Rant: I hope they can't jail me for it !

[tommyc]

Following is the body of a form I just Emailed to the Illinois Commerce Commission. Maybe I shoulda just punched the wall !


After 4 months of MANY phone calls, MANY hours on hold, MANY fruitless calls, MANY redirected calls, and two installation appointments that were not kept or even acknowledged I finally had my AMERITECH/SBC DSL line installed for my computer.
It SUCKS ! It works well on occasion, but only because I personally "tweaked" the hardware and software using data and instructions from 3rd party sources on the internet. Several of these "tweaks" are critical for the correct function and maximum performance of this service and its' attendant hardware and software.
AMERITECH provides not a hint of this to their
suckers/customers. Their provided software is also
outdated. Updated software could be obtained AT COST from the 3rd party company that developed it but why should I even consider paying for an update for my AMERITECH software when all other
Internet Service Providers I have used, (Prodigy,
ATT Worldnet, AOL) provide such for FREE automatically as available. Even the "Evil Empire"
(Microsoft) provides free patches to fix "bugs" and improve the function of its' products.
In addition to all the above I had trouble with my "regular" phone line which took several phone calls and visits to correct. (Also an AMERITECH line) To top it off The ILL TRAINED,
UNSUPERVISED, IMBECILE from the regular phone service division, branch, garage, temphelp service, pub, or where ever, disconnected and removed my new DSL service line that took me 4 months of talking to MANY untrained and obviously unsupervised IDIOTS who were also sometimes rude.
Calls to the "regular" repair service were fruitless. They apologized and promised to send
someone the next day between 5 and 7 pm. They even took my cell phone # in case they needed to call me. I left work early to make it home by 5 pm
only to discover a message on my answering machine
from some clueless goof who had come at 11:48 am
and not even called me. His message said I had a
"good dial tone". GREAT, my DSL line HAS NO dialtone! He was just another dummy on a fools errand.
So today I began again a process I am very familiar with, that of getting a NEW DSL LINE
installed on my premises. I spent about two hours
on hold and finally got through to a very pleasant
person named SUE at the AMERITECH DSL SERVICES
DIVISION. At 1-877-873-5501. (case ID # xxxxxxx) (trouble ticket # xxxxxx )(circuit ID # xxxx xxxxxxxx) 0n 10/10/00 at 19:36 hours.
All I have to do now is call back in a few days, (delay needed for their archaic equipment to assimilate and record the above info) then I can actually schedule a visit ( after being on hold for two F@CKING hours) to get my nearly F@CKING worthless DSL line installed AGAIN !!!
Then I can repeat the process to get it tested AGAIN !!! And repeat ONE MORE TIME for the FINAL install and test !!!
Then of course there will be another round of calls to ensure I am not billed for usage of a service I do not F@CKING have !!!
I can understand an honest mistake. I don't even mind people being stupid ( Hey were not all Einstiens right ?), But managment at AMERITECH is
clearly non existant. These incompetent b@st@rds
are unaccountable and unreachable. It is IMPOSSIBLE to communicate with ANYONE of ANY level of AUTHORITY at AMERITECH/SBC. There is NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH, .......just a P.O. Box #,
a phone # to a "report" taker, and an EMAIL address that I'm sure sends messages to the recycle bin as soon as you hit SEND !
And that FAT TEXAS C@CKS@CKER, whatshisname that
owns SBC that owns AMERITECH should be run out of
state with a load of buckshot in his feckless carpetbagger @ss !!
Gee I feel better now. Thanks even if you don't read this or respond. Have a nice day and please excuse my cursing. It was ether that or put
my fist through my monitor, but I couldn't do THAT
cause it cost me 700 BUCKS.
Sincerely
TOM

 

[yakko]

I got two tin cans and some string that will as well as what you have and it is free.

 

[Dave]

Man, and I thought that my cable modem took too long ... 1 week ... never down ... knock on wood

 

[Angrymarshmello]

You can't be jailed for that but you can be fined and ticketed for using profanity

 

[tommyc]

Yakko:

Where were you when I neede you ! You get the cans and set up the web
site. I'll run the strings. 19.95 a month unlimited access. We'll split
the $$$ 50/50

 

[etech]

I thought this was a "my computer preformed an illeagal operation" thread.

tommyc, constructive criticism
A more well constucted letter detailing specific grievances with out the &*@#$# would be more likely to get a positive response.

I am a very dissatified customer of Ameritech.
1) They have not kep installation appoinments on 2 occasions.
2) Their customer service has been unresponsive to many phone calls. It also appears to be very understaffed resulting in long waits of over an hour.
3) They do not provide all of the necessary information to use their service. It was necessary for me to learn how to set the service up so it would preform correctly on my own.
4) The service was disconnected without my consent or any warning.
5) The process of getting the service reconnected has been one of delays and miscommunication on their part.

Each part should be expanded on to clearly explain the problem you are having and how (without saying it) it differs from what a normal competent sevice would provide.
You say the service "sucks". Provide specific details as to what speed you are downloading at as compared to what was promised.

Be specific, be firm, be nice , be persistant and get results.

I realize you were ranting and probably know all of the above. Credit this to my own "rant" for the day.

 

[tommyc]

ETECH,

You are right on both counts. I agree with you 100%. I had just "gone off" I couldn't stop myself and didn't care. On top of all the aggravation
I went through to get it in the first time , I have been really stressed
the last few weeks with personal, work, and family problems. I actually
was suprised at how angry I became when this happened, and even more so that I couldn't temper it.
Maybe I am just expecting to much of people cause I am an anal retentive
perfectionist with my own work. My bro is the same and we work together.
We specialize in "high end" residential and commercial remodeling and new construction. We have worked for some very finicky people, some of them are
well known persons. We charege double, triple and even sometimes even more than that, than other contractors. We never have advertised as all our work is from refferals. Yet the requests for work never abates and no one
ever complains about the cost. In fact we often get offered MORE MONEY if
we can possibly rearrange our schedule and start NOW. I finally just started asking my customers why. They all said the same thing. "That having
the job done right, being built to last, and our willingness and ability to
satisfy, was more important than the cost"
So I guess it's a good thing that poor guy from Ameritech was gone before I got home cause I might have put his lites out. Then I really would
have been ashamed of myself. And in really big trouble too !