I have had NT's Internet Call Waiting (ICW) for just under one month now and the _only_ reason I have not dropped the service is because of the delay in getting a second telephone line [Verison went on strike right after the GTE:Bell Atlantic merger]. To say I am unhappy with it is an understatement. Problems I have had with the service since the 10th of August have still _not_ been fixed--or even replied to as promised.
In case someone from NT headquarters is lurking, here are my complaints, not necessarily in order of importance:
1. There is no telephone number to call NT directly to speak with a person. The only way to speak with someone at ICW is to first call Sprint and have Sprint transfer the call [and yes, it is transferred to NT]. For a non-Sprint customer, this means one has to put up with some pretty heavy-duty sales pitch about changing carriers every time one calls.
2. The preferred way to communicate re: ICW is via e-mail. The autogenerated message one received after sending a message states someone will get back within 48 hours. It also gives a case number which one is supposed to reference for future correspondence.
Well, I am still waiting to hear from someone about the problems I reported via e-amil on August 14th. Two days ago I gave up on the e-mail and called via the Sprint transfer. Suprised that my e-mailed problems had not been addressed, the ICW tech person **promised** someone higher up (in expertise) would call immediately, that day, to figure out/help fix the problem. Nothing. But yesterday, at 11:55 a.m., someone called when I was out and said he would send e-mail as soon as he hung up to arrange a time to call back.
I got the answering machine message then immediately checked my e-mail at 4:00 p.m. yesterday. No e-mail as promised. Clicking on the URL in the autogenerated message from August 14th, I dropped the fellow who called a note. This message area states one will hear back within 24 hours.
Nothing.
Summary of #2: ICW technical support is ***terrible***. Forcing people to go through Sprint, even if one is not a Sprint customer is absurd, especially since billing is by NT, not Sprint.
3. The problems I have had with ICW: It's hit or miss if someone can get through to me. About 1/2 the time they get a message that I am not taking calls at which point they are disconnected.
The other 1/2 of the time they are first asked for the area code and phone number of the party they are trying to call [a recording they are not supposed to receive]. Sometimes I am ultimately contacted by ICW but the vast majority of the time they either: a.) get a recording that the number does not exist, "Goodbye."; or b.) Have trouble getting the whatever to accept the number and get disconnected.
All my settings are correct. I have no optional phone services that could possibly conflict with ICW. Talking to the ex-GTE people at Verison, they have never heard of problems such as I have noted above. The recordings are not GTE/Verison recordings [as the ICW fellow 2 days ago suggested they might be].
ICW has cost me both aggravation and money. I have missed some *extremely* important telephone calls. The strange recordings have thrown some people for a loop and resulted in their sending me USPS letters asking me to call _and_ let them know my correct/new phone number. I'm not talking friends here, I'm talking important business and other contacts. All the calls I'm missing are long distance calls.
Would I recommend NT's ICW to someone? No. The NT ICW people have had one month to resolve these problems. Their preferred customer communication channel, e-mail, is like talking in the air. Phone tech support promised is unfulfilled.
Oh, when someone calls, the telephone number is supposed to show on the screen that pops-up. *Every* call I have received so far lists, "Unknown," for the number. None of these people have their numbers blocked and none of them have unlisted numbers.
I now see that Prodigy is offering a similar service called Internet Call Manager, "Powered by InfoInteractive." The "Help" section of ICM gives a 24-hour telephone number. I'm going to call and see if this is a repackaged NT ICW. If it is not, I'll sign up for it. It's more expensive, but if it works, I really do not care.
Sign me both dissatisfied and frustrated-
Lynn |
