engelke@uf-csg.UUCP (charles engelke [fac]) (11/08/84)
I've been getting a lot of calls recently from AT&T trying
to sell me their long-distance service. Since I told each caller
I wasn't interested, the repetition grew annoying, and I complained
to my local phone company. They said that there was nothing they
could do (surprise!) and suggested I call AT&T in Atlanta to complain
directly.
When I complained to AT&T, they claimed that they NEVER called
consumers to sell their service, and that the calls must be from
their competitors, trying to get me annoyed with AT&T. If that's
the case, it worked.
I wonder, though. The calls did not begin until I authorized
an AT&T competitor to be my primary long-distance carrier, and the
callers have all given names (which I don't remember). None of the
callers was impolite -- the only annoyance was the call itself, not
its content. It doesn't seem like an effective tactic to me.
Has anybody else been called by AT&T for long-distance? I don't
think they told me thr truth, and wonder if it's widespread.
Charles Engelke
..!akgua!uf-csv!engelke
P.S. I have an alternate theory that the calls came from a market
research firm. The callers ALL wanted to know who I was buying long-
distance service from.