monopolies will eat your sanity

I don't ever want to hear how inefficient, ridiculous, and uninformed the federal government bureaucracy is until someone fucking straightens out AT&T/SBC. In my experience working with the federal government, it's been nothing but appropriate (I even got my tax return this year very quickly). Maybe because I'm the daughter of a (former) career civil servant, but I don't think the bureaucracy is as user unfriendly as everyone else wants you to believe (hear that you public administration bores?). On the other hand, AT&T/SBC is the worst beast to have to deal with. And it makes sense, monopolies have no one pushing them to serve their customers better. They are nothing but a sea of misinformation waiting to hook you and frustrate you. I hated them many months ago when I first set up my phone/DSL service because they didn't tell me I had to bundle a bunch of stuff I don't want or need in order to get a cheap rate for the DSL (hell, I don't even want the phone!) which resulted in doubling the time it took to setup my lifeline. Then when it came time to move recently, I was told it was going to take more than week to reinstate my DSL at my new address. I called a few days in to try and get it pushed up--yes, it could be done tomorrow, I was told. And it finally worked after spending 1.5 hours on the phone just to get someone with authority to change a stupid date in the computer system (things were physically in line before I even called to push up the service date). Today, I was solicited to upgrade my DSL to the faster service for an additional $5/month. That sounds like a good deal, but honestly, I don't want to pay another $5/month for anything--especially to this monopolistic juggernaut. But then I was told that I could drop my bundle and still get the faster service for $19.99. That would be a savings. But I have to call another number to drop the bundle (when they don't offer to help you directly with something that is a red flag--I've just, literally, now figured that out). So I call that number and the woman tells me that in order to get the DSL Pro at that price, I have to keep the bundle as far as she knows. She transfers me to a DSL sales person (the friendly Marlene) who confirms and makes sure that 1) I'm not going to get the upgraded service with the overall higher bill 2) I've got the cheapest and best options for my use.

What's the moral of the tale? Don't pick up the phone when you're sure it's a fucking telemarketer! Why does it take so long for the "do not call list" to be effective?