AT&T Service Comedy of Errors

Would be comedy if it weren't so aggravating. Service spotty for a couple weeks now, finally called to schedule service. So far:

3/5 11am - 'Customer Service' in India, complete with an idiot READING stock boilerplate the whole time. Couldn't answer a single question. Basically a human automated response system. Had to put me on hold 2x to confer with a supervisor over minor questions. Blame the wireless - no, working fine. Asked about all the blinking lights. Suggested I unplug the modem and restart - logical, but I ALREADY explained that THAT'S what I'd been doing for the last couple hours!!!!!!! Hello, anyone listening? On and on down her list - insisted I get on Windows instead of Firefox. ???? After 20 minutes of humoring her, I finally just dictated - it's obviously the line or modem, the DSL light blinks RED on and off. Schedule me. So she finally opens a ticket, someone will call.

3/5 12pm - Callback from WONDERFUL knowledgeable Charlie from St. Louis, goes thru a bunch of tests, can actually think instead of reading off stock answers. Sees all the error codes, yup, problem, don't know why, schedules service to come out between 8am-12noon. Excellent, I think.

3/6 8am-12pm - Hubby stays home for the guy (I asked). Noon arrives, no one's here. I call. Gee, no, we've been changed to an AFTER noon service. No-one called to tell us. But we're assured that we're the first on the noon guy's ticket, and he's on the way. Fine. BTW, absolutely zero friendliness or apologies.

3/6 1:30pm. Still no guy. I call again. By some coincidence, I get the same chick, May, from the earlier call. She checks dispatch again. Apparently no-one was going to come out today. !!!!! There were no available guys, and the one they sent out from Concord had a truck breakdown. She took great pains to tell me she wasn't lying the first time, they told her they were really coming out. She was cute. I told her I believed her, and figured it was bad scheduling. I was just really fucking hopping mad that NO-ONE gave us a courtesy phone call AT ANY TIME so that we weren't sitting around the house all day, and Hubby didn't have to cancel his meetings 'cause I asked him, and now I feel bad. Next available spot is next TUESDAY. No, she can't credit my account for the aggravation - I have to call another number.

1:50pm. Nice younger guy. Explain the aggravation to him, and ask for something to be done to our bill to compensate. He says $20 credit. ??? I say the mthly bill is $30, service on the blink for at least 2 wks (really it's about a mth, but I'm not sure, so didn't say that). I'm on hold for 5 mins while he gets approval. He finally comes back and credits me. Little thing, but I've already pursued it long enough. Asked me about speed, but only to offer an upgrade for $5 extra a mth.

Hubby's the one who insisted we switch to AT&T. He catches hell now.