[Coco] Stories of Internet Connections - was:Color LOGO

[Gene Heskett]

On Saturday 03 April 2010, Steve Bjork wrote:
>On 4/3/2010 7:27 PM, Gene Heskett wrote:
>> Humm, you must still be in that introductory price schedule. I've heard
>
>No, that's the current price (non-introductory)  I've been with them for
>over a year and 1/2.  I could get it even lower if I was going to
>sign-up again for a 1 or 2 year deal.
>
>My wife and I move into my Mother-in-law house 2 and 1/2 years ago to
>take care of her. Alzheimer has been take its toll and she need 24 care
>at the time.  About month ago she got to the point that she need to be
>in a care home for Alzheimer.  (She no longer could recognize her own
>home that she lived in for over 50 years.)
>
>It's time to sell the home so she there is money for her care.  My wife
>and her bother were working on selling the house till it was pointed out
>that the kids could buy the home and keep the 1978 tax levels that her
>mom had on the home.  (1/5 the current level for the same type of house
>on today's market.) So, my wife and I may buy the house and stay here.
>If so, we will fix it up the and make it our own home.  Only then will I
>up for a two year FIOS package and a bit of money.

Where you are, the kids have tax rights that I wouldn't?  Neat.

>> from several sources that once they pull up the cable&  sell it to the
>> scrap dealers, they refuse to re-install copper, which makes sense,  but
>> that the package price doubles when they see they now have a captive
>> market.
>
>First, the old copper lines are still there on those Utility Polls.
>they are no pulling any copper since they still needed it for good old
>phone service.

Well, we have cable going by, and I'm probably the anti-Christ but I pulled 
Dish 2 years ago, got tired of no tv in bad weather and went to a huge 
antenna & rotator.  Now with broadcast hidef, I'm getting a far clearer pix 
than the neighbors with either dish or cable.  But as things are greening 
up, I may have to replace my booster on the antenna, the breakups are 
beginning to bother.

>Some of the "old f--t" as you call them will not give up their 19th
>century telephone technology.

Well, at 75, I am not allergic to technology, its been my business for 60 
years now.  But its got to work.  If all telephones were like my cell-phone, 
AGB would have starved to death deservedly.

>But the copper wire is starting to die and they will need to replace it
>one day.

Never happen, when it doesn't have a usable pair left, they will invent a 
way to double use the pairs they have.

>Upgrading to fiber cable does last a bit longer and they can
>carry much more in the way of services.  More services does equate to
>more ways to make a profit. Can't fault them for that

No neither can I.

I'd imagine the cable I cut replacing a fencepost here in '88 was 30 years 
old then.  And this is one of Weston's newer housing developments.

>> I admire you greatly Steve, but take it from an old f--t, keep your
>> cards in your wallet and the wallet closed and on a chain when dealing
>> with these people.  Those 'accounting mistakes' rarely are.  They take
>> advantage of folks who will just pay it&  go on.  And enough will do
>> just that to make those mistakes a count on it part of the margin.
>
>As for the DSL service being disconnected by them and Verzion DSL
>charging an early disconnect fee, I have not stop the fight.  I'm in a
>class action right now and should get my fees back and a bit more.

Good.  I hope the judge speaks to them educationally about their business 
practices.  Teaches them a lesson in other words.

>It should be noted that I dislike Verizon over the DSL disconnect fee

I didn't know there was one! I've had it since they first offered it here.

>but I've gotten over it because of FIOS and its customer service is a
>class act all the way.
>(FIOS group does know how bad DSL group is and do the best they can to
>undo the damage they done.)

In terms of PR?  Yeah, they have a lot of fence mending to do in this 
neighborhood.  I am not the only one that calls the PSC first when there is 
a problem.  If vz doesn't like it, they can man the telephones at a 
published phone number for repair service and do something about both the 
Indian manpower, and the computerized dispatch system that never has the 
option available that you need to report an outage.

>Steve

Best wishes.

-- 
Cheers, Gene
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
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