[Cialug] Fiber Internet

[Mike Staver]

> Nathan C. Smith wrote:
>>> In my past experiences, being polite with Qwest doesn't get
>>> you anywhere.
>>>
>>> -dc
>>>
>>
>> The bomb in the lobby tact didn't go very far either.. Or so I've heard.
>>
>> -Nate
>>
> Nate, when they come to take you away for an all-expense paid trip to
> Cuba, can I have all of your geek toys?
>
> :)
>
> -dc

It's been a LONG while since I had much time to chime in on this list, but
I can't resist this one and I can't believe I'm posting this on a public
list...

About 6 years ago, we were living in an apartment out here in Colorado.  I
had the stupid idea that I wanted to move upstairs to the top floor of the
apartment from the lower level so I didn't have to worry about people
being loud above me, etc.  We got everything lined up and planned to move
in 2 weeks.  I had DSL with Qwest and a 3rd party ISP in our lower
apartment in the exact same building.  I called Qwest and told them I was
moving upstairs, and I was assuming a tech had to come out and just switch
the lines or whatever to make it work upstairs in the new unit.  I was
told I would be without DSL for 6 weeks, maybe longer, while they retest
the line to my "new apartment".  I just couldn't believe that.  I asked to
be transferred to somebody else, their boss, etc, etc until I had
exhausted all the options I felt I had and argued with as many people as I
felt I had energy for.  It was bad enough I felt I had to pay a bunch of
administrative unhook and hook up fees, but the fact that the lines all
had to be tested seemed ridiculous to me.  At that point, I felt I could
try a few things.

1) Pop open the box in front of the building and switch the wires myself
and just not tell Qwest I was going to move... but I'm sure that's pretty
illegal, and besides, I'd probably end up doing it wrong and ruining
something causing my whole building issues. I'm not that savvy when it
comes to phone systems and I have no idea if this idea even makes sense.
So, I decided against that one :)

2) Some how apply some pressure to the management to reconsider the whole
drawn out process.  I didn't have much hope here, but then I had an idea.

We ended up moving, and we still had access the downstairs apartment as we
cleaned, etc. I still had access to the DSL until the end of the month,
and it was still active for a few days, but I knew it was a matter of time
before it was disconnected.

As you may or may not know, the headquarters for Qwest is in Denver. I
worked in downtown Denver, a mere few blocks from their building.  I
didn't know what I was going to accomplish by doing this, but I wanted to
go talk to somebody about this.  I got to their building over my lunch
hour, and I asked the security guard who I could vent to about my problem.
He told me what I expected - there was nobody here interested in hearing
about this, and told me to call customer service.  I figured that would
happen, but as I was starting to walk away, I saw a binder on his desk. 
It said "Company Phone Directory" or some such thing on the end.  I asked
him if I could see it, and he said sure and handed it over. I opened it,
and on the first page was the jackpot - the desk, home, and mobile number
of every VP in the company.  I then asked the guard for a pen and paper,
and he obliged.  I spent the next 10 minutes or so writing down every name
and number on the page.

I walked back to my desk at work amazed at what I had in my pocket, and I
ranked the names by how close I thought their ties were to the DSL
department.  I didn't know what I was going to say when I called any of
these, but I just wanted to vent I guess.  The first number I called
belonged to the VP of broadband provisioning or some department like that.
 I tried her desk number.  No answer. So, I tried the mobile number.  She
answered, I said hello and that I would like to ask her a few questions
about DSL service. Sounding surprised, she asked who this was and told me
she was at lunch.  I don't know why I did this, but the first thing that
came out of my mouth was "This is Tom Martino, with Channel 7 news". 
(http://www.troubleshooter.com/ - He's very popular in Denver, and helps
people with getting ripped off for car repairs, etc.) She sounded very
flustered and asked how I got her number.  I told her that wasn't really
her concern, and then I went on with this story about how I knew of this
Mike fellow with this problem and I was investigating to find out what the
hold up is. I ended up giving her my home phone number and full name, but
it wasn't "me" talking, but rather Tom talking about this poor guy. She
told me she would call me back, and I left my work number with her.  About
an hour later I got a call back, and she told me the issue was resolved
and there was really nothing to report. I thanked her, and to make it seem
real, asked her for some kind of quote about the company policy about
retesting lines, and she declined and we hung up.

When I got home that evening, I got a phone call from one of the managers
I had spoken with regarding the move who had previously told me it would
take 6 weeks. He had been very rude with me the first time.  Well, he was
very mad this time and said things had changed and that he was sending out
a tech tomorrow to hook us up.  He also felt the need to yell at me and
tell me he didn't know what I had done, but I ever pulled a stunt like
that again, I'd regret it.  I couldn't help it and just busted up laughing
and hung up.

Sure enough, the next day I had working DSL.  I don't suggest you do
something similar, as I'm guessing I broke a law or two in the process. 
But it sure was fun :)