CRM Rule #1: Don't blame the customer for your decisions or mistakes
I have been using AT&T CallVantage VOIP for a couple of years now, and I really liked their service. Unfortunately AT&T decided to shut down this service. I'm not sure why. But here are some clues:
"Based on our continued focus to deliver the best possible products and services to our customers and to focus our efforts and investments on new technologies, we are no longer offering AT&T CallVantage Service. All of our current residential and business customer accounts will be retired by end of year 2009. Customers are currently being given the opportunity to migrate to another AT&T service, transfer to another service provider, or disconnect service completely."
"We are focusing our efforts and investments on developing and enhancing our new technologies. While we understand that it may be an inconvenience to transfer services, we are focusing our efforts on making the transition as smooth as possible for customers."
"In April, AT&T CallVantage customers began to receive several notifications informing them that AT&T CallVantage Service is being discontinued and urging them to explore other AT&T service alternatives. If a customer fails to take action, we will continue to reach out to the customer to make sure they are aware of their options to transfer services." *
Until now, AT&T has been doing a great job of sending letters warning me to port my numbers before they shut down CV. I don't want to lose my phone numbers, so I've been looking into my options for porting and using these numbers. I'm going to miss CV: their customer service has been pretty good, and the VOIP service has been excellent.
Today I received an email notice that they ported one of my lines. What I don't understand is why they decided to blame me for deciding to cancel the service.
CRM Rule #1: Don't blame the customer for your decisions or mistakes
-----Original Message-----
From: AT&T CallVantage Service [mailto:CustomerNotifications@maillennium.att.com]
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 12:02 PM
To: xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: AT&T CallVantage Service Disconnect Order Confirmation for (999) 999-9999
As requested on 09/25/2009, AT&T CallVantage (R) Service is in the process of disconnecting your 2nd Line service. You will not be able to place or receive calls using the AT&T CallVantage Service on your 2nd Line. If you have not done so already, you should immediately arrange for service with an alternate phone service provider.
If you have any questions or concerns simply visit https://www.callvantage.att.com/help. We are sorry you decided to cancel this additional line, but want to thank you again for being a AT&T CallVantage Service customer.
Sincerely,
AT&T CallVantage Service Team
Hey it wasn't my decision! I was a happy customer. I think this letter could have been a little nicer. Simple CRM rules can help make it better.
Keywords & tags: AT&T shutting down CallVantage VOIP service
* Links:
http://www.callvantage.att.com/disconnect
http://www.cnbc.com/id/30346565/for/cnbc/
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/converg/2008/082508converge1.html?t51hb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT%26T_CallVantage
https://www.callvantage.att.com/help/genfaqs/disconnect_why.htm
Comments
UPDATE 10/15/2009:
I decided to port my AT&T CallVantage VOIP numbers to Number Garage (http://www.numbergarage.com/). The setup process was simple, and it didn't take long for the port process to complete. I forwarded the first number to my Google Voice number - the combo of Number Garage forwarding my phone# to Google Voice is a no-hassle, no-brainer win-win. Now that I am satisfied with the Number Garage service and reliability, I am going to go ahead and port my second AT&T CV number to NumberGarage.
AT&T CV TIP: Be sure to port out your secondary CV line first. After that is complete, then port out your primary AT&T CV line. Once that completes, AT&T will close your account.
NEXT STEP:
What I really want to do is port one of these phone numbers to Google Voice, but they don't handle porting yet.
QUESTION:
Google, when can I port in my phone number?
DISCLOSURE:
I am not compensated by Number Garage. Instead, I gladly pay them $9.95 a month (per phone#... plus $29.95 for the first month) to solve my AT&T CallVantage problem. $10 bucks lets me keep a number I've had for many years, then ported INTO CallVantage a few years ago.
It's a pretty good permanent solution for my phone number 1.
And it's a great temporary solution for my phone number 2, until I can port that number to my Google Voice.
One beef: You need to create a new account for each number. Number Garage is working on systems and methods to handle large accounts with many lines. Call them. Tell them I sent you.
DISCLOSURE NOTE:
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is working on new disclosure rules that will require all bloggers and product reviewers to disclose if they are paid or compensated in any way for product reviews, testimonials, tweets, blogs, etc.
Since BIZRULES likes to stay ahead of the curve in the rules business, I added that disclosure above in a shameless effort to (1) comply with new federal regulations that haven't even been finalized yet, and (2) see if this is the first public disclosure under that new law.
:-)
Posted by: Rolando Hernandez![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://bizrules.info/weblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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October 15, 2009 12:03 AM