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.... or maybe just escalates. Last night, I started getting calls from people who thought they were calling AT&T customer service. They were looking to upgrade their phone service, or change their DSL, or handle some other task. I asked each one what number they were calling, and each one gave me my toll-free number, which I keep for current customers and my daughters' use. They each told me they had gotten the number from an AT&T representative. I've had this toll-free number for about 7 years now--I got it originally so my daughters could always call me wherever they were--so it's not a new number. Now AT&T is giving out MY toll-free number as their customer service number and costing ME money. So why do I say escalates? Well.....
After the hurricanes in 2004, a lot of phone lines had to be repaired. Ever since then, I assume when BellSouth was especially busy, I would get a call or two that was supposed to be forwarded to Bell South's customer service but which instead came to me, frustrating the customer and me in the process. But it was only occasional, maybe once every week or so. When I had BellSouth look into the problem the frequency of the calls dropped--I only get one every month or three, so it's no big deal and I've left it at that.Then earlier this year Bell South was acquired by AT&T, making it more of a nightmare to deal with a problem. I had to deal with AT&T's automated system all morning, which has to be the worst experience with an automated system I've ever had to deal with. There is no option for "speak to a real person", such as dialing "O" when you first reach it, you have to go through this nightmare of a system to even reach that option. What do you do with a problem like mine, when none of the options answer what you need? Perhaps I should have followed up with BellSouth until the earlier problem with my numbers was completely healed. Maybe that's why AT&T is now trying to usurp my toll-free number. Or maybe they're just looking for any toll-free number they can get, hoping I'll change mine to something else so they can have my old one. Nah... couldn't be. They have bigger fish to fry. But after this, one does start to wonder. I finally reached customer service, where, after explaining it all to the rep so she understood the problem (the calls were NOT being misdirected, my number is being given out incorrectly), she said she could not look up the 800 number as she was on the "new" AT&T and only had access to BellSouth info, so she would have to forward me to the business customer service. Instead, I got dumped back into the beginning of the automated system again. ARGH! I finally get through to another customer service rep, she figured out the same as the first one and this time did forward me to the right place--a business customer servive rep who had access to the 800 number directories. Apparently my 800 number is not listed in either residential or business listings, so she gave me the number for the provider of my 800 number and had me call them to get it straightened out. This would make sense--AT&T would see it as an open 800 number if it wasn't i nthe listings. So I called the 800 number provider, but the specific person whose number I was given was on vacation and her message gave me an 800 number for their customer servie department, so I had to call THEIR customer service for wholesale customers. The rep was extremely nice, but told me that I needed to talk with the people who billed my number and have them call to get it my listing straightened out. So now I'm back to the place that bills me for the 800 number calls, which I had to call anyway to get a reimbursement for incorrect calls. Not that that was ever handled... the fellow I spoke with did not seem to know how to handle this at all, finally settling on putting in a an order into their technical service department, which will look into the problem and (hopefully) get my 800 number listed in the directories where it's supposed to be. I don't know about it still being given out, I expect I will still see some more calls coming through, but after 2 hours of dealing with this so far, I'm ready to change to Internet phone service, if I didn't have so many concerns about cable service being a lot less reliable. The worst is the automated phone system... AT&T's has got to be the worst I've ever dealt with, and I've dealt with quite a few. I haveheard a lot of complaints about automated systems, and BellSouth's prior to the change was not good, but at least it had a way for you to get through to a rep (even if you waited an hour) without going through all these menus that don't make sense. Or at least give me an option for "for all other calls, please choose 6 (or 7 or 8 or 9.. whatever)" so there's a place for me when I don't know which option to choose. And they wonder why folks are leaving the telcos as fast as they can run.... To be updated..... when I find out where this ends. |
