AT&T Digital Cable - They Made a Slight Mistake----

Date: December 19, 2002
      Well, well, well. The kid has not ventured from his room except for the hospital run for days.
      The tree has lights (I was shamed into it) but no other decorations. They STILL remain in the container.
      One week later.
      Except the Christmas angel.
      She's in place.
      Without halo, crook or wings - she is in need of a make-over.
      I have come home late on a Friday night, in a rainstorm, and found digital cable totally out.
      All channels.
      Dead.
      It is late and Friday night is my night for mystery - or, if they are not running it, I watch a Jane Austin movie.
      Or read.
      Looks like tonight is a reading night.
      I am hanging on the line - waiting for service.
      And waiting and waiting and waiting.
      AT&T is not moving fast.
      Customer service for repair is something they do not offer.
      Or do not offer fast enough.
      FORTTY MINUTES LATER, I give up. Try again later.
      I, on the other hand, was efficient at lunchtime.
      Too tired for gym (did the treadmill, have cut calories way, way back) I hit the grocery store.
      I am delighted to say, I found turkey breasts!
      I was so excited that I bought two!
      So here I am, waiting for a relaxing night and have a blank TV screen.
      I could (and probably will) get the TV with the aerial out.
      Sensory deprivation!
      How enured we are to the noise.
      My son didn't know it was out.
      Seems his controller had fallen behind his bed-------
      And he just couldn't make the effort------He may be 21 but he's still a kid.
      He's on-line killing things. With email, he's part of a pack out killing things. When not sending movie quotes back and forth to challenge each other.
      Ho ho ho.
      -----------
      Well, it's Saturday morning and I am due to have my nails done at 11AM. I have become an addict and I have a regular person to do them. She barely speaks English.
      It is cold and wet, but not raining, yet.
      I made coffee and tried AT&T again.
      You will not believe this one!
      It is NOT storm-related!
      My house was silent last night because ---- "Someone called and turned off the cable services".
      Say what?????
      Seems they have a call turning off the boxes and giving me only basic cable-------.
      We could figure this out because----- when I moved the cable from the box to the TV - I have picture and sound (and a frantic dive for the TV controller).
      Note they take four digits of your social security number just to take a service call so one must wonder how they turned off services for someone who pays over $90 a month for cable without verifying what they were doing.
      Seems they "mislaid a call" or "typed it wrong into the account".
      Right.
      Well, I WAS thinking of reducing the channels-----
      Not quite that drastically!
      And I had not yet called!!
      "You pay $12---"
      "No, I pay about $100".
      "Oh. Here's the credit receipt. Let me call a supervisor---"
      And on we go.
      So after being transferred and a few emergency consults, they re-sent the signals to the boxes.
      I replaced the cable from the TV back to the one box.
      We have lift-off!
      Well, there is another problem.
      Changing channels has become slow as molasses and there is no "menu" service (which we use all the time) - flipping channels will take a week!
      Not fast enough!
      So calls are fired all over the place.
      Tech is being arranged.
      They will have to come and check boxes.
      Egad!
      A THIRD call to get digital cable up and working.
      They schedule (at my request) a Customer follow up call.
      And it seems it takes 45 minutes to "reload" the boxes.
      Lots of downloaded information.
      Sort of a massive server reboot.
      I suggest that they call back later and check on us.
      (Within 24-48 hours.)
      And set up a house call then, if necessary.
      I hope it is not.
      I don't like being "bothered".
      I will be working MOST of Christmas it seems - lots and lots to do.
      That is good and bad.
      Good because I can use the money (estimated taxes are coming due, so is the sofa spree) and bad because I would love to spend several days in bed, reading. What I do when this 45-year old un-insulated - in the old part - the bedrooms - gets cold sat night.
      Or during storms.
      It's "my special" mass-reading time.
      And I have a reading contest to grade-----"

      (They haven't called but the TV is back to nrmal.)