Stop Whining About AT&T

This week is, of course, iPhone 4 Week – the week when everyone gets their shiny little iPhones only to discover that their phone service is still, in fact, provided by AT&T.  Boo-freakin’ hoo.  You have bad service.  You knew you were going to get bad service from AT&T and you still signed up anyway.  Everyone loves bitching about AT&T.  In fact, if there’s any company that can compete with BP as far as bad PR is concerned, it’s AT&T.  From where I sit, I can see only one relevant question for those complaining about AT&T:

What are you going to do about it?

Are you going to cancel your service (and pay the ETF)? Are you going to NOT buy an iPhone or an iPad? Or are you going to whine about AT&T and try to console yourself with the false hope that a global corporation will go out of business overnight because some people got bad customer service? Whining on blogs is not a viable solution to your complaints with AT&T.

For every person convinced that these problems will be the death of AT&T, remember this:

AT&T is the exclusive provider of service for the iPhone and the iPad.

In other words, it is a license to print money. Complain and gripe and whine all you want. AT&T’s rebuttal to your complaints will be lined up bright and early tomorrow, hoping to buy more products with a two-year AT&T contract.

My prediction: the iPhone and iPad will continue to give AT&T what’s known in the business as “Fuck You Money”.

As in, “Your complaints are noted. While we will give lip service, no we won’t be doing anything substantive to fix any of your concerns. It would be nice if we did but we like making money more than making you happy. Besides, you’ll be back. And even if you won’t be back, your friends will. So fuck you and have a nice day.”

My point is that sitting on your duff and grousing about AT&T is dumb.

AT&T is in the business of making money; it is not in the business of making people happy with its service.

If AT&T can generate more net revenue with unsatisfied customers than with satisfied customers, all whining will continue to go into a circular bin. This is the present situation.

As for Apple sticking with AT&T, I don’t see how it’s a bad thing for Apple. AT&T shoulders the blame for iPhone problems. On top of that, because the iPhone is the central pillar of AT&T’s wireless division, AT&T spends money to promote the iPhone. And every dollar that AT&T spends on saturating the airwaves and street corners and the internet with iPhone ads is a dollar that Apple doesn’t have to spend.

I don’t see anything wrong with either AT&T’s or Apple’s business strategy as far as the iPhone is concerned.

So what will I be doing about AT&T’s crummy service?

Nothing.

I have better things to do. I’ll be buying a new iPhone and signing up for a new 2-year contract with AT&T.