I would say that in general, I’m a positive person on Twitter, more prone to happy and humorous conversation than rant. But the other week, after receiving a bill from AT&T, I couldn’t help myself. I tweeted and Facebook’d:
Right after I finish this peanut butter cookie post I am flexing my wrists to write a strongly worded letter to AT&T. #fuming
I fielded some outraged Twitter and Facebook responses on the topic then went about my business. Then, within an hour, I received this tweet from @sethbloom, who handles blogger relations for AT&T via Fleishman-Hillard:
@bostonmamas Hey there. Sorry that you’re having trouble. Would love to try to get you some quick help with whatever’s making you fume.
This isn’t the first time I’ve tweeted about a brand without using an @ and had a rep respond quickly, but given that AT&T seems like a giant vortex, I was impressed. I emailed with Seth and he was just as pleasant and interested in resolving my problem as that tweet suggests.
So here was the problem: during my press trip to the Bahamas, though I didn’t use my Blackberry for phone calls, I did access the web a handful of times, perhaps a minute or two at a time. I honestly don’t remember accessing the web 10 times in the Bahamas (I’ve always found the Blackberry too slow for browsing) but there were 10 roaming charges, totaling $386.23. Five charges were 31 cents or less; the remaining five charges totaled $385.31, an average of $77.06 per use.
My issues? First, the charges seemed truly criminal in the sense that the punishment far outweighed the crime (seriously, an average of $77.06 for a couple of minutes of usage?!). And second, it seemed bizarre to me that there isn’t an interface between Blackberry/AT&T to notify users about these exorbitant roaming charges, such as a pop up warning similar to the warning I receive if I accidentally push the Push to Talk button on my Blackberry. We did receive an e-mail warning from AT&T about international charges, but not until the third day that charges were incurred (which also was the last day of usage), which I consider a communication fail compared to the way credit card companies (who I certainly don’t consider angels) contact you immediately in the presence of unusual activity — in my case, the first usage was a whopping $166.32 roaming charge.
The point is, because of this poor corporate-level communication, consumers suffer. And similar to our dealings with Blue Cross, this is the kind of experience that leads consumers to feel alienated and mistrustful of a brand. The vitriol I responded to on the web about AT&T and other large corporations certainly seemed to reflect that notion.
Seth quickly connected me to someone in AT&T’s social media department (interestingly, not customer service) and in one short and friendly phone call my immediate problem was resolved; the charges were refunded.
And I felt of two minds about it all.
First, I was impressed. Refund aside, I thought, damn, this is why brands should be engaged in social media. I’ve seen lots of brands use Twitter and Facebook fan pages beautifully to monitor conversations from customers and respond. I’ve seen companies translate negative feedback into loyal customers because the company was there, listening and acting. (Brands fearful of engaging in social media due to potential – inevitable, really – negative feedback should take note.)
Second, I felt troubled. Yes, I got my problem resolved. I was lucky that Seth was monitoring the brand on Twitter around the time I posted that tweet, but otherwise how much of the resolution was due to: a) my willingness and ability to communicate my concerns; b) the fact that I was spouting off on Twitter; and/or c) my alleged status as an influencer in this space? I will always be the consumer who is willing to take the time to stand up for my rights, but regarding b and c, though the social media world seems expansive to those of us in it, the reality is that it is not reflective of the majority. Not everyone has this platform from which to speak and I imagine that those who do take the time to stand up and fight (blogger or not) meet mixed results in resolution, and the rest end up eating unjust charges.
On Facebook, my friend Sarah aptly wrote that it’s “so much more efficient for [companies] to simply address the complaints from people who can be bothered to complain than to actually fix what’s broken in their system.” And my friend Julie pointed out (in relating her dealings recovering funds lost by Bank of America) that, “People could cure cancer in the time it takes BOA to research money of yours they lost. But go late one hour on money you owe them, they seize your firstborn child.” I agree on both counts; I can’t even begin to estimate the number of examples I have heard of big companies demonstrating that they clearly are business — not consumer — first, with inane practices that clearly seek to take advantage of the fact that most people are unwilling or unable to raise their voices for fair resolution.
So what’s my point? I will keep on doing what I’m doing — fighting back in the face of each bit of corporate absurdity I come across. But I’m also now pledging — and I hope you will consider doing so as well — to encourage friends and family to fight too; to even help write a letter or make a phone call for someone who doesn’t know where to begin. Because as far as I can see, the only way we’re ever going to get companies to fix their broken systems is to get so damned noisy with our complaints that it’s inefficient to do otherwise.
Finally, two additional bits of information:
1. For those in need of consumer advocacy resources, my friends Karen and Julie both referred me to Clark Howard’s website; I haven’t had a chance to check it out in detail yet, but Julie and Karen noted that the site includes a support group, complaint letter templates, etc.
