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From: forrette@cory.berkeley.edu (Steve Forrette)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Telco "Customer Service"
Message-ID: <13836@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 17 Oct 90 20:41:23 GMT
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Organization: TELECOM Digest
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 748, Message 8 of 9


As most of us know first-hand, a lot of the people working Customer
Service in the telecom industry seem to be poorly trained, and not
very knowledgable of how the telephone network really works.  Since I
know how much I enjoy hearing everyone else's horror stories, I
thought I'd pass along a few of my own:

US West: "Why not select the PIN of your Call Me card to be the same
as your regular calling card, so that it's easy to remember?"

Upon reporting a number that results in a "dead line" when dialed,
Pacific Bell Repair stated "oh, that's normal.  Sometimes we don't
give a recording, just a dead line."

Anonymous cellular telephone salesman: "This model is nice because it
has true TouchTone.  On the older cellular models, even though it's
pushbutton, you have to wait for the number to pulse out when placing
a call."

Cellular One of Sacramento: "You have to pay airtime for calls
forwarded from your cellular phone, because these calls actually go
over the air."

And perhaps the best one of them all, Cellular One of San Francisco:
"10XXX dialing isn't available because it's incompatible with the
microwaves we use between cell sites."

Can anyone top these?


[Moderator's Note: Cellular One/Chicago in their printed manual says
that keeping a call on hold on your cell phone while accepting a call
waiting will incur two overlapping airtime charges. Why? Because, as
the rep told me, both calls are being transmitted through the air even
though on one of them no one is talking at the moment.  Hmmm. Likewise
she said three-way cell calls incur double airtime since *your phone*
(my emphasis) is connected to two people at one time. I asked if she meant
their switch was connected to two people at one time, and it was
sending me *one* transmission of the two callers combined. She said
she hadn't thought about it that way before.  Double hmmm.  Yes
readers, send along your 'can you top this' stories.  PAT]