Cingular Expects Poaching To Continue Post Merger
Admitting, basically, that things are a bit messy at both Cingular and AT&T Wireless on the customer service front, Cingular’s CEO is now admitting that even after the two companies merge, they expect customer churn to be significant. In fact, he thinks it’s going to increase, as other carriers “poach” customers. It’s unclear why this should be the case. Certainly, the companies need to focus on integration issues, but what he’s basically saying is the two companies know they’re taking their eyes off the ball and are going to wait until the companies are integrated to really fix the many problems they have. “Poaching” of competitors’ customers happens all the time. That’s what competition is all about. The fact that they’re allowing this to happen without a fight seems like a questionable strategy.
