Anyone else get terrible Customer service from AT&T

if you have gotten credits every year for 20 years, they dont want you anymore

the ceo of att has said this

So from context, you call in on a regular basis when your service agreement ends, threaten to cancel so you can keep a deal going, and now that isn't happening you call it terrible customer service?

Discounts and specials are nice when available, but are not always guaranteed. Has been sounding like AT&T is reevaluating the sustainability where these retention options are going overboard.

At the end of the day if operating costs and rate hikes from networks get too high, then they have to cut back on promotions to keep going. They still need to stay in business and make a profit.

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@Chiefs55 wrote:
I would think after 20 years of sticking with a company, they would try something to get me to stay. They just said, Ok, let's disconnect. I'm not asking for the world here, just a reason to stay with them. I can easily find cheaper service, but have always tried to stay because of the NFL Sunday Ticket. Directv would always try to find ways to keep me as a customer. AT&T didn't even make an effort to keep me.
You must be one of those people who just accepts pay hikes when I'm always trying to negotiate the best deal for me, not the company.

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i have never called in to reduce my bill

but whenever i have had an issue, they always offer me one

latest was i bent my dish, totally my fault, i knew i would have to pay for the replacement

they gave me $50 a month for 2 years.

they are trying to weed out customers who always call in asking for deals.

have you tried calling your electric company? insurance? ect ect?

@Chiefs55 

Trying to find a good deal is fine. The issue is that AT&T is going through and stopping the gravy train for those that their service lives on a deal. Sometimes we might get a smaller special, or even have to pay full cost. Yes the agent should see what can be done to retain your business, but if your account doesn't qualify for any specials then the agent can only go over your services and see if reducing to a different package would put it within your budget. Regardless of what specials are available the package should be reviewed as they have changed over the years and some channels are in lower costing packages then they used to be.

So in the end you had some great deals in the past, but DirecTV/AT&T sees it that you have gotten too much in deals over time to where you are not worth it as a customer to stay on an overly reduced rate. Those specials are not intended to be constant, something it appears that AT&T is cracking down on.

And actual employees of DirecTV/AT&T will have that tag by their name, though they do disclose they are posting on their personal time (since this a public forum, not official support), so are just another knowledge resource. Those of us with the "ace" tag, are just experienced customers who have chosen to help others on the forum.

@Chiefs55 You don't have to be an AT&T employee to know trying to blackmail services you work with into lowering your bill doesn't make you a good customer. Good customers pay the rate that the company has decided makes them a profit. With all the specials and discounts you've gotten over the years, AT&T has probably lost money on you, and would make more by dumping you for another customer who pays the standard rate.

Other companies will offer you deals and discounts to sign up, but that's only because they hope you'll stay once those deals expire because you value the service. If you want those deals, go ahead and switch services. In a year or two, you'll have to switch again to get another deal. Rinse and repeat.

You might call people who pay the quoted price for services "sheep," but not everyone is so focused on price. Other people stay because of the benefits of the actual service, not the price.

I have been a customer since 2008.  I called today to ask about my cancellation fee (reception is getting too inconsistent) and she told me it was $20.00/mth for the remainder of the contract (12 months). This was the only thing i asked and she never even asked me why i was thinking or wanting to cancel my service.  This is the difference between Direct TV and AT&T customer service.  This would have never happen before the merger.  I feel the quality of the product has decreased with the quality of the customer relationship.  You used to call at anytime and talk to a person, who could actually speak English and take care of any request you had (movie rental, receiver resets, etc.).  Now you have to navigate 20 minutes through an automated call center, only to reach "JIM", who can hardly communicate. Can you give me one aspect of AT&T's business  that is of high quality?  Cellular service...terrible, Internet service...terrible, TV service...terrible.  It is obviously a result of the culture and philosophy of the company.  

@Chrisintitantow 

If you ask about the service agreement even if you don't specifically mention cancelling, that is the most common reason to check that information. As such any company would require their agents to discuss with you a bit more. That the agent did not is astounding. I wonder if that was even a retention agent, or just some front line agent simply answering the question asked instead of getting you to the right agent. Definitely not what should have happened.

As for inconsistent reception, that would suggest your receiving dish needs to be checked for optimal alignment, that the mounting (including what it is mounted to) is secure, as well as the outside connections. In proper alignment and condition the reception should be very stable except in the most extreme storms. If you haven't closed out yet, I would call DirecTV back and when you get the voice system say "cancel" so you are routed directly. Let them know your concerns and they will go over what can be done, which I believe should include a service call because of the reception problem. Good luck.

@Chiefs55 

Since nobody has the "employee" tag, none of us are on AT&T's payroll. Simply from the experience you have stated and other public announcements (such as from the CEO as mentioned), it would appear keeping you on the discounts you want means you are no longer a profitable customer. If a customer continuing on long term discounts is no longer profitable, then from their business standpoint you either pay full cost or are no longer valuable as a customer because it is just losing money for them at that point. Those are the brakes, but the gravy train couldn't last forever.

@Chrisintitantow wrote:

I called today to ask about my cancellation fee (reception is getting too inconsistent) and she told me it was $20.00/mth for the remainder of the contract (12 months). This was the only thing i asked and she never even asked me why i was thinking or wanting to cancel my service.

So you were trying to make a veiled threat and the customer service rep you spoke to didn't take the bait. If you wanted to get into a discussion about canceling your service, why didn't you just say "I want to cancel my service"? Or better yet, call tech support for the issues with reception?