AT&T customer service fail

i received this message from AT&T:

The protection of our customers' privacy is of utmost importance to the employees and management of the AT&T family of companies (AT&T)*. Please take a moment to read the following important message about the privacy of your customer information. 

AT&T companies that provide telecommunications and interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service (which permits VoIP customers to both send and receive calls to/from customers with traditional telephone/telecommunications service) would like to share your customer proprietary network information within the AT&T family of companies for our own marketing purposes, including using that information to offer you additional products and services. 

What is CPNI? Your CPNI includes the types of telecommunications and interconnected VoIP services you currently purchase, how you use them and the related billing for those services. CPNI does not include your telephone number, your name or your address. Protecting the confidentiality of your CPNI is your right and our duty under federal law. As an AT&T customer, you can restrict the use of your CPNI even within the AT&T family of companies. 

To allow AT&T to use your CPNI, no further action is required. AT&T will not use your CPNI to offer you other products and services until at least 33 days after this notice was mailed to you. AT&T and our authorized agents will not sell, trade or share your CPNI with anyone other than those who are in the AT&T family of companies or are AT&T authorized agents, unless required by law. 

If at any time you would prefer that AT&T not use your CPNI to offer you additional products and services, you may: 

- Click here to submit your request electronically
- Call 1.800.315.8303 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and follow the prompts
- Call 1.800.288.2020 and speak to a service representative

so i went to the website and logged in to submit my request electronically. it should be easy, right?

it's a short form. i checked the little box that said "restrict my information" and i got this message:

ECPNI0112: We're unable to find your account. Please call a representative at 1.800.288.2020.

why am i not surprised this didn't go through?

so i called the number it told me to call. the very long messaage told me that if i was calling about service arkansas, kansas, missouri, oklahoma, texas, i should press 1. for service in california and nevada, press 2. for service in connecticut, press 3. it went on like that until i was out of options and they still hadn't named my state.

i should hang up, they tell me, and call a second number. to hear all the options again, press the star key.

i pressed the star key so i could get this right to tell you about it.

does it repeat the very long menu for me again? no, it does not.

it puts me in the hold queue. i did not hang on to find out how long that would go on. now i will call the number again and pay attention to what number i should call.

(woo, real time blogging)

i am now wading through the long menu.

long computerized menu. and they can't find my account. there are no options for what i need. i press the button for all other options. i am sent through six- count them- SIX layers of automated hell before they offer to connect me to another number. 

at this new number i have to go through an additional automated system of three different layers and now i am on hold. my estimated time is one minute.

*waiting*

three minutes...

the call center representative is very lovely and full of apologies for my frustration and it takes her an additional four minutes to get the thing sorted out.

total time elapsed, twenty minutes.

why? because the freaking PHONE COMPANY can't get their PHONE system right.

i am inclined to believe that if the little box i had wanted to check was "yes, please. sell my personal information to anyone you want", that little beauty would have gone off smoothly and they'd have been able to find my account.

but then again, if you don;t want them to sell your information, you don't have to do a thing.  you can just sit there and say nothing and your silence is taken for assent.

get bent, AT&T.