Categories: uncategorized
Date: 28 April 2006 18:56:12
Gah.
A few weeks ago I phoned BT to let them know that mr b was taking over the business and so we needed to change the billing details, but we wanted the numbers to remain the same. The lady was very helpful, and said yes this would be no problem, they had received letters from the current owner outlining the situation, and they would just pop a couple of letters in the post to confirm but basically, we don't need to do anything.
So the letters arrived, saying here are your numbers, and we don't need to send an engineer out, it will just be done.
Today, I was checking the letters, and noted that actually it says 'here are your phone numbers, but we can't actually guarantee that these are the numbers we will give you. We will tell you on the day we install your service what your numbers will be.'.
Now, at this point we hold our hands up to the fact that we should have noticed that little footnote earlier. As the lady I spoke to on the phone had been so helpful and assured us that the number would just go into the new business name, stupidly, we believed it was that straightforward, and didn't read the letter in as much detail as perhaps we should have. (It also, helpfully, recommends that you don't get any stationery printed until you have confirmation of what your number will be, which they give you when they install the number. Is it me, or does that just not translate well into the reality of running a business? So, on the day you open, you only just have your new number, so you're ordering printing then, which won't arrive until you've been functioning for a few weeks? Yes, that makes sense. And yes, our £££££££££'s worth of printing arrived today, with the number we thought we'd been told we were having printed on it.)
So I (in something of a panic) phoned BT. After 15 minutes I would have sold my right leg to speak to an actual person. I got through to the automated order tracking service, which helpfully told me that an engineer will visit between 8am and 6pm on Sunday to 'fulfill my order', and will phone the number to let us know when he will arrive. Right, so that will be the engineer you said we didn't need, phoning the number we might not have, to visit the office on a day there will be no-one there. Great, that'll work. I hung on for a while longer but still didn't get through to a human being. I'll try again tomorrow morning and let you know how it goes.
Meanwhile mr b is going out for a meal this evening with his new employees. (Money has changed hands now, so I guess he is now The Boss). I can't say he's looking forward to it all that much.