Mergers are a normal part of the business world. They often help large companies gain more power by eliminating some of the competion. The small business owners have the option to keep their individuallity which means assuming the risk that goes with owning a business or sell out to the larger company and aquire the settlement funds. What would you do if you were a small company? Why would you do this? AT & T is attempting a mobile take-over essentially. In this area they already merged with Alltel and their next plan is to merge with T-Mobile. The second stage is not going as smoothly. Read the following article. Do you think the people behind the operation really have everyone's best interest at heart? Have you been part of the Alltel merge? What are you thoughts?
http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/29/technology/fcc_att_t-mobile/index.htm
If I were a small company, I would do almost anything in my power to keep my business and keep it running. I know how a small business is because my family has owned one for a decade now and I have worked there and we have had competitions with local or close business's.
ReplyDeleteNo I do not think that AT&T have everyone's interest with them. They don't have mine or anyone that live in my town. They told us that we will have full service and 3G service with them when we had to get rid of our Alltel phones and switch to AT&T. So now I am Nemont and no longer with AT&T, which I almost wish I was back with now that I do not live in my small town.
I think that allowing at&t to merge with another company would be a huge mistake.
ReplyDeleteThey have already failed at this the first time around. They raised prices, and provide horrible service. This is not in the best interest of the American public. With times as hard as they are for most of America we need company's that are forcing prices downward to grow, not companys who offer some of the highest priced services.
On the subject of the FCC releasing the report even after the deal was canceled.
Who cares, we are tax payers the FCC is suppose to regulate for us, suppose to watch out for our best interest. This is one of the few cases where they actually have, AT&T were lying to us and there is a price to pay for that. They have gotten their just deserves. Plain and simple.
If I was a smaller company I would have to look at what would be the best for me or which way I was going to make money or lose money. I would like to stay small and not sell but would rather not lose my money. I think big companies are thinking about how they will make more money if they do buy out a smaller company and am doubtful they have everyones best interest in mind. I am not a part of the Alltel merger. I have verizon. booooom
ReplyDeleteA small company merger is usually for the benefit of the owner(s) and potential customers, a merger of larger companies affect the small companies because the cannot compete with the prices and availability. AT&T is looking for more control over price and coverage, the less substitutes they have for their plans the better off they are. They are smart about buying out T-Mobile for their own sake but it is not helpful to us, the customers. They are doing this out of greed because they are the only ones to benefit from it. I actually do have Alltel service that changed to Verizon, at home it was a major upgrade in service and didn't change my bill which was amazing. Coming to North Dakota pretty much cut my service, it comes and goes when it wants. I pay for WiFi every month that does me no good since the service is not good enough to load pages in a reasonable time.
ReplyDeleteIf i was in a small business situation i would weigh my options and i would like to say i would not sell to a bigger company but if i was on the downward slope of the company and we were not doing well anymore i cant say i wouldnt sell to save money and keep my works with a pay for a little while at least. I wouldnt sell because i have the consumers at my heart but in the end if i had to sell i would to save my ass.
ReplyDeleteI dont think the people of AT&T have the consumer at heart because they are just trying to make money and beat out the competition and to do this they are eliminating the companies and gaining strength which is dumb because in the end they wont win they will still lose customers because the competition keeps prices manageable and with less competition prices will sky rocket. So this obviously proves that they are not looking out for the consumers.
If I owned a small company I would NOT merge with a large corporation, even if there was great monetary gain. Many times with a merger, the integrity of the smaller business is compromised. And the larger corporation now wants you to follow their rules, which can greatly differ from how you've been running your business.
ReplyDeleteAT&T should stick to what they do best: offer BAD service. They merged with Alltel in the Denver area and not only did they hike up prices but the "new, greater, expanded" service was WORSE! Before moving here and being forced to switch to Verizon, I was a loyal customer of T-mobile. With the lowest prices in the market and often better service (cell service and customer service), they have found their niche. I would hate to see T-Mobile lose that advantage over the competitors by merging with AT&T.
