But I have Optimum...

I was having a lovely conversation with my "partner in crime" (You know who you are), when I was put on hold so she could pick up her other line (another thing I need to blog about...Call Waiting) and I lost connection with her.
The phone rings.
Thinking it is her calling me back, I cheerfully pick up without looking at the caller ID and say, "what happened bitch?"
Only to hear my super say, "uh, excuse me?"
I apologize profusely and ask how I can help him.
Evidently, Verizon phone wires run through our bathroom duct work, unbeknown to me all these years, and he needed to come into my apartment to see if the problem lies in the duct work because the older woman who lives next door and above three floors to me has no dial tone.

Of course I let them in and tell them to do what is needed.
I did stress that I had Optimum and was experiencing intermittent troubles as well, which has since been fixed (thank goodness), come one in!

A bit of background:
On Sunday we had our ducts cleaned (or so they say, my clean is way different from their definition of clean) and evidently in doing so, cut Verizon phone wires in the process.
Now, cleaning ducts in an 8 story apartment building that is over 70 years old, myself living here for 19 of those years, and never had the ducts cleaned once, it must have been tough, a "feel as you go" type of job and I am sure they pushed the wires away from their oh so awesome auger cleaning machine, but alas a few were cut and of course, cut between the 4th and 5th floors.

Since I was home today (and have nothing better to do than to entertain Verizon men) I let them do what they needed to do to fix the problem.
I couldn't leave the woman upstairs with no phone, poor thing just has triple bypass surgery for goodness sakes, she needs a phone.

They needed to go out to get the wires to splice and approval from the "powers that be" and asked me if I needed anything from the store, so I say..."if you are passing a Dunkin Donuts, I will take an extra large, 3 splenda and cream please."
Really as a joke, but I threw it out there.

"John" because we are on a first name basis now, says..."you got it, we are disrupting you, its the least we can do."

WOW! Score.

They come back, once 2 men and now there are 3, to fix the problem as we speak and I am hoping that the Optimum police don't take away my Triple Play services for cavorting with the competition/enemy!
I will have to keep it hush hush.

So far they have been here for 2 hours picking up coffee, splicing wires and doing what they have to whilst standing upon my toilet.

Ironically, "John" asks me for my home phone number (not for a date or anything) because there is no reception on the Verizon cell phones they all carry.
He asked me what cell provider I use and told him we use T-Mobile and Nextel aka Sprint and never have any tower issues.
Not so great a plug for Verizon if you live in my building.

They finished working and thanked me for letting them do what they had to do and apologized for any inconvenience.
I told them that it was no sweat, thanks for the coffee and I am blogging about it as we speak!
They laughed and went onto the next crisis.

All in all it was quite interesting and I am so totally glad I am an Optimum customer but wish Verizon well while sipping my D & D!