Always Get a Ticket Number!

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With any technology or business process, problems can arise. When it comes to dealing with phone companies (ANY of THEM)  --either for voice lines or data connections -- here are some hard and fast guidelines to make sure you get resolution in a timely manner:

1) HAVE ALL YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION ON-HAND: When you call the Technical Support tollfree number, be sure to have your Account Number and Billing Address of the service location. It helps to have what's known in the industry as your "BTN" -- Billing Telephone Number (your main number). Each carrier is different, but AT&T requires you have the last 4 digits on your invoice for security purposes.

2) ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS GET A TICKET NUMBER! After describing your problem to the Technical Support representative, request and record the trouble ticket number. Some providers may not readily issue a trouble ticket number if they feel your issue can be resolved easily. However, if it gets resolved this time and then recurs, there's no paper trail and you can't prove that you've called before on the same issue. Get a ticket number, regardless.

3) REMAIN CALM, BUT BE ASSERTIVE. Even though you're in crisis, try to be as calm and polite as possible to get the best attention from the representative. And always obtain follow-up action items. Whether the provider will call you within one hour or 4 hours, you must make it clear what the next expected step is on both sides (yours and theirs). Do NOT end the conversation with them telling you "We'll look into it and get back to you."

4) REQUEST CREDITS FOR OUTAGES. Many providers have what is called a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that states what they guarantee for uptime (99.99% for example) or a certain throughput speed. If your outage or problem has exceeded the threshold, you are usually entitled to credits.

5) IF A TELCO TECHNICIAN IS ON-SITE, do not let him or her leave until you are satisfied with the answer! This item may seem obvious, but there have been occasions where technicians will show up and leave without having the issue resolved. Once someone is at your site, you have the leverage of their time and their paycheck, so use it. I jokingly tell my clients to tackle the technician if he tries to leave!