If I owned a small company I dont know if I would merge with a bigger business or not, it depends on the situation. AT&T definintely isnt looking at the customers' best interest, they are just trying to make more money..and for them saying it would make more jobs? No it wouldnt...all the employees at Alltell Im assuming lost their jobs and some people got jobs from AT&T expanding..so that statement didnt really make sense to me...maybe I read it wrong. I use Verizon so no I wasnt part of the merge..but Verizon sucks too. And obviously if AT&T keeps merging with smaller companies their prices are just going to keep going up because there will only be a couple other places to choose from.
ReplyDeleteIt really depends - oftentimes I think the word 'merge r's garnered a more negative connotation than positive one, but its really about perspective. If I were a small business that had a promising future and a strong team I would shy away from a merger. There's something incredibly valuable about having your own brand identity. On the other hand, if my business were struggling but a larger company decided they would like to absorb my business, then I would consider it. I think AT&T absorbing T-Mobile would be a terrible idea - they already are notorious for having poor service and that's post-Alltel merger. Soon enough the cell phone industry will turn away from an oligopoly and into a monopoly.
ReplyDeleteif i was a small company i wouldnt want to sell to a bigger company but if my business wasnt doing so well i think i would have no choice but to sell, to make sure i leave the situation with alittle money and to protect my workers. i dont think the people at at&t care much about the customer but instead have only money in mind.
ReplyDeleteFor being a small company, I would do my best part in trying to stay a float without handing my company over to a bigger corporation. Unless my company was suffering a huge loss. No, I don't think At&t has everyone best interest. They will do what they want to do regardless if there customers suffer in the end or not. No, I have not been a part of the Alltel merge. I hear lots of dissatisfied people and I am glad I have verizon. I really don't like the idea of all these merges because it doesn't leave much competion for companies. Without a lot of competition the customers end up paying more for their cell phones in the end.
ReplyDeleteI would try to stay open as a small business as long as I could because they are usually more helpful and understanding of what the costumer needs and larger companies I feel just want to sell you as a consumer as much merchandise as possible. Small business owners are usually just regular people with good intentions. I don't think that AT&T has anyone's best interest in mind except their own. I personally dislike them because they bought out Alltel and cut down the coverage in this area immensely. My family started with Verizon but there weren't any close towers to my house so couldn't get any service so we switched to Alltel. They had better coverage because they were sharing towers with Verizon and NCC Ray. NCC Ray was also putting up new ones in our area so we got great service at our house and most of our farmland. Also, I really liked my Alltel phone. When AT&T bought out Alltel they decided not to share towers with Verizon or NCC Ray so everyone's service coverage went down in this area. Because of this my dad switched to NCC Ray because it was a smaller local business and had better coverage at our house and our farmland but as a result I don't get that great of coverage here in town. If this merger hadn't happened many more people would be happy with what we had before. Also, people from this area don't like big companies taking over like that anyway.
ReplyDeleteIf i had a small company i will not merge, I will keep my business up and running and make it more advanced technology wise to make sure that my product will be rival to that of the bigger enterprises.
ReplyDeleteI think that a merger might have some benefits but AT&T should definitely go about it the right as rumored in the article so right now in my opinion they don't get the public's best interest in mind, I'm currently using the AT&T network and it has advantages as well as disadvantages
like great 3G coverage in Williston, but outside of the zone it gets slow but it's will be something for me to see, the merger.
If I had a small business, I would try to get it open long as possible. I feel small business make it possible to have lower prices, because the less of the same businesses the higher the price for products. I feel that AT&T does not have the people in mind. I feel the only reason they want to merge with Tmoblie is to make more money. I was not part of the Attel move and I am glad because I had Attel before and never had service.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that companies really care much about their customers...No matter how much they say they do in their commercials. They lie about how much service we're gonna get and my bill goes up like every month because of weird charges. I think small companies start off caring about their customers and want their services to be cheap, and then they get kinda greedy and just start to be all about their money. They want to merge with big companies to get their name out there and make sure that the outcome is going to be income. Haha! I've never had Alltell, so IDK all about that.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a small business owner I would have to look at the numbers to see if the deal would make me money or lose money. I don’t believe AT&T has everyone bests interest in heart, I think they are like every major business around, and are in it to make money. They are just trying to eliminate the competition so they can raise to prices as high as they want because they are the only option. I am not part of AT&T I have Verizon and I am very happy with their service.
