Rebates & Telemarketing

Just another busy weekend of blogging here in the Kveton household. New baby is doing great but its funny being home for such a long stretch without being at work. Now I know what Kami is talking about when she says she’s getting ‘cabin fever’ … haha … :-)

Couple of funny/discouraging things happened in the last couple of days that just make me want to laugh/cry:

Qwest: The spirit of service! Just not rebates!: I had had free Internet at the home for about 8 months when it finally got shut down. No problem. I looked at both a cable modem and DSL. I know, I know. DSL stinks in comparison no matter how many Verizon or Qwest commercials tell you otherwise (do people still use dial-up?!). That said, there was an offer for $25 off and only $19.99 per month for the first year for DSL from Qwest. I bit and went for it. Flash forward a few months later. The DSL is awful. Constantly down, never a reliable speed, etc. This morning I checked my email and said my request for the $25 rebate had also been denied because I didn’t include my first months bill. Huh?! It was a web form. How do I do that?! The email said I’ll be getting a note via snail mail with instructions on “how you might be able to rectify the situation”. Huh? So at $19.99 (really $26+ when you factor in “taxes & fees”) per month you get bad service and no rebate. Sweet!

Press 1 if you’re stupid!: I’m on the National Do Not Call List but I’ve been noticing a lot of calls lately from foreign countries to my house. I never seem to get to the calls in time except for last night. I pick up the phone only to hear that long pause that usually means one of the telemarketers hasn’t gotten to the phone only to be greeted by a recording telling me about a great offer for lower mortgage rates. “If you would like to hear more about this offer, please dial 1!” he says. I of course dial 1 just so I can give an operator a earful. About a minute later my call is switched across two oceans to some poor woman in India. “Hi” I say. “I’m on the National Do Not Call List, could you take me off of your call list?” “But sir, you opted to hear more by dialing 1 when prompted.” At this point, I of course started to cry.