In January my wireless internet box just stopped working(1). I don’t know why…and neither did the tech people on the ‘help’ line. So I went and got a new box (2). I got home and guess what? It didn’t work. So there must have been a problem with our line at home right? Not according to the ‘help’ line. It was because I had the wrong brand of box…so I got another box (3). This one seemed to be working like a charm…for three weeks. And then on Tuesday it decided to quit. So I called the ‘help’ line again. I was on hold for 5 minutes…then it hung up. The I called back…finally got to talk with a person, in French. Internet vocabulary isn’t a specialty of mine in French. After making some headway (I thought) he told me that he couldn’t help a mac user…information that would have been more help ten minutes earlier…So I was put on hold again…for three more minutes…then hung up on again…I was not pleased.
The next morning I went to it again. Called the help number and couldn’t get through…I decided to go to the office. I went with a french friend and he helped translate. The lady told me that there was an update in the system and I just needed to…call the help-line. Great. So I called, and was put on hold for 13 minutes before somebody answered. Then after somebody did answer they couldn’t help a mac user so they ‘transfered’ me to the dial-tone…I was not pleased.
I finally got through to somebody who said that they would give my case to somebody who spoke English and they would call me back. Good news. Two hours goes by and I get a call from a guy whose English was good, but rusty. For one and a half hours I was on the phone with him. He took me through the same stuff I’d already done and had me do a bunch of stuff that I knew was unnecessary. I ended up having to tell I needed to go because people were showing up for discussion group.
Thursday, I went and got another box (4). I got it set up and it was working perfectly for 25 seconds…then it froze. And then it died. So…I called the ‘help’ line…and was put on hold and disconnected. Then after a few tries I got through to a helpful…ugh hum…France telecom representative. We talked for a few minutes and then he just hung up on me…I was not pleased. I understood though…So I had my friend Jeff come over and call for me and he was repeatedly disconnected and then got through to a really nice guy…and he told Jeff that I needed another wifi box (5). So I got a new box and when I got home set it up in 2 minutes. And, voila, I’m online again…with my 5th wireless box. I love living in a country that values customer service the way it’s valued here.
In your words…I was not pleased. I wasn’t able to contact you two when protests and riots were happening and a parent’s imagination takes a flying leap into the Parisian unknown. Internet, with you two overseas….priceless.