call Lewis and get a hold of him before your Saturday, April 4, 2009 appointment between 12 pm and 4 pm CST.” Me: “Okay John. Just so I know all the players this time who are going to mess up, tell me who it is that is handling this in Dispatch” John: “Their employee # is xxxxx” Me: “Thanks John, talk to you after you get Lewis on the same page” Click. I think about 3 or 4 days went by, no call from John, Saturday shows up..being today. So I wait……patiently, as I have done many times before. Waiting for AT&T to show up and fix what I have been paying for since November 2008. Nice, beautiful day outside. I run some errands in the morning, wife is home the whole time. I get back around 11 am. Play with my son, hang out with my wife. Wait, wait, wait, wait…oh my, it’s 5:30 pm..where is the AT&T technician. You never know. I always give people the benefit of the doubt as who knows, family emergency, accident. Who knows. Pick up my fancy IPhone…1-800-288-2020. Ring, Ring..”Hello, blah, blah”. So another 20 minutes explaining my situation. Newest problem, “Why did the technician not show up at my house?”. AT&T Rep, “Oh sir, there is a note here that they were at your house at around 10:30 am, but no one home”. Insanity, stage 6!!! I lose it! Me: Admittingly, “#!$#$!#$^%!$%^^%@^#$@” AT&T Rep: Change of story. “Oh, looks like the Technician picked up the ticket and could not do the job as they did not have a Cisco HD DVR on hand” Me: “$%!$%$%$%^&$%&%$. Supervisor please” AT&T Rep: “Please hold” Supervisor Collin (employee # xxxxx): “Hello Mr. Smith. Please explain your issue”. Me: “You have a file on it. Please read it, but up to speed. I’ll wait 5 minutes, then we can talk.” Supervisor Collin (employee # xxxxxx): “I would rather hear it from you”. Insanity Stage 7!!! Me: “%!^@%$^%$&%$!@!. Okay Collin. Find out what the problem is, get it fixed, call me back” Supervisor Collin (employee #xxxxx): “Okay, I will call you back in a half hour” It is now April 4, 2009, 11: 59 pm to be exact. No call back from Collin. Doesn’t surprise me, he is the third or fourth supervisor in this whole thing to blow me off. Insanity stage 8 just set in. Almost midnight and I am writing you this letter. So this brings us to the present time. As you can see, I have an issue. Pretty simple really. Apparently all it requires is a Cisco HD DVR and we are happy. I get HD TV, you get my money every month, we continue on in our happy little relationship. I figure there are 10 stages to insanity. The next one, Stage 9, will be if AT&T is unable to properly resolve this issue without wasting any more of my time. I have spent countless hours trying to get this resolved. I hope to not have to spend countless more. Stage 10 will be having to cancel my U-Verse TV and Internet service, and my cell phone contract. Followed up by the two hardlines I have at each of my houses. So my parting requests are as follows: 1. Please ship me a Cisco HD DVR. I am technically competent enough to install it. 2. Please reprimand employee #Axxxxxx 3. Please reprimand employee #Lxxxxxx 4. Please reprimand employee #xxxxxx 5. Please reprimand employee #Txxxxx 6. Please reprimand employee #Jxxxxx 7. Please reprimand all other representatives who worked on Case #Fxxxxxxx and #Fxxxxxxx 8. Please provide me some substantial compensation for my time and money. So far I have received a $30 credit. My time is extremely valuable. $30 is far below the value of my time that you and your company have wasted on this simple issue. 9. Please change your internal structure so that the left hand speaks to the right hand. 10. Please call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx. If you are in Houston, let’s go for coffee. I could talk for hours on what has happened over the last 5 months. What I experienced should be valuable to helping you fix your business. Regards, Bob Smith Current AT&T Customer U-verse Account #:xxxxxxxxx
