news@accuvax.nwu.edu (USENET News System) (07/02/90)
While at a country club on Saturday, I needed to make a phone call. I found the payphone, and was relieved to see that it was Pacific Bell and not one of the private companies. I double checked the "information card" which all of the coin phones in CA. seem to have these days, and indeed it said that BOTH coin calls AND calling card calls would be handled by AT&T. HOWEVER, when I entered in the calling card number, I head a male voice saying, "Thank you for using Com Systems." I never thought I would see a BOC payphone which displays misinformation like this one did. I immediately called AT&T at (800) 222-0300 (knowing that this wasn't the right number but hoping they would know the right number). After a few minutes, she connected me with someone who asked me for the phone number and the hours of business. She then told me that in the future I should call Pac Bell, and that they are the ones who should know about it. I explained to her that AT&T is the one being hurt by this and they should want to know about it. She refused to believe that it had anything to do with AT&T and she kept telling me that "They can choose any long distance service they want." Am I crazy here? #Ron ronnie@eddie.mit.edu (213) 443 - 9688 [Moderator's Note: No, you are not crazy. You should have heard the referrals I got when I asked about red-lining certain neighborhoods last week. I was told to call New York Tel, Pac Bell, GTE, South Central Bell, you name it. Anybody but AT&T. It was the fault of the phone companies. One AT&T rep said it was 'The Mexico Telephone Company which asked us to disallow those calls ...' <snicker> ... and when I called Corporate Public Relations and asked them, they promised to call back ... and haven't so far. PT]
Edward_Greenberg@cso.3mail.3com.com (07/08/90)
Ron Schnell writes: >..I never thought I would see a BOC payphone which displays >misinformation like this one did. >She then told me that in the future I should call Pac Bell, and >that they are the ones who should know about it. Ron goes on to suggest that AT&T should have done something about it, and, indeed, they might have taken a report, but then, they'd have to do the same thing that they suggested ... Call Pacific Bell. I found a payphone in a restaurant recently, that was labelled AT&T, and gave some sleezy LD service instead. I called Pacific Bell Repair Service and reported it, and it was fixed the next day! Since they control the programming, I wouldn't think of calling AT&T for the problem.