crap

or crapola, maybe.

So I finally got ahold of AT&T (due to my dsl service being out). I've called them six times - Six! - and had not gotten a hold of them. I thought they must have had some sort of melt-down going on. Really. Four times I waited for AN HOUR. No "we are experiencing a high volume of calls...." or "Your wait time is expected to be xx....." nothing.
This time I waited an hour and a half exactly before someone answered my call.
(I cannot begin to convey to you my frustration over this, so I'll leave it at the hour-and-a-half thing. I'm sure you can imagine my feelings about it.)

So finally I talk to someone, and after her blase' questions of name, phone, etc, I break out my canon (I did wait my turn, after all - til after she was done) "This is the seventh time I've called in the last five days. I've been without the internet for five days" Well, as far as they are concerned I have, I've managed to get on a bit with a neighborhood unsecured network that I can get sporadically. "Most every I've called, I waited for AN HOUR, and no one answered my calls."
"I'm sorry to hear that ma'am, we take our time with our customers to help them properly - what can I help you with today?"
What!?! You mean there wasn't a nuclear explosion that I wasn't aware of? They didn't have a major crash? This is Business As USUAL?
Are you FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?!??!?
I'm late with my work (which admittedly was somewhat nice to not have that pressure, but still...), my life has revolved around when I can spend an hour on the phone waiting for someone to even answer my calls - a corded phone, mind, you, not a cordless phone (radio phones I call them) no speaker phone, etc. Life stopped. Multiple times over the last few days.

After now being on the phone with tech support for another HOUR - and almost dumping my house on my head by disconnecting and reconnecting various wires and cables from and to various unreachable corners of my home - and refusing to unplug my modem and climb up the side wall of my house to break into my phone line box to plug in my dsl modem (rolls eyes in disbelief) I am transfered to an email agent who will tell me my username and password - apparently it's not the one I chose for myself, but one they've assigned (wtf?) and after a security question of "How much do you pay a month for your dsl service?" and my response of "19.95 or $19.99, I dunno, it's taken out automatically..."
"I am sorry ma'am, but that is incorrect... $29.95..."
"What!?! I get $19.95 for the first year...blahblahblah... $29.95! Are you telling me I am paying thirty dollars a month?"
"Uh, no ma'am - you're paying $39.95 a month..."
"What!?!"
"I'm sorry ma'am, I can connect you with Accounts when we're done...."
A stunned me says "Yeah, we'll do that."

Finally get connected to 'net and now "Connect me with accounts, now, please."

Who answers very quickly in a rather terrified voice... "I'm sorry, ma'am, that is incorrect... you are paying $19.95 a month, as per our agreement for the first year...."
Hmmph. That's better.

I honestly was not a bully, or mean about it (only in my head was I) but I cannot get over that a huge company like AT&T would make its customers wait over an hour on the phone before they could reach someone. As a general practice. I'm so shocked over it.

sigh.

And oh yeah - Eric got in a car wreck - got smacked into from behind on the interstate.
Rolls eyes again.

He's fine. I think.
Truck is lookin' pretty pitiful.

Other guys fault, Eric hurt his neck - we'll see how much over the next few days.

Sheesh.

I've gotta get off here - since I'm free - and clean house while I enjoy the smell of the rain and listen to the thunder.
Hopefully even the few measly drops will wash some o'this crap out of the air.....



(amazingly, I feel quite optimistic and refreshed now.)