Maybe a question every one asked themselves recently, and I doubt that anyone has an answer. Just wanted to get some other views and opinions on the company future here.
17 replies (most recent on top)
kick the can down the road .... that's all the better it will ever be
AT&T is like a soccer ball. Big and round on the outside, hollow on the inside. Someday, the air will be let out.
I have been doing the fiber overlay project and when I tell people we are going to provide fiber to the house and compete with Time Warner Cable/Spectrum they are really happy. I don't know what percentage change to AT&T fiber but if not many it is the company's sales staff that is dropping the ball. The BellSouth area use to be forward thinking and customer oriented by not since SBC bought us.
Define “normal”.
T is trying to stay relevant just like IBM buying red hat is their grasp at staying relevant. It will be interesting to see if ibm transform red hat into ibm or leaves it alone.
The leadership team is God awful. There is no connection between them and reality at the L2 management level. Their answers to eNPS surveys where they are completely lambasted is to hire another motivational speaker, and come up with yet more mandatory classes for overworked folks to take. Thanks a lot.
Unless you are in cso. They get pretty much what they want.
never will be the same, T has gotten too fat and sloppy. T realizes this and will have to get in shape and get rid of the fat.
What klp said and no it will never return to normal. Go look at other companies. The only benefit it had over other companies was the pension and since they don’t have that anymore their benefits are average or below. Lots of other companies pay higher and have better benefits than t.
Never again will this be a strong company. Randall has seen to that. After the Rat is done laying off the bulk of his American workforce and replacing them with 3rd word workers, the loss of knowledge will be irreparable.
The AT&T brand, which once represented the highest of business standards, will be a shell of its former self. Customers and the general public are already seeing AT&T as a cheap, shoddy brand.
It’s not a normal wireless company! Trust me, I have work for others.
It is probably a "normal" wireless company. But, it is the paying customer that dictates the direction of the company, and the customer has been dictating that voice communications be wireless. Now, increasingly, internet communications is becoming wireless. I know people without any recent computers, because all their internet is smart phone. My sister's computer is 15 years old - but she has an up to date Apple cellphone.
I pay attention as much, if not more what the consumer is doing versus what AT&T is doing. The real flux now is this cord cutting (including satellite). I don't see a clear path on that. Separate services for Netflix, TimeWarner, Disney, Hulu etc, versus cable or satellite service? The savings isn't clear.
But cord cutting is good for home internet service, whereas satellite means, in combination with smart phone internet, might not need that home internet. I don't think that's settled. And not being settled means that there is no normal customer usage pattern, yet. AT&T isn't going to be any more "normal" than the customer is.
The customer will drive what AT&T, and its competitors will do.
Normal is all about perspective, if you hired in 20, 30 or 40 years ago to a company where everyone had a pension and job security was almost a guarantee due to zero competition and almost 60 years with little to no change in technology.... then no this company may never feel “normal” to you. Technology is changing, competition is greater than ever before while unfortunately employees are seen as liabilities instead of assets. Corporate Real Estate is going to continue selling buildings, headcount will continue to be reduced and consolidated. Anything that can be automated, contracted out or simply eliminated will be. Budgets will be scrutinized like never before going into 2020. If you need a year or two to retire then my advice would be to roll with it best you can and try to survive. If you need 10 or more years to even consider retirement then be prepared for constant change because if you are lucky enough to retire someday it will be from an almost unrecognizable company than the one that hired 15-30 years ago.
It’s not just AT&T, ever look at the postings on this WEB site under Verizon?
AT&T hasn't been a technology company since they got rid of Bell Labs and Western Electric. They are an integrator, period. A company that once invented the transistor is now reduced to buying tech from others to create their products.
Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are technology companies, and are not always in "flux". They do change, but not with the constant restructuring and layoffs that are the norm with AT&T. The telecom act of 96 wrecked the monopoly status of the incumbent local service providers. Company leadership is haphazardly buying companies the same way a drowning person grabs anything in reach to stay afloat. Layoffs, restructuring, and uncertainty will continue well past 2020.
There NEVER going to be like they use to be!!! Get used to it! This company is a technology company....technology is rapidly changing. This company will always be in flux. Get use to it or get out!!