Overtime

I'm sitting here waiting for the phone repair person to show up. They gave me a "window" of between 8:00 to 12:00. It is now 12:30.

I'm thinking they missed the window.

Late Update: I just received a text that says, "Your service request is scheduled for today. The Technician's estimated arrival is between 11:45AM-12:24PM." It is now 12:40.

Later Update: It is now 1:00. Nothing. Maybe the phone company should give their technicians a phone, so they can call their customer when they're running late.

Even Later Update: 1:45: Still nothing.

Even Later Late Update: It is now 2:05. I have just gotten off the phone with the phone company ("Helpful" automated version). When I called the first time the line was so filled with static that it could not detect the number I was calling from. The static was on their end.

I called back and the recording asked me if this was the number I was calling from. I said yes, and had to run through a few more automated questions before I finally got to a menu that asked me if I was confirming my appointment, now scheduled for 3 o'clock. I of course had the option to cancel or reschedule - and thus risk wasting another entire day. Therefore, I am sitting here for another hour or so, waiting, possibly in vain, for somebody to show up.

Even Later Than a Later Late Update: I just got off of the phone with the dispatcher from the phone company. He called me, and apologized if he was the first person I had heard from today. No kidding. It is now 2:45. He also asks me if I would like to reschedule, to be the first appointment for tomorrow morning. I tell him no, because I do not wish to miss another day at work. I do not tell him that I don't trust what he is telling me, and that this will somehow bleed into next week. He puts me on hold for approximately three minutes and I listen to blaring, staticy muzak.

Finally, he comes back on and tells me the technician's name (Gary). He ends the phone call by telling me that the technician is on his way and should be here within the hour, and he apologizes once again.

As I hang up, an email arrives. It's a Customer Satisfaction Survey. It begins with the line, "We're interested in hearing your feedback about the Verizon service you received."

Another Late Update: 4:05: Gary shows up. I explain the problem. For some reason, he has already shut off my service, "to identify the line", I think he says. He say's he needs to get a couple of things at the office and should be back in 10-15 minutes.

Final (I Hope) Update: Gary was back by 4:30. Just before he got back, the next door neighbor was over, asking what was going on. Turns out, the neighbor has almost the exact same problem with his phones.

Anyway, when Gary got back, he said he cut some excess wiring from either end of the lines - down by some streets whose names I don't recognize. Apparently, according to New Best Friend Gary, these lines were corroded. He tested it by calling my home phone several times, each time ringing normally for the first time in over a month. Problem solved!

Now, for that questionnaire...