Number Please?

For the past several months, I've been getting offers from Comcast to upgrade to Digital Voice which offers all the calling features like call forwarding, three-way, etc. plus free long distance for one price. As tempting as it was, with the increased use of email and mobile phones in my family, my long distance bill was rarely over $10 a month, so the switch wouldn't be worth it. But now, they are forcing me to switch over--and what's worse, I have to change my number.

I am a good Comcast customer. When we moved here in early 2002, I signed up for the whole AT&T Broadband shebang--Internet, Cable and their Digital Phone (which is different than Digital Voice). Later, when Comcast bought out AT&T Broadband, I was thrilled to chuck my TiVo in the attic (anyone want one cheap?) and sign on to my favorite invention of the century, the DVR. We've almost stopped renting movies, opting instead for the occasional onDemand movie. My cable bill is almost $200 a month and I don't even get all the movie channels!

So, several months ago--last year even--I bit. I called up Comcast and said Yes, I would like to switch to Digital Voice. I was still a bit hesitant, because a friend of mine with Vonage has sporadic service with echos, clicks and sometimes no service at all. She says it must be my phone, but it doesn't happen with anyone else. Comcast, of course, assured me, that no one can tell the difference. I searched the Web and found no complaints.

As the customer service rep processed my order, I was getting excited about the new voice mail and all the neat features I was getting. But, then she came back and said that I had to change my phone number. The system wasn't letting her change my number.

I don't want to change my phone number. It is a good one. It's got some doubles and even numbers in it. My kids can memorize it easily. I've worked for hours getting them to know their phone number.

Here I was with perfectly good phone service, paying less than I would have if I signed up for Digital Voice. So, the reasonable me squashed the excited gadgety me and declined the change.

We went on happily with our answering machine (albeit a digital one) and our simple call waiting. I ignored the many letters that came with offers I couldn't refuse to change.

One time, I called in again to see if things had changed and escalated it up to as high as I could to find out why, in this era of number portability, that I had to change my phone number to stay with the same phone company. Apparently, I am in some strange rate center. My prefix, 657, was given out by AT&T Broadband and somehow, Comcast cannot have that rate center.

This summer, a man with a clipboard in hand walked up my driveway. I figured he was a political activist, religious nut or selling lawn services, but I talked to him anyway. He told me that I had to switch to Digital Voice. He was actually going door to door to every Digital Phone customer trying to get them appointments to switch to Digital Voice. He said that Digital Phone was going away this fall and I would be left with no phone service if I didn't switch. I explained my situation to him and he told me he'd look into it and get back to me. No one ever did.

A couple of weeks ago, I got yet another letter urging me to switch, and they'd even knock $20 off the monthly price for a year. I sighed. It was time. I talked it over with my family and we resigned to getting a new phone number.

It was Friday night and the family was settling in for a family movie. I was on the phone with a nice guy with a Canadian accent sitting in his office in Eastern Canada. After I detailed my saga, he offered me a discount on my Internet for the next six months for all my trouble. The number that popped up was terrible. Sure, it was in a Sammamishy sounding 861 or 868, but the numbers were not rhythmic sounding like 6828 or 0550. He gave me the choice of ten numbers--all duds.

He went to his supervisor and found a backwards way in the system to type in a number to see if it was available. We went through hundreds of combinations--all taken. Surely there had to be a good number out there!

Calling on my past as a customer service rep for a cellular phone company in the early 90s, and later a service support manager for a large computer company, I knew there was a way. The customer is King and a good service center would do anything to please a customer, especially one who has been wronged.

I suggested they print out a report of numbers and find several good ones for me and call back with suggestions. I know this sounds like a lot of work for an individual customer like me, but this was just the type of project I always ended up with when I was in customer support. I know it is done.

I was promised a call back in two days at around 3:00. That was two weeks ago. I have not received a call back.

Last week I received a letter in an 8x10 envelope. Its size was clearly intended to signal its importance. The letter said I must call to change because Digital Phone is going to be terminated this Fall.

I hope they add some phone numbers, because only the crappy ones are left. And I don't want a crappy phone number. I'll keep you posted.

Have you been to Bento?

Have you seen that sushi and teriyaki place attached to the Shell station in Pine Lake? It looks like it's a part of the Shell station, but it's not--they aren't connected as far as I can see.

Bento House is a darling little restaurant with an odd location. Bento House serves sushi rolls, nigiri, noodles, teriyaki and other typical Japanese dishes. You can get some decent rolls for a bargain since many of them have been "on sale" for the past six months.

The small space is decorated nicely with several small tables and enough high chairs if you want to bring your little ones. The women who run this little known eatery are eager to please. The first time we got take out from Bento House, we got it two other times that week.

When you dine in, you'll get some yummy miso soup to start every meal and good service. Listen, it's not the best teriyaki or sushi I've had in my life. But, it is the best in Sammamish -- pretty yummy.

This Japanese cafe seems to be struggling and I want it to stay! Pay them a visit the next time you have a hankering for sushi or teriyaki and don't want to leave the Plateau.

Bento House
2938 228th Ave SE
Sammamish, WA 98075
(425) 392-7703

HOA links

I am adding links to as many neighborhood homeowners associations' websites as I can find/think of in Sammamish. If you have any others, post them here!

See the links to the right.

Free Car Wash Day

Tomorrow is Free Car Wash Day at Brown Bear--and the forecast doesn't have any rain!

Let's Start with the Vote

I thought it would be a great idea to start this blog with our recent Election Day. Yup, we had a Primary Election yesterday, did you know that? I went to my polling place at Samantha Smith Elementary and found that it had been moved to the Fire Station on 228th. I guess I didn't get the memo.

Pulling up to the station, I didn't see any VOTE HERE signs until I pulled in and saw a very small sign. There were signs all over the door, but you couldn't see them from the street.

I was happy to see some young poll workers along with all the senior citizens we see every year. The room was a lot less cumbersome than the Smith library and as always everyone was helpful.

This year I decided to use the Accessible Voting Unit instead of the regular paper ballot just because I was the only one voting at the time and no one else needed it. It actually took a little longer than a paper ballot because there were other forms to fill out, but all in all it was a quick and easy process.

According to the King County Election website, Sammamish had a dismal turnout--only 12.09% of Sammamish voters turned up at the polls. Our apathy was only outdone by Duvall where only 11.18% of voters cast their ballots.

I have a theory. Whenever I go to vote, I rarely see anyone (besides me) below 60 voting unless its a bigger election--like for the President. Sammamish is a rather young city; the median age is 35. Older people tend to vote more--whether its because they care more or have the time during the day, I don't know. Maybe it's a mix of both.

In Medina, for instance, over 23% of its voters showed up to vote yesterday. Medina's median age is 43. But, other factors could also come into play: Medina is a smaller community and there are probably a lot more millionaires in Medina who may have some more free time.

But, then again, maybe we just need more visable VOTE HERE signs on the day of the election to remind people to stop in and vote.

Voting in these small elections is crucial to our every day lives. It's nice to know my vote counts for a bigger percentage in Sammamish than it would in a larger election. I was one of only 3065 voters in Sammamish. Even if all of Sammamish's 24265 registered voters voted, my vote would still count for a lot more than in a Nationwide or Statewide election. Plus, the decisions our local elected officials make are more likely to directly effect us than the ones on a larger level. Perhaps that's another reason why so many in Medina show up. There are only 2119 registered voters with only 596 voters making an appearance yesterday. Each of those votes really counted!