{"id":3283,"date":"2012-11-15T14:04:25","date_gmt":"2012-11-15T19:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=3283"},"modified":"2012-11-15T14:11:58","modified_gmt":"2012-11-15T19:11:58","slug":"atts-disconnected-phone-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/atts-disconnected-phone-service.html","title":{"rendered":"AT&T’s disconnected phone service"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Her voice was tentative, \u201cAre you all right?\u201d \u00a0My friend, Pam, asked.<\/p>\n

At first I had no idea to what she was referring. \u00a0\u201dGreat. \u00a0Why are you asking?\u201d I inquired.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d Pam started, hesitantly, \u201cwhen we were having lunch on Monday and you got that phone call from AT&T, I was really surprised at how angry you got. \u00a0I\u2019ve never seen you get angry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Since October 16, I\u2019ve had an ongoing battle with AT&T to get my home phone transferred from my previous server to their phone service. AT&T has been in business since 1885 and can trace its roots back to Alexander Graham Bell. \u00a0You would think this company would know how to connect a home telephone.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In fact, the process of connecting a phone appears to be so easy that they send self-installation kits to your home for you to install your own phone. (Because of their incompetance, I\u2019ve received three installation kits.) \u00a0Yet even with 137 years of experience and the current ease of installation, I have been trying to get my phone installed for over a month. \u00a0It appears the skill needed to install a home phone has been lost by AT&T.<\/p>\n

My journal logging the events over the past month is a three page, single-spaced document. \u00a0I\u2019ve been shuttled to so many helpful service representative that I\u2019m thinking of hooking a few of them up with some stray, unmarried cousins.<\/p>\n

During lunch last Monday, I received a phone call from an extremely polite man from India or Pakistan informing me that I would now have a new phone number. \u00a0\u201dIt appears Mrs. Howard,\u201d he quietly and most jovially said, \u201cthat\u00a0you have<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>misplaced your former phone number\u00a0<\/em>and AT&T cannot find it.<\/p>\n

In response, I screamed as calmly as I could, \u201cOh, no! \u00a0I\u2019ve had that phone number for 45 years. \u00a0You<\/strong>\u00a0lost the number; now\u00a0you<\/strong>\u00a0find it!\u201d \u00a0Then I hung up as I headed to the AT&T store where I had initiated the transfer. \u00a0The store resides only a mile away and I arrived there almost before he could call me back.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Howard, you must let me explain!\u201d his quietude was withering. \u00a0I calmly screamed for a few more minutes. \u00a0Finally, I listened. \u00a0His explanation was classic. \u00a0\u00a0I had somehow fouled up the account<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0and even though AT&T was working as hard as they could, I would need to choose a new phone number.<\/p>\n

I have spent over 40 hours on the phone with AT&T\u2019s extremely polite and considerate representatives. My phone was originally connected by AT&T on October 16. \u00a0Disconnected on October 17. \u00a0The phone has been connected and disconnected an additional five times in the past month. \u00a0In response to each disconnection, I have been kind. \u00a0I\u2019ve joked. I have raised my voice. \u00a0I\u2019ve cajoled, begged, pleaded, demanded, asked to speak to the supervisor. \u00a0AT&T\u2019s usual response is an extremely polite moment of silence on the other end.<\/p>\n

I must commend AT&T for the training of their customer service reps. \u00a0In the 40 hours spend being transfered from one representative to another, I have only encountered one person who has not treated me with the greatest of respect.<\/p>\n

The only problem\u2013I don\u2019t want or need respect. \u00a0I need my phone.<\/p>\n

It is November 15 and I still don\u2019t have a telephone. \u00a0Though I have been politely and joyously assured that I will receive yet another self-installation kit tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Her voice was tentative, \u201cAre you all right?\u201d \u00a0My friend, Pam, asked. At first I had no idea to what she was referring. \u00a0\u201dGreat. \u00a0Why are you asking?\u201d I inquired. \u201cWell,\u201d Pam started, hesitantly, \u201cwhen we were having lunch on Monday and you got that phone call from AT&T, I was really surprised at how…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[587,588,186,61,147,589,590],"tags":[595,754,592,601,438,703,594,596,597,755,593],"class_list":["post-3283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-att","category-att-incompetence","category-hope","category-humor","category-leadership","category-technology","category-uverse-telephone-installation","tag-alexander-graham-bell","tag-att","tag-att-customer-service","tag-att-incompetence-6","tag-blogging","tag-humor","tag-journal-of-incompetence","tag-polite-att-representatives","tag-politeness","tag-technology","tag-uverse-telephone-service"],"yoast_head":"\nAT&T's disconnected phone service - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AT&T's disconnected phone service - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Her voice was tentative, \u201cAre you all right?\u201d \u00a0My friend, Pam, asked. 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Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"AT&T's disconnected phone service - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"AT&T's disconnected phone service - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"Her voice was tentative, \u201cAre you all right?\u201d \u00a0My friend, Pam, asked. 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