I have been in more contact with ATT these past five days than I’d like. But there has been a problem with my phone service for almost three weeks, and I needed to resolve it. Knowing how telephone companies are, I dreaded the interminable automated menu system I’d encounter, the advice to visit online, the lack of communication skills from a company in the communication industry.
At the same time, I was missing important calls because of the problem. And missed calls are missed opportunities. So I finally bit the bullet, as they say, and began to get help. The exact problem isn’t important, and it’s pretty technical; so suffice to say I hope you trust me that a problem existed.
In the beginning, after navigating the confusing automated menu, I spoke with Chris, who saw the problem but wasn’t authorized to fix it. Instead, he was authorized to create a work order and pass it down the line. I had high hopes.
But as the days passed and I spoke with Marcie, Ellen, Shannon, and Nancy (You should always get the name of the customer service rep who help you, but that’s another blog!), I felt nobody could help. All these customer representatives were ineffective; one even gave me a wrong telephone number as follow-up.
The last time I called, however, I reached John. Not only did I get John, I got him on the first ring. There was no automated attendant, no buttons to push; he simply answered the phone. It was a first for me. I was taken off guard. “Is this AT&T,” I asked? He assured me it was. And after listening to my tale of woe he asked intelligent questions, provided useful information, and actually solved my problem. I reacted by asking how I could get him again if the need arose.
He wasn’t encouraging, except for the fact that he was located on the West Coast and, from his perspective, I was calling before those states opened for business (which made his call list brief) even though it was 9 AM where I live.
John, I acknowledge you publicly since I have an enormous bias against the phone company. I’m thrilled to learn that one of its employees actually picks up the phone and solves a problem. The only thing is that I’ll probably never reach you again.
Unless you’d be willing to share your home number.
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