Today I’d like to provide some ideas and advice to AT&T.
AT&T has the best phones…hands down! This is not to say that Verizon hasn’t started getting its act together to offer some nice phones; and Sprint has one or two worth mentioning. All in all though, I think AT&T has the best phones. AT&T though has more exclusivity deals than any other provider it seems, at least for the HOT phones. AT&T has exclusivity with the iPhone, the Blackberry Torch and the upcoming Windows 7 phone.
So with all that going in its favor AT&T should dominate the market right? Wrong. The service is HORRIBLE.
To be clear, I have a family plan that includes 2100 minutes, of which I use about 350 and my wife uses the rest, mainly for business. 350 minutes is not a lot of talk time, I text and use the mobile web more than anything. Both my wife and I have the iPhone 4 and neither of us has gone an entire week without dropping a call or having some area where we can’t get service. What compounds this is that we both have 3G iPads and have on numerous occasions found ourselves without 3G service.
So what’s my advice/ideas to AT&T?
Take control of the situation by admitting your error.
Make no mistake, people simply “put up with” AT&T service. Those that are not bitching and complaining right now have lost their will to do so. Most of AT&Ts success has come from the exclusive rights to carry the iPhone. Almost all of us love our iPhones but hate the service. None of us buy your commercials about bars or coverage because we’re the ones having our calls dropped.
Stop trying to put one over on us, and instead of spending money on commercials telling us how great the coverage is, create a commercial telling us how mediocre the coverage is and how you’re going to do something about it. Then…
Improve the service!
I was a B student in finance, so when I look at the income statements, balance sheets and cash flows I can tell that the company is not in dire straights. I’m not the best person to tell you how well leveraged the company is but I can see that the company will live to see another day, has a positive cash flow and shows a positive net income. So what’s my point?
AT&T needs to use whatever money they have to improve their service because the truth of the matter is this, if the iPhone ever comes to Verizon, AT&T will start bleeding out over the next two-three years as people either cancel or wait for their contracts to run out. All of these sweet phones are handicapped by AT&T’s shoddy service. This is a moment for AT&T to implement the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive strike, I jest. AT&T cannot win this competition by simply telling American’s that they are covered in countless commercials.
Take the “right” stand on Net Neutrality
If you think of AT&T and Verizon as the two biggest competitors in the mobile space then one way AT&T can differentiate is to take an opposing view. Verizon and Google recently drafted an agreement essentially putting an end to net neutrality, this is bad for customers. AT&T could rise as the people’s champion by taking the opposing view and fighting for a fair and open playing field on the internet regardless of whether the connection in wireless or wired.
Why would this make sense?
- Maybe the same reason I fly Southwest whenever possible. They are on my side more than any other airline.
- Maybe the same reason I support Starbucks even though it’s more expensive. I like that they have a strong commitment to the environment.
People make purchases more and more based on how well a company aligns with their values. When a company shows a commitment to its customers, it rarely comes back to haunt them. I think this is another strong play for AT&T.
I don’t have much else to offer AT&T because really what else is there? Do I want a lower monthly bill? Of course I do! Do I want my bill to be accurate? Of course I do. However, those are smaller issues. To me I think the big competitive issues for AT&T s from service and messaging. What do you think? Sound off in the comments.
I do love the song in this commercial though.