I sent a very helpful letter to AT&T with recommendations to improve cell phone service at Kyle Field. They responded but ignored all of my suggestions and my t-shirt request.
Note: You can read all of the previous GBH Letters here.
Click here to read my letter to AT&T and click here to read AT&T's response. I've also copied the text of both letters below, but first a list of complaints:
- Obvious sexism. They address me as Mr. Hunting even though I did not indicate my gender. Women watch football and wear XL t-shirts too, AT&T!
- Lowercase college station. You know how I know you love the Longhorns!?!?!?
- receptioncomplaint.dot. This appears to be a slightly modified template response. They did not even respond to my bat research idea.
- Poor manners. You shouldn't end your letter with "Sincerely," without signing your name. The empty space makes me think you don't like me.
My letter to AT&T
G’day Cell Mates,
I am not Australian but isn’t that a fun greeting? As a subscriber of your services, I must say that most of the time I am very impressed. I rarely drop calls or my phone any more. Voices are very clear even when people on the other end are speaking a foreign language. I also enjoy your commercials very much. “Can you hear me now?” Classic.
I am writing you today because I found a dead zone for your service and it’s a major problem for fans of Texas A&M University Football. On gamedays in the Fall, Aggies with AT&T cannot send or receive texts or phone calls inside or nearby Kyle Field in College Station, TX. I hope that you can remedy the problem because the season is approaching and it’s my understanding that other carriers have better service in the area.
I am not the type of person to complain without offering up solutions, so let me know what you think:
- You can add cellular antennae to the goal posts. Our placekicker rarely gets the ball near them, so I think they will stay intact.
- Install payphones inside Kyle Field, especially for emergencies. I once texted “in mortal danger” to Aggie Assist and my message never went through. I wasn’t really in mortal danger at the time but the guy sitting next to me was taking up 2 ½ seats. He must have weighed 500 pounds!
- Put boosting devices on our bats. We have thousands of Mexican Freetail bats inhabiting Kyle Field and they are basically useless except for making the stadium smell like bat guano. If you can capture a few dozen and put collars on them that improve the signal, I bet you can get some kind of grant from the government. You may need to track their migration or something like that to earn the grant, but then you can add it to the social responsibility section of your website.
- Add more cellular towers in College Station. This may seem ridiculous because I know they are expensive, but please consider. We are desperate.
Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my concern. I’d also appreciate a free XL t-shirt so that people know I have a cell phone without me having to wear a Bluetooth earpiece.
More bars needed,
G.B.Hunting
AT&T's Response
Dear Mr. Hunting,
Thank you for your recent inquiry concerning your wireless account with AT&T. We have reviewed your account in regards to your reception at Kyle Field in college station, TX.
We do apologize unfortunately we cannot guarantee service in all locations. Signal strength is dependent on several different factors. One major factor would be the terrain of the surrounding area, such as high hills, mountains, dense tree coverage, or building structures. Cell phones work on what is called line of sight. The phones must be able to 'see' the tower to register a signal. If there is a blockage of the signal, then your phones will not register good signal strength. If signal or lack of signal is an issue, AT&T cannot do anything unless the customer contacts us to report an issue.
AT&T is constantly upgrading and improving our network coverage. New wireless network enhancements and normal maintenance occur daily. For the majority of our customers, the network enhancements we make improve their service. We will continue to upgrade and improve the network. We appreciate your suggestions in improving service.
Please call our customer service department at your convenience from a landline and we would be more than happy to assist you with further troubleshooting.
AT&T is committed to providing its customers with the best network experience possible. If you do require further assistance, you may call us at 1-800-331-0500.
AT&T appreciates your business.
Sincerely,
No t-shirt received.