AT&T broadband connection has been very slow since the start of service. A year ago, AT&T convinced us to upgrade the router and the speed range, but this did not lead to improvement, not even with new computers. 10 days ago I spent an hour on the phone dealing with the service's support people, who checked the speed and acknowledged that it is "ridiculous" (in their own words) - it was 4-6 times slower than the connection speed we pay for. They promised to send a person on April 28 to test the line outside the building and to contact me about the results. I was also given an 11-symbol service ticket number. Today, on May 5, I called AT&T again since I haven't yet heard from them. It turned out that neither the telephone number, nor my name, nor the amount we pay monthly for the broadband service, nor even the 11-digit code that only I could know are enough in order to identify me as the person entitled to discuss the issue. The agent named Gamal forced me to look up for AT&T bills to find some 3-digit code before he was able to provide any service. (Note that 10 days ago this was not needed, but of course Gamal would not even listen to my request to connect me directly to the service I was dealing with last time.) In the end, when my eligibility for his service was established, and the time came to transfer me to the appropriate agent, pre-recorded voice requested from me some "3-digit transfer code" (of course, Gamal didn't give me any), so when I punched some random numbers, the voice informed me that "this was not a valid transfer code" and suggested to "call some other time". I will, but before I do I post this message.

Here is what followed so far. I tried to "chat" through the AT&T website, only to find out that the "chat" person cannot access any details about service tickets - he advised me to call AT&T again. When I called, I made a different selection at one point, and it turned out that my telephone number alone was, indeed, sufficient to examine the case. When I eventually reached someone in the service department, it turned out that serviceman's visit that was scheduled 10 days ago for Tue, April 29 (as I was told at that time) did not happen, and moreover there is not even a record that it was supposed to happen, but instead it is now (re?)scheduled for Saturday, May 9. Respectively, I am supposed to be home 12-4 on that day, since the serviceman will need to check the connection from both inside and outside the house (this is a nice way to re-schedule - without even contacting me) . When I asked if there is a way to see or receive a written confirmation (by email or on the internet) of the service appointment, it turned out that "no", this is an internal record, and only a lawyer can access it. Thus, there is no guarantee that next time this record, too, would not disappear. We'll see ... but the perspective of switching to another provider begins to look quite exciting!