AT&T Wireless and Blocked Caller ID Blocking
Below is the email I sent to AT&T Wireless. Interestingly, today (August 4, 2001) is one year and one day since the I ran into the first challenge with their service. Hopefully, this one will have and equally pleasant resolution. But, I’m not holding my breath this time.
Dear AT&T Wireless, I need "Blocked Caller ID Blocking." Specifically, I have several friends who think is it "cool" to block their caller ID info, and when they call, my AT&T Wireless phone's display shows "Caller ID Blocked." I really don't like that. I fixed this on my house (land) line by enabling "Blocked Caller ID Blocking." Now when they call my house, they get a message telling them to dial *82 to send the caller ID info. There, I get to choose what calls I want; I don't get bothered with calls I don't want. However, apparently "Blocked Caller ID Blocking" is not currently an option for AT&T Wireless customers. Please add it. Thanks.
During the meantime, the best I can do is just choose to not answer calls from people who rudely block their Caller ID.
Today I received a reply from AT&T, pasted here:
> Dear Mr. Keene: > Thank you for contacting AT&T Wireless regarding selective call blocking. > While some telephones allow you to block all incoming calls, there is not an > option that would allow you to only block certain calls from unidentified > callers. > If you need further assistance or have any other questions, please feel free > to visit the AT&T Wireless website at http://www.attwireless.com. We > appreciate your business and thank you for choosing AT&T Wireless. > Sincerely, > Mandy > AT&T Wireless > Online Customer Service
So, I’ve replied with:
Dear AT&T Wireless Customer Service,
Thank you for your reply! However, your reply has raised two concerns:
1) CERTAIN CALLS
In your reply, you state:
> ... there is not an option that would allow you to only block
> certain calls from unidentified callers.
Please understand, I wish to block *all* calls from unidentified
callers, not "certain calls" from unidentified callers.
Obviously, I would be somewhat daft if I expected to be able to pick
and choose which *unidentified caller* to block.
2) REQUEST CLARIFICATION
Perhaps I wasn't completely clear in my original request. I am fully
aware that the requested feature, "Blocked Caller ID Blocking," is not
currently an option.
It is my intent to ask for to the *creation* of this option.
Thank you for your time and attention in this matter.
And, during the meantime, I continue to not answer calls with block their Caller ID.
Well, not even a hour passed, I received this vaguely failure reply pasted below. I’m not convinced my request will get past customer service and onto someone who can actually make policy. Perhaps I should just give up now.
> Dear Mr. Keene: > Thank you for contacting AT&T Wireless. Currently, we do not offer the > service you are inquiring about. However, if it is something that we offer > in the future, we will advise the public as it becomes available. > We value your comments and suggestions. If you need further assistance or > have any other questions, please feel free to visit the AT&T Wireless > website at http://www.attwireless.com. We appreciate your business and > thank you for choosing AT&T Wireless. > Sincerely, > Mandy > AT&T Wireless > Online Customer Service > If you need to respond to this message, please leave all documents attached > for our reference. > Thank You.
Just over a year later, my friend Jeff posted about his good fortune with AT&T. Its cool that they were nice to him, even though they refuse to give me what I want.
Of course, the rest of AT&T Wireless’s service is great, as indicated at the end of Jeff’s rant, otherwise I would have moved on,