Executive Summary - I no longer get the "fast busy" sound indicating that I have new voice mail messages.I recently changed the service on the phone line that I use for telecommuting. I have service through Verizon. I won’t even start on why it takes weeks for them to actually make the service change when it should only involve making changes in a computer. I’ll move on to after the change.
On April 28th I changed to Verizon Freedom Essentials. This is actually a pretty good deal for me, considering how much I use the phone line. For $34.95 you get unlimited local, regional, and long distance as well as call forwarding, call waiting, caller ID, and home voice mail.
Now, I already had home voice mail on the line as a separate package, prior to switching my service. If you have this capability you know how it works – if you have a message waiting you get a “fast busy” when you pick up the phone. That fast busy tone means you have messages.
About mid-week (May 3) last week I began to wonder why I didn’t seem to be getting any voice mail messages. I dialed into the system and (surprise!) did indeed have messages waiting. But what I didn’t have was a fast busy telling me that I had messages. So on Friday I filed, via Verizon’s web site, a report asking them to fix it.
Here is the saga so far:
Mon 5/8/2006 10:28 – I receive an e-mail from Maria saying she has received my problem and are working on it.
Mon 5/8/2006 10:40 – I receive an e-mail from Maria saying that she needs to know my primary billing number (the line I had changed was my second line, and it is not the primary number on the bill).
Mon 5/8/2006 12:24 – I receive an e-mail from Maria stating that the correct order codes were put on my account for the interrupted dial tone to indicate a message waiting, and that I needed to call the repair department.
Mon 5/8/2006 13:08 – I call the repair department and Marilyn tells me that they will have to re-set my voice mail, and that it could take as late as midnight Tuesday before it will be fixed.
Mon 5/8/2006 20:02 – Benny called me to say he had re-set my voice mail and that he’d call to leave a message, I should check it a few minutes after he called, and he’d call back.
Mon 5/8/2006 20:18 – Benny called back to see if it worked (it had not). He said he may have to refer me to the voice-mail shop, but would try to continue to work on it.
Tue 5/9/2006 09:50 – I received an automated phone call stating that Verizon was unable to determine the source of the problem, but that tests on the line revealed that it was fixed. So I tested it. It still isn’t fixed.
Tue 5/9/2006 10:25 – I called customer service and spoke to “Bob”. He said it looks like the correct program entry to generate the stutter dial tone when voice mail is waiting (“s=YES” ?) is on my line, so he’ll pass it off to the programmers to have them take a look. He said it would be resolved by 5 PM today.
Well, today is Wednesday and it still is not fixed. Granted, I was on the phone a lot yesterday, so if they tried to reach me they probably were not able to. But come on. How hard is this to fix?
I will say this - the Verizon people I have spoken with have been very, very polite. Also, it is much easier to get to an actual person at Verizon than it ever was during my whole Cingular Saga.
But for Verizon, the story continues...
NYC
1 comment:
It looks like the state regulates those services, so if you don't like how it goes, you can file a complaint with the Public Service Commission. Here is the link to do that.
Things like hook up times and repair times generally have pre-set time limits on them, but it's up to the consumer to complain.
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