In the process of switching my DSL service from AT&T to Verizon, I’ve run into major set-backs, hold ups, run-arounds, excuses, outright lies, and every other stress-inducing situation you could imagine. I’ve spent about six hours on the phone with a wide range of customer service representatives and technical supervisors, but I’m not one minute closer to having service. This has left me reliant on dial-up for connection to the wider world. It has also left me twitching.
If you want proof of the link between stress and high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, and other life-threatening factors, just switch your service provider! Every morning, as I contemplate yet another call to Verizon, I feel the pressure rising. Yesterday, my hands were shaking after another hour-long run-around.
So far, I’ve been told:
1. It’s not our fault, it’s AT&T.
2. You need to cancel this order and start over.
3. The line will be cleared by 3:00 today. (No, it wasn’t.)
4. We can’t find your order.
5. I’ll check and call you back. (No, he didn’t.)
6. I can’t connect you to a supervisor – there’s no one in that area until after 2:00 today.
7. The line will be cleared by 6:00 Friday.
8. I’ll call you back. (He did!)
9. I’ve confirmed that the line will be cleared by 6:00 Friday. (It wasn’t.)
10 The line will be cleared by 6:00 Monday.
That’s only a partial list. Today, I may forgo the pleasure …
So, here’s what I’m learning about stress management:
1. Chant before dialing.
2. Take deep breaths – inhale 3, exhale 4.
3. Smile a lot – it helps you maintain a relatively nonthreatening tone early in the process.
4. Chant some more.
5. Meditate long and often.
And maybe, some day, my line will come.
