Let me help AT&T and Verizon solve a growing problem they are wrestling with. When you are in a competitive industry, you must first focus on the customer. Happy customers let you grow and succeed. Unhappy customers are always a struggle. The problem AT&T and Verizon are dealing with comes from the fact they are not focused on the customer. Instead, they are focused on the investor, which is a real problem in a competitive industry.
As a wireless, telecom and technology industry analyst for the last three decades, I have watched and commented on their innovation, performance and how they are struggling with transformation and growth. After a disastrous move into other segments like entertainment and news with WarnerMedia, Yahoo and AOL, there is a new and growing problem which they need to resolve.
AT&T and Verizon moving customers off landline to wireless, fiber
Today, AT&T and Verizon are rushing to move customers off the basic landline telephone network, and onto other services like wireless or VoIP service.
The problem is in this mad dash they are missing the mark and that is hurting users. By focusing on the investor and not the customer, they are burning valuable, long-term relationships with loyal customers which took a long time to build.
This mistake is costing users time, money and aggravation. So, why would AT&T and Verizon do this to their valued customer base and risk losing them to the competition?
Why are AT&T and Verizon focused on investor, not customer
That is the key question, and to tell you the truth, their focus is so single-minded, I don’t think they even see this problem.
First, they are focused on upgrading their networks and that is the right move.
Second, they are leaving out on important factor, the customer. They are not explaining to their users what is happening, why and winning them over during this awkward process.
Both AT&T and Verizon are making this mistake. This is a flawed strategy in a competitive industry.
The good news is damage can be stopped. The only question is, do they understand the damage they are causing? So far, I would have to say no.
AT&T and Verizon should get users on their side, not force changes
Let’s face it, the landline telephone network which served us for more than a century, is aging. So, it either needs to be fixed, upgraded or replaced.
So, AT&T, Verizon and telephone companies should be honest with their customers. Explain the issue, the problem, the solution and the investment and get the user on their side.
Since the marketplace is changing and competition is increasing, they need to upgrade their offerings. There will be some user pain in the process while this is happening.
Being open and honest with their customer base will only solidify the relationship. And that’s the ingredient that is missing here.
How AT&T and Verizon are hurting landline users
Imagine if a city suddenly started a major highway project, causing lots of new traffic congestion without explaining to the citizens what was going on. It would be a disaster.
That’s the problem with AT&T and Verizon.
On one hand, they are doing the right thing building a fiber optic network and a 5G wireless network and moving customers away from landlines.
On the other hand, they are not explaining to their users what they are doing and why. This is creating frustration and resentment, and that is not good.
T-Mobile, Xfinity, Spectrum, Altice, CenturyLink, Frontier, C-Spire
In addition, this is happening when new competitors are happy to take users off their hands. After all, new competition is the reason for the need of this rapid transformation to begin with.
Today, AT&T and Verizon compete with a growing number of players like T-Mobile, Comcast, Xfinity Mobile, Charter Communications, Spectrum Mobile, Altice USA, Optimum, CenturyLink, Frontier, C-Spire and more.
In the past, telephone companies and cable TV competitors used to be the worst at customer service and customer care.
However, as competition moved into the telephone space in the 1990’s, phone companies got better. It took cable TV longer, but now that they face competition, they got better as well.
Now, the telephone companies now seem to be going backwards.
Remember the old Lily Tomlin character Ernestine, the telephone company Operator from the comedy show Laugh-In. You remember… one ringy dingy!
Guess what, she’s back!
AI, IoT, Chatbot, ChatGPT, Bard, Metaverse and more change the world
In fact, as other new technologies like AI, IoT, Chatbot, ChatGPT, Bard, Metaverse rewrite our world, the competitive marketplace will only get rougher and tougher for good ole Ma Bell AT&T and Verizon.
There have been plenty of customer service horror stories in recent years.
Example, when a customer needs help and Verizon comes for a service call, instead of fixing the landline problem, the service is now terminated and replaced it with something else without asking the customer.
Or in cities hit by hurricanes, when Verizon would rebuild in the past, today they use new technology, and do not replace landline service.
While this makes sense from Verizon’s point of view, the customer is not up-to-speed and feels violated. Some don’t mind, but others do.
Customers complain how AT&T and Verizon have ignored pleas for help
AT&T has been making the same mistakes.
Example, a customer has three landlines and wanted to eliminate one, move one to mobile and leave the other alone.
The order was placed. Next thing all the phone lines were terminated. That wasn’t supposed to happen.
After a frantic call to AT&T, they told the customer there was nothing they could do. That number was lost forever.
AT&T, Verizon creating new problems focusing on investor, not user
So, this move from AT&T cost the customer thousands of dollars and aggravation to install a new, wireless security system in their home. Plus, it forced them to waste lots of time notifying everyone and every business who had their number of the changes.
Had AT&T simply said what they were doing up front, the customer would have made other arrangements, or could have put off the move altogether.
However, AT&T didn’t care enough about the customer to be concerned.
And that is the rub, the carriers do not seem to care.
AT&T and Verizon face real, self-created problem with customers
It seems AT&T and Verizon are doing what they want, without regard to the customer. And that is a recipe for disaster going forward in a competitive industry.
What about customer loyalty? If the phone company does not show no loyalty to the users, how can they expect loyalty from the user?
And that is the mess phone companies have created for themselves with their focus on the investor and lack of care and concern for their users in an ultra-competitive and rapidly changing industry.
So, while I think both AT&T and Verizon are making the right moves to build the network of tomorrow, they are making a serious mistake and must focus on the customer as well as the investor, in order to be successful.
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