General Interest > Tacitus' Realm

Telephone Service

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Deborah:

--- Quote ---Telephone service is served by two incumbent phone companies: Verizon and SBC. Since telephone companies have been deregulated, you have the ability to choose your service from more than 20 competitive telephone companies. In addition, Comcast offers digital phone service to its residential customers.

Competitive phone companies usually utilize an incumbent’s phone lines. When you subscribe to a competitive phone company and are having a service problem, you cannot call the incumbent phone company. By law, they are not allowed to talk to someone who is not their customer. You will need to contact your competitive phone company for assistance.
--- End quote ---


Interesting. SBC is listed as an incumbent company, but doesn't provide service in my neighborhood. I considered Earthlink, before I knew they were a "competitor company" because unlimited long distance and 5mbps internet was $50 for six months, regularly $67.
The same services with Verizon- $70 for twelve months, regularly $85.
The same services with Time Warner- $99. No discount for existing customers.

Same lines, same service, but $18 less per month if you select Earthlink. But when your Earthlink (competitor) service is down Verizon (incumbent) does the repairs and you'll be a very low priority. By law, they have to restore phone service within 24 (or 48, can't remember) hours, your internet/tv can be down for days. You can request a credit.

The last time that happened with Time Warner, who took over Comcast in my area, I was on the phone an hour and a half and talked to 5 different people before reaching the person who could issue a credit for the 8 days my internet was down. Finally. Well, the credit wasn't on my next bill.
How many people are going to spend another hour and a half to make a second request? How many would have spent an hour and a half the first time?  ::bangin::

So, switching from TW to Verizon. The latter was set to be installed 4 May. The day before I receive an automated message to confirm the date/time. An hour later, a rep calls to say there was an error on the order and they must postpone until 11 May.
The error?
Don't know, can't see that screen? Think it had something to do with your 'bundle'.
Error on my bundle, what exactly?
Silence for several minutes.
Well, there was an error when they issued the request to release your phone number from the current provider. They sent the wrong 'screen' and they couldn't view it. It came to me (error dept) and I've just issued another request. It will take 8 business days.
Can you confirm what services are on my invoice and that my requested due date hasn't change due to your error?
No, that information isn't on my screen.
Okay, I'd like to speak to someone who can confirm that info.
The services were correct, but my bundle discount was entered as $10/mo instead of $15. Wonder what will be on the bill?
Ironically, received a call from a human the same day to confirm installation for the 4th.
Seems these communications companies have a real problem with communications.

And the whole TW fiasco.  :rofl: They took over Comcast, promised no changes to services or price increases. Both false. At the end of my 12 mo contract (originally w/Comcast) the price increased from $65 to $80, as I expected. Six months later, they issue another increase. From $80 to $95. Called to ask why they had done this without so much as notifying me. The rep said I was at the end of another contract period.
Whadda ya gonna do?
Life was less frustrating as a ludite.

Froderik:

--- Quote from: ""Deborah"" ---Seems these communications companies have a real problem with communications.
--- End quote ---

 :rofl:  ::phone:: ::stab::

Ursus:
The so-called open and free market leads one to believe that one can shop around for the best price.  But the true price can only be learned by experience.  

Some years ago, I switched from Verizon to a competitor (RCN) that claimed their bills were always at least 5% lower.  Although there were frequently petty problems that I could have done without, the real clunker occurred when my downstairs neighbor moved in and opted for Verizon.  

The technician who installed my neighbor's telephone service somehow rendered mine into the dinosaur age.  Despite numerous phone calls to my phone company, which became several times daily by the end of ten days, I was repeatedly informed by them that their technician had stopped by but that I was unavailable (the wires in question were on the outside of the house; nonetheless I had repeatedly taken off work at my own expense to be there).  I never did get my telephone service restored until the day I canceled it.  Funny how that works.

Because I switched phone companies again at that time, having had quite enough of RCN, I was "ineligible" for credit for the time my phone was down (which happened to be at a very critical juncture, with me moving to another town, and with no cell phone at the time).

All these companies suck.  And really, who actually owns the lines is the one who calls the shots.  And that is not a free market.

Deborah:
Gotta hear this interview between Ira Glass and a co-worker who endured a 10 month battle with the telephone company. Glass calls MCI, the rep refuses to allow the call to be recorded. As you can imagine, the situation was resolved promptly. He then conducts and interview with an exec at MCI. Unbelievable!!

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_E ... pisode=253
Click on "Full Episode" and scroll to 34:13 minutes.

Act Two. On Hold, No One Can Hear You Scream.
This American Life Senior Producer Julie Snyder found herself in a ten-month battle with her phone company (MCI Worldcom), which had overcharged her $946.36. She spent hours on hold, in a bureaucratic nowhere. No one seemed able to fix her problem, and there was no way she could make the company pay her back for all her lost time and aggravation. Finally, she enlists the aid of the national media — specifically, This American Life host Ira Glass. You can register a complaint about the phone company at the Better Business Bureau or at the FCC. (22 minutes)

Antigen:
I caught that ep of TAM when it aired. Funny shit!

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