Wednesday, May 21, 2008

You gotta love Embarq

I first called Embarq last week, telling them we had a mobile home here.  I explained there was no line running to it, that it's out in a pasture.  The man to whom I was talking said, "Oh, I can change you to the new address right now."

"Noooo," I said, exasperated.  "There's no line back there yet, and I'm not living there; I need someone to come out and run the line."

When do you think you'll be moving there?"

"Probably in a couple of weeks."

"Then I'll make out a work order for two weeks from today."

"OK," I said, although I thought to myself, "Why can't they go ahead and be running the line to the trailer now?"

Monday I decided to call and tell them to go ahead and re-schedule the work for this week, Wednesday (today).  The lady was agreeable, and said, "Our technician will be there between 10 A.M. and noon."

Well, I woke up this morning to no Internet and no phone.  I called Embarq on my cell to report the problem and she explained that I had already been switched to my new address.  *sigh*

At two o'clock this afternoon, the guy had not appeared as yet.  I called Embarq (thank goodness for my cell phone) and she assured me he was at the site as we spoke, working on the order.

"I beg to differ," I said.  "I live at the site, and there is nobody here."

Then I told her to just switch my phone back to my old address and forget it.  "I can use cable for my Internet when we move, and in my new house my cell gets great reception.  I really don't need Embarq anyway."

This got some action: I was transferred to a lady who assured me the guy was on his way and would be here "momentarily".

So an hour later, he finally showed up.  And at long last, somebody finally realized there was no line going back there!

OK, I'll shorten it here.  He tried to tell me I'd have to pay $75 for each jack he ran a wire to.

"Never mind," I said.  "I don't need Embarq that badly."

He then miraculously came up with a way to sort of "sneak in" a couple of lines so I wouldn't have to pay the $75 per jack.

Because there will have to be buried lines brought from across the road, it will be a week or so before we get our permanent service.  However, this man strung fifty feet of wire on the ground from this house to the trailerhouse as a temporary fix.  Until they get the other stuff done, I have phone and DSL at both locations.

Oh, he said the DSL might not work, what with all his rigging.  Good grief man, don't you know what's important?

DSL is working just dandy, thank  you very much.  All I have to do is make sure nobody runs a mower over the wire.

Sometimes it pays to throw a temper tantrum.

Whew.

Tags:

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amazing how quickly they can "fix" the problem when you start talking disconnecting all together !  Glad you're getting things settled.  I know it's exciting but definitely tiring too !  

Anonymous said...

Good for you by speaking up you saved yourself some money plus got some action. Helen

Anonymous said...

It sure does.  And it pays to negotiate cell phone service and all the cable and DSL services.  Amazing what you can get when you make a case.

Anonymous said...

"good grief man, don't you know what's important?"  haha - SERIOUSLY!

Nice going!

Anonymous said...

Kind of like me and my Dish issues. "Oh, I'm sorry ma'am.  I think we can 'waive' that fee this time."  Oh??? You THINK????  Losers.

Anonymous said...

WOw what a day you had with that Embarq!!  It's amazing what you have to do to get some service these days!
Yay it let me re-set the alerts... and now I have tons of catching up to do!!  I'm so excited for you getting your new home!!!  I'm going to read up and see if you have posted pictures yet!!
Hugs,
Lisa  

Anonymous said...

YEP!  Every lady should know how to throw a good temper tantrum

Anonymous said...

Isn't it sad though that you have to throw a temper tantrum to get them to do what they should've done in the first place? I had a similar situation with the delivery of medical equipment for a patient - the first thing the guy in shipping said was it's not my fault! He kept telling me they couldn't get it there any sooner, blah blah and then I finally told him FINE - I was giving his cell phone number to the surgeon and he could personally explain it to her. It was there within two hours.

Anonymous said...

You crack me up. Genius move telling them you don't need them and nevermind.  I guess they really don't want to lose another customer! ;-)

Anonymous said...

Good for you!  Nothing gets them moving like telling them you don't need them!
Lori

Anonymous said...

You tell 'em girl! Paula

Anonymous said...

  THANK HEAVENS for cell phones ... we are so used to Internet, tho, that it seems impossible to get along without it.
LOIS

Anonymous said...

Glad you got them to do what you wanted, and do it right. Yes, lets not run over the wire with the mower. ;) Wonder how those jacks went from 75 to free? LOL Gotta love it, good job getting things done. Kelly

Anonymous said...

I hope it keeps working - that guy sounds a little oily to me!

xoxo