So yesterday I get a call from a BT* representive somewhere in India, telling me "your phone line is fixed now, yeah." I didn't read that as a question, so I told him, yeah, for the moment, but what about an hour from now? What about tonight when I try to make a phone call to my daughter? Ever since the phone first went out, on January 12, we've had moments when it worked, and I strongly suspected this dude from Mumbai had no more idea what the real problem was than my dog did.
I finally convinced him to look at our record. He admitted he wasn't an engineer, but that he knew our first complaint was not related to the second complaint we'd lodged on Saturday. Our phone line worked, right now at least, and as far as he was concerned it was fixed.
A few hours later it went out again.
In case I haven't made it clear, BT sucks.
It's one thing to not have internet, or to have it sporadically. You all can live without my daily postings. But living without a reliable phone is another matter, even in the era of cell phones. (Ours charge by the minute, and it ain't cheap.) I have family in the U.S., who I haven't talked to in weeks. I have no idea how my mom is doing in her nursing home, since I can't call in the evenings when my aunt is home from work.
So now we've lodged a third complaint with BT. I expect a call after the lines dry out, telling me my phone works, yeah. Somehow, without lifting a finger, BT will have fixed my phone line!
But there is just one problem. BT still sucks, and my phone will fail again.
*BT stands for British Telecom, and it looks like I'm not the only one who thinks they suck.
Update: Another American has neatly sliced and diced BT here. (He weighs in on the stupid banking laws too. Buy this man a pint.)
Another update: This post has been Googled countless times in the nine months it's been up. Every day many, many of you are driven by frustration with BT and their non-existent customer service to turn to the internet for help. While the advice in the comments may or may not be helpful, feel free to vent. (Comments continue on two pages now; click the arrows at the end.) Then write to the head of BT and, remembering to use proper spelling and grammar, tell him just what a sorry ass company he's running. If that doesn't work, toss the tea in the harbor and move to Manhattan.
