Another last to first customer service merger

My relaxing Sunday was disrupted by news that AT&T it is purchasing T-Mobile USA from Deutsch Telecom. Ugh.

I've been a loyal T-Mobile USA customer for a number of years after fleeing AT&T's terrible customer service. The worst part is AT&T has continued to stalk me like a psycho ex-girlfriend (see that post).

This is another example of a company whose service I despise purchasing a company I enjoy doing business with. T-Mobile currently holds the #1 spot for customer service ratings with both J.D. Power and The American Customer Satisfaction Index. AT&T, on the other hand, is tied for last in J.D. Power's rankings and holds last place by itself in the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

The last example of one of a service nemisis taking over a decent company was United Airlines buying Continental Airlines last year. (See: United Airlines will get bigger, ruder, and less efficient.) When that was announced, I walked outside and looked up at the sky while shaking my fist and screaming, "Noooooooooo!" (To be fair, commercial airliners regularly fly over my house.)

So now what? Will T-Mobile's outstanding customer service somehow rub off on their new owner? Not likely. Something tells me my future involves a switch to Verizon.

Cox vs. Brinks: I lose, nobody wins

There was a power outage at my home on Tuesday that knocked out my internet and cable-based phone service. I was able to restore my internet connection, but the phones remained dead. This little incident has led to a knock-down, drag-out, no-holds-barred war between Cox Communications and Brinks Home Security to avoid responsibility. So far, nobody's won.

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AT&T is like a psycho ex-girlfriend

Updated on Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 12:28PM by Jeff Toister

I received a Hallmark card in the mail this week. It was in a plain blue envelope with no return address. Hmmmm.

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