I hate TXU, and for that matter, perhaps all large utility companies. These huge corporations that have grown so large that there is no local point of contact seem to have no sense of customer service or corporate responsibility. How is it that while on a local co-op growing up, problems were fixed seemingly on the same day, but when it comes to a large corporation, it is taking DAYS to get anything accomplished. With all the resources that they MUST have at their disposal, surely something could be done.
It started this past Thursday as I was sitting at work, I noticed that my box at home disconnected. Usually this only happens when the Alcatel switch that I have loses its ARP table and I have to reset it. BUT, seeing that I replaced this switch only last week, this was not the issue. Expecting to have to call the cable company when I got home at lunch, I instead come home to find a house without electricity! Immediately I called TXU to try to get to the bottom of this, as the account is not past due, and my neighbors obviously had electricity. (I could hear their A/C’s cranking away) After waiting patiently on the line for a CCA (Customer Care Agent/Associate - all of which is an oxymoron) to figure out why it had been disconnected, I finally get the answer: When I called TXU the previous week to get the account switched into my name, they actually issued a cancel account order to AEP, who owns the meters in San Angelo. Seems simple enough: TXU makes a mistake. Customer calls in to complain. TXU fixes mistake. WRONG!
While on the phone with the CCA, she tells me that service cannot be restored until the 27th. (Remember that date, it is important later). Shocked, I refused to accept this. Why should I, the customer, have to wait 6 whole days for TXU to get their act together and reconnect the power? For perhaps the first time in my life, or that I can remember, I was rude to someone on the phone. There was no way that I was going to accept the fact that they could not get it turned on before then. How hard can it be to get a technician come out and reconnect service? A process that should only take a matter of minutes was going to take days. After getting a supervisor on the phone, I found out that there was an alternative: I could pay $45 and get the service call flagged for “Priority Activation.” Again, I was rude. I am not going to pay for someone else’s mistake. Reluctantly, Edwin (I know I probably shouldn’t use real names, but I am past caring) told me that there would be no charge and that service should be restored shortly. Boy was he wrong.
Friday came, no power. I call, I talk, I get told that it will happen soon. I left town at 15:00 to go see Lori up in Fort Worth expecting the best, only to get a call later that we still have no power. I can only imagine what the other drivers saw: A patchily bearded man speaking animatedly (Is that a word?) on the phone while speeding down the highway. I had become someone I used to loathe: a rude customer. Again, I was told that technicians work until 21:00, so they still had plenty of time to restore power. If I would have known then what I know now, I would have never trusted what I was told. 21:00 came and went, still no power.
On to Saturday. Stuck in traffic on I-20 headed back to Fort Worth, I call TXU again. This time I get a CCA that seems to know what he is talking about. He sees that the order is still pending, so he issues an Emergency reconnect. Noone had mentioned this before! Why didn’t I get this guy to begin with? I was POSITIVE that I would be getting a call later that all was well at 2858. Boy am I gullible.
Sunday. The thermometer in my truck reads 109! Not that it is that accurate, but it is the hottest I have seen it read, so its HOT outside. And us without electricity. I don’t know how many times I call in, but I do know that I speak to a Stuart, Phillip, Joe (twice), George, and a couple of other people who I could not understand. This time I take matters into my own hands, or as much as I can. I call AEP directly to find out if they have a reconnect order for my address. Guess what! They do! For the 27th! Remember that date from way back up at the beginning of the post? Seems as if that is the only order that they have received from TXU. Nothing quite slaps you in the face like finding out that you have been lied to for the past 4 days. By now I am livid. I call TXU back. All they can give me is the excuse that they sent the order in and it is up to AEP to reconnect it. How can I believe that they have sent in the order for priority when the only ticket AEP has is for the 27th? But what am I to do? As far as I know, TXU does not have a local office. All I can do is call in and get a CCA that does not care about my service. Oh, one other thing, they like to use the excuse about the storm. Yes I know that there are millions of customers without power because of Rita, but my call was made well before the storm hit. I know this sounds selfish, and it probably is, but I can guarantee that not all of the technicians in my area are working on storm related issues, seeing how we are 400+ miles away.
Anyways, its Monday, still no power, and I don’t know if I have the patience to call again.
Moral of the story: Live in rural America where co-ops still exist. Sure beats talking to India…
Her loss though, as I pretty much cleaned up at the lanes. (I won’t post my scores as 1. I don’t remember them exactly and 2. Even though I won, I am still ashamed of them.)