About a month ago we decided to change our internet service provider/phone company because Primus, a competing company, was offering an amazing deal: local phone, long distance and high speed DSL for 59.95 a month, which was almost $50 less per month than we were paying at the time. So, I called Rogers, our then ISP and phone company, to switch. They told me I would lose my phone number because we had a digital phone line and to switch to Primus (or any other phone company) I would have to change back to an analogue line. So, that was hurdle and annoyance number one. The savings were big enough to allow me to see beyond that and make the inconvenience of a new phone number worth it.
Our new modem arrived in the mail with the installation disk. I popped it in to find out it was not Mac compatible. I called the tech help line and was on hold for 35 minutes. Luckily it was a 1-800 number because I'm pretty sure I was talking to someone in India. I was told to call back several days later when my account would be "activated."
I called back several days later. A woman walked me through the set up. I won't give you the play-by-play of the set-up but it did involve me furiously burrowing into a box in our storage area looking for a phone cord that would allow me to stretch the modem across the basement to our computer (we've been wireless for too long, obviously). Again, good thing I wasn't paying for that call to India because she was on the phone with me for a while, not just because of the phone cord buried amongst skates and squash racquets but also because I'm a complete tool when it comes to any technological hardware.
Anywho.
So, the set-up didn't work I soon found out. Yesterday, I finally called back after reaching my limit with paying two ISPs. I got a really good tech-support woman on the phone. Within 3 minutes (no joke) she informed me that the set-up would never work because I was 4.9 kilometres away from their thingamajiggy. I pointed out that when I initially phoned Primus their customer service person told me I was within the range of the thingamajiggy and it would all be fine.
I was transferred back to customer service where a man waived (oh, how thoughtful) the cancellation fee of $100 to get out of my contract. When I told him I also wanted out of my phone contract since I had signed up as a bundle to save money, he informed me that it would be $40 to cancel that.
That's when Karen went a wee bit postal. I managed to keep things under control at this point (John would confirm that in this situation it is nothing short of a miracle that I didn't tear Mr. Guy at Indian Call Centre a new one) and asked to speak to someone who could waive that fee being that I only moved over to Primus to save money and now they aren't honouring their contract so
W.
T.
F.
I got the fee waived. Yay me.
So, that was how I spent the two hours I get to myself while the girls are sleeping on the rare day now that Emily chooses to sleep. Not so yay me.
Aren't you glad you spent the time to read this whole post? Did it change your life? Maybe not, but I'm betting you're not going to be signing up for Primus anytime soon.
And with that, my work is done.
6 comments:
That totally sucks. If you are looking for a new ISP we would highly recommend Teksavvy. Cheaper than Bell and Rogers, and awesome tech support,right here in Good ole Canada. Somewhere in Ontario actually, not too far away. If you want more info, call Marty. He can give you all the deets. And obviously, Max compatible.
How funny is it that you wrote "Max compatible" instead of "Mac compatible" ?
I could have written this post about AT&T a few years ago. that poor indian woman in Bangalore. She didn't know what she was going to get into that day.
Amen sisters! Except that I actually have a happy ending. I was recently given an iphone from my roomie (insert gloating here...), and after some blood sweat and tears was assured by both Mac and AT&T that using my old AT&T plan (rather than the "new AT&T" they want you to sign on with), I would NEVER be able to use the phone. And we're not talking as a phone -- I just want to take and show pics on the darn thing. No luck. Blood, sweat, tears, up the higherarchy until some nice tecchie in Canada assured me that he had one he couldn't use either )c; Oh so sad. "But..." says I... "Mac MUST have some way to make they're demos work without signing on to new AT&T plans!?!? And I already HAVE a plan, so can't I do that?" "No," he said. "There's a big huge whopping AT&T bill to Mac every month for it's demos." (sure sure).
BUT!!! Never to be dissuaded, I found someone at an outlet who had a phone that couldn't make calls, but could do anything else. "Aha" said I "it IS possible." So... with a few trips to a friend of a friend of this sales guy in a mall kiosk, he happily plugged in my iphone using HIS phone numbers and swapped out the card for a dummy. And now my phone works! No dialing numbers, but wifi, e-mail, photos, camera, planner, weather, etc. etc. Legal? No. Awesome YEAH!!!
Like you, many hours gone, but I had to add ONE happy story of a techno-idiot getting what she wanted despite the Indo-answering services.
-Erika
Oh that really sucks Karen.
What a trauma. Nothing like tech troubles to cause huge issues and make me livid.
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