Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!bellcore!texbell!killer!vector!telecom-gateway From: unmesh@cup.portal.com (Unmesh Funda Agarwala) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: AT&T Commercial Message-ID: Date: 2 Feb 89 23:42:45 GMT Sender: news@vector.UUCP Organization: The Portal System (TM) Lines: 30 Approved: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 60, message 3 of 4 I'm a long term user of SPRINT and thought I'd contribute my own experience with the carrier. Our exchange recently converted to EQUAL ACCESS, and we got a phone call from a SPRINT representative offering as a convenience to inform the local BELL company that SPRINT was our long distance carrier. He also told us to use the 10333 prefix until the switchover was complete, which would take up to two weeks. The surprising thing was that SPRINT in the meanwhile cancelled our authoriza- tion code, so that we could no longer use the 10333 or other prefixes! A call to their Customer Service revealed that indeed this was standard operating procedure in areas switching over to equal access, and that I could use their travel feature (through an 800 number) until the transition was complete. They did not seem to care that calls made in this way were going to cost us more than the calls made through the local entry point into their system. Although I was quite pissed off at this time, (especially since I'd listened to a recording while on hold about thow they were now a full service long- distance carrier, etc), I decided to give it another chance. A week later, I call up the local Bell company and learn that they haven't had a request from SPRINT yet, but if I wished, they could have me connected to SPRINT in a day. Needless to say, I am now an AT&T customer again, even if it means paying more. In fact, considering the number of 1 minute calls I get billed every month on SPRINT ("You must have let the phone ring more than 5 times"), I might even be paying less. I guess customer satisfaction wins after all. -Unmesh