Lost Connection

We’ve been having trouble with our phone service ever since we moved last April. The phone goes dead while I’m talking for no apparent reason. Whenever I report the malfunction to our carrier, they magically reset it from there main office – if there is such a thing - whatever has to be reset. Then the phone works again for a few weeks.

When we moved and my husband first told me he was bundling everything to reduce our monthly cost by $100, my response was, “Is this the same phone/cable company that disappeared for weeks after the hurricanes?”

He said yes, and agreed that if we had problems, when the introductory offer was up after a year, unless they renewed the deal, we would switch back to our old phone service if we had any problems.

Anyway – when our phones went dead two weeks ago, service told me that our phones were not compatible with their telephone service. I pointed out to the person I was speaking with that the phones work 99% of the time, and if they were truly incompatible, they wouldn’t work at all. Then she kept insisting my phones were analog, despite the fact I repeatedly told her that the phone was clearly labeled “digital.” I must have worn her down because she agreed to set up a service call, but at my cost. Then, after more heated words were exchanged, the cost was waved.

When the technician arrived – a week later - he informed us we needed new batteries for all of our phones. “They have to be changed at least once a year. When they’re all low, phone service cuts out.”

We’ve had the phones for more than five years and I think we’ve changed one battery because that particular phone read “low battery” whenever in use and told him this. The technician said we were just lucky. After he left, Hubby told me it was my fault because the phones probably cut out when all the phones are out of their cradles at the same time – something I’m guilty of, which drives him nuts. When he worked, I ran around the house before he was due home and put all the phones back in the cradles. Since he is home, I find searching for the phones gives him something to do. (He does not think this is funny.)

The local store that sells the special phone batteries was out of stock. It seems a lot of the portable phones – not to be confused with cell phones – went dead after the unusual lengthy cold snap we had in South Florida. I have no clue if there is a connection, but I’m glad the store was out. When we told our son the story, he told us it may be cheaper to buy all new phones – the kind that use cheap batteries- than replace the 4 batteries in our present phones.

By next week hopefully our new phones will be in place. Then when our phone service cuts out, an operator will tell us we set them up incorrectly. Unfortunately, she will probably be right!