2. If you’re an AT&T customer: until that useful pop up warning feature comes for exorbitant roaming charges…I asked AT&T for resources on how to handle usage during international travel. They passed along a link for their info hub for international travel as well as links for these four commonly asked questions.
March 9th, 2010 at 9:59 am
I’ve had similar situations where companies respond very quickly to negative posts on Twitter. I think it is a great way for them to turn around a customer experience quickly. However what would be even better is if they fixed the customer service problems in the first place. Great post Christine.
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March 9th, 2010 at 10:11 am
My bill was almost $700 after a trip to Poland, and it took me at least 3 fruitless interactions with customer service(I don’t think that is the right name for the corporate use of these people). Then finally a letter and a vocal visit to a busy sales floor got my billing issues resolved.
My guess is that AT&T is doing the math, and they know how far they can push the “aggregate” us. Fight back, I sometimes pretend, and admire friends that have gone back to a cell phone free life.
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Your (a) (b) (c) points about why YOU had such a good outcome occurred to me as well. I know I got corporate office handling quickly and with rapid turnaround on the BOA issue because of those three factors. The days and days in person at my local branch netted nothing whatsoever in the way of solution, and that’s why I complained in the first place on Twitter. BOA has 24-7 scans going on and 5 or 6 dedicated twitter reps.
When I complained, a massive influx of “how BOA did me wrong” replies flew. I got a quick response that quickly shifted from Twitter to phone. And on that same day, I had a provisional credit. Dissatisfied with that as a final resolution, I complained again and this time? Got a full credit with letter of apology and deposit receipt mailed to me.
I try to speak out about both the good and the bad, but you’re so right that we need to speak up. It is easier to just resolve complaints rather than fix policy. It’s easier to switch services than complain sometimes. But we need to press for change.
You inspired me to register my dissatisfaction with charge protection policies AMEX has.
The next conversation is about applying this tactic to health care. A patient advocate told my mother that you have to push back hard because the way insurance works is deny, then see what happens. THAT needs change for sure.
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March 9th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
I’m so tired of getting my AT&T bill and not being able to read it. My DH and I switched to their family plan b/c we now have iPhones. I have no idea what I’m paying for. I’m just going to pay it although the charges look so crazy and weird and not what I was led to believe when I talked to 4 different agents about switching plans. I guess I’m just too lazy to fight it.
So glad you got justice.
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March 9th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
I’m so glad that you got your problem resolved, but you are so right–what about the rest of the people who unwittingly makes the same mistake? AT&T needs a better way to forewarn their consumers about these charges. Thanks for bringing this issue to light.
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March 10th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
I’ve had a few companies reach out to me to when I’ve sent a tweet out like Ford, Anthem and my local cable company. I try to be critical in my complaints when I do tweet. In the end, I just want my voice to be heard and my problem solved. (However, it doesn’t mean that I don’t complain louder to my BF though.)
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March 12th, 2010 at 10:54 am
What this tells me is that I need to take my troubles to Twitter, if they’re valid! Seriously, Christine, you might as well use that influencer status when you can!
We switched to AT&T from Comcast several months ago and it has been one nightmare after another. My husband is in charge of bills and he has literally spent HOURS on the phone with AT&T over incorrect charges and rebates that never showed up. Add to that the TONS of complaints I hear about AT&T from friends and I’d say they have a LOT of work to do in the customer service and billing departments.
Clearly, this post struck a nerve with me.
Glad you got your problem resolved.
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March 12th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
As early adopter of the iPhone in 2007, I took it to Canada on a business trip before they had the SW fix to turn off data roaming. I got a bill that was less than yours and when I called, got nothing. Thankfully, I had my company pay it, but I’ve never trusted AT&T to do anything for me. Now there is twitter. Thanks for sharing your story.
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March 15th, 2010 at 4:05 am
Well done on stating your case and getting it sorted out.
I live in South Africa. People here just don’t complain! If they do, it’s usually a private whinge and not addressed courteously to the source. Formal complaints don’t seem to gain much ground anyway. Last month, I was charged interest on my (landline) phone bill, the reason given? ‘oh, we have a problem with our system, just pay it, and we’ll refund it next month’. Will they? Are they hoping I will have forgotten? It was an insignificant amount, but spread over however many subscribers it amounts to a huge chunk of change. And we only have one supplier for landlines here. I’m watching for my next bill!
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March 15th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Had similar issues and similar battles. Those roaming fees are insidious. Keep fighting the good fight.
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March 16th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
I definitely see what you’re saying and I think it’s part of the new world we find ourselves in. If tools like Twitter were truly mainstream forms of customer service then you’d be lost in the noise (unless you were perceived to have influence), in which case you’d receive the same treatment online that you’d get on the phone: which is often infuriating. I think the recognition that people with clout (whether online or in the mainstream press) get will always remain and it will always frustrate those who don’t have that ’special access’. Case in point: accusations against Dooce about bullying companies into submission.
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