I’ve been following your Alltel drama the last few weeks. I’m glad to hear that they’ve let you out of your contract, but I wonder how satisfying it is in the end? Just the fact that you were willing to give it one last try at the very end indicates how frustrated you are not just with their abysmal service but with the entire situation — and how much at these companies’ mercy consumers are.

Last fall, our cable internet service went down at the house for over two weeks. I spent countless hours on the phone with Comcast, and at one point was told it could take up to six weeks for a maintenance crew to get out to my house (since my problem was deemed a “maintenance” issue and not a “repair” issue I had to wait for them to be able to fit me in around all their other regularly scheduled maintenance work).

In addition to the hours I spent on the phone with them, I spent a lot of time looking around at alternatives (including services like Alltel), but nothing was the right fit, in part because where we live (a bit out of town) there aren’t a lot of options.

In the end, the only solution that really makes me happy in these situations is when the darn service I’m paying for JUST WORKS. I don’t want to fight. I don’t want to win. I just want to get what I paid for. And, increasingly, I feel like the companies who provide the services I pay for don’t really feel like that’s something they should care about.

Grumble.

In any case, I’m glad Alltel set you free. Here’s hoping you find smoother waters ahead. . .

Martha