AT&T Thinks Customer Service Critique is Unfair

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AT&T is taking heat from Connecticut's Attorney General for poor customers service in the state, something local unions say is thanks to the firing of 1,000 employees over the last decade. AT&T's relationship with Connecticut is already on shaky ground, after the State DPUC tried to force U-Verse to adhere to cable regulations, and forced AT&T to get consent of homeowners before plunking down VDSL VRADs. As for their customers service, AT&T has stated that they don't feel like they're getting a fair shake.

"Connecticut’s clock runs continuously. So if a customer calls at 7 p.m. but does not want us to show up until after 9 a.m. the next morning we are already at a loss of 14 of our 24 hours to make repairs."
-AT&T, on customer service in CT

According to AT&T spokesman Seth Bloom, there are five metrics used by the DPUC in Connecticut and AT&T scores well above average on four out of five of them. "Most notably, we score extremely well on the "trouble per 100 access lines" metric where we perform 32 percent better than the DPUC's guidelines," says Bloom, who notes complaints per 100k subs is also dropping.

As for CT Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's claims that AT&T doesn't have phone service repaired within 24 hours (a state consumer protection law), AT&T suggests that Connecticut's criteria isn't particularly fair -- though according to data filed with the CT DPUC, AT&T has failed to meet the standard for going on eight years now.

"Unlike other states that stop the service clock on nights, weekends, and holidays, Connecticut’s clock runs continuously," says Bloom. "So if a customer calls at 7 p.m. but does not want us to show up until after 9 a.m. the next morning we are already at a loss of 14 of our 24 hours to make repairs."

What do you think?  Is this fair or unfair?
AT&T wouldn't confirm the unions' claims of 1,000 workers being laid off over the last decade, but Bloom points out that some of that has to do with the loss in traditional landlines. "Hiring is happening where the growth is - U-verse and wireless," he notes.

Bloom goes on to claim that AT&T responds to 100% of customer inquiries within 10 seconds or less, and successfully clears all requests for service points. According to Bloom, AT&T is also far from being the only carrier in Connecticut that falls short when it comes to the 24-hour response clock. Any AT&T DSL or phone customers in Connecticut care to chime in with their repair experiences?