When they make it easier and more pleasant to leave than to stay

Well . . . That's kind of incredible. As a management consultant, I would short AT&T.

Been a client of AT&T for the better part of twenty years with a full package of their services. Four months ago, our router died and after a week or two we got a new one from AT&T. Internet speeds were abysmal and with frequent interruptions. Wait times when talking with Helpdesk were multi-hour. Two replacement routers and three technician visits later, the problem was still not solved.

I value stability and am disinclined to change suppliers but after that experience I finally went online to look at what Xfinity had to offer. 15 times the internet speed at 60% of the cost. OK - for that, I will change providers.

Transfer of service wasn't seamless but was reasonably good.

Now it is time to turn off the AT&T services. I give them a call.

Compared to nearly a dozen phone interactions over the past four months, each lasting 30 minutes to a couple of hours, leaving AT&T was far easier than remaining with them.

Turn-off call took about five minutes, involved a single person (no phone transferring), and had no unexpected issues.

I cannot imagine any business having good prospects when the leaving of them is by far the most positive customer service interaction.