Super Bowl XL – I Watched All The Ads

How’s this for a shallow life with little purpose – I’ve just watched all the ads from tonight’s Super Bowl!

I wasn’t paying total attention during the game, so I actually went online to find a Super Bowl ad site.

Of course there’s one. There are probably dozens more.

Amazingly, in order to watch the commercials on AOL, you are subjected to additional ‘interstitial’ commercials.

So, here we go with a little summary of what I liked, in no particular order.

FedEx Cavemen – Can an ad be stupid and clever at once? This one was. I especially enjoyed the CG animation at the end where the caveman kicks a prehistoric animal and is then crushed by a giant foot.

Sierra Mist – Kathy Griffin, Michael Ian Black, and some guy I recognize by can’t identify. She’s very funny, and this ad is all about her.

Sprint Crime Deterrent – one guy actually throws his cellphone at the other guy. Priceless. It’s a great payoff to an otherwise ‘laundry list’ spot.

DisneyWorld – If Oscar winners can bring a little piece of paper on-stage listing all the people they want to thank, athletes can practice saying, “I’m going to DisneyWorld.”

Budweiser Clydesdale – I find most beer commercials sophomoric. OK – I don’t drink, so maybe I just don’t get it. The little Clydesdale pushing the wagon, secretly assisted by a larger Clydesdale, was very sweet. A sweet beer commercial!

Poseidon – Does this movie really need to be remade? Where’s Gene Hackman or Shelley Winters? Anyway, as your meteorologist let me be the first to tell you, tidal waves are barely noticeable in open water. They only crest nearshore.

Sprint Ringtones – Is there a more overpriced commodity than cellphone ringtones? Still, this commercial from Sprint took it all with tongue-in-cheek, especially the homage to Benny Hill featuring (what sounded like) Ronnie Aldrich’s original Yakety Sax.

Hummer H3 – I had no idea where this spot was going. When one monster got pregnant, I was really stumped. Giving birth to a Hummer was a reasonably good payoff.

Early this evening, to help fill time, a football game was played between these commercials.

Still Not Done With Sprint

It’s been a few months since I’ve written about the long distance debacle I suffered at the hands of Sprint and GTC Telecom. My complaints to the FCC had fallen on deaf ears. No response.

A few weeks ago I decided to give it another try.

Months ago I had filed a complaint against Sprint over their long distance practices. Since that time I have heard nothing more. Can you tell me the status of my complaint, please?

They replied.

Good morning Mr. Fox

Your complaint was referred to Public Utilities Commission of Connecticut on 12/28/04. Connecticut handles their own slamming complaints in the State of CT. The FCC does handles slamming complaints for certain states. You can contact the PUC of Connecticut at:

1-800 382-4586

e-mail: Jeanne.gawlak@po.state.ct.us

Thank you.

No! My complaint had to do with Sprint’s actions once they found out this was a mistake, not the slamming itself, which I believe was a series of unintentional human errors.

I followed with this.

My complaint concerned the bad faith actions of Sprint after they knew I had not actually signed for their service, not the specifics of the slamming. As such, this is an FCC concern, not one for my state.

It is possible you have confused separate filings I made – the first one which was referred to my state and did concern slamming. Unfortunately, I do not have each individual letter I sent to the FCC in front of me. However, the complaint I am asking you to look at concerns Sprint’s objectionable actions was accompanied by full documentation, including copies of correspondence and bills.

I respectfully request you revisit this, since during Sprint’s actions they relied on their interpretation of FCC rules to allow them to act in bad faith.

Sincerely,

Geoff Fox

Again, they misread… or didn’t read my letter, because I got back.

Dear Consumer,

The only complaint that the Federal Communications Commission has on file from you is your slamming complaint, received December 24, 2004, assigned file number 04-S88892, which was referred to the Connecticut Department of Utility Control for processing on December 28, 2004.

If you continue to have a complaint against Sprint, other than that mentioned above, you will need to re-file it with us.

For information on what your rights are and how to file a complaint with us, visit our web site www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html.

