AT&T throws business away with bad social media outreach

Is anyone paying attention to how horribly AT&T is doing in it's pissing contest with Verizon?  Who the heck is in charge of their marketing?

In case you've been ignoring the commercials, Verizon has been dissing AT&T's 3G coverage with map comparisons showing the Verizon coverage beating the crap out of AT&T.  AT&T has come back with pitchman/actor Luke Wilson saying, "nuh uh, we're better."  All typical stuff.

But then AT&T is using Facebook pages to build good will by CUTTING OFF people who say their service sucks.  WTH!

That's a great example of how not to use social media.  You're supposed to listen to complaints and do something about it.

For the record, I don't use either AT&T or Verizon.  I'm a TMobile guy.  Yes, I know it's number 3 in the US and I don't get to have an iPhone.  But the reason I stay with TMobile is how they do customer service through social media, telephone, web presence, etc.  Every time I call up with an issue, and it isn't often, the person I'm talking with does a review to see if they can get me a lower rate.  

There was a time I could not get cell coverage in my home.  It took a while, but after a couple of call, TMobile sent out someone to adjust the tower in my neighborhood and, boom, coverage in the home.  When I go to Europe, while I'm waiting for my luggage I turn on my phone and, boom, coverage, all while I watch AT&T customers curse at their phones because they can't get a signal.  How do they do that, because they use social media program to get real customer feedback, not just try to seem responsive.

You can't control your messages anymore. Your market controls the message.  And if you don't listen to them, you won't be able to enter into the conversation.

Comments

  1. Jeremy RalphDecember 27, 2009 at 8:10 AM

    It's really amazing how good some companies are with customer focus and how backwards thinking others are. The one you describe is a real piece of work.

    It's great to see multiple carriers supporting iPhone now in Canada. My carrier loves to deflect blame and make stupid excuses for their network issues when I know darn well what is going on (especially when I can look on twitter and see many others having the same issue at the same time). Maybe time to switch.

    Power to the market, the hidden hand of supply and demand!

    ReplyDelete
  2. RschulteyJanuary 11, 2010 at 12:29 PM

    Per your comments:

    But then AT&T is using Facebook pages to build good will by CUTTING OFF people who say their service sucks. WTH! That's a great example of how not to use social media. You're supposed to listen to complaints and do something about it.

    Don't they have 13 Customer Service folks on there now (ATTCustomerCare team) specifically answering and helping every customer who asks? I fail to see any threads that have been "CUT OFF" as you put it. Proof please... or just go get help from ATTCustomerCare on www.facebook.com/ATT or www.twitter.com/ATTCustomerCare now.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who is listening to you? You might be surprised

Image
That takes some effort to listen and be aware of what the opportunities actually are but if you ignore them you do so at at your own peril. Throughout my career as a professional communicator I come across clients who are absolutely sure they know who their audience is. Invariably they are wrong.Let me give you an example. Many years ago I counseled a semiconductor company that had a great business selling components to Apple for the iPod. They sold almost 30 percent of all their product to Apple. They knew that Apple was never going away. In our research into the effectiveness of their content we found what seemed to be a discrepancy. We knew that there were multiple product groups that the client’s technology would fit, but they were focused only on the iPod team. We told them they needed to start a focus on development teams. They responded, “We know who to talk to, you just concentrate on putting out press releases.” Six months later, at a trade show, two Apple team managers came ...
Read more

Why you don't (or do) like social media, Part Three

Image
When you boil down attitudes toward and execution of social media practices, it's all about leadership.  Real leadership, not the popular definition that rises from the horrific misinterpretation  of Geoffrey Moore's book, Crossing the Chasm .  Let me explain that reference a bit more in depth first. Moore stated fairly simply that for a technology company to be successful, it must attain the perception of leadership in a market niche.  The misinterpretation of that concept is what screws up the marketing for so many companies.  Moore's statement was an indicator of success and a strategy, not a tactic.  If you are the perceived market niche leader, Moore explains, THEN you know you successfully crossed the chasm.  Therefore your marketing strategy must revolve around developing the perception of leadership.  However, most companies believe that saying you are a leader in your marketing documents, even when you are clearl...
Read more

Sharing is a thing, but it isn’t the only thing.

Image
I received a few emails from a content services vendor this week (Here’s a suggestion…did you get my email… have you read my email…) and after getting over the initial annoyance of a rookie PR gaffe I decided to look into the suggestion while I made coffee. My response is this blog post. The vendor was Venngage which has a nifty online tool for creating infographics for distribution on digital media, and competes with dozens of similar online tools. The offer was a very long white paper on engagement that, to their credit, had no blatant push to buy their service, but it wasn’t completely subtle. The premise of the white paper is “content that people share is a good thing.” In fact, if anyone from Venngage sends you the link to the paper, I just saved you a who lot of time because you don’t have to read it now. That is all it says, but with lots of statistics before they get to the point. It’s true that a metric of content engagement is, in fact, how many people in your audience share...
Read more