Sunday 12 October 2014

Arguing with Bell Telephone

Don't know where I saw this,
but you'll see why I posted it!
good old days!

Yes, many of you can empathise. Hours on the phone to get repairs done.
Our phone lines have been crackly. Did you know it's one of Emily's common repair issues? "Press two if your line has static."
However, more than a year ago one repairman told us that it was between us and the house. I just couldn't deal with it. I figured it was time, since we're spending so much time on the phone with medical issues.

Long story short, it's a three-step process.

Part I

It required HydroOne to come and mark the hydro lines. He didn't bother coming to the door first and scared me silly as I walked out of the house and he was standing there.
Here is the Hydro man marking the buried lines. I just missed the Hydro lines when I dug the goldfish pond! Whoops!


Part II

Then, another man appeared at our door the next day, he DID ring the doorbell saying he was here to bury the cable. "What cable?" I asked. We determined that he was laying the cable out first, then burying it. It wasn't mentioned! This is outsourced, you see. He, also, took away the sweet little red HydroOne flags. I rather liked them!

Burying the Bell cable. He didn't wear headphones, and this is a noisy, powerful machine. It moved rocks right out of the way. He was also slightly deaf, I had to yell for him to hear me. He was young and foolish, methinks, with his shorts obvious for all to see!


Yes, Lanark County is rather rocky. Dorah was my helper. She loved the holes from the big rocks the dude with the low pants and shorts uncovered. He covered up the rocks and the earth he'd moved, but the rocks will be a problem when using the lawn tractor. Dorah and I uncovered them, threw them into the rock garden, and we'll have to fill up the holes.
powerful machine, running right over the rocks
while burying the cable


Part III

Phoning to get them to unhook the old line, and hook up the buried new one. Here is an example of JB on the phone! I offered to phone Bell this time. He was in charge of another phone chore!
Once this was done I had to phone Bell to tell them to come and hook up the new line. This, a 20 minute process with a man, who booked an appointment for the next day. This was a trial because they didn't understand several issues.


1) That I was phoning to have the line hooked up.
2) It wasn't a 'new phone installation' but a new line.
3) That I wasn't calling from a cell phone, I don't have one, that the line was working, albeit not well.

Then a woman phoned me, from the dispatch department (I presume!), who failed to understand why we needed someone to come and hook up the new line.
1) No, I wasn't saying it was already done, but that someone needed to come and do it.
2) No, it's not fixed. It was to be replaced, but the new line isn't hooked.
3) No, I don't have a cell phone.
Bell, like Rogers and other companies, is so big that the left hand doesn't understand what the right hand does.
Then, a half hour later (seriously!) rather than the next day, a nice man, Terry, showed up at the door in to hook up the line.
JB dealing with Bell : hours on the telephone in Bala.
We were 3 days without Internet in Nepean in 2004.
(And 3 days on the phone trying to explain the issue!)
In order to cancel my mom's phone, I pretended to be her!

7 comments:

Hilary said...

I strongly suspect that Bell.. Rogers and others figure you'll just give up if they make you crazy enough. I SO dislike Bell.. and Rogers. .and the like.

Anonymous said...

Ohh don't get me started on the joys and/or perils of Bell. We are no longer a customer.

Nancy J said...

I hope it is working now, the rocks have been moved, and all is well in your garden. Yes, down here too, we have phone problems, crackling, and after very heavy rain some of my friends have no phone service. So, it is world wide, this problem. That dude with low slung pants, he needs to get a rear view of himself!!! Hugs,Jean

Red said...

You can really get people's attention when it comes to phones. They are just plain stupid!

William Kendall said...

That's enough to give you headaches!

Dorah's such a good helper.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Is there ANY telecomms company who are worth the fortune we pay them?

Rhetorical question.... YAM xx

Powell River Books said...

In my last job I was in charge of the phone system. In fact, we installed a new one while I was there, so I know all about the issues of utilities responsibilities ending at the property line. There's nothing worse than working with one phone company, unless it is two. We had one company in charge of the lines up to the property line, a had another installing the lines inside our property, and a third responsible for installing the telephone equipment. Meetings with all three in the same room was interesting, since they all had to exercise their own turf protection tactics. Best of luck with you new line. - Margy