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Technology is Our Friend
25/5/06 09:13It's the corporations implementing the tech that irk me.
Almost two months ago Spouse decided to change our internet/phone provider from Comcast and SBC(AT&T) to Earthlink. Simple as pie, right? Except that the change started a cascade of problems, in part because Earthlink's service still uses AT&T's lines. The download rate was never what we were told it could be, and there were incompatibilities with our alarm about which no one warned us. The phone service under Earthlink, however, was just fine until last week, when it was abruptly cut off when AT&T was visiting to search for blockages on the phone line which might explain the slower-than-promised internet speed. Last week after the AT&T guy was here things were fine for a few hours, and then, abruptly, the phones went dead. Stone cold dead. Many phone calls occur; and promises are made the AT&T and Earthlink will fix all. Three days (or is it four?) in the last seven days the Spouse has stayed home from work in the morning to meet with AT&T, only to be told that AT&T has cancelled the visit on their own because...I don't know, perhaps because they didn't want to deal. Today, theoretically anyway, AT&T and Covad (who handle the technical hands-on part of Earthlink's business) are supposed to be meeting together in our basement to fix everything. Covad's already here, and has already discovered that the last guy in the phone box (which would be AT&T) left a wire loose, which may explain some stuff. It certainly doesn't argue attention to detail.
Eventually this will all be worked out, I am sure. Eventually. I'd just like to have a working house phone, and a bill that doesn't include charges for the last month.
Almost two months ago Spouse decided to change our internet/phone provider from Comcast and SBC(AT&T) to Earthlink. Simple as pie, right? Except that the change started a cascade of problems, in part because Earthlink's service still uses AT&T's lines. The download rate was never what we were told it could be, and there were incompatibilities with our alarm about which no one warned us. The phone service under Earthlink, however, was just fine until last week, when it was abruptly cut off when AT&T was visiting to search for blockages on the phone line which might explain the slower-than-promised internet speed. Last week after the AT&T guy was here things were fine for a few hours, and then, abruptly, the phones went dead. Stone cold dead. Many phone calls occur; and promises are made the AT&T and Earthlink will fix all. Three days (or is it four?) in the last seven days the Spouse has stayed home from work in the morning to meet with AT&T, only to be told that AT&T has cancelled the visit on their own because...I don't know, perhaps because they didn't want to deal. Today, theoretically anyway, AT&T and Covad (who handle the technical hands-on part of Earthlink's business) are supposed to be meeting together in our basement to fix everything. Covad's already here, and has already discovered that the last guy in the phone box (which would be AT&T) left a wire loose, which may explain some stuff. It certainly doesn't argue attention to detail.
Eventually this will all be worked out, I am sure. Eventually. I'd just like to have a working house phone, and a bill that doesn't include charges for the last month.