Qwest

I'm not a big fan, but they're my home phone provider. Mostly because that's what everyone uses around here.

Well, the last bill was almost triple what it normally is, due to a few calls to Australia. Since we didn't have the "international" calling plan, they socked it to us for over $1 a minute. Friggin highway robbery.

So I got all pissed and called them up. The guy tried to calm me down, but there was no reasoning with me. I remember when I signed up for the Qwest plan - I got some trainee and spent nearly an hour on the phone with him/her. I figured somebody had to suffer, I'd do my part. Evidentially they neglected to ask if we ever make international calls.

Anyhoo, I started looking for alternative providers. There are MCI and AT&T, but they're probably just as bad as Qwest. It also turns out that there are co-operatives like Pioneer. I really wanted to sign up for Pioneer, but they don't serve our area. It looked like it'd be cheaper and I could support a local company. But, the Oregon PUC says who gets to have phone service where, so no small companies for me.

Today I called up and gave Qwest a chance to keep my business, and the guy did the right thing - he reduced our bill to what it would have cost had we had the international plan (a savings of $85). And, he gave us caller id.

Now I'm spoiled (after 3 whole phone calls), and I don't know if I'll ever be able to not have caller id.