I couldn’t believe it. Maybe I was going nuts. The concept didn’t seem so difficult for the FCC which deals with phone companies all the time. I gave it one last try.

I want to make sure we’re on the same page. Here is the letter I am referring to. Is this what you consider a slamming complaint? My complaint has nothing to do with the switching of carriers, but Sprint’s actions after they knew this error was not caused by me.

This is important, because Sprint felt your rules gave them the ability to charge me for these calls even after they knew it was not my doing. Further, when the State of Connecticut did not act quickly in responding to my complaint, your rules allowed Sprint to act as if I didn’t make a complaint at all!

Will you please read my letter and let me know.

Geoff Fox

I attached the long descriptive letter I had sent months ago (and was published here)

It wasn’t long before I got a reply.

Good Afternoon, Mr. Fox;

Your complaint listing your concerns regarding Sprint’s practices has been forwarded to me. I will be discussing them with one of our staff attorney’s to see if the Commission could take further actions in regards to these complaints to ensure that any consumer found in the same predicament is treated fairly.

I will keep you abreast of any develops or decisions that are made.

Best Regards,

(name withheld)

Consumer Mediation & Policy Specialist

Policy Division

Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau

Wow! Exactly what I wanted to hear.

This is no assurance that action will be taken. Sprint is big enough to make systemic change difficult at best. But maybe I will be heard. What was done to me was probably done to others as well. That’s what should perk up the FCC’s ears.

When a company tries as hard as Sprint does to isolate the public from managers and officers who are authorized to make decisions or take action, it’s worth being persistent. At least to me it is.

There will be follow-ups

Blogger’s note: Early on, this thread became a ‘category’ on the blog, meaning you can read it all in real chronological order by clicking here.

The Sprint Saga Finally Ends – I Think

I think my long distance problems are now solved. If you haven’t been following, you can read all the details here. Good lord, dental work is less painful!

On Friday I spoke with representatives of the Connecticut DPUC and Sprint. Though the DPUC had dropped the ball, and admitted so to me, I think Sprint’s actions are more troubling.

I have decided to follow up with a complaint to the FCC, which is detailed in a letter linked just below this entry.

Continue reading “The Sprint Saga Finally Ends – I Think”

Is Enya Gonya?

My long distance phone tsuris took on an additional wrinkle when I got a note from Sprint… welcoming me as a long distance customer! Hello? I never called Sprint or asked to be changed.

I called Sprint. All they knew was I was being charged $.40 per minute and owed around $40! Oh – they couldn’t help me unravel this… but if I changed to them they’d pro-rate me to $.05 per minute (I’m paying under $.03). I’d have to commit for 90 days. Isn’t that extortion?

It was getting ridiculous. Call after call after call to GTC Telecom went unanswered. I have spent at least 4 hours, maybe more, on hold to them. I have heard more Enya music on hold than any human should be subjected to.

Lucky they get a good rate on their 800 number.

I decided to give it one more try at 3:00 AM EDT. I figured it was too late for Easterners to call… and getting late for most of the West Coast. It paid off. Within ten minutes I was on the phone to India and speaking with Andrea.

As with Keith the last time, Andrea is probably not her real name. For some reason these outsourcing companies feel we’ll be reassured if at least the name rings American… even if the accent and speech patterns don’t.

Andrea was wonderful She was calm, polite, seemingly concerned. She was the Stepford wife of customer service agents.

I want to complain about her, about my interminable wait, about the Enya music on hold… but she was totally disarming. And, she said she’d take care of everything.

I’ll report back. I’m not shy.

Back on Hold With GTC

I still haven’t gotten this long distance thing straightened out. I think Sprint is currently my carrier of record. Who knows what I’m paying for long distance?

Tonight is the fourth or fifth time I have tried to reach GTC. I’m on hold again! We’re at 35 minutes on the timer.

Here’s what I’ve learned since the last time I posted this. I am not alone! Someone from California (I think) posted a comment saying that had gone through the same thing. It’s good to have company, I suppose.

