Phone Company Goof Does Not Amuse EnigmaMom

Have you ever walked into a fast food joint, told the young smiling pimple-faced clerk that you are placing a "to go order, then describe the sandwich you want . . . .

Then, as trained, the little automaton asks, "do you want fries with that?" You remind them that you already told them you want a sandwich only. Then same robot concludes with, "is that for here or to go?"

Sigh... we have all experienced something like this.

Today, 86-year-old EnigmaMom fought with the phone company. Well, not fought, but wrassled. For more than an hour. AT&T, this afternoon, is the bane of her existence. Hopefully, she will have long distance service for her landline by 8 pm this evening. Maybe.

She had had her line at a second residence put on "vacation rate" some time back. She called prior to heading to that location, and asked that telephone service be turned back on. The phone company clerk cherrily said "no problem." Within 24 hours of arriving where she will be staying for a month, she tried to make a long distance call to her twin sister. A recording informed her that she had to enter the proper long-distance access codes to complete the call.

Huh? Well, that's what I might have said. Her response? Not quite so charitable. It seems when service was resumed, they turned on the local calling switch only.

Making matters worse, she had to do battle with the dreaded automated attendant. "YES," "NO," "(phone number)," "(last four numbers of SS number)," "WHY DID YOU DISCONNECT MY LONG DISTANCE SERVICE?"

Once she FINALLY got ahold of a live body to help her, and explained the problem, the powers that be alerted her she would be transferred to the business office. Only, the new person at the biz office couldn't hear her. EnigmaMom and the new clerk where both yelling "HELLO" to each other, but the young man on the other end apparently could not hear her.

Then, some 45 minutes after she started, the line disconnected . . .

She looked at me, shoulders slumped in resignation, and said, "I'm going to have to start all over again."

This time, a lot more pissed off, she made the call once more. "YES," "NO," "(phone number)," "(last four numbers of SS number)," "WHY DID YOU DISCONNECT MY LONG DISTANCE SERVICE?"

Finally she got a live human being who after another 20 minutes or so said it would be taken care of. With the promise that her long distance service would probably be restored by 8 pm this evening.

Finally, walking away I heard her mumble, "THIS is why I HATE computers."  A moment later I glimpsed her reaching for her iPad.

I guess the hatred of computers by an 80-something woman raised on a dairy farm before electric, automated milkers were invented is . . . selective.