We Have to Do Better

Posted: 1/2004

We Have to Do Better

I finally
switched my local phone service. I had been courted by
several vendors, but for no particular reason relented when AT&T called. The
savings were not significant about $8 off the calling plan I had with
Qwest. So, I was getting unlimited local plus long distance and voice mail from
one vendor. I am not sure how compelling that is either. I never felt that
inconvenienced by multiple bills. And, my wireless service from Verizon still is
billed separately.

Nevertheless, I thought I should try out a competitive offer.
After all, how bad could it be? Pretty bad, as it turns out. I dont mean to
overstate the case; I can make and receive calls just fine. However, here are
some of the problems I encountered:

• The welcome kit did not arrive for nearly three weeks
  after service was cut over.
• Service was cut over three days early without notice
  causing me to miss vital messages one from my doctor that I could not
  retrieve because I had no voice mail setup information and no stutter tone or
  blinking message-waiting light. (Luckily, I was home that same weekend when the
  police called about having found my wallet.)
• I should have guessed the
  service was cut over when my phones stopped registering caller ID. This in
  itself is not a huge deal, but in a house with six people (including two teens)
  and four handsets, its easier to let it ring if you know its not for you.
• I called customer service to complain about not having a
  welcome kit, voice mail setup information and caller ID. The CSR asked if I
  wanted to speak to a supervisor. I said no, but just wanted to find out what was
  in my order and why it was not complete. She started to rattle off a list of
  features as I confirmed them. When she got to call waiting, I said I had not
  ordered that. She said, I am not done. Undaunted, I repeated emphatically
  that I had not ordered the call waiting. She continued reciting the list to
  include Spanish voice mail. I confirmed that also was in error. When she
  reached the end, I asked about caller ID and call screening, which were missing.
  She said I did not order caller ID and she did not know what call screening was.
  Turns out AT&T calls it anonymous call rejection. So, she fixed my order and told me it would be corrected in a
  few days. She also told me I could check the status online and gave me the
  information to do so. She was not at all concerned the welcome kit hadnt
  arrived, noting Id only been a customer for a week. Rather than wait, I
  programmed the Spanish voice mail box with codes given to me by the CSR.
• A few days passed, the call waiting was turned off but
  still no caller ID. I tried to go online for help. The site returned a message
  that my social security number and name didnt match the order. This, in turn,
  irritated me since I placed the order. So, I called customer service and the
  gentleman said the caller ID wasnt supposed to be up until the next day. Why
  wasnt I told this? He transferred me to another person to help me with the
  online issue. It turns out AT&T put both my name and my husbands name on
  the account and used his social security number. How this happened I have no
  idea; he wanted and wants nothing to do with this experiment. (He keeps looking
  at me and shaking his head, All this over $8?) So, in order to access our
  account online I have to input his first name and my first name
  followed by our last name. Whatever.
• At this point, the caller ID works and the call waiting
  was canceled, but there still is no messagewaiting notification. In AT&Ts
  defense, I did not specifically ask for it. I assumed it was included with the
  voice mail. So, when I call to dispute the bill, which charged me for both
  Spanish and English voice mail, I will ask about the messagenotification
  options. I am not optimistic.

About the time I finally received my welcome kit three
weeks after switching I also received a we want you back letter from
Qwest. I was offered activation at no charge and two months local service credit
up to $100. My local service plan with Qwest costs $24.99, so I would net just
less than $50. This would make up for six months of savings using AT&T.

Curious about my experience, I called up my AT&T PR
contacts to find out if this was AT&Ts fault or sabotage on the part of
AT&Ts UNE-P provider Qwest. The AT&T spokesperson said order errors
are an ongoing problem with some of the RBOCs, but wanted to inquire about my
particular case. In just a few hours, the answer came back that the AT&T
sales rep had incorrectly coded the order form. Its our fault. We have to
do better, the AT&T spokesperson said.

Indeed, with the Bells providing at minimum a service that
works and very aggressive win-back incentives (see here), the competition
must do better. While I probably will keep my new service in the name of
research, thats an unlikely justification for most consumers.

KHALI HENDERSON

[email protected].
Editor in Chief