And now... a GOOD word about Embarq

Even though my phone service and Internet have been coming through a 500-foot wire strung across my old yard, at least I've had a phone. And more importantly, Internet. It must be obvious to my readers that I spend plenty of time on the Internet. Hey, my kids are grown, I'm retired, and it's cheaper than many hobbies.

Around noon today, my Internet stopped working. I did the usual reboot routine: turn off and unplug the DSL modem, turn off the computer, wait two minutes, etc. etc. In fact, I did this four times. The Internet light refused to come on.

One thing about it, Embarq techs are usually very good at fixing things like this, so I dialed the number for Internet technical help. A recorded voice asked me to punch in my phone number with area code, as always. That's when I got a recording telling me that the status on my work order was delayed; the voice thanked me for my patience, and that was that. I was disconnected.

Hmmm. Obviously if I wanted to speak with a tech, I'd have to go in through the back door. I dialed the same number again, only this time I made up a phone number. After trying to get me to give them a different number a few times, I finally got a real person. A very nice real person.

Of course I had to explain the whole thing about how I'm temporarily working off a line from the old house, it's strung through the yard, blah blah blah; but it's been working fine for me until noon today.

She told me I might be on hold awhile; after waiting about five minutes, I noticed the Internet light on the modem was on, and clicked Firefox. It worked! I had Internet.

The lady was soon back, and I told her it was working. She said techs had changed some settings on the line.

"You've made my day," I told her.

"We at Embarq are trying to improve our service, so I'd like to ask this: Would you recommend Embarq to a friend?" she asked.

"You're asking me at a really bad time," I replied. "But after my experience with you, my opinion of Embarq is somewhat better; so maybe when all this mess is over, I would recommend you guys after all."

Oh, notice on yesterdays post where I complained about Embarq, an Embarq representative left a comment.

Blog power!