Thursday, July 31, 2008

Telecomm

So I decide to give VoIP a chance. Given that the local phone company charges too much and I share cellphone minutes with two other people, I decided to give it a whirl.

I conducted my research and found a provider called Phone Power. Very highly rated with their voice quality, customer service, and technical support. My equipment arrived promptly and I read the setup instructions quite throughly. I also visited their website and read the installation FAQs.

I found that connecting the Phone Power, um, black box i.e. the interface between the DSL modem and telephone might require more than simply plugging an ethernet cable from one to the other. There seem to be a few more steps involved connecting the Phone Power box to the 2Wire modem/router. The instructions are really clear and it seems a little more complicated than I was led to believe. Plus the illustrated instructions on their website seem to be missing an important illustration.

So I call them. I waited for 10 minutes and then decided to "chat" online with tech support. I filled in the information and submitted it to wherever things like that go in cyberspace. The screen indicated I was next. Whoohoo! I waited a couple of minutes and then, poof, the screen tells me to call back later. Thanks for nothing, Phone Power.

I ask myself who reviews these things. I read a favorable review on a website that reviewed 10 VoIP providers. Now I'm thinking, could this site be trusted for reviews. Can anything be trusted on the web?

But, tomorrow is the big day. I'll see if I can get this thing to work. If not, back it goes and I'll go to Plan B, whatever that might be. I'm really too old for this shit.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Collection Agency Personnel

They have an extremely difficult job and I appreciate what they must have to deal with on a daily basis. However, there's no reason to be rude. I don't liked being mocked when I am trying to do everything in my power to pay a bill. I don't like be threatened either. So, to the unfriendly, unsympathetic, uncaring bill collector drone at Northwest Collectors Inc., my apologies for losing my temper and hanging up on you.

I should have remained cool and said, "I'm sure payment from the insurance company will be received by your client as quickly as possible. It's ok if you must submit the report the credit bureau, I know you are just doing your job and following the rules.

Have a wonderful day!! :)

Maybe I should call back.