Did I mention that I've been getting jerked around by AT&T Broadband?

We'd been pondering upgrading to digital cable for a while, nothing too fancy, just the basic package to get some of the channels we'd enjoyed back in the days of the dish (BBC America, National Geographic, etc.). I finally got off my ass and went to AT&T Broadband website, and discovered that you could order service on-line. I tend to favor any method of purchasing goods or services that doesn't require me to talk to anyone, so I filled out the form and sent it in. I was promised a response with an appointment time within 24 hours.

To this day it still hasn't arrived.

I waited about a week, and then called in when I discovered that a co-worker who also lives on campus was getting digital cable. We were both scheduled for last Friday. She got hers hooked up - after getting a call from the techs that they'd gone to Wellesley College and needed some help finding us over here at Babson. And after discovering that it didn't work - they had to come back out some number of days later to fix what they'd just put in.

They never arrived at my place. No phone calls, nothing.

So I went into work in the afternoon, called, rescheduled, and got a credit. They were now scheduled to show on Tuesday morning between 9-11.

They never arrived at my place. No phone calls, nothing.

So I went into work in the afternoon, called, rescheduled, and got a credit. I also got in touch with Babson's contact with AT&T Broadband to try to get some support there. They were now scheduled to show on Thursday morning between 9-11.

They never arrived at my place. No phone calls, nothing.

Our contact did do some calling around, but in the end the result was the same. I have no digital cable. At this point, if I ever do get it, I have two free months. I am now supposed to call the field manager to set up an appointment.

I suppose some of this may come from being on a college campus. The billing address I had to give for my account is one that AT&T's software recognizes as a USPS-approved valid address. My box on campus doesn't fit the bill. Instead, I have to use the street address and put Wellesley Hills as the town.

This strikes me as automation run amok. If I can't give the address that best assures that I get mail on time, there's something wrong with the program.

At the same time, it's not like my phone number and email address (assuming my on-line order is still kicking around somewhere on an AT&T server) don't work.

I've been thinking about my time as a subscriber to DirecTV a lot lately, and while I'm probably biased by recent events, it makes me think that, once I have my own place, I may never deal with a cable company again.