I have also found out, courtesy of Phil our engineering supervisor who has walked by, that the music on hold is by Enya.

Enya – if you’re reading this, as nice as you must be, there’s only so much of your music I can take. I have passed that point.

Blogger’s note: Hung up this time at one hour 13 minutes. Great.

Never Ending Long Distance Saga

Remember my long distance problems? My service was broken, then fixed and now… now I’m in a real pickle. How could things deteriorate so quickly, so totally? And yet they have.

I have plenty of time to tell you the story because I am on hold, again, waiting for the next available agent at GTC Telecom. My call is important – though not important enough to hire people to answer all the calls.

Recapping, a few weeks back I lost all in-state long distance service. A call to GTC told me how to fix that by calling my local phone company and whispering the magic letters. It worked OK, just not in the direction I wanted. I lost ALL long distance service, in and out-of-state.

Another call to GTC instructed me what to tell my local phone company to really fix the problem. I had long distance service again. I was a happy camper.

Then, this week came the letter from Sprint welcoming me as a customer! Uh oh. Who signed me up with Sprint?

Sprint, as it turns out, is the underlying carrier for GTC. I don’t claim to be a telecom genius but I think GTC buys in bulk and resells to folks like me. My calls go through Sprint but are billed by GTC.

For the past three days I have attempted to get in touch with GTC. The first time I got an announcement telling me not to even bother holding on and got summarily disconnected. The next time I did get connected but ran out of time before I reached a human. I waited until later that night, between newscasts when I’d have some free time. By the time I finally gave up the phone’s timer said I’d been waiting 61 minutes.

Right now I am on hold again. The readout shows 19 minutes.

Thankfully, at work I have a speakerphone. This makes the wait nearly acceptable. I can do other things, like write in the blog.

While waiting the last time I looked at GTC’s website.

Additionally, some customers who have line (PIC) restrictions established with their local service providers were not successfully switched to our new network. As a result, they may now be out of service for their toll calls. Our customer response team has attempted to reach these customers in order to lift the PIC restrictions on their lines and provision them to our new network. If you are out of service for your toll calls, Please contact us directly. Contacting your local service provider may result in your being placed on what is known as the open network, with toll calls being billed by a third party at traditionally high rates. GTC Telecom will be unable to help you with a third party bill.

Hold on! That’s what they told me to do… and what I did.

The same few songs keep repeating on GTC’s hold system. It’s some new age psychological torture.

Twenty six minutes now and smoke is pouring from my ears.

Cell Phone Deal – The Final Chapter

This is the (hopefully) last in a series of entries about my cell service. If you’d rather read the whole series from the beginning, click here.

Hold your calls, we’ve got a winner… or more succinctly, we’ve eliminated most of the losers. I re-signed yesterday with Cingular for National GSM service.

A couple of notes and observations are in order. This took an unbelievably long time. I’m not talking about yesterday at the store – which did take forever – but my decision making process. The cellular carriers make this maddeningly difficult.

First and foremost, you have to read each and every thing that you’re being offered and not offered. The cell companies know what they’re offering (well, sort of) but most of us don’t. While I was in the cell phone store yesterday, I watched customer after customer move up to the desk, like lambs to the slaughter. The salespeople offered and sold plans and conditions that weren’t understood by the customers. And, the customers, with little choice, signed on without much thought.

In my case, this is a $2,000 commitment – 2 years of service for the three of us – and I wanted to be sure everything was acceptable… or as acceptable as possible.

Most customers don’t know the difference between GSM or TDMA or CDMA, but these distinctions can be very important in deciding what you’re getting. The companies offer beautifully named national or regional networks, and then never disclose what these networks are… or are not. The maps I’ve seen continue to paint a nearly seamless blanket of coverage, which isn’t true.

The company that actually runs the Cingular store needs to reconsider the paper flow through the store. Forms had to be filled out by hand and multiple phone calls made to get my account set up. It’s 2003 – these forms should be computer generated and authorizations automated. I was in the store for nearly 2 hours. Some people, who waited in line while I was being taking care of, left.

