More “rewarding” service from AT&T
Remember how much I love AT&T? Mostly because of the fantastic service. If you’ve got AT&T, I’m sure you can relate. Well, lately they’ve been extra solicitous.
I got a “thank you” card in the mail from AT&T, “thanking me” for sticking it out with U-verse for two years now. As a thank you, they also promise two rewards: a free On Demand movie rental, up to $6, and a $15 AT&T Visa “Reward Card” that I can redeem however I wish. All I have to do is go online and redeem it. They’re even so nice as to give me a printed step-by-step walkthrough of how to do this. So I did this. Here’s what I found out:
- The “free” On Demand credit of $6 will credit to my account in 1-2 months. In other words, after I’ve already spent about $400 — unless I switch from AT&T. Which is kind of what happens with the other offer as well:
- The prepaid Visa will be sent to me after I’ve stayed on the service for another four months. My U-verse bill (for cable, phone, and internet) is $194/month. So actually, this “thank you” is really a tiny discount to get me to stay longer. Precisely, it’s the equivalent of a $15 discount off about a $600 bill. That’s a discount of .025%. I’m making an offer right here and now: I’m currently engaged in several negotiations. If any of those people I speaking with would like a discount of .025% and they’ll sign right now — just let me know. You can have it.
- When I went online to redeem the card and learned these things, I also saw this encouraging text about the $15 “thank you” “reward” card:
| You’re almost there!Please review and accept the Terms and Conditions below to redeem your $10 AT&T Visa® Reward Card. |
So when you actually want the fifteen-buck thank-you card, it’s worth only ten.
I threw it all in the trash and considered, again, switching to Charter.
November 18th, 2013 at 2:19 am
You need to check out an old movie called THE PRESIDENT’S ANALYST for the real truth on how the Phone Company messes with our minds. Do so and report back to us.
November 18th, 2013 at 7:36 pm
I dumped AT&T as my long distance crrier a long time ago. With my iPhone and previous cell phones I did not need long distance from them. AT&T was charging a “service Fee” when I did not use the long distance service and they would charge me when I did use long distance.
November 27th, 2013 at 8:57 am
Yesterday I went to Staples, where, as usual, I was asked for my “rewards” card (or whatever they call theirs). I told her I don’t have one. She asked if I want one. I said no. My reason is that the only thing I’ve ever gotten when I used to use one from them was a coupon for printer ink that would expire long before I needed printer ink again. Then I pointed out that I’d been charged $7.99 for an item that was on a shelf with a sign saying it is $5.99. Ah, that $2 difference? It’s a rebate, which means that for $2, I have to go through the crap of filling out a form and waiting weeks to get it, then depositing the check. I pointed out that they do this because they know a significant percentage of people will never redeem the rebate. She agreed with me. Also yesterday I got a limited time offer from AT&T (!!!) U-verse offering me a limited time (’til 12/23) deal on U-verse tv (I have U-verse internet). This limited time offer can now replace the identical limited time offer (’til 12/13) that’s already on my desk. On the other hand, I have nice things to say about Eddie Bauer.