Thursday, October 15, 2015

When the correct "IP lawyer response" does not play well

Alfred Valrie made a suggestion to AT&T. NBC News mentioned what happened next:


Instead of a simple "thank you for your suggestions" reply, Valrie instead got a letter from AT&T's Thomas A. Restaino, a lawyer who handles intellectual property issues, according to a business column published Tuesday in the Times. After thanking Restaino for being a lifelong customer, according to the column, Restaino then wrote:

"AT&T has a policy of not entertaining unsolicited offers to adopt, analyze, develop, license or purchase third-party intellectual property ... from members of the general public.

"Therefore, we respectfully decline to consider your suggestion."



Getting a lawyer letter can "put off" some:


"I just wanted to give him something to mull over," Valrie was quoted as saying. "I never thought I'd get a letter from a lawyer."

Stephenson on Wednesday admitted the company goofed big time.

"At AT&T, our top priority is to treat our customers to a premium experience every time they interact with us, and our consistent award-winning service demonstrates we usually get it right," he wrote.

"Unfortunately, we don't meet our high standards 100 percent of the time."



And of course


AT&T rival T-Mobile, never one to refrain from stirring the pot, was quick to jump into the fray. Its flamboyant CEO, John Legere, chided his AT&T counterpart and said he would personally welcome suggestions from AT&T customers.



Link: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/we-blew-it-t-ceo-apologizes-lawerly-response-customers-email-n445416

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