Madeline (Giles) DeJournett is the Advance writer for the North Stoddard Countian. A retired high school English/history teacher, she spent 32 years teaching in 5 schools in Missouri and Alaska. These days, she lives quietly with a menagerie of wild and domestic animals on 52 secluded acres in the remote Tillman hills south of Advance. She graduated from Dexter High School in 1960 and Southeast Missouri State in 1964. She can be contacted at advancensc@sbcglobal.net.

When complaints fall on deaf ears

Posted Wednesday, July 2, 2008, at 6:35 PM

Here we go again! Feel free to complain about all the stuff that gripes you! I'll start the gripe fest - okay? Today I had to hurry home from work to post this blog, but first I had to drive past the gas sign in Advance - Would you believe $3.95? I think they've been watching too much TV.

As if that weren't bad enough, I discovered that my beloved yogurt fruit cup from MacDonald's is NOW up to $1.28 (from $1.07 yesterday). And, let's not forget that McD just recently cut the size of the cup in half!

A friend of mine recently said she remembered when the 5-pound bags of sugar were reduced to 4 pounds. WHAT?? I didn't know that! Shows you how much I use sugar. If I didn't have hummingbirds, I wouldn't buy more than a bag a year...

ANYWAY -- to my main topic: Are any of you having any trouble sending email to your sbcglobal email friends/cohorts/business contacts, etc??? About a week ago, my sister-in-law in Cape called me to find out what was going on in my life - and I (of course) said, "I sent you an email." "I didn't get it," she said.... and thus we started tracking down the problem.

Turns out that SHE can email ME, but I can't email HER. I don't get a "bounce back" message - I get nothing but SILENCE!

She began calling AT&T, and I began calling Velosity. Each one said the other one was responsible, of course. (Sound familiar?)

My provider says that SBC has obviously done some upgrading, possibly with their spam filters - and they need to let up on it.

Today, my sister-in-law was on the phone ALL AFTERNOON with one SBC person after another on one ear and me on the other. (And, since most of them don't speak English, that's a trick in itself...)

Here are some of the things I had to confirm:

1. Yes, all my other contacts can get my email.

2. Yes, I have sent very recent emails, which have been received by my other contacts. (I'm not some little old lady who sits around in my rocking chair and occasionally sends one email every ten days...)

3. The SBC contacts are the only ones who are not getting my email.

4. I use Outlook Express. (Is it obsolete now?)

5. Yes, I see my "sent" emails in my "sent" box, indicating that they WERE sent! (Duh!)

6. When we go in through the internet webmail address, my emails still don't reach my sister-in-law.

7. SBC cannot call my provider, because it's "illegal," but my provider CAN call them (special number for this).

Okay, that's where we are at this point - as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2, 2008. I have called my provider, given them the number to call, and told them that we WILL check up on this first thing in the morning.

If they think they can push this problem to the back burner, they do not know my sister-in-law. Besides, my sister has her home computer with SBC, so she's getting on the band wagon, first thing in the morning.

So, is anybody else having this problem -- and would you even KNOW if you are? Like my sister-in-law said, "Who else is trying to contact me and not getting through??"

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Madeline; - -I am inclined to believe that you are fighting a loosing battle when you try to solve an Email problem where two providers are involved. As you already know, all your Email, and only yours go directly into my deleted items file. I called my provider and they assure me that it was not their fault, and suggested that the trouble must be your provider, so I called Velosity and they were sure that the trouble had to be wit Bigriver. I bounced the ball back and forth three times and finaly decided that I would just have to keep a closer watch on my deleted item file if I wanted to get any mail from you

-- Posted by paulcorbin on Wed, Jul 2, 2008, at 8:12 PM

Madeline Dejournett's response:
Mr. C, I know you're right, but, doggone it, I probably have at least two dozen people in my mailbox who are with SBC, and my mail doesn't get through AT ALL! You know, there were some skeptics out there who said we'd all be sorry when ATT took over Bell Telephone....and here we go again..
I was on the verge of switching to them myself, as you know, when I quit BR, but the technical advisors are hard enough to understand when they can speak English - so I went with someone local. Now SBC won't talk to them, because they're competitors. What are they wanting - another monopoly like "the good ole days"?
I'm so tired of all our tech support (and so many other things) being outsourced to other countries! Globalization won't work until we all speak the same language.

-- Posted by goat lady on Thu, Jul 3, 2008, at 6:43 AM
MD, I had the same problem with sbcglobal,,,hated to be on the tech support for 7 hours,seemed like it, with folks I couldnt understand. Finally removed all my SBC services and now use cable internet, phone, and tv, I use Yahoo for Email and it works wonderfully. Sorry for the free commercial pitch.

-- Posted by changedname on Thu, Jul 3, 2008, at 7:11 AM
try HOTMAIL.COM

Doesn't matter what provider you have. I have switched providers MANY times over the years (can't seem to just live in one place for very long) and kept my hotmail address going. (so far it's free) Filters JUNK mail and I send emails to ANY address no matter the provider.

