AT&T Smoke Signals

Last Friday, the AT&T Internet went out in my neighborhood. They blamed it on the weather, which was stupid because this is Florida and a few days of below freezing temps in the morning should not shut down the entire Internet.

But, that was their story and they were sticking to it.

Me being me, I started making phone calls … morning, noon, and night … and most of the time I got a recorded message that blamed the weather and said agents had no further information.

During the next five days, I spoke to five live people and most didn’t know what was going on but they assured me the problem would be fixed in 24 hours. A person can be patient for just so many 24 hour cycles, and I had my doubts that the system would ever get fixed.

During this time, I learned a lot about my smart phone. It was my lifeline to my family and the Internet. Because my phone is with a different carrier, I upgraded my data for the same cost and found myself doing a little bit of surfing.

Watching a cable show on a smart phone takes a magnifying glass. It was easier to just listen or watch free TV on the actual TV. Reading the many books I have yet to read didn’t appeal to me because I was on an Internet mission.

Also, I was beginning to suffer from serious withdrawal symptoms and worried that Verizon might be in my future.

This afternoon I connected with someone at AT&T who listened to my tale of woe and connected me with someone at Tech Support who actually knew what the hell she was doing. We talked for a while, she asked all kinds of questions, and then she said the dreaded words: “I will have to call you back with more information.”

I had my doubts and started to curse the day I ever got an Internet connection.

Well, miracle of miracles, she called back, and we did this and that with my computer and now I am once again connected to the fabulous Internet and roaming down the Internet highway.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.