beh@bu-pub.bu.edu (Bruce E. Howells) (09/23/90)
About two months ago, I wrote an article for TELECOM Digest outlining my "slamming" my (now old) residential service, and how a smiling MCI rep promised me that the billing would end immediately, that I'd be credited immediately for that month's billing on MCI, and would I please accept their apology. Well, since then: I recieved my September NJ Bell bill. Not only wasn't the promised refund there, but ANOTHER month's billing. Immmediate call to the person at MCI who so kindly fixed this a month ago. Call 1 - Sorry, but she's not working at the moment. May I take your name and have her return your call? Call 2 - same. Call 3 - "I've gotten this story twice now, when is she working?" Given schedule. Call 4 during appropriate time - Sorry, she's on another call, may I put you on hold? Certainly. 10 minutes later, dialtone. Call 5 - same Call 6 - I'm sorry you've gone through all this Mr. Howells, I'll leave a message for her and her supervisor to call tomorrow. Call 7 - 9 - same. Well, MCI, you've won one by default. To keep NJ Bell happy, I've paid your bill (MCI billed me via NJB), and since I've now moved to Boston, and am being kept quite busy by my studies here, I'm not going to pursue this any further. However, you might want to consider the public relations damage, at least locally - this story has travelled across USENet, as well as throughout the group of people here in Boston and New Jersey whom I know ... Maybe it's not a large customer-base, but there are a few people out there quite thoroughly polarized against MCI, and from what I understand, I'm not the only person to be "slammed" in this manner ... It's not really that big a thing, when you come down to it - but I'll never do business with you again, nor will any phone line I have contact with. My roommate was quite interested to hear why I so strenously did not want MCI as our Dial-1 carrier. Oh, by the way - I notice that you've somehow managed to be assigned to my new residence number here as the Dial-1 carrier, even after all the service requests had "NO DIAL-1, BY SUBSCRIBER REQUEST" on them. Bruce Howells, beh@bu-pub.bu.edu | engnbsc@buacca (BITNet)