Plumbline was kicked out of the Web today.

I dont typically vent via our blog but I just have to say that I’m really really really pissed off at AT&T.

To bring you up to speed, AT&T somehow received an order from someone to shut of my DSL line.
So they just sort of went ahead and did that.

Though interestingly, we never actually gave that order… Of course it took over 3 hours to discover that wonderful tidbit. In the process we also learned that AT&T has an address that is over 2 years old as our main contact. And that the billing department has the right address, but a different suite number for us… And that no one at AT&T has any real idea what anyone else at AT&T actually does… Or who or what department one might call to get some real help and answers. But what we really learned is that, because Plumbline occupies a chunk of space in a structure that has been sliced and diced and sub-sub divided into a multi-tenant building, and because Comcast can’t for some reason climb the friggin pole and hook some very nice (though sometimes offensive) designer dudes (and one dudette) with some of that supa-fly cable, basically we’re at the mercy of AT&T’s overrated, under maintained, patch-work, half-assed, poor-excuse-for-and-ISP “service”.

Basically they have us by the you-know-what’s.

So here is what 3 hours of tech “support” yielded:

AT&T has “escalated” our issue (gee thanks!) - sending it to their super-secret special DSL Ninja Mercenary Force which apparently needs at least 24 hours before they can spring into action. We therefore must patiently wait by the phone in the studio for word of their pending arrival… With no access to the Wonderful World Wide Webs. Which, as a web-based company with clients literally scattered over this great and powerful nation (and even one in New Zealand), is as you can imagine, sort of a problem. A huge, money-sucking, time-killing, problem.

I just think it’s funny that they can flip the switch off in a matter of moments but it takes one poor AT&T help guy, 3 full hours to bounce around to several “divisions” and jump through a series of supervisorial hoops before he can tell me it will take at least 24 hours to flip that switch back on…

And by “funny” of course I mean mind-boggingly, blood-boilingly, ridiculously aggravating.

So AT&T? You out there?
I used to e a fan. I stood by you through the tough times. The “SBC Field at Pacbell Park” days. I believed your commercials. I’ve stayed loyal — shying away from Vonage. And Comcast Digital Voice… I’ve been a good customer. I’ve paid my bills. Quite a few of them on time even. And when others have said that they can’t wait for Verizon to carry service for their iPhone, I’ve said, no, I’m fine… I’ll stick by Ol’ “Ma Bell” thankyouverymuch.
So how about you do a guy a solid and make this right? If you really want to be cool, you’ll also compensate me for the lost productivity that was a direct result of your blatant screw-up. If you don’t well, not much I can do unfortunately cause you own the lines and all… And your a this big-ol-fancy schmancy utility company and I apparently am just a bug on your humongous windshield… But as soon as I get the chance, I’ll ditch you… Drop Old Ma Bell off at the nursing home and peel out in the driveway, never to return again. And I’ll make sure everyone else knows what happened between us.

Whataya say?