Why I will NEVER recommend AT&T to my family, friends or coworkers

I recently moved and as a loyal AT&T customer I decided to move my Uverse and Internet services with me. As anyone who has ever moved can empathize, I had an inordinate amount of things on my plate, on top of running my own business. I was dissatisfied with my internet service from the first couple of weeks and planned on calling to get - I hoped - some options to upgrade. So I called AT&T customer support three weeks ago and was told the package I could upgrade to would only give me up to 24Mbps of internet speed, and that was just the maximum, not a guaranteed minimum. That was only 2Mbps faster than was I was experiencing at the time, which I knew would not be sufficient. It was faster to run the internet on my wireless network rather than using Wi-Fi to browse the internet on my phone. Similar experience on my laptop, desktop and iPad. I didn't want to switch, but I didn't have a choice as AT&T wasn't offering a solution to the internet problem.

It wasn't until two weeks ago, about two months into the service, that I was able to get around to finding another provider who offered over four times the speed of internet! I signed up immediately. As a business owner it is imperative for me to have a fast internet connection to keep in touch with clients. AT&T unfortunately could not offer me the service I needed.

Reluctantly, I spent another half day getting new services installed and going through that whole experience again. I would have liked to avoid that if possible, but as I mentioned, the AT&T internet was so poor I just didn't have a choice. Although I had to go through the inconvenience of having new services installed, I'm glad I did because my internet service has tremendously improved!

When I called AT&T to explain the situation and cancel my services I was basically told that I waited too long to cancel (over one month) and would be charged a $165 cancellation fee. I implored with them to understand my position as a consumer, a business owner, and a new home owner. They would not. At one point, the manager Jennifer basically told me, “Why didn’t you call sooner? If you hadn’t waited this long you could have cancelled without penalty.  We’re already two months in. There’s nothing I can do for you.”

I found her response to be rude and insensitive. She doesn't know what I have going on daily. Who is she to ask me why I didn't call sooner? She should simply help me solve the issue and take into consideration that I was a loyal customer for over two years before this - even after my bill fluctuated without warning on numerous occasions - but that's yet another story!

I will pay the $165 fee, which will pale in comparison to the cost of losing potential business from my friends, family, and co-workers, as I’ll be sure to tell them about this negative customer experience. What a lack of appreciation for customer loyalty. Sorely disappointed in you, AT&T. You’re better than this.