AT&T says it wants to improve its customer service, and one way it’s doing that is by signing up customers for internet outages and long wait times on the phone.
From now on, customers will receive a full day’s bill credit for any fiber outage lasting longer than 20 minutes or wireless outage lasting more than one hour, the company said Wednesday. If a customer who calls the phone support lines has to wait more than five minutes, they will receive a $5 Visa gift card.
This isn’t much, but the costs could add up and motivate AT&T to improve its operations. This initiative is reminiscent of laws in Europe that require airlines to compensate passengers for delays, which some research indicates exists. Improve on-time arrival.
AT&T experience numerous On a large scale A network outage in 2024, which could be incredibly devastating in a world that relies on constant connectivity. Job interviews can be cut short via Zoom, homework has to be postponed, and of course, sports broadcasts are increasingly common Move to flow It can be cut off at the wrong moment.
It doesn’t help that ISPs like AT&T have a stronghold in much of the United States — in some parts of the country, especially rural areas, consumers only have One or two ISPs to choose from. Services like SpaceX’s Starlink help solve the problem to some extent, and the FCC has continued to do so Deploying capital in rural broadband development As part of its rural broadband accountability plan.
According to New York TimesAT&T’s new policy is part of a $750 million investment the company has made in customer service over the past four years. Kellen Smith-Kenny, AT&T’s chief marketing and growth officer, said service outages across its network have never been more common in recent years.
AT&T is also planning to launch a dedicated website where customers will be able to check the status of an outage so they don’t have to take to social media to find out if they’re alone or not.
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