-- Posted by D.W.B. on Thu, Jul 3, 2008, at 4:11 PM
I have never had a problem with ATT and have never had a problem with SBC Global. I set it up at the beginning and left it alone. So far, so good. Don't know anything good or bad about technical support because I haven't had to use it.

Question; why would you run your email through someone other than your provider and why would you switch providers many times? Aren't you asking for problems?

-- Posted by I.B. Le Truth on Sun, Jul 6, 2008, at 9:19 AM
Amongst all this rightful wronging of everyone and tech support, I have to report a good experience!

I recently had some problems with iTunes and iPod not "syncing." I looked in all my literature and couldn't find an 800 number for either. Then I read online about all the businesses that have gone to "email only" customer service, which is VERY annoying. iTunes is one of them, along with Pay Pal and eBay. Try to get in touch with a person!

Anyway, on some obscure Google find I came across a number you could call for iTunes, even though they had used it and it didn't work. I tried it anyway.

Lo and behold, a person. And yes, he was in India, but he spoke very good English, was easy to understand, and helped me with my problem. I was amazed.

Just thought I'd throw this in here to mix up the pot a bit. Most of the time I'm screaming and tearing my hair out!

-- Posted by lovebooks on Sun, Jul 6, 2008, at 6:02 PM
I want SBC back! When my husband and I moved into this house 18 months ago, we had decided to skip over the hassle of DSL internet through AT&T. We were already getting cable, so we thought we'd give cable internet a whirl. It was nice, but then I lost my job and we could no longer afford to pay for it, so we dropped it and our cable.

Then I called AT&T...and wow. I spent the next 4 WEEKS fighting with them. They sent me my 1st box, and told me that they would start charging me for internet when it was activated. I received the box, hooked it up, and it wouldn't work. So I contacted them, technical support ran a check, and the BRAND NEW box was faulty. I had to send it back, and wait til the next week for a new one since UPS doesn't run on the weekends. I receive my new box, it didn't work. So I sent it back and waited for the next one. When I got it, it worked fine.

I was happy for all of about 1 week, until I received my bill. I had been charged for a FULL MONTH of internet service, when I had only had WORKING service for 7 days, even after telling them that I better not be charged since it doesn't work. I call them, and they ARGUED with me...saying it wasn't on record in THAT DEPARTMENT about my faulty boxes or waiting for new ones or anything like that. So I got transfered...and transfered...and transfered...and finally ended back up in the same dept. I started with...to be told that they had found the problem, and would post a credit to my bill AFTER I paid it!

Ok, you see where that's going...in a few less expletives. Anywho~I FINALLY got through all that, and was happy again. A month later, I try to log on, and my internet has been shut off, along with my caller I.D. and other things. I call, and they explain that they found a past due bill from my husband from 9 years ago, and it had to be paid before they would turn my internet and such back on! Ok, yes, I lost it. They should have found that BEFORE they even hooked up my internet a month late!

Ok, so now I have DSL through a company out of Malden, and I've been happy for almost a year. I don't like AT&T, and wouldn't even have their phone service if I didn't have to.

-- Posted by mrsdolphin on Sun, Jul 6, 2008, at 7:16 PM
Mrsdolphin, you dont have to use AT&T phones, I really like my Newwave. cable, internet, phone............I like you was charged many times by AT&T on disputed services and they virtually told me,, they couldnt help me,,, so I fired them all. Now I can go on Bus 60 and speak to an English speaking person,,, no waiting on hold.

-- Posted by changedname on Mon, Jul 7, 2008, at 2:48 PM
I had NewWave...hated them too. My cable internet was almost as slow as some of the dial-up I've had before. And it couldn't have been my pc...b/c it runs fine now.

With this company in Malden...they use the AT&T phone line, the DSL box I already had from AT&T, and charged me the same rate as AT&T. It runs just as fast, if not faster, and I don't have to have an AT&T email. The people are also friendly, understanding, and helpful, even in a pinch. They may only be open for 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but they check their messages regularly, and will call you AS SOON AS they receive your message. I'll never switch again if I don't have to.

-- Posted by mrsdolphin on Wed, Jul 9, 2008, at 6:36 PM
Malden's too faaaaaaaarrrr awaaaaaaay! Isn't that just before you drop off the end of the earth????

-- Posted by goat lady on Wed, Jul 9, 2008, at 9:33 PM
Malden is nothing when your payment is automatically debited from your checking account ;-�

-- Posted by mrsdolphin on Wed, Jul 9, 2008, at 11:15 PM
True, I hadn't thought of that. I just started paying some of my bills online. Wow! The electronic transfer is FAAST! I still don't trust an automatic payment, though.

-- Posted by goat lady on Fri, Jul 11, 2008, at 6:19 AM

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