Mr. Townson, please remove my name.
I have been in this business for almost forty years, but yesterday
took the cake. I didn't think the bullshit could get any deeper than
it's been lately, but I was wrong.
If you work at RCN, and I hope you do and I hope you are high up, I've
got a bone to pick with you.
I work for a small clec -- never mind which one -- and we've been
doing ports to and from RCN for years. Used to be it was no big deal:
I could do it, my mates could do it, we all work together and it's a
small outfit but we do a good job.
But yesterday, I got handed the biggest blivot in the world. I called
up the guy we used to deal with at RCN and said we're porting a couple
of numbers out, they want it for next week, I guess you know the
routine. Like I said, it used to be no big deal -- you get customers
porting in, you got customers porting out, it's just business and no
big fuss, especially with it being mud season and lots of summer folks
getting ready to come back.
The guy I called said they got a new central department that handles
this now, and I have to call an 800 number. OK, I figure, they just
got out of bankrupcy so they probably contracted out some LNP stuff. I
figure they went to a gooey like Verizon has, which is a pain but it
works, and I make the call.
I get switched to someone who's name I won't say, but he tells me I
have to fill out a form and send it back and can he have my email to
send it to me. Sure, no problem, I give the email address and a few
minutes later I get the shock of my life.
When I get the email, it has a form attached to it that opens up in
Microsoft Excel. The first page is instructions, and I nearly crapped
my pants when I read this. Here's what it says:
"Put one letter in each box. YOU MUST HIT TAB AFTER EVERY LETTER"
Now, like I said, I have been in this business since the panel days,
and I have seen some stupid things, but four hours and forty minites
later I know that this takes the prize. Whoever set up this form used
ONE SPREADSHEET SQUARE for EACH LETTER OR NUMBER. Every goddamm time I
type two letters one after the other, I have to go back and erase, and
half the time I had about twenty things typed before I remembered to
look.
It took the best part of the afternoon, and my boss said we got to get
it down today and I had to type a letter and hit tab and type a number
and hit tab and type a letter and type a letter and oh shit goddamm it
again!
I had a plan for yesterday afternoon, and you screwed it up, RCN. I
was gonna pop a few and watch the wwf with my grandchild, but instead
I wound up halfway up a roof trying like hell not to slip and finding
my way with a flashlite because I was stuck in the office all damm day
and I have a guy out of service and it's that kind of a job.
RCN, you used to know what kind of job it is. You used to be pros. You
just went through a bankrupcy, so I can understand how you got a lot
of fresh faces in there, but this takes the prize.
Tell me RCN, since when does a company that just got out of bankrupcy
court have time to use a five thousand dollar computer to make a
carbon copy of a form that looks like it came out of my typewriter
while I was in the Navy? Hell, I learned to type on a Smith-Corona,
and I'm pretty good at it still, and I passed the po3 test four months
early because of it, but your form wasted my whole day.
Tell me, please, that whoever wasted my day and a lot of other guy's
days is getting called on the carpet.
I won't sign this. Just act like it came from all your old customers
who are calling me now.
someone@netscape.net