Are you kidding me????

With today's economy everyone should look for ways to save money. I took it upon myself last month to try and do just that. I called up my local telephone provider (Windstream)to see if they could lend me a hand in my quest for fatter pockets. Keep in mind that I pay $79.51 per month for telephone service as well as internet service. The call went something like this:

How can we help you Mr. Luckie

I would like to see if I can lower my phone bill by having someone review my account and make sure that I am not paying for any services that I do not need.

Sure Mr. Luckie, we will be glad to help. I see that you have our internet service. Would you like to keep that?

Yes.

I see that you do not make any long distance calls from your home phone but you are paying for 100 free minutes per month on your current plan. Would you like to drop that plan.

Bingo! Ka-ching!!!

Ok, Mr. Luckie, I will drop that plan for you and that will save you $31.00 per month. Would you like to keep your call waiting and caller ID feature?

Yes, I would. Can I ask how much it is going to cost me if I do decide to make a long distance call?

Sure, it will only be $.10 per minute.

Great!

Can I help you with anything else today?

No, you have been very helpful. Thanks!!!

Thank you Mr. Luckie, you should see the changes in your next bill. Thank you for using Windstream.

I sat back for the next 30 days waiting to receive my new cheaper phone bill. I got it in the mail today. As I was opening the envelope I allowed myself to think about my new found savings. I figured it would be around $20. That will fill the mini-fridge for the weekend. (forget you read that part preacher). I looked at the bill and then looked at it again. My savings was exactly -$2.01. My new bill was $81.52.

The following call to Windstream can not be posted on this blog because my preacher will probably read this.

Come to find out, when I dropped the long distance plan that I was on, it dropped my features. When the girl asked me if I wanted to keep my calling features, I said yes. She didn't tell me that I would now be charged for them. When I asked her if I made a long distance call, how much would it cost, she replied $.10, which I said that was fine. CHARGE for the $.10 per minute plan. Every new charge has new taxes and fees. The call that I made to Windstream to lower my bill actually made it higher!! Are you kidding me??? Is this what customer service has come to? Couldn't the girl have told me that my next bill should reflect a higher balance instead of the savings that she said that she was giving me. Come on people!

After I stopped yelling at the poor boy on the other end of the line and he apoligized for their actions, we sat down and hashed me out a new plan for my telephone needs. I am proud to say that my new phone bill will reflect a monthly savings of about 3 bucks!

That won't fill the mini-fridge!