Communications Rant

We've had several weeks of issues with our internet, phone, tv, and cell phones. I'm about ready to give it all up.

I'm irritated with my email/internet/phone provider. Here's the story... A few months ago (okay, many months ago), there was a tornado in Kansas. A gal who's blog I read lives in Kansas. I wasn't sure where she and her partner lived in relation to the tornado, so I had emailed her just making sure they were okay, stuff like that. A month goes by and I didn't hear back from her. Another friend calls and wonders why I never responded to her email, then I start emailing my personal account from my blog email...and none of them arrive. So I check my settings, make sure I haven't accidentally changed important things or blocked anything. Then I call my ISP. Apparently there was a junk mail filter, with a separate pick up point (or whatever they called it). So I go there, and there are hundreds of emails. So I write KS blog woman back, and apparently she thinks I don't care, because she doesn't reply. In the junk mail thing are also editing job opportunities, invitations, emails from my university, plus all kinds of emails from family and friends. During the time that all the email that I WANTED was going to the junk mail, my inbox was daily filled with all kinds of spam that I DON'T want. Nice.

So, I think I finally have that figured out. Now, a little background here: our cable company provides both our phone and internet. They are the only non-dial up service in my area that reasonably reliable. Both the phone and the internet stop working pretty frequently, but it's normally only for about 10 minutes at a crack, and the techs can't find anything wrong. So we live with it. Now it's going down randomly for anywhere from the usual 5-10 minutes to 3 hours!

So, I call my cable company. I explain who I am, account number, etc. I explain the problem. I spend more time on hold. Someone else comes on the line, and I explain it to him. He doesn't see a problem. I tell him that my service was not working while I was talking to him, and that I didn't think it was reasonable to have to pay for service that wasn't at least reasonably reliable. He insisted that he didn't see a problem. So I asked him if there was something I could check on my end of things, that maybe a cable came loose or something. He had me check all of the cables I had checked before I called him. Still no internet or phone.

He says he's going to send me an email while he's got me on the line and that I should let him know exactly when it arrives. Okay. Now...the gentleman I was talking to definitely knows more about all of this stuff than I do: but how the hell did he expect me to get an email when I had no internet? But I kept my mouth shut and made small talk with him (he really was very nice) while we waited. He was curious about where I lived, told me what a wonderful customer I was, thanked me for not yelling at him, told me all about the overtime he was working, yadda-yadda-yadda. It was a nice conversation. After about 20 minutes, he asked, "Have you STILL not received my email?" Um, no. I still don't have phone or internet (I had called from my cell phone). "Well," he says, "obviously something's wrong." Hmm...ya think?

There is still no fix to the problem. I wish that Comcast or someone like that was in our area, but by the time we get that, we'll have internet wristwatches that can be bought at wally world for $3.99.

Fidget and I are weighing the pros/cons and costs/benefits of switching back to a regular landline telephone. At least then I could call the cable company about the internet without wasting minutes on my cell phone.

Which brings me to the cell phone company. I've had the same cell phone company for the last 8 years. They're reasonably reliable (which, again, is a feat in this area), and their costs are competitive. And then they were bought out by another company. And we have had nothing but problems since. When the buyout occurred, we were assured that nothing would change. Our service, bills, etc. would all stay the same. Right. I told Fidget, "Hang on, 'cuz we're about to be taken for a ride." I hoped I was wrong. But I wasn't.

Our first bill from new company was $4 more than it had been with old company (which, within $.03 never changed from month to month). So we called. And were given the runaround, and after an hour of holding and talking to various people still didn't have a reason why, but were told that the following month (this month) our bill should return to normal. I wasn't happy about it, but it was no longer worth my time.

So we get our bill this month, and it's gone up another $4. That's already $8 more per month than we ever paid our old company. So I called the company. And was given the runaround for about 25 minutes. Fidget called the company and was given the runaround for 1 hour, 48 minutes. We called a local branch who stated that our bill should have changed. We pointed out to him (as we both had to the main number people) that our taxes and fees were 20% of our bill, and we didn't think that was right. He agreed, and asked us to bring our bill in so he could look at it and see what's going on. Finally, someone's going to help us. We'll be going in to talk with him in the next day or two.

Meanwhile, our calls have been being dropped FREQUENTLY. Our bill actually stated that we weren't being "charged" for more than 30 dropped calls. RIDICULOUS!!! Our home phone doesn't work, our cell phones work randomly...Fidget's dad is sick and we have kids. We need a phone.

If there is a cloud in the sky, our tv doesn't work. Yesterday it was cloudy, and the tv went on strike. It rained and it lost it's signal completely.

If anyone reading this has any connection to a company such as Comcast or Charter (or anything similar), bring it to my area. Almost everyone who lives in my part of the world would switch if it was reliable and reasonably priced. You'd make a fortune from the commission.

There ends my rant. I have to go call the satellite people now. Wish me luck.