As I wrote earlier, when a plan says no roaming fees, that still doesn’t mean you can use any signal your phone can hear. It used to be, if you were out of range of your plan, your phone would latch on to whatever it heard, and you’d pay for that privilege. But “no roaming” doesn’t necessarily mean that call is now free. It often means that call can no longer be made!

The best example is here at home. My phone shows a very, very strong signal (probably from T-Mobile or AT&T). If I try to make a call, the phone says “Emergency Only” and spits me back to the main menu.

As far as I can tell, I now have a comparable number of minutes, nights beginning at 7:00 PM, some sort of national coverage (though still no coverage here at home) and three new phones for a little less than I was paying. And, I extracted 3 free months of service, 2 of the 3 phones, and a waiver of the activation charge by getting on the phone with the Cingular company agent (thanks Kendrick Alexander) and asking for it (the folks in the Cingular store don’t really work for Cingular).

Helaine and I got LG G4010 phones. They are incredibly small with a stubby, fixed antenna. I have been pouring through the manual, looking for a way to use my company’s voicemail with this phone. That means adding a pause during the dialing sequence. As far as I can tell, you can’t do it. If that’s true, this would be the first cell phone I’ve ever seen that can’t perform this function.

If the manual wasn’t translated from some other language into English, the person who did write it should be ashamed. It is disorganized and confusing.

Steffie got a much fancier Samsung S307. It has a color display and more toys. I was proud because she wanted it and was willing to part with her own (hard earned) money to get it.

There was another company I had considered going with. Oh heck – it was Sprint. I didn’t go because of what I considered the very high cost of the phones and higher cost for monthly service. But really, the clincher was their move a few years ago (quickly rescinded) to charge for calls to customer service! To me, that showed a corporate culture that didn’t value the end user the way I want to be valued.

I would be 100% happy with Cingular but for one small problem. There’s no service here at home. Judging by the folks at their store, Cingular thinks it has coverage here. They recently put a cell site at Quinnipiac College, less than 2 miles away. But, it is blocked to me, and most of my neighbors because of Sleeping Giant Mountain. If they would have moved the site off campus, they could have killed two birds with one stone – putting coverage on campus and into this area and I’d be really smiling.

The Cell Phone Quandary

In my years as a cell phone customer, I have used Lynx (owned by local phone company SNET before they were bought by SBC, and before Cingular), BellAtlantic (pre-Verizon), AT&T and now Cingular.

They all have their strengths and weaknesses (except AT&T, which in my opinion only had weaknesses). Unfortunately, none of them provides a signal here, where I live. After last month’s landline phone outage (four days without 911, among other things), cell service here seemed like a necessity.

It’s a suburban neighborhood with a rural feel. There’s plenty of population density with spendable income. There’s certainly a place to put towers (the company I work for has a site on a hilltop, with a TV antenna already there).

As far as I know, there are only two companies with a signal that covers my house, Sprint and T-Mobile. I know T-Mobile’s coverage through the rest of this area is awful, so they’re out.

Today, I borrowed a phone from Sprint. They lent me a high end Samsung with color web browser and camera. As far as I can see, having the web browser is close to worthless. The camera might have some application, but it’s pretty rudimentary with 640×480 resolution.

Here’s the real breakthrough. For the first time ever, I made a cell call from home while walking around! Signal strength was 1-3 bars and the call quality was fine. Using the phone while driving my normal route produced a workable signal everywhere except the final 3/4 mile hill to my house… and then it came back.

I’d sign with Sprint in a second, except, they have the world’s worst reputation for customer service. There was a time when they attempted to charge their customers to call and speak to them!

In order to get what I want, I’ll probably have to sign a two year deal. I’m scared to do it if they’re the devil.

Meanwhile, with cellular number portability about a month away, I will hang tight and wait for what I consider an inevitable price war. My contract with Cingular is up October 26th and for the first time in my cellular career, I’ll be in the drivers seat.