Is it easy to call your AT&T customer service number and actually reach the person who could help you? Odds are worse than surviving a tsunami at night in a leaking inner tube. We have ‘inside wiring maintenance plan’. We’ve paid so much into this plan over the years we are probably mentioned in the retirement package of management personnel. to wit: ….’And if the Fleischmans decide to cancel or otherwise change or lessen their inside wiring maintenance plan coverage, be advised that your monthly payments will decrease a like amount’

This is how AT&T describes the plan:

“As a subscriber to the inside wiring maintenance plan if you experience a problem with your telephone service  AT&T will diagnose the trouble and if the problem is with your inside telephone wire, jacks, or telephone cord set AT&T will repair the trouble at no cost to you as provided in the following inside wiring contract. AT&T Inside Wire Maintenance Plan is an optional service that is not required for you to continue basic AT&T basic telephone service. This maintenance plan is a service offered to help you avoid unexpected costs and have your service repaired in a timely and professional manner, should you experience trouble.”

I’ve got a problem with ‘In a timely and professional manner’

First you’ve got to get them on the phone. after an interminable amount of ‘On Hold’ we reached a pleasant enough person who set us up for an appointment on Monday September 12th in the morning. NO SHOW. NO CALL.

We called back and after an interminable amount of time had the visit re-scheduled for Friday the 16th. We asked why were we not called? The answer, there was a ‘Miami emergency’ OK, so does that mean we had to sit there all day and wait?

On Tuesday the 13th we were called by a service person who said “I’m on my way”. We said no, we’re not going to be there. He said OK I’ll be there between 8 and 10AM on Friday the 16th.

We called back and the automated system told us “the order had been completed”

Today, Friday the 16th we waited and so far by 4:30PM no one has shown up. This, after spending another 25 minutes on hold being switched to the wrong department and 50 minutes until we reached ‘customer care’.

By this time we had had it and were aggravated with the entire situation. The ‘customer care’ person ‘Miss Snippy’ who had obviously never been coached to handle an ‘irate’ was condescending and rude.

Did we need major work? No! we only wanted to move a box from the wall to above the baseboard.

We would switch to Comcast but their so called customer service is non existent.

I’m sure that someone in a call center in India could have handled the scheduling in a more timely and professional manner. It seems the bigger the company, the worse the customer service. They save money by hiring part time service people and provide them with little or no training.Any comments?