BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

Today, AT&T responded to current subscribers angered by its decision to not subsidize an upgrade to the new iPhone 3G S for every current iPhone owner. Bulletproof readers will recall we first addressed this issue last week as the crisis appeared to be spiraling out of control absent any messaging from AT&T.  The company has since announced that any customer eligible for the full subsidy within the next three months can immediately upgrade at a reduced cost.

Considering the backlash that AT&T was facing from current subscribers, led largely by the online community, the company knew it needed to respond. And for AT&T, a brand known for its superb marketing and brand building efforts over the years, the company knew that it needed to respond in the online medium in which the crisis was unfolding. Unfortunately, while AT&T appears to have heard the concerns raised in the online space, its customers have made it clear in the past 24 hours they feel the company missed the point. From a brand reputation perspective, this is a dangerous development.

Rather than embracing an opportunity to turn the tens of thousands of upset customers that have organized on Twitter, Facebook, and the blogs into brand ambassadors, AT&T' s policy shift continued the practice of selecting winners and losers from among its current customer base. In some instances, the losers are separated by a matter of days left in their contract or pennies on the dollar spent in fees.

Compounding AT&T' s problem is the fact that its messaging appears to have amplified online concerns as thousands of iPhone owners are unable to discern whether they qualify for the rebate or not. While announcing the policy shift today, AT&T' s online system for deciding whether customers qualify will not be online for another 24 hours.

In short, AT&T may have created more questions than it answered - and its customers' frustration has galvanized in the form of 5,000 blog posts and more than 125 tweets per minute during the last 12 hours. The Twitter-driven petition against AT&T' s decision has now grown to 14,000 followers strong in just the past week.

AT&T' s opportunity now is to understand that the best practice for ensuring brand loyalty is to make every customer feel valued.

If AT&T can find a solution that offers something for everyone, the ability still exists to turn thousands of unhappy customers into future brand ambassadors. By doing so quickly everyone will come out a winner.

Dallas Lawrence is Vice President of Digital Media at Levick Strategic Communications and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog.