Is This Any Way To Run A Business?

If I read this correctly at&t’s hopes for a rosy future aren’t pinned on a superior product. In large part of their future is hinged on their customer’s expense and difficulty in switching to another carrier!

I am a reasonably happy at&t customer. Yes, there are problems. About 50% of the time I speak to my child in California the call is dropped. It’s tough to make calls or use my data plan from New York City. As we found in June at&t service at Boston’s Fenway Park… oy!

For me in Connecticut mostly it’s fine and even with a love/hate relationship my iPhone is by far the best phone I’ve ever held in my sweaty hand.

That preface is necessary because I want to talk about at&t’s business a little. They have thrived with the iPhone, but it seems they’ll soon be losing their exclusivity.

If I were at&t I’d worry.

Oh hell, how can they not worry? Still their CEO was quoted today downplaying the downside of post-iPhone defections. Here’s how Electronista played it.:

These would be locked into an extended contract that would make it difficult to switch, [at&t CEO Randall] Stephenson said. The statements also gave an opportunity to reiterate beliefs that corporate and family plans would save AT&T, as 80 percent are in non-individual plans that are costlier or more impractical to leave.

If I read this correctly at&t’s hopes for a rosy future aren’t pinned on a superior product. Their business model seems predicated on their customer’s expense and difficulty in switching to another carrier!

I’m not a business person. I probably don’t see the big picture. I just wish this wasn’t how big business worked.

2 thoughts on “Is This Any Way To Run A Business?”

  1. If THIS is REALLY how ATT wants to conduct their business, Geoff, more power to them, but in the end they WILL get what’s coming to them, mass defections to a more understanding and reliable business.

    Karma will bite them where it counts!

  2. Over less then a 6 month length of time, I got sucked in and right out of the gate got a bad phone! Long syory short, went through 3 more RE-FERBS of the same phone…Was offerd one more phone to try and THAT failed on me as well for other reasins…Dropped calls??!!?? 8 a day at least! Finally I said enough, whatever the consequence, I’m outa here! “Ported” my at&t number over to “SPRINT” with me, got into a “Droid” and all is well…AT&T did NOTHING to keep me on board what so ever! Not good…Not good at all! So now they can get $5.00 a month till the balance, etc is paid off…PEACE OUT!

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