By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
If anyone knows about the troubles of keeping a steady cell connection, it’s someone who is from a rural area. It’s a problem that’s plagued all carriers. But it’s one that AT&T says they’re committed to fixing. Not only is AT&T taking its commitment to its customers to the next level, the news was brought home to the region by Carter County native Krista Kouns.
Kouns grew up in Grayson and attended East Carter. She worked her way up through the ranks at AT&T to her current position as Director of Retail Sales for a large portion of Kentucky and parts of Indiana, and said it is a ‘full circle’ moment to be able to bring the news to her hometown. Though her office is in Lexington, she said that Carter County will always be considered home.
Kouns said the new guarantee from AT&T is more than a promise; it is a renewed commitment to their customers. She describes it as a promise to take action when AT&T customers have problems and includes what most consumers of any product want more of – customer service.
“As we look at our customer base, and this is all across the industry, nearly half of the customers have skepticism regarding their carriers,” Kouns said.
Kouns said that AT&T has talked for years about having the best connectivity in America.
“And when you talk about this, then this promise had to come through for our customers,” she said. “It’s a ‘talk the talk and walk the walk’ deal,” she said, adding that AT&T is bringing both to their customers.
“It’s the connectivity our customers can depend on, the deals that you want and need, and the prompt friendly service you deserve,” Kouns said. “And if we fall short of that, we are going to make that right.”
Kouns said AT&T has empowered their entire workforce to commit to these new promises to experience the new AT&T guarantee. The company has dedicated upward of 750 million dollars to identify and determine how to correct potential problems to their network in our region caused by numerous common factors including geography, forestry, powerlines, etc.
On the front lines of AT&T service, technicians can input an address with GeoLink and discover what that local network looks like and how it operates.
“Managing this wireless network is challenging,” Kouns said. “And we want to do it better.”
Part of that, she said, is mapping out where you use your service and giving you a clearer picture of how that service will operate.
“Sometimes that means if we can’t keep you connected, that results in bill credits,” Kouns said. “Sometimes these bill credits will be automatic. If there is a network interruption, we are going to fix it fast. But if your service is out for over an hour, that means you are automatically going to get a bill credit.”
“You don’t even need to call us,” Kouns added. “Your credit will be automatic. And that is just one example of the things we are doing differently.”
Investing in the service it provides its customers has improved the AT&T network overall, Kouns said, and that investment has brought them to the current promise they are making to their customers.
“We are the first and only carrier that offers a guarantee like this for wireless and fiber networks,” she noted.
Kouns said that this is all part of AT&T’s commitment to focus on being proactive and putting the customer first.
“We are here to set the bar and change the industry,” Kouns said. “Our customers deserve that. They deserve a promise that we will keep getting better. No other carrier has offered this kind of guarantee. We are the leaders in the converged community, and we have our customers’ backs. This promise, this guarantee, is a commitment that we will deliver on that… And if we fall short of that, we will take action to make it right.”
As part of the promise for both the prompt action and friendly customer service, Kouns touched on one aspect that people in our region do not like about any problem-solving activity – dealing with automated services. You won’t have to deal with that sort of button pushing and hoop jumping moving forward, she said.
“When you call in you will speak with a friendly tech expert within five minutes or get a scheduled call back from a friendly tech expert at a time you choose.” Kouns said. “Our customers deserve the best, and that is what we are working to give them.”
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
