I have a phone!

**Jaded** · 10-18-2007, 08:55 PM

Well, I talked to someone at the phone company, and explained the whole situation about paying online, and getting the confirmations, and the money never coming out of my bank account or being credited to my account, and they turned my phone back on. I have to talk to someone else about not being charged the reconnection fee, but that can wait for right now. They tried to give me some outrageous amount I had to pay, which I told them was wrong, and they tried to say it was a state law that made me have to pay it. I simply told them that if I had to do that, I would just let the phone stay disconnected, because I had gotten a great offer to get a cell phone from AT&T (their worst enemy), and I could use the computer at the library for the internet. Seems that she was trying to make me pay the next month in advance. Yep, she was tacking on almost $70 (that included the reconnect fee that she had just told me I could get taken off) that hadn't even been BILLED yet! I'll be writing a long letter to them about THAT sneaky little tactic.

Anyway, as soon as they heard AT&T, they came around. I still had to pay all the back bills that were never credited, but now I'm caught up again. Anyway, I found out that since my mother is sick in another state, and I need a phone, I may be qualified for a lifeline service, which is cheaper, and can't be shut off. Lifeline phones are the first to be worked on in an outage.

I was very proud of myself! I was very polite, but very clear that I would just have to go elsewhere. Word on the street is that AT&T is trying to get back into the home phone service, and it has Verizon and Sprint quaking in their boots down here!

**gentledenny** · 10-18-2007, 09:15 PM

good job. I am glad you have a phone, with your child living with you, it is imperative you have a emergency number. I hope the lifeline works out.

**sdrjeolsen** · 10-18-2007, 09:25 PM

Jaded, I'm so glad you got your phone back. They are sneaky aren't they? But you have knowledge, a more powerful tactic than being sneaky.

Way to pressure them!

**Jaded** · 10-18-2007, 11:01 PM

Yes, I've learned the "buzzwords" through the years. If you can find out who a company's biggest competitor is, and not really threaten, but make it sound like you'd rather do business with them for whatever reason, you can usually get what you want. Sometimes it doesn't work. Don't ever go to Home Depot and threaten to go to Lowe's. They'll give you a map of how to get there! Of course, that attitude is what is doing Home Depot in. Our pet peeve at the store is Sweetbay, because they came into town claiming they were going to "out-Publix Publix." When customers compare us to them, we do not cave in. We just smile and say "Well, if that's what you have to do."

It helps to keep up on the business news. Who's besting who in the business world can get you a lot of power. When Circuit City was the only game in town, they got really arrogant. Then came Best Buy, and CC had to change their strategy of treating customers like dirt. A CSM at CC said to me that she wasn't used to giving customers what they wanted, and it seemed strange. STRANGE!!! TO GIVE A CUSTOMER WHAT THEY WANT!!!! She wouldn't last 5 minutes at Publix.

Then again, sometimes you just have to fight it out. We've started a write in campaign over Florida Power and Light's bullish tactics. It's coming down to the wire now, because with elections coming up, and them being a big contributor to the Republican party candidates in our state, we have been letting those candidates know that how they vote in regard to FPL's behavior will be duly noted at election time.

**Michelle68** · 10-19-2007, 12:15 AM

Good for you, Jaded. I'm glad you were able to get them to turn your phone back on.

--Michelle

**Edna_E** · 10-22-2007, 04:18 PM

Yay! Glad life will be a little easier than it would have otherwise. Still, let me know where to send your seeds (I picked them before it started storming because I was scared they'd all blow away).