My cell phone service has been with AT&T for 20-years. Think about that for a second. 20 years. It’s an amazingly long time. Does it matter to the company?
Not a chance.
I went to Africa in early July and did so without an international plan, or without a second phone to swap the SIM card. It worked out fine, but didn’t come without challenges.
I have another international trip coming up later this month and decided that I didn’t want to be without cell service. With that said, I contacted AT&T to discuss unlocking my phone so it could be used with another SIM card for four days.
Would they help? Far from it. The only option they provided was for me to pay $130 to pay for the remainder of my contract given that I was “breaking it.” I explained that I wasn’t breaking my contract and that I simply wanted to be able to use my phone with another SIM for four days.
The customer service representative kept emphasizing that I’d be breaking my contract. So I said, “Ok, lets say we agree that I’m breaking my contract. Given that I’ve been with you for 20-years, do you really think that I’m going to abandon my grandfathered unlimited data plan and go somewhere else?” She had nothing to say.
The irritation was building and I stopped myself and simply said, “Loyalty. How do you measure it?” She replied with, “Excuse me?” I said again, “I’ve been loyal to your company for 20 years. How are you being loyal to me?”
The conversation flat lined and, as you may have guessed, my phone still isn’t unlocked.
AT&T has provided a great example for any business that doesn’t want to be loyal to its customers.
On the flipside, they’ve also shown you how easy it would have been to provide great service to a long-term customer. AT&T could have easily been a partner, but instead they’re just a stupid cell phone company.
