There are a lot of things about Bellsouth that irk me, but one thing I’ve always praised them for is their customer service. When they say they they’ll do something, they do it. Such has been the case for me up until now.
I’m 0 for 3 on trying to get my phone service set up the way I want it. First, the new number wasn’t activated until two days later than I asked – and only after I called them up about it. The reason: someone hooked up the wrong line at the curb.
Next, the old service was supposed to be set up with a recording directing callers to our new number. The rep I spoke with sounded like a seasoned professional, so I had hope this would work. After a few key clicks, she assured me it would be done starting Saturday morning.
Of course Saturday rolls around and the Garner number gives a “this number has been disconnected … ” message, rather than the requested “the new number is …” message. Another call to Bellsouth give me the assurance that it will be activated by midnight Sunday morning.
Guess what? Sunday is here and my “new number” message isn’t. Yet another call to Bellsouth this morning tells me my order “hasn’t been processeed yet” and will now take effect no later than 6PM Monday evening!
What gives?!?!? This was supposed to be a simple change in the phone switch. It should have taken 30 seconds to activate. At the very least, one would think that having to wait until midnight would be plenty of time to make this happen. I mean, they must get this request all the time, right?
I realize the union-burdened phone company has a set-in-stone procedure for getting things done, so I’m willing to cut them some slack for things needing time. But more often than not, they’ve missed their commitments. In fact, every position in the chain required to make this change has failed to do their jobs: order taker, switch supervisor, and field tech.
I’ve been saying all along that voice-over-ip would kill the phone companies. I was wrong. They are doomed by their own ineptitude.