The Cellcom outage continues and as we hit the nine day mark with no information coming as to when we might see service fully restored, the company has actually regressed in it’s treatment of customers.

Here are five major mistakes the company has made as this crisis has progressed:

“We’re on the five yard line”: This statement was made days ago, and is now being thrown back at them (as it should be). They gave us false hope with this line and now as we head into Memorial Day weekend, we’re not sure how much further until we hit the end zone.

Making customers feel like they’re being held hostage: They’re has been a lot of confusion over whether their customers can change services and keep their old phone number. Many customers believe their being held captive in not being allowed to keep their numbers while looking for a carrier that will allow them to communicate with their families.

Saying less the longer the crisis continues: We actually hit three days without any communication from Cellcom. That’s just unacceptable. And the blurb that broke the drought was just that. A meaningless punt on what kind of progress they’re actually making. This company should be offering daily updates if not more often. It’s almost like they’re playing an analytics game and don’t want the negative comments.

Empowering the “Shamers” to make excuses for them: Customers are suffering. And nothing is worse then going online to look for information and to exchange experiences then to encounter the traditional toxicity of social media. This is only turning the community against each other. If Cellcom provided more information, it would reduce the hostility we’re seeing from those who are watching their small business die, and the engagement farming contrarians.

Not projecting amends or offering anything to repair the damage: Cellcom is still taking payment for a service they’re not providing. They’ve mumbled covering the service outage period without any details. And we need details. We remember when they actually tried to take their community donation back (story HERE). This company is not afraid to ask for it’s money and they shouldn’t be afraid to answer questions when the roles are reversed.

The way Cellcom is treating customers is unacceptable. This community deserves better.