AT&T says it wants to improve customer service. And one way to do this is by giving customers credit in the event of internet outages and long phone wait times.
The company said Wednesday that going forward, customers will receive a full day of billing credit for any fiber outage longer than 20 minutes or wireless outage longer than an hour. If customers calling the phone support line have to wait longer than five minutes on the phone, They will receive a $5 Visa gift card.
That's not much. But costs could increase for AT&T and incentivize it to improve operations. The initiative is reminiscent of European laws that require airlines to compensate passengers for delays. This is a regulation that some research suggests. Improve on-time arrival–
Experience with AT&T many widespread Network failures in 2024 could cause incredible disruption in a world that relies on constant connectivity. Job interviews over Zoom can be short, homework has to wait. And the sports program will definitely increase. Move to streaming Can be interrupted at the wrong time
It doesn't help that internet service providers like AT&T have a majority presence in the United States. In some parts of the country especially in rural areas Consumers have only One or two internet service providers Take your pick: Services like SpaceX's Starlink are helping to solve some of the problems, and the FCC is continuing to take action. Use the funds to develop rural broadband. It is part of the Rural Broadband Responsibility Plan.
according to new york timesThe new policy from AT&T is part of a $750 million investment the company has made in customer service over the past four years. Kellyn Smith Kenny, AT&T's head of marketing and growth, said the network-wide outage was not It's happened a lot in recent years.
AT&T also plans to launch a dedicated website where customers can check the status of outages. without having to go to social media to see if they are alone or not