Network Service Provider

Wed Jun 4 20:48:36 UTC 1997

>     I looked at MCI, but the "InternetMCI voice mail system" is "Full".  So
>     you can't even leave a message to have someone call you back 
>     (800.582.1253, kinda funny since they spend all that money on advertising
>     and customer's can't even contact them).

And heaven help you if you should have a problem dealing with the local
branch MCI office for MCI installation.  We placed an order last
January, dealt with the salesguy extensively for about 6 weeks at
which point he left the company and it turned out had never placed the
order.  The guy who took over from him has given us a runaround,
requiring us to spend money on wiring contractors (upon which we'd be
turned up "within 2 days"), thereafter requiring increasing amounts of
documents and signatures and then nothing.  Neither he nor his
supervisor will return phone calls, even though I've been nothing but
polite.  (Perhaps that's the problem.)  You have to practically hire a
private detective to find an MCI contact outside of the branch office
who will help (I haven't yet found one, although I've found direct
line customer support, InternetMCI customer support, scads of other
numbers, and the above-mentioned voice mail box that was also full
when I tried it).  They have an email address which eventually
responds with the suggestion that you should call your branch office.

The kicker: we're now getting billed, even though we've yet to get
service.  The bill includes an "expedite" charge plus CPE that we
never asked for nor received.

I suppose this is only peripherally (at best) an operations note.
If there was an "internet-bureaucracy" list, I'd rant there.  :-)

-mm-