The Conference Coach™

Carolyn Bradfield

I was one of the first people who bought an Apple iPhone when they first came out.  I had been a committed Verizon user with my Motorola Razor phone and absolutely resisted the change to a new phone and different service.  Despite equipment issues, network failings, dropped calls and a steep learning curve, I finally made the emotional commitment that I was indeed cool enough to use an iPhone….and I liked it.  The apps are fun, I can find my way with the GPS, and I like reading my email on the fly.  The phone service leaves something to be desired, but I’ve been willing to adjust.

Fortunately my husband drove the decision to move to iPhone users, so he also accepted the responsibility of engaging with AT&T for billing and service.  Things seemed to go well, so I thought I would try and get a change made to my account to accommodate my daughter’s desire to move her T-Mobile account to our family plan under AT&T in order to save some money.

For those of you who may not remember, if you have any type of phone service, you have control over your phone number and can move it to another vendor.  We had no contract with T-Mobile, and room for 5 phone numbers in our family plan.  It would seem logical that AT&T would want the additional mobile minutes from the T-Mobile number, right?

Well, you have to start with customer service to make the request.  They have to transfer you to the “port” department to move the T-Mobile number.  Another department has to look at your account and make sure that you are following your contract.  It just so happened that we had one inactive phone number that was about to expire in a month, so we didn’t meet the “guidelines,” so there was an immediate obstacle in retiring the inactive number so we had room to move the T-Mobile number.

I thought, maybe if I go to an AT&T store, this would be easier.  After all, I had been on the line with three different service departments for hours and couldn’t move the process forward.  Maybe I would be more effective in communicating my goals in person.  I met with a nice AT&T representative who assured me that this would be “no problem.”  However, the process took a long time and time ran short, so I had to come back to complete the transaction.  The paperwork went into the computer and our request WAS REJECTED.  My patience was up and I started to express my thoughts on the logic of this process.

A young manager came over with the attitude, “we’re AT&T and you need to live with it.”  Fortunately there were a number of people in the store; it was easy to hear my distress, and ultimately I got my transaction done without paying any penalty fees.  This only took multiple phone calls to three service departments and two trips to the AT&T store.

Although I was frustrated and about to slit my wrists, it reminded me of why companies like Copper Conferencing exist in the marketplace.  We’re small, but we’re responsive.  We don’t let bureaucracy, procedures and a lack of empathy for the customer make us hard to do business with.  We don’t require complex contracts with a lot of illogical legal-ease in them.  We recognize that you can’t hold customers to you with a piece of paper – that the tie comes with great service and being easy to do business with.

Let me share with you that the minute the iPhone is available on another carrier, I’m moving.  I’m going to test their customer service first and find someone who appreciates my business.  I’m even willing to pay a little more for the privilege.

There are plenty of examples in the conferencing industry where the big guy cares more about their paperwork and processes rather than the customer.  This is why companies like Copper Conferencing exist and thrive.  Take a lesson AT&T, you’re just not worth it!

To learn why Copper is worth it and how audio conferencing and web conferencing services can help you improve your business and cut costs, contact a Conference Coach today.