The Sign of AT&T

Here's a rundown of a customer services issue that AT&T handled in their own special way. I get a few shots in towards Earthlink but they're more of a side note. It's December 24th, 2019 and it is, the 3rd day into our exclusion from the Internet thanks to AT&T's wonderful customer service. We called in about slow service. We did the “check the modem” dance and they scheduled a tech to come on December 14th. This was the 11th. They said he or she would call first to make sure we were home. No call. No show. No follow up. On the 16th I let them know under no uncertain terms that someone needed to come by, no appointment needed. That apparently isn't an option that they have access to. No calls. No visiting AT&T repair man. Then my Internet and phone died in the early morning of December 22nd. I used our emergency cell phone to give them a call. We had a long conversation where I told them that I was ready to switch deck chairs on the Titanic and go back to Media com but I'm pretty sure that they missed the reference. It's a cultural thing. Anyway the end result was that the soonest they can get someone here is the 29th. No calls from family wishing us a Merry Christmas. No Netfix. No Utube. No e-mail. Can't track my Amazon purchases to insure that they have arrived safely. So I wait impatiently for that promised day when the AT&T technician is scheduled to come and restore my services. If they miss this appointment I won't be too upset because I'm expecting them to fail me once again. I'd go back to Media.com but they failed me previously and I was without service for nearly a month before I switched to AT&T. I had experienced AT&T's indifference to their customers needs but they were the only alternative in our area at that time. So as near as I can figure, AT&T has severed all connections between their service call centers and their technicians in the field. The call center was unable to place an open order to repair my service. They were forced to schedule me out through their appointment system. I was lead to understand that there was no alternative available to them. They were invariably polite even though I made my displeasure obvious. No person that I spoke with except one had a name I could understand after they said it and it was obvious that English was not their primary language. I had no issues understanding them though and they had no issues understanding me but this has been an issue with my wife as her hearing is not the best. I can only conclude that AT&T has contrived this cavernous hole in their customer service system by design. The remotely situated call center is one of the main ingredients. They obviously don't care about their customers unless their late with their payment so I've made arrangements with another internet provider. Earthlink gets my business this time. Maybe they'll keep me happy (or at least satisfied) for more than 3 years but I'm not counting on it. So far I'm getting the feeling that they are as distant as AT&T. I'm still waiting for a text from their affiliate to set up an installation date and it's been 2 days but you can be damn sure they got their money already. Merry Christmas indeed.