Bob Stratton <c_bstratton@hns.com> (05/23/91)
I was recently ordering service from C&P Telephone (A Bell Atlantic company) of Maryland, and I was repeatedly stunned to find what I consider to be exceptionally accomodating service -- has anyone else noticed this change from RBOCs?? When I requested a old number, I was told that the NNX was "frozen -- probably due to equipment upgrades". Out of curiosity, I asked what kind of switch was there now, and the person immediately told me, which shocked me, having gone through hell when trying to get this info on past occasions. I expressed disappointment at being unable to get the number I wanted, and asked for her "second level" (supervisor). She put me on hold, came back once to tell me that her second level had referred her to a particular department (the frame foreman?), and came back to tell me that she had indeed secured the number I requested. To compound the shock, she then said: "If there's something you really want, that's the right way to handle it." When I placed the original order, I requested that no changes to the LD carrier selection be made without written authorization. I had to make a few changes the day after that (before the service was turned on), and I asked for confirmation that this restriction was entered. The order-taker blew me away when she informed me that there was a special flag that specifically restricts "mechanized" changes to accounts. She even read me an excerpt from the manual, which states something to the effect of "when this flag is set, any mechanized/automatic changes to the account will drop out with an error indication..." She indicated that there had been a big problem with inadvertent LD carrier changes, and wasn't sure why, but said that this flag was specifically created to deal with the issue. I've also noticed that the order people are taking pains to explicitly specify which services are optional, and in the case of non-published numbers, that people with Caller*ID could still get the number. This does not correspond with my traditional experiences in dealing with C&P. Is it just Baltimore that's like this, or have all the areas improved their service? I spent two weeks last winter begging C&P of Virginia to tell me what kind of switch I was on, and when I could expect CLASS services. *sigh* Bob Stratton | Stratton Systems Design| SMTP: strat@gnu.ai.mit.edu, c_bstratton@hns.com Alexandria, Virginia | PSTN: +1 301 409 2703
wts1 <wts1@cbnewsb.cb.att.com> (05/28/91)
In article <telecom11.392.6@eecs.nwu.edu> strat@gnu.ai.mit.edu writes: > I was recently ordering service from C&P Telephone (A Bell Atlantic > company) of Maryland, and I was repeatedly stunned to find what I > consider to be exceptionally accomodating service -- has anyone else > noticed this change from RBOCs?? > This does not correspond with my traditional experiences in dealing > with C&P. Is it just Baltimore that's like this, or have all the areas > improved their service? I spent two weeks last winter begging C&P of > Virginia to tell me what kind of switch I was on, and when I could > expect CLASS services. *sigh* Well, if anyone wants to start collecting data points for improved RBOC service, I had a problem (5/17)that the operator said the business office would gladly handle and to call the business office tomorrow morning. When I reminded the operator that tomorrow was a Saturday (5/18), she said "the business office is now open on Saturday. Thank you for using Southern Bell, and have a pleasant day Mr. Sykes." I called Saturday AM, and sure enough, the office was open! Anyone know if this is just Southern Bell in NC, all of BellSouth, or other RBOCs also? First Class! William T. Sykes AT&T Federal Systems att!cbnewsb!wts1 Advanced Technologies Burlington, NC UUCP: att!burl!wts [Moderator's Note: The sisters all pretty much do things the same way at about the same time. Illinois Bell started having Saturday business office hours also, plus evening hours once or twice a week. PAT]
robert@uunet.uu.net> (05/29/91)
c_bstratton@hns.com (Bob Stratton) writes: > I was recently ordering service from C&P Telephone (A Bell Atlantic > company) of Maryland, and I was repeatedly stunned to find what I > consider to be exceptionally accomodating service -- has anyone else > noticed this change from RBOCs?? I've received excellent service from Bell of PA, my local Bell Atlantic division. I had a recent complaint about an AOS and they were quite helpful. I wish I had the same service from my local Electric / Gas company (Philadelphia Electric Company). Now that Bell has given up the task, PECO now gives me reason to contact the PUC. If you're in PECO territory, beware: anyone can intentionally or accidentally call in and have all your service shut off and PECO will NOT require written verification or anything. ZAM no electric or gas. Happened to me while I was on vacation. And rather than being apologetic, all the management and claims adjusters are obnoxious. The customer service reps were nice, though. But I digress. Not all the RBOCs have cleaned up their customer service. Comparison: At the convention center in Washington, D.C., C&P had realized that the original number of payphones was insufficient, and had set up pods of auxilliary phones to address the problem. At the World Congress convention center in Atlanta for Comdex Spring '91, Georgia Bell had NOT done any such thing. People lined up waiting for payphones the entire week. So it's definitely an individual RBOC improvement in customer service on Bell Atlantic's part. Robert Oliver Rabbit Software Corp. 215 993-1152 7 Great Valley Parkway East robert@hutch.Rabbit.COM Malvern, PA 19355 ...!uunet!cbmvax!hutch!robert
John Higdon <john@zygot.ati.com> (05/30/91)
wts1 <wts1@cbnewsb.cb.att.com> writes: > I called Saturday AM, and sure enough, the office was open! Anyone > know if this is just Southern Bell in NC, all of BellSouth, or other > RBOCs also? First Class! Pacific Bell has had Saturday business office hours for a couple of years, as much as it pains me to say it. But then what good does it do if there is nothing to offer :-) John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !