Mood:
chattyTopic: "Ma Bell is Baaack" (3)
FRODO NOTE: This is the second entry for the subject date. The earlier entry was composed yesterday, entered into the system, and disappeared into the Ethernet when the DSL connection was broken. Frodo re-wrote the entry today, losing a lot in the spontaneity of the moment. However, it inspired this entry, which should serve as a warning to all mankind.
AT&T has completed its "purchase/acquisition" of the entity BellSouth. This follows earlier acquisitions which have resulted in the re-emergence of a single, dominant force in the world of telecommunications. In a word, "MA Bell" is back, and all of the consumer-friendly efforts by the US Congress to develop a more responsive communication system has gradually become bird poop. Frodo herein shares in his most recent experience with "Big Brother," or is it "HAL-9000," or perhaps it is simply "The Patriot Act."
If the truth be known, it was Sam who took the time to dial 1-888-321-2375 to complain about the dimunition of service on the residential DSL service at the Shire. Sam recognized problems when the first words heard were "Press 1 for service in Tagolog. . .". Sam was facinated with the eventual connection with a human being in Manila. After a few questions about the weather, what time of day it was there, and attempted humor referring to "Manila Vanilla" as an ancient rock group, Sam finally got to the point. For the better part of a week, the DSL service had made connections spotty, at best, and speed of service even slower than in the less expensive days of dial-up. Sam observed to the Manillan that this had not been the experience prior to the merger. The Manillan did not offer a comment in rebuttal.
The Manillan did comment that there had been reported problems in the Area Code of the Shire. The Manillan arranged for a serviceperson to appear the next day (today), and to check the "optic wire connections," free-of-charge.
Sam reported to Frodo this morning that the serviceperson from BellSouth showed as promised, and commented that the problems were pretty widespread and that "conference calls" were underway to diagnose the problems. Sam again commented that the problems had only become prevalent when the merger was finalized. The BellSouth serviceperson gave his best imitation of "De Tar Baby."
This evening, Frodo has returned once again to the keyboard to stimulate the spread of vowels across the airwaves, and things are operating quite smoothly. Sam has received a follow-up call regarding the level of satisfaction with the efforts of the Manillan. Sam responded to the automated message by suggesting that they "push 1."
Frodo asked Sam if at any time any of the computerized voices had referred to Sam as "Dave," or if anyone had asked what Sam's position on same-sex marriage happened to be? Gonzalez is still there.
Posted by loveysdaddyga
at 10:43 PM EDT
