Donna Wilczynski of Royal Oak expresses her frustration with Ameritech at a meeting Thursday. The telecom giant will have to work hard to renew customers' faith after complaints hit 30 times last year's numbers. Ameritech has pledged to reduce the average response time to customer requests for repairs or installation from the current 115 hours to 36 hours by the end of this year. As Ameritech works to add repair crews and speed response times, many customers still wait weeks for new service or repairs. Though many customers complain about long waits on hold, frequent calls are necessary.
Cable modems keep computers running without a phone line.
Calling cards cut long-distance fees from pay phones or can be used from a neighbor's phone or at work. Save your phone bills, keep a log of how many times you've called the phone company, what was said, how long you were kept on hold. It's not like electricity or anything, but then again, when I flip a switch, I'm fairly confident that the lights are going to go on. I have no such confidence in Ameritech. PSC records show complaints about Ameritech service continued unabated through September, when more than 1,700 calls, letters and e-mails about shoddy service were filed with the state.