The Qwest is Over

It may be easier to quit being a Qwest customer than to be one!  Ever since we started getting our phone, internet, and Direct TV from Qwest, I've wanted to triumphantly call them up and end my services.  There had been hardly a time when I called them and had a good experience: starting with getting our service a week late to trying to switch my credit card number in their files so they could actually continue charging me after I closed my old credit card (do you want my money or not?), I hate dealing with Qwest.

So, I braced myself for a fight when I called to cancel my service this Friday.  Nothing!  I got a person online who gave me the right phone number to call over instant message, then a cheerful young man who set-up my closeout date quickly.  AMAZING!  Maybe I've been far too quick to judge.  There is one transaction that Qwest does well.  Go ahead, try it; close out your Qwest account, it's fantastic!

The only thing they don't do is close out Direct TV for you, but they did correctly connect me with DTV's personnel.  Here's where the goodness ends.  The DTV guy that answered the phone sounded like a 60-year-old drunken techie who transferred me to a woman who couldn't understand why I wanted my TV to continue until the day I leave and the boxes to return the remote control to arrive before that date, so I could actually pack up the equipment before I leave.  This is not possible with Direct TV!  They absolutely cannot sway from their automated system, whose return boxes do not arrive until 3-5 days after your official TV end date.

That's fine, they're losing a week's worth of revenue from me now that I'm quitting early to get my boxes.  Although I requested the service be shut off this morning, it's still turned on.  Perfect, since I'm excited to watch my last live episode of The Amazing Race tonight.  From here on out, it'll be hulu and day-old internet-based episodes of The Office for me.  A small price to pay for my emancipation from Qwest.