ReplyDeleteBoss's have to make sacrifices "take one for the team" to keep their business going, I have not been a part of AT&T's switchover because I have Verizon, I have heard bad reviews about Nemont, and AT&T, my experience with verizon has been very satisfying for a phone service provider customer, I dont think AT&T has anyones best interest at heart, if they did shouldnt they be asking the customers what they want out of this phone company?
ReplyDeleteIt would depend on how my business is going. If i felt i could get more money alone i would but if i see its only a matter of time before i start to lose profit i would just merge. I feel the merger is just to make the rich richer and they really could care less about the cusumers. I was not invloved in the alltel merger. I think that T-Mobile should stay independant because they have the best prices for a good service.
ReplyDeleteI think I would sell my business if I came into this situation. There is no way a small company would be able to compete with a large company such as AT&T. AT&T is much more flexible with pricing and it would just be a matter of time before the small business loses all of its business. Ultimately prices control customers. I do not believe these people have everyone's best interests at heart. However, in a capitalistic society morality doesn't seem to matter all that much. Business is business. I did take part in the Alltel merge. I think AT&T has really shitty service.
ReplyDeleteI think that merging can be very dangerous. If AT and T is to take over all the different cell phone provider companies what is stopping them from raising the prices? I think that competition is good and helps keep prices reasonable. If I were a small business I would hold onto my business as long as possible. And to be honest These large business's like AT&T are greedy and just out to take everyone elses stuff and get the prices where they want them. I personally have not been part of the AT&T merge and am happy i am not.
ReplyDeleteI would probably have to sell out if i were a small business because if i didnt i would probably just end up going out of business anyway. No they do not have everyones best interests in mind, they are only doing what is most cost effective and what will make them number one. I was an alltel customer and ever since the merger i have had poor service and i dont really care for the AT&T support.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a small business, I would do anything in my power to keep my customers and try to stay open as long as I can. I don't think I would merge with other businesses just to make more money. I would want to make my customers happy rather than worry about making more money. AT&T sucks with doing things. We don't get good service up here. I don't think a lot of people like how AT&T run things. I also don't think AT&T has everyone's heart. I think the only reason AT&T want to merge with Tmobile, is because they want to make more money.
ReplyDeleteIf I owned a small business I would not want to sell it to my competition. If their is more competition that means a possibility to make more money. Whoever gives the best deals and has the best services will win over the customer giving them more profit. Although if I did get offered enough and my business was not going so well I would probably have to sell to still gain some sort of profit from it. Personally from reading the article I do not think that AT&T have everyone's best interest in mind. They are just out to get the money. I was not a part of the AT&T merge in Williston. I am a Verizon customer. I do know that those who were Alltel customers did have a hard time getting service and were very frustrated. Some of those customers still are frustrated with the new services.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a small company I would merge with a larger company if it was beneficial. If my company wasn't growing at the pace I wanted it to, I think this would be a good idea. I think that this merge is not for the best interest of the customer. I believe both businesses are just trying to bring in a larger revenue. This is also cutting jobs. I am not apart of this merge as I am with Sasktel.
ReplyDeleteKatie King said…
ReplyDeleteIf I owned a small business I would not merge with a larger company. I worked for a small company back in my hometown and they seemed to be doing just fine. A lot of people shop there. The prices are a tad higher than some places, but people continue to shop there.
I used to have AT&T but switched over to Verizon for a couple reasons. AT&T was charging me for random things that I had not opened or downloaded on my phone and Verizon was overall a better deal. I do not think that the people who run the company have everyone’s interest at heart!
If I owned a small business, I would probably do what was best for me, my family, and my customers. Although it is hard to appeal to all three, I think I would have to look at the situation very carefully and go from there. The decision would be hard, but I would have to look at the events and circumstances around me before selling off or not.
ReplyDeleteI have not been with AT&T so I am not sure how their company works and if they have been loyal to their customers before or not. I think that when a business accusation happens, many companies leave out many proposals and words that they say to the public that they put in the contract. I think it is the customers rights to know what is in that contract and everything that is in it.
