Dear AT&T:

You lied to me. After my boss and I spent a combined two hours on the phone with unhelpful customer service reps, I turned to a forum where I thought  I could get help: Twitter. I knew you tweeted customer service assistance, and it seemed a fair court of last resort.

Wrong.

Now, you might think it’s strange that I’m writing this letter instead of my boss, Lorraine, who actually pays the bills. But there are two reasons: first, her husband, Andy, works for AT&T. Second, her blood pressure is still sky-high from dealing with you.

AT&T, why did you ignore me? You were so good at first, quickly getting in touch after the initial tweet and promising a call “soon.” Two hours passed. No call. I reminded you. You promised a call “soon.” When I left the office at 5:15, nearly four hours after the initial promise, there was still only silence from you.

Bad move, AT&T. Not only is it awful customer service, but it’s terrible PR. It looks like you’ve only jumped onto Twitter customer service because it’s the hot new thing (companies like Discount Tire use it splendidly), not because you actually care about delivering customer service in this new format. I see it as a cold, calculating PR move with no substance to back it up. And PR should always, always have substance and truth behind it.

I don’t trust you, AT&T. I was neutral towards you before, but your poor service, both on the phone and on Twitter, has moved me to open hostility. I will now do my best to avoid your products at all cost. All because of one poorly executed PR move.

Don’t call us, and I won’t call you.

Sincerely,

Allison.