Friday, February 13, 2009 Last week I called A T& T and asked if there was a better deal for my phone service.  I have my main Horizons number with them, as well as a fax line.  The main number has unlimited long distance, voice mail, caller id, call forwarding, call waiting, 3 way calling, the typical.  They could only give me a better deal if I bundled in my internet service.   So I called Bright House this morning at 321-254-3300 and just ordered them to come out to switch my main business line to their service, since I have my internet and cable service with them. I’ll save $135 per month and keep my ATT fax line in case Bright House goes down.  If you know of a reason I shouldn’t make the switch, please let me know asap.

Since I live in S.E. Palm Bay, every so often the power and Bright House cable service goes down.  We’ve got lot of trees here and we get lots of wind here, and the lines are all above ground.  Usually it’s back up within minutes, sometimes an hour.  I researched with several friends who have Vonage and they said they are not often kicked off.  Hmmm, “not often.”  I work too much to take chances, so I’ll try Bright House.  In case I have a problem, I still have my cell phone and fax line to call out on.

I don’t know how they do it, but I don’t need any special equipment.  I spoke to Nilda at Bright House who, I learned, grew up in Hialeah, the same as me!  This shows the power of using a personal connection to make a sale, although she wasn’t doing it on purpose.  It just kept me on the phone with her long enough to make a decision.  We briefly chatted about how the neighborhoods have changed, and she told me she has had the Bright House phone service since Day One.  A couple of things she said sold me on it.

I don’t need additional equipment.  I can use the same phones I have now.  Apparently even the two-line phones I have, with the main number on one line and the fax number on the oher, I can still use those phones.   And best of all, for me, is when Nilda told me the new phone modem has a 4 hour battery backup, which means if the cable goes out, I still have a phone for up to 4 hours.  Since although Bright House does flicker off and off sometimes, it rarely is ever down that long, so that 4 hour window makes me feel I can at least I still conduct business.

I’m stoked!