AT&T seems to me like they are being a bit power hungry here, and not thinking clearly about how the system works. They should have realized buying out T-Mobile would cause a huge problem in competition and would not go through overly well.
ReplyDeleteI personally have always used Verizon, they have always been very reliable and helpful and I have never had problems with them. A couple of my friends use AT&T and they have had major problems with their network and trying to get their phones to work most of the time.
AT&T has always been a shady company. (Trust me, I worked for them in a retail position for a while.) AT&T seeks a monopoly on consumer communication. It always has and it always will. AT&T will not create more jobs. Why? Because the executives in the company are out for one thing: money. Not the maintenance of ethical business practices.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, many small business owners opened their businesses for this very reason! Small business owners usually start up their own companies because they wish to provide a unique service to their clients that larger companies (AT&T) cannot: actual service. These business owners know that if they can beat the competition on rates and if they have a little luck they will gain a loyal customer base who will support their company into success.
So. Merger. Not always good, but it definitely can be! Two small businesses merging because they share goals and ethical values and see value in sharing their services, then go for it! But a large company taking over a smaller company usually only ends poorly for small companies because the large company has no need for all the small business's employees.
If I were a small business the only way I could think of merging with a large company would be if I were having trouble financially. That's mostly just because of what I think and believe. Mergers are not always bad and not always good. Some small companies are forced into one because of their financial needs. For the most part, mergers are for big business needing to cut the competition and small business's needing to be saved.
ReplyDeleteMy dad's company he works for had a merger with 6 years ago and there has been nothing but cut-offs and more cut-offs.
I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to this question. Many people have many different opinions on the matter.
I think for this situation with AT&T that they really don't care about the customers. Mostly due to the fact that they have two different stories.
I think if i was a smaller company I would have to look at what would be the best for me or what was the best for the company and which way I was going to make money or if i was going to lose money. I would like to stay small and not sell but would rather not lose all my money. I think big companies are thinking about how they will make more money.
ReplyDeleteLaShane WObbema
I would sell off as soon as I had made enough profit to spend the rest of my life in an ice palace in Nunavut where I could catch enough salmon to live the rest of my life.
ReplyDeleteI hope one company does not take over the market for good and services of any kind. This takes out the competition for 2 companies for client. They could just jack up prices and everyone would have to deal with it. Brutal!
I honestly think that they just want complete control over where people go for there phone service. They don't want competition because then they can charge whatever they want. I was a part of the merge but I did not like the service at all. I ended up cancelling my service with them and switching to Verizon because I didn't want to deal with paying for a phone that half the time I didn't have the service to use.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a small company. I would do the best I can and try to buy out other small companies.
ReplyDeleteI would do this because this seems to be the key to success for the bigger companies.
I think that the people behind the operation have the companies best interest at heart. I also believe to do this they have to keep the consumers in mind but defiantly not in there best interest.
I was a customer prior to the merge once I heard out about it I quickly transferred to Verizon since AT&T has faulty service
I think competition is good. Since we all know when there is a monopoly than prices go up since there is no other place to get what you want. Good healthy competition is always good for consumers.
If I was a small business owner, I would do whatever was best for my future. If they offered me a good amount of money to merge, then I more than likely would. However, if I were to make more money by not merging and staying my own company, than I would stay.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a part of Alltel or any of those companies, I've always been Verizon. But maybe by merging, service will be better for the newly merged company so there is hopefully a plus side to it all.
If I were a small business in this type of situation I would personally probably sell to the bigger company. My reasons for doing so would be so that I gain money instead of them eventually taking over and my company going bankrupt. I think when given a good enough offer you should take it rather than holding out for that smidge to long and being left in trouble in the end. It would be a smarter move for the company and its employers in the long run. As for the AT&T and T-Mobile situation, I would probably not give into AT&T because the way I see it there is always going to be people who don't like or agree with AT&T. It could be that maybe they have had issues with them in the past, they don't like the phones they offer, maybe they don't have the right plan, or maybe they just simply like T-mibole better. Like FCC said " they will take over the mobile world and charge outrageous prices." T-mobile, I hope stands their ground and doesn't merge with AT&T. I have never used alltel however it does not sound very popular because up in Canada you still hear about AT&T and T-mobile so maybe it was a good choice that they made!
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