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.
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!
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!