I Have Lost a Day of Work Because of AT&T's Mistake (and the Inability to Fix It)

Note: I am writing this post because, even if this problem eventually gets solved, I want to help prevent this problem for other people. AT&T desperately needs to overhaul its systems integration and customer service options in order to actually provide good customer service.

I started writing this post when my Internet business partner Yael and I had already lost two hours of being on hold to try to get our Internet service restored after AT&T mistakenly turned it off.

Here are the basic facts of this debacle:

Yael and I needed a faster Internet connection than the DSL we had.

On July 15 we decided to upgrade our Internet service to AT&T's U-verse service. The earliest available installation date was June 20.

But late on July 18 our Internet access went off.

The morning of July 19 Yael and I spent hours being transferred all around the globe (literally). Apparently one AT&T record mistakenly said that we had been upgraded to U-verse on July 15 while another record said we were awaiting the service upgrade on July 20.

AT&T TURNED OFF OUR DSL ACCESS BECAUSE WE SUPPOSEDLY NOW HAD U-VERSE.

You would think it would be simple to have the DSL access turned back on until the U-verse installation. If you thought so, you would be mistaken.

Back and forth between customer service, U-verse and sales. And then stuck in the black hole of different people in the Philippines reading from a script and repeatedly say "I am sorry."

Eventually my insistence on talking to someone who could do something about this black hole got me transferred to a tech support supervisor in the Philippines named Glen.

He got me into yet another queue because "we are only tech support and can't deal with your problem."

Now Glen stayed on the line waiting in the queue for the order department in the U.S., which was "experiencing heavy phone volume" so no idea how long this wait would be.

And throughout these hours I was asked the same questions over and over again, including whether a U-verse technician had installed the U-verse service. NO, NO, NO, NO!

After an additional 30 minutes on hold, I was connected to Cindy in Reno, Nevada, who informed me that once the DSL was shut off (BY MISTAKE BY AT&T) the service would take 4-5 days to be turned back on.

Let's think about this. In a world where the Internet takes us around the world in seconds, AT&T can't turn back on my DSL that AT&T turned off by mistake in less than 4-5 days!

This is absolutely incredible – and totally unacceptable.

(AT&T: Please stop spending all your money on advertisements for your service and instead spend some money on actually having systems in place that provide good service.)

Then Cindy in Reno told me everyone was in a meeting. I told her to "Get someone out of a meeting."

Supposedly a manager would be pulled out of a meeting.

After another long period on hold (coming up on almost three hours in total with different people around the globe), manager Natalie told me that I was in the wrong department and she couldn't help me.

Apparently you are always in the wrong department with AT&T and no one can help you.

I had to get out of this black hole of endless transfers and endless periods on hold only to be told that particular person and that particular department couldn't help.

I told Glen I was leaving for a location to publish the post that I had been writing while all this was going on … and on … and on.

Glen asked me to not yet publish the post until he called me back.

Okay, he called back about 30 minutes later and said a U-verse technician would be out within a four-hour period this afternoon.

BUT that still might not get my Internet access fixed because, once the equipment was installed, it could take a certain period of time (of unknown length) before the access was actually granted.

Question 1: Will the tech show up?

Question 2: Will I get my Internet access back today for my INTERNET BUSINESS?

Except for Glen, not one person of all the people Yael and I talked to (she tried calling various other AT&T customer support numbers while I was on hold in the Philippines) cared at all. Not one person said, "I will get the person high enough up in the organization to take care of this right now."

Question 3: Why does AT&T pretend that it cares? The Twitter username @ATTcustomercare also did NOT help. Really, AT&T cares? I think not.

In the struggle of three hours, only one person seemed genuinely interested in trying to help me. But if that person can't do anything, what good is his sincere interest?

In conclusion, in order to help other people not have to experience this problem and lose a day of work, AT&T must immediately integrate it services and provide true customer support. (How about for starters a high-level ombudsman with the power to immediately get things done?)

Or perhaps the appropriate U.S. government regulatory commission should look into AT&T's services and customer response mechanisms. Maybe it takes this kind of power to get AT&T's attention.

UPDATE: Tech installer has arrived with INCORRECT INFORMATION! Now let's see what happens.

ONE HOUR LATER: The tech installer hasn't started installing U-verse yet because he has been on the phone with AT&T all this time. Why? Because our AT&T records continue to be so messed up that he can't install the U-verse service.

Business integration anyone?

30 MINUTES LATER: Glen from the Philippines called to ask how things are going. I tell him that 90 minutes into U-verse installer's visit nothing is happening because our account is still messed up. Apparently the person who took the sales order for the upgrade really messed things up. BUT WHY CAN'T SOMEONE ELSE FIX THIS MESS-UP?

And I've been polite up until now and sent @ATTcustomercare private messages (DMs). But now the gloves are coming off — I've sent a public tweet asking why someone can't help.

ANOTHER 30 MINUTES: @ATTJason saw my public tweet and is trying to help. But so far only DMs back and forth — no action.

UNBELIEVABLE: Installer's two hours (of having done nothing) are up so he plans to leave!



Leave your comments about your experiences with AT&T for Internet access or with other Internet access providers below.