Mo Pho Phone Woe

I know this is probably like the 24th friggin time I've complained about a phone situation... but I have a new phone situation!

Ok for the past few weeks my phone has been randomly dropping calls. I'll be talking away with someone and then I'll hear like a dull thud and it'll be disconnected. And whoever I'm talking to gets a high pitched squealing noise on their other end. And it takes 10 minutes or so until I can get a dial tone back. Bonus! Awesome! It happens only once or twice a day so I sort of have been ignoring it and hoping it would go away by itself. But it hasn't. It's just been getting worse. So finally the other day I broke down and called the phone company. They sent someone out the next day.

This phone repair chick shows up and she starts poking around at stuff. Climbing out on my fire escape and testing the line or whatever. She finally comes back in and tells me she did a couple things but she doesn't think she solved the problem. Cool! She said I should call back if it happens again. Great!

Later that day it happened again. So I call the phone company again and they send someone else out. The next day this dude shows up. He tightens up some stuff and told me it should fix the problem. I was like okayyyy but it didn't sound particulary 'fixed'. He tells me if it doesn't fix the problem-- then the problem might be in the wire itself. Like the wire going to the pole or splice situation or something. He wasn't sure if that was true. He told me he doesn't do that kind of work. He leaves.

An hour later it happens again. Disconnect. No dial tone for ten minutes. I call the phone company and tell them to pleeasse send someone out who can actually do something other than tighten stuff or whatever. I tell them I need someone who does splicing or something. They tell me they will.

Another phone chick repair girl shows up yesterday and I tell her the problem.

Here's how the conversation went from when she stepped in the door:

Phone chick: So it's dropping calls?

Me: Yeah, like once or twice a day.

Phone chick: So it's not that bad...

Me: Well, it's not that... good.

Phone chick: I think it's probably something wrong with your phone. Cordless phones do that.

Me: They disconnect calls and give off a high pitched squealing noise on the other end?

Phone chick: Yeah. Sometimes.

Me: Well, I have two cordless phones. It happens with both phones. You think both my phones are broken that way?

Phone chick: I'm just saying cordless phones break.

Me: Two of them? In the exact same way?

Phone chick: Well, one could be broken causing the problem for the other one too. It's all connected...

?

Me: Look, the other repair guy said that he thinks there's something wrong like a splice thing or something? I mean I something's definitely not right...

Phone chick: I'm not saying it's right.  I believe you when you say there's something wrong!

Me: (thinking: Thanks for not calling me a liar who makes up phone problems just to waste people's time.)

--She throws down her stuff on my table all pissed and starts testing the line.

Phone chick: I'm not detecting anything wrong with the line.

Me: Ok...

Phone chick: .... but that doesn't mean something isn't wrong.

Me: Good. That makes sense because there's something wrong.

Phone chick: Or something wrong with your phone...

Me: Phones.

Phone chick: Right.

--Phone chick then climbs out the window. Then comes back in a few minutes later.

Phone chick: Everything looks ok out there too. What's with this fax machine?

(I have an old fax machine next to my phones that I hook up once in a blue moon to fax something. It's never plugged in.)

Me: Oh I never really use that. It's not hooked up.

Phone chick: It could be that thing that's causing the issue. Sometimes old fax machines cause problems.

Me: I don't think it applies in this case because it hasn't been hooked up in months.

Phone chick: It's just something you might want to keep in mind.

Me: Keep in mind for what?

At this point phone chick checks the jack and tells me the connector wire was sort of loose. Tells me everything should be ok now. Tells me to call back if it happens again... Uch! WTF! Gah!

But the weird thing is... so far so good. No dropped calls since she tweaked that thing! Maybe the jack was actually loose? Or maybe my magically broken phones magically fixed themselves and now everything is magically delicious?

In any case, it hasn't happened since she left.... fingers crossed.

<click>

ok bye!
tOdd