Who Can You Trust if You Can't Trust AT&T

This is short, and not too sweet, and tells a lot about why this is no longer our constitutional America.

I called my telephone provider. (AT&T) a few minutes ago, and after going through the usual "press one for English, and the menu of stuff that did not apply to what I wanted anyway.

At long last I was connected to a nice man who was going to help me. The last thing the prerecorded voice said was something like "in order to serve you better, at times we will record your conversation for training purposes, but if you do not want this to happen, please advise the person you will be connected to, and we will not record your conversation."

Being a sick human being, I told the AT&T service person that I didn't mind if his company was going to monitor my call, but could he assure me that the Feds were not listening in and recording what we said.

The AT&T guy is probably still laughing, but it isn't funny at all.

It is still not possible to understand how all of this stuff could happen HERE.

Venezuela, Russia, Saudi Arabia, OK. But how can this happen in our United States?

Not possible.

Norman Horowitz

Suspect

Comments

[jfor]

The best businesses to get into is the weather industry where being wrong is actually expected and the telecoms where dropped calls, shitty service and blatant spying are all accepted and encouraged.

When did America begin to reward incomptetance, ignorance and failure?

[AgathaPaige]

"...but it isn't funny at all."

What's funny to me is, YOU were calling AT&T about an AT&T business issue, I assume; so, unless you were calling with a bomb threat or some other crime that can be committed over the phone, why would you care who is listening?

I personally like to entertain those unknown "listeners" by doing wacky sh*t like whistling the theme song to "I Love Lucy" or belting out an off-tune "Star Spangled Banner" or something of the like. And, to the customer service people who, I think, speak softly just to irritate me, I start whispering right back (it always somehow, miraculously, raises the volume of THEIR voice to an audible level).

The scary "listening" is when you're on the phone with Grandpa Joe, planning the marijuana pick-up/drop-off for his glaucoma, and the Feds help themselves to your PRIVATE conversation. It is THEN that one should worry!

[gerontion72]

Are you referring to the whistleblower who set up secret wiretaps for the NSA at AT&T? If you are, you should say so. I don't think the people here commenting realize that (again, if that's what you're talking about).

[RDixon]

AT&T is just the tiny tip of this iceberg.
And America is the Titanic.

[letstakeawalk]

I thought it was fairly standard practice, for a while now, for large companies and organizations to record phone calls, for both educational and liability reasons.

I also never forget that anytime I am in public (the radio-wave spectrum used by digital phones is considered public property), I should conduct my nefarious plans discretely. Anyone could be listening, you know?

The real question is why you attempted to change the account over the phone. That level of detail deserves a hard copy in writing done in person at the office.

[dexxjones]

yet there was Debbie Wasserman Schultz on the radio yesterday telling Ed Schultz that they didnt have time to proceed with the impeachment of cheney and how the american people would have an opportunity to change things at the next election.

this might not seem related but it IS. Ms Schultz, Rham emanual, steney hoyer and yes Nancy Pelosi herself need to be sent packing.

The cabal that would have lost us '06 if we had listened to them (dlc) are now the same folks advising the democratic leadership right off the edge of a cliff. its all about elections for these people, and that is not too different when you think about it from the GOP we are trying to oust.

People need to send a message to the neocon/fascist/bush appeaser faction of the democratic party and they need to send it loud and clear.

we are being betrayed by both sides, and while at least the republicans are honest about their evilness, the democrats who we trusted are lying right TO us.

SEND THEM PACKING. also, great post norman! as usual.

[mommadona]

I called AT&T awhile back.
Switching a family members landline phone to their name.

15 minutes in the black hole of that irritatingly patronizing voice that couldn't get me where I needed to go - so I start pressing "0" over and over and over till I get to that "just a second, and this will be taped for quality assurance"

So, I start talking - telling them exactly what I thought of this ridiculous WASTE OF TIME of a CUSTOMER having to run the maze to get to the customer relations 'person'.

I get a young man who's english was extremely shaky on a line that I could barely hear him on from the static.

I do my business - then at the end:

"ARE YOU SURE THIS WILL TAKE CARE OF TRANSFERRING THIS NUMBER - IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO DO?"

The young man assured me 'THIS WILL BE DONE AND THE NEXT BILL WILL BE SENT TO THE NEW PERSON'.

So, the next bill comes.
In my name.

No change
No corrections.

Yep. That's AT & T
Ma Bell is PROUD, I tell you....PROUD.

[Quaoar]

If you actually got through the AT&T voice mail loop to speak with a real live person, you've won half the battle.

[cynara]

You can trust Qwest and working assets. Who knows about the rest of them...