Qwest no longer feels the love!

So, I get a letter from Qwest Communications telling me they're upgrading the service in my neighborhood. Great! I just need to call and schedule a service tech to bring out my new faster, better Qwest ChoiceOnline modem/gateway box. And, we're supposed to all get new email addresses, too. We'll now be called Q.com--isn't that cool? I have less than a month to get this dude out here.

But, wait, what's that, I use a Mac? Well, there's one teeny-tine catch: they will no longer be able to support me and my MacBook with an included email POP account! Oh, yeah. They forgot to tell me, the email and forwarding service is a package provided by...(wait for it) dunh, dunh duhnnnn, Microsoft!!?

But, oh, hold on a sec. The nice customer service lady suggests that there's a better solution for me! Cuz' you know, there're so few of us Mac users out there and all. I can go and get a FREE Google Gmail account. Oh yeah. Way to rub salt in the wound! Yes, they will take away my email address--the one I've had for more than ten years, the one I've got plugged into so many other online accounts--plus work, the one who's free server space I use to serve up my blog photos, the one I use to upload and download pictures, graphics, text, movie files, and all kinds of other big stuff that Hotmail and Google would probably choke on ...the one that doesn't put any added, superfluous garbage onto the bottom of messages in the name of being FREE!!!

You know and I know I can do this. But it's the sheer audacity that Qwest has that really chills my b#TT. I've been treated this way before. Way back when there were only 100 people in the country using Apple computers, and Qwest only had one guy who kinda' sorta' knew how to provide adequate customer service. But, I thought, now with all the iPods, and iMacs and iTouch phones out there that we'd be treated with a little more respect. Guess not. Corporate will always be corporate. They giveth and they taketh way, whenever it pleases them.

Perhaps I should get my "lil' bundle o' services" elsewhere. We can get DirecTV direct! And maybe it's time to use Vonage for phone service. And maybe Cox would rather support my DSL needs. I can taketh away, too.