Friday, January 22, 2010

F*R*U*S*T*R*A*T*I*O*N

Time to vent a little...then ask for some advice.

We have had a HORRIBLE time with our telephone/DSL service at home. The line has been in service for a little over 2 years and we have made numerous trouble reports in that time. They have run a new line from the box to the house TWICE. They have told us time and again that the problem is resolved only to have more problems within a month or less. The telephone crackles and pops every time it rains. The DSL has not worked properly in over four months and we have walked through resetting it almost weekly since then. DSL blames the phone line, the phone end blames the weather or the DSL.

We have even offered to PAY THEM to replace the wiring in the house if that is the problem. But they always say that isn't the problem and that they have fixed it.

To top that off, yesterday I stayed home for the second time in about six months waiting on a repairman who never showed up...and never called to say he wasn't going to show up. Needless to say, I am a very unhappy camper when I remain home for a 12 HOUR WINDOW...only to have no one show and to find out that by the time their window closes their offices have been closed FOR OVER AN HOUR. If you try to call earlier, all they will say is "your on the schedule"...so that gets you nowhere either.

Today, I lost it with the manager...but they don't really seem to care. They just say you will be taken care of this morning, blame the technician for not calling yesterday and tell you that they will have the foreman call.

We have been customers of this company for over 20 years...really, since we married and got our first phone line. That is two states, five homes and nearly 28 years!!!

I know that having things serviced in Waller is a hassle. Believe me, 'Waller Wednesdays' has become a joke around our house because what else can you do but laugh when every time something breaks you have to wait a whole week or more until they are "back in your area".

I have threatened to cancel my service if things are not repaired properly this time. And I mean it. I am tired of paying for services that I cannot use half the time and have to go through troubleshooting to use the other half.

So, Jim is waiting at home today for a technician that is supposed to be there THIS MORNING...but at 11:14 am, no repairman!

How do you handle these situations? How do you get someone to LISTEN and RESPOND?

You would not believe my blood pressure level just typing this! Thanks for letting me vent!!!

6 comments:

Robin said...

I know country living is different than city living but I would ask my neighbors who they use and see if they have had issues... not all servers work well in certain areas...if they have good service and use someone different, I would be changing who I use, if your now company continues to give you the run around and doesn't compensate you in your billing it's time for change...customer serive these days just suck.

August said...

I would definetely ditch them. What other choices do you have in Waller area?

Bev said...

I'm with Robin - ask around your neighborhood so you find out who can give good service in your area. We're about to move to the middle of nowhere and have already been told we'll have to get a dish on the house for our TV and another one for our internet. It is maddening to wait on repairmen, infuriating sometimes and then when we get irritated they just leave us dangling. Sorry for the frustration.

Fonda said...

Thanks guys! I appreciate the input. And thanks for listening to me vent. The phone line has been fixed AGAIN. The DSL is working, so I will keep my fingers crossed that they really did their job this time. If not, my neighbors will be hearing from me.

Brenda said...

yep...i agree with all never had a four month problem but have dealt with repairmen and the "Window of time" it stinks.
Good luck. sorry for the flustration

Doug (Mr. August) said...

Brand/company loyalty is a thing of the past in my opinion. If it's working again, it would be worthwhile to call them and say "Thanks, it's working great but be on notice: THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE! If these issues pop up again, you will lose a long-time customer forever."

In these economic times, companies take that kind of stuff seriously.