Thursday, April 21, 2011

AT&T to Alltel Transition

For many ex-Alltel customers the day of reckoning is here. The transition from Alltel to Verizon ownership was nearly painless, but AT&T needed to push their newest customers through several technological hoops. They sent a new GSM to every Alltel customer which would theoretically become their new phone the day of the switchover, hoping to provide continuous service. The carrier sent Text Messages as the deadline neared. There have been hiccups.

Much like the contentious switch by Element Wireless, some of the new AT&T phones just don't work. Some problems are technical, some are cockpit error. AT&T was able to transition customers in groups to prevent long lines of irate users. Extra staff were available at nearby AT&T stores. Indeed, the lines are long, but the waits are short. In some cases, customers are thrilled to join the AT&T family and don't mind the wait. Others are frustrated to the point that they will need to find another network.

Overall, it seems that AT&T is fairly well prepared for this massive changeover that is occurring mainly in rural parts of the US. These may the the kind of customers who may become very loyal to a carrier who handles their problems properly, and it seems for the most part, AT&T is doing just that. If the reports are accurate, we'll actually tip our hat to AT&T for a job well done.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Very painful switchover...neither my old phone worked, nor my new phone for hours on the morning of the 21st. Now, my phone is working intermittently if I turn it off for a minute, and then back on. AT&T has apparently dropped the ball on this transition. They had months to prepare and get the technology in place, and there are still all of these problems? I can't imagine that there is a company in the USA that is more incompetent than AT&T. I am switching to Verizon tomorrow. Actually, everyone I know from work, as well as our work account which has 5 or 6 lines is switching. AT&T needs to get their heads out of their asses and and learn how to conduct business along with Barrack Hussein Obama...lol.

Oz Andrews said...

Where do you live? Most problems have been in Montana and the Dakotas where Alltel users were actually roaming on Verizon sites instead of Alltel's.

William said...

Rob, we're having problems in my area too with At&t, and everyone here I know is switching to Verizon as soon as they get service in the area. In fairness, At&t's problems here are arising due to work they are conducting on their towers to convert them to 3G, but that doesn't make the issues any less severe. If the FCC does not allow the T-Mobile purchase to go through, I can see At&t starting a slow but steady phase of declining subscribers followed by quarterly subscriber losses. At&t is feeling the spectrum crunch.

Carol Taylor said...

Sorry my families transition was anything but smooth, and I spent hours and hours on hold only to receive regardless answers from the Customer Service folks. ON the day of transition they shut my Alltel off at 8AM and I had to go to an ATT store the next day to get the phone working. Now my bill is incorrect.Plus AFTER the transition we find connection is iffy at best. ATT answers..it will improve in a few months. There CS absolutely sucks. I am switching to Verizon as is the rest of my family. We are in Utah.

Oz Andrews said...

Thanks for sharing your experiences. We will add your thoughts to a future article. While it is frustrating to have to change carriers, if you had better service before the transition, then you were probably using a Verizon tower anyway. Enjoy your new service.