I attempted to set up local phone service for the first time yesterday. I’ve heard horror stories about SBC, but CenturyTel isn’t turning out the be any better. Man I wish I had a choice for local phone service.

5:00pm Call centurytel
5:05pm Get through automated menu system to a real person, request local phone service. He answers with “oh, I can do that!” Oy.
5:06pm Spell out my name and address, get put on hold.
5:15pm Come back from hold, he can’t find the city, much less the address in his system. Correct his spelling of Lake in Lake St. Louis. Correct his number on the address, 1225 instead of 2225. Get put on hold.
5:25pm Come back from hold, still can’t find it. Asked if it’s near Dardenne. Explain geography of area, get put on hold.
5:45pm No sign of ever coming back from hold, so I hung up out of frustration.

I’ll try again this afternoon, hopefully this time I’ll get someone with a clue, or maybe someone who’s been there more than a week.