When I left you last time, I was awaiting a phone call from the technicians that were to arrive at my humble abode and finish the job of internet connection the previous guys left incomplete. What follows is a tragic comedy of incompetence, bad timing and piss-poor customer service.
The good news is I did get the all important call, the bad news is that I was in the shower when it was made. After I dried off, I noticed that the little blue lights on the side of my Nokia were blinking, indicating activity. It was a missed call from a number I didn't recognize. I punched the recall button and my phone died due to battery depletion. I plugged the phone into the charger for a quick shot of juice.
After about 15 minutes, I tried the number again and it was indeed the dispatcher of the Local Internet Monopoly. He told me to call another number for the technicians on-site. I tried that number and I got a recording informing me the recipient's phone was turned off....just great!!! I waited another 10 minutes and tried the number again. This time it was answered and I told the guy who I was, my Complaint # and a brief description of the problem. I heard wind noise in the background like a car travelling at highway speed and considered that bad news. This was confirmed when the tech told me he had already left my apartment complex and maybe he would be back in the next three days. I called the dispatcher back and was told the same.
I waited the next day, and the next and then on the third day I called the dispatcher's number again and asked if/when someone would be out here to fix my problem. Over what sounded like a loud party in the background, he told me that it was a holiday and the techs would be off for the next two days which I realized would bring us into the two day weekend for a total of four day at least before another attempt would be made. He suggested I call the main customer service center and hung up.
At the customer service center, a pleasant sounding woman answered the phone. I told her my predicament and after I gave her the original Complaint # there was a pause and then she dropped the bomb! According to her, the original Complaint # had been cancelled back on the first day!!! When I asked why, she said the reason was that I could not be "contacted". I told her the tech tried to call me exactly ONCE and that I called back the same day and talked with both the dispatcher and the tech guy and made follow-up calls on the following days. The tech had cancelled the complaint after he could not get me on the phone with his single attempt. I was in the shower, remember?
To make a long story short (I know, too late!), I had to get a brand new Complaint # issued and start on the bottom of the stack again. Three days later the problem was fixed by two guys, one worked hard setting up my WiFi and his sidekick that used my bathroom without the courtesy of asking and then sat and watched a History Channel show that was on the TV. I didn't care as long as the job was done.
So I am all sorted out now. It "only" took the Local Internet Monopoly 3 1/2 weeks to shift my internet service to a different apartment in the same complex. I sure chose a hell of a time to take a shower on that first day!
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7 comments:
Guess you picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue. :)
Glad you are back online again. I had a hellacious time getting my net set up here, which ended up taking three tech visits...I know how much it sucks not to have net.
Lessons to be earned from this:
1. Showers are for pussies
2. Etisalat loves you... Alot!
3. Get a water proof phone
4. Never start any process before a long ass public holiday
5. Innerwebs can leave you hanging, books wont.
See, a ssilver lining in everything! Muahaha!
Only two complaint numbers - not bad! lol.
I've just asked to be upgraded to 30 mbps from 16 under their new eLife service. It should be cheasper than the old 16 mbps. We'll see how long it take to implement and whether it is actually any faster!
@ Chuck-- not having the internet for awhile was liberating in a way, like turning off the TV for a week...more productive things are always found to do. Unfortunately, I need the internet to pay bills, keep in touch with friends and familiy and some business stuff.
@ABIT--Funny stuff and all good points that added up to my frustrating experience. A water proof mobile is a great idea, make millions off of it! Another silver lining is that I am more patient now over things that are beyond my control.
@Neil--I thought two was one too many. I assume you have had more and you have my sympathy! Let me know how the 30mbps works. Did you ever find out what the "mystery box" was that the techs delivered yo your flat?
Well if it's the same box as I am thinking of, then I already had one on the wall in my living room. Big ugly white thing with Etisalat logo on? If that's it, then that is the device that connects you to the fibre network in your building.
That's what I have, a creme colored thing that looks like a big used up bar of soap with holes in the top and the sickly green logo on it. LEDs on the front and sockets on the back for RJ45, fibre optic and LAN connections.
I thought you said they also delivered a second box whose function was TBD at a later date. That was what I was most curious about.
To give Etisalat their props, I was moving before this past Eid, and visited the offices on Saturday to report the move. By Monday I had a call from a technician who would arrive at my house the very next day. It was all done within 30 minutes...not like the nightmares my colleagues experienced.
Now, I was feeling bold, so I went to eVision this past Saturday to start a new account. That will take TWO WEEKS. Fiber optics, blah blah blah. The staff at eVision worked MUCH faster than the staff at Etisalat's main branch, though.
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