It all began so innocently. I thought I would try digital phone service from my cable provider. It cost less that my regular phone service, and I’ve had good reports from people who use it. However, at the end of completing the order (including taking my phone number with me) and setting an install date for last Friday, I learned that the cable company’s digital phone service wouldn’t work with my alarm system. So I cancelled the order. I was assured that the cancellation was handled.
Fast forward a little over a week. I’m driving home from church, and Daughter #1 calls me on my cell. “Mom, did you cancel your land line?” I answer, “No. Why?” She says, “Because I tried to call you and I got a message that says it isn’t a working number.”
I knew immediately. The cancellation didn’t happen, and since I didn’t have the digital modem for the phone service, the number wouldn’t work. I called the phone company. Only repair service is open on Sunday, and since I no longer showed as a client of theirs, they couldn’t help.
Monday morning, I call the phone company. I get the order made and am told they can get my service up with my old number by the 11th. The 11th?!? I’m getting ready to leave for Atlanta for the booksellers convention. I can’t leave this unsettled. (My mom does have her phone but still…) So I’m told that if I call the cable company and get them to release the phone number, it’s possible it could be ported back to me as early as tomorrow. So I call the cable company. Twenty minutes on hold, go through the explanation, and I’m told I have to talk to the local office rather than the corporate office. (I dialed the local number.) Sigh. I call the local number, press 0 to get directly to the operator, go through the explanation again, get transferred again. Fortunately, I get the same woman I originally talked to back over a week ago. She is horrified that the cancellation didn’t go through. Promises to call me back on my cell phone once she talks to her supervisors.
Afternoon, the call comes (after Daughter #2 and her three young ones have been here following swim lessons). The cable company doesn’t have control of my original phone number anymore. That part of the cancellation went through and the number is now in the possession of the third party company that handles the transfers when a phone number changes providers. So neither my phone company nor my cable company can get back the number I’ve had for over 11 years. Moreover, because that number now belongs to the third party company instead of my phone company, people who had my number won’t ever get a message that my number has changed. It just says it doesn’t work.
I call back the phone company. I’m told it is possible that they can get the number back from the third party folks and have the phone active again by the 11th. But it will be up faster if I go with a new number. Possibly I could have service again today. Okay, I decide, let’s do that. So the order is placed and ready to go, and I chance to mention that my mother has a line in the home. Oh, guess what? If there is a second line, it will take a technician rather than just flipping a switch. Which means he has to be scheduled. First available appointment is Friday. Fortunately no one has to be at home for that.
I’ve begun sending the emails with my new phone number out to everyone I wish to know it. But what about the 250 business cards I just received last week? Grr. My blood pressure is definitely up. Lord, give me patience! Oh, right. That’s what I’m learning as I go through this. At least I can honestly say that I didn’t lose my temper, didn’t yell at anyone, or forget to say thank you.
But did I mention I got NO writing done today? Argh!
-rlh-
Technorati Tags: phone service, cable service, Robin Lee Hatcher
Robin,
I feel your pain.
Before we bought the house we currently live in, we had to ensure it had broadband Internet access because my wife worked virtual and needed VPN access. I called the local cable company and asked them if they serviced the house’s address. They ensured me they did. I let them know I was buying a house based on their assurance and asked to speak to a supervisor. I ran through all the address info once more with the supervisor and also got an affirmative response.
We bought the house.
When we moved in, I called the cable company to get us hooked up, only to have them tell me that they didn’t service our area! We went back and forth for weeks, but they would do nothing. The nearest hookup was more than eight miles away. As no other form of broadband access was immediately available to us, I spent forever looking up options. We finally had to buy a two-way satellite system that has been far from perfect. Six year later, we still have no other options.
You just can’t trust these big media companies to tell you the truth. We were in huge trouble without that broadband access. Imagine spending money on a house only to find it didn’t meet the minimum requirement because someone twice gave you incorrect info!
What a day, Robin. I feel for you! Tomorrow’s got to be better, right?
The telephone company holds us hostage with every move. We’re in the process, once again, of having to change area codes because of a move…woe are we.
This is the WORST kind of Patience Teacher in the world! (Please tell me this isn’t really how God intended us to gain virtue!)
Before we moved into this house, which we built 13 years ago in what was then the certifiable boonies, we were given a house number along our mostly-vacant country road. I made all the address changes on a timely basis, ordered all the utilities for a certain date at a certain address, etc. Oh, yes, I am nothing if not EFFICIENT.
Then “911” came through the area and gave us a brand spanking new address–right after we’d installed our new rural mailbox complete with our already defunct street number.
I wrote a humor article about it at the time. I think the opening line was “A woman can be too efficient.” The article was funny, but when I think about the incident all these years later, I am NOT laughing!
Commiserating with you, Robin……
Oh, my. Misery does love company. You guys have made me feel better, just knowing I’m not alone. But I do believe DLE gets the award for the worst story. I can change my business cards for under $50, including shipping. He couldn’t just change houses.
I did fail to mention that when I obtained my 9 digit zip code from the Postal Services web site, they gave me an incorrect zip code (2 of the last 4 numbers were transposed). Which means my change of address cards went out to everyone with the wrong number.
Robin
I think everyone must have a similar story….when I moved 7 years ago, I was in the process of planning my high school class reunion. I moved about 3 weeks prior to the reunion. I had made arrangements for my old service to be cut off one day, and my new service to start the next day. Since I was keeping the same number, they assured me it was no problem. My old service got disconnected right on time,only to find out they did not have phone lines run far enough on my street to give me my new service, and running the new lines would take at least a few weeks. All of my classmates thought I had skipped town with the money they had sent to me for the reunion. Praise God for cell phones….and unlimited minutes. I had to get a new one, and call each of the nearly 100 classmates that planned to attend the reunion.
Donna