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To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (2421)	2/3/1999 8:21:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Respond to of 3178

PacBell's bumpy ADSL roll-out February 3, 1999 Inter@ctive: Not everyone seems to know what they're talking about. By Louis Trager The fast track to residential broadband is marked with bumps, as Lee Kanegson learned when she ordered Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line service from Pacific Bell, following the announcement last month of sharp price cuts and an accelerated rollout in California. Kanegson, 60, said her order immediately got lost; the confirmation statement misstated monthly charges as $59 instead of $49 and did not mention hardware charges or an installation fee waiver. "PacBell is extremely confused," Kanegson said. "You can never be sure if you're dealing with a trainee or someone who knows what they're doing." Others among a flood of callers have similar complaints, focusing on ill-informed customer service representatives, overcharges and coordination glitches between PacBell and installation contractors. "The main problem I am having is with the people at the PacBell office - marketing, sales, etc., " said Ken McGinnis, a customer. "All the installation people have been very professional." Same old story The stories sound familiar to anyone who recalls the Bells' early experience with Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and, more recently, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) and the cable companies' initial struggles with modem service. PacBell has a particular reputation to live down. Its handling of ISDN was so clumsy that state regulators have fined and repeatedly chastised the company. It's hard to tell how severe PacBell's ADSL problems have been. The SBC Communications unit wouldn't disclose complaint or satisfaction data. Communications Vice President Doug Michelman said the company is living up to its promise to distinguish itself favorably based on service. He said inquiries tripled or quadrupled with the Jan. 12 announcement, and they have held up since. During the first two weeks, installations were scheduled as long as two weeks out. As of Jan. 27, that dropped to seven or eight business days. Technicians and customer service representatives have been forced to work overtime. The company is adding 100 reps and hundreds of technicians this year to handle ADSL, but it wouldn't give additional figures. <<Inter@ctive Week Online -- 02-01-99>> [Copyright 1999, Ziff Wire]