Watching Randall Get Nailed

Just back from Brainstorm, and from a meeting of the Calit2 Advisory Board, both of which were great fun and worth attending.  I’ll share more with members in the coming weeks of the SNS Newsletter, but I couldn’t help but mention the audience’s response to the Fortune interview of AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson.  Now, keep in mind, I think he has done a lot for T since coming on board; he is probably the most visionary CEO they have ever had.  He is the person who did the iPhone deal, as Exhibit A.

Even so, T has been lying about its network for so, so long, that when the audience finally had a chance at Q and A, they were all over T in a minute.  The first question (and I am paraphrasing): “If your company is so great, why do I tell all of my friends that, even though I love the iPhone, they should definitely NOT sign up for it, because the carrier is so bad?”

The next question had to do with world-poor customer service.

Although Randall did his best to be the CEO in charge, etc., there was no real answer: it’s the bars, and T’s bars suck.

Well, there is ONE answer: fix the bars.

We all want you to do it, Randall, and it will fit the otherwise – useful energy you are bringing to the job.

Just make it so we can talk to each other without dropping calls constantly.

Then, you can go onstage again, without fear of having the same thing happening to you as happened this week at Brainstorm.