Shameless Plugging: My U-verse experience

We've been Comcast customers since we moved in here; at the time, they were the only service available (unless we wanted to add a satellite dish to the roof, and we didn't, so there). We've had the same Basic Cable package from 2000 to now, and the price has steadily increased to the point of silliness. Over the past two years, I've called, now and again, to see if we might qualify for some Comcast deal or other we keep seeing advertised, but we've been inevitably denied. So I've been keeping one eye open for alternatives, and when AT&T let us know that their U-verse program was available in our neighborhood, I jumped on-line and took a look. More under the cut.


I chatted with AT&T sales reps on-line, and the sense I got was that I could get the same programming I was getting with Comcast via U-verse (U100) at $20 less per month, with no installation costs; if I signed up for a larger package (U200) for a month at $5 less than the Comcast package, I'd even get a free DVR and $200 cash back. I decided on the U200 and scheduled installation.

Installation day arrived... but no technician. I'd scheduled an appointment between 12:00 and 2:00, but no one showed up. I called AT&T and they very gently pointed out that I'd scheduled an appointment for Monday (3/23) instead of Sunday (3/22) (one of those which-day-of-the-week-do-you-start-on kerfuffles). The AT&T rep was happy to reschedule me for 12:00 to 2:00 on the following Saturday.

At 1:30 on Saturday (3/28), the tech called to say he was running 30 minutes behind but would be here. And sure enough, 30 minutes later, he arrived. He was courteous, professional, and efficient, and had us up and running within an hour. Minus the HD programming which I had been told by an on-line Sales Rep we'd have standard. Grrr. So, after the tech left, I called AT&T and order the extra $10/month HD programming; I was told that this would be activated and might require up to 24 hours to go through.

On Sunday (3/29), still no HD programming. I called AT&T again and was told that they would make it available. In another 24 hours. This went on again on Monday (3/30) and Tuesday (3/31), and by Wednesday (4/1) I was getting frustrated. However, on Wednesday, the rep got her manager on the line and he told me (and I am not making this up) that the receiver unit I'd received was not HD-ready and another tech would need to come out and install the new receiver unit.

Really.

First available was on Saturday, 1.5 weeks later, between 8:00 and 10:00. Fine. So I didn't get to see the BSG finale in HD, but hey, I still got to see it. And so I woke up early on Saturday (4/11) to wait for the technician to deliver this magical receiver. He arrived, new unit and whole lot of cable in hand, and he told me he was there to deliver and install a new receiver for my second TV.

Which I don't have.

So I explained to him the saga of ordering HD programming and the kindly wizened manager who'd said I'd needed a special receiver, and the tech looked at me like I'd grown two heads. All receivers get HD programming, he said, it's just a matter of them (the reps) turning the service on or off at the main office. Fine, I said, here's the remote, show me the HD. He turned on the unit and... sure enough, HD ahoy. I shook my head and cursed and apologized, and he was very quick to point out that this was AT&T's fault, not mine. He then called his dispatcher and explained what had happened, made sure that I was happy, and split.

I sat down and watched Tiger Woods sink two beautiful shots in glorious HD, and I'm not even a golf fan. HD just really is that good.

On Sunday afternoon, I got a call from an AT&T rep looking to straighten things out. While I was explaining things to him, I got _another_ call from _another_ AT&T rep looking to straighten things out. I got the agent ID for one, gave it to the other, and suggested that they compare notes, and then I hung up on one of them. To the other, I explained the entire mess. He immediately grasped what had happened: the reps who had entered my order info in had done so in the wrong place; this is not uncommon, he said, as communication in-organization seems to be a little off these days (new services, etc.). He made the necessary changes to make sure that I wouldn't somehow lose my HD programming services, stayed on the line with me to make sure the changes went through, and walked me through the restart process (to wit: unplug, count 5, re-plug). Like ALL AT&T staff I've talked to throughout this experience, he was professional, courteous, and good to work with; he just also happened to be the one tech who really knew what he was doing.

So, today, I figured it was about time I got that $200 back. I called the Rewards number (877-258-1427) and was reminded they had a website (att.com/rewards), so I went there instead. There, I was prompted for my phone number or my U-verse account number or my DSL Direct account number; I entered my U-verse account number and selected Residential customer. I was then told that I may be eligible for the $200, so I clicked the link there. I was then given a ToS page and asked for e-mail address where they can send me a note saying they've mailed my check. And on the last page I was told I can expect a check to be mailed out by 5/17. And that's that.

In summary: I'd recommend AT&T's U-verse service, but I would recommend knowing what you're getting ahead of time and keeping on them if they let a service fall through the cracks. And now I'm going to go enjoy some more HD golf.