Also, Daylight Savings Time is causing fun scheduling problems for us globally
Our Japan team has been complaining about the time change for two weeks now, but we are ignoring them because our weekly call is already 7-8pm and nobody is willing to make it any later.
I had Vonage when they were brand new, and the service was awful (calls were unintelligable and dropped constantly), and when I tried to cancel it was hands-down the worst customer service experience of my life. (Short version is that getting through to a cancellation agent was next to impossible and every time I did manage it, they HUNG UP ON ME before I could actually cancel. They played this game for long enough that my free promotional month ran out and they charged me for the next month's service, and THEN finally allowed me to cancel. I reported their shenanigans to the BBB but never got my money back.)
Anyway, I've heard from many reliable sources that they've fixed the call quality problems, but that bridge is burned forever for me.
I think when DH finally upgrades his phone, his old cell will become our house phone, if only to have ONE number people can call when they're trying to get ahold of the household and not one of us specifically. And eventually the kids will need a number to give their friends.
Does it work at all if you travel out of the country?
If you carry the Vonage adaptor/router with you and plug it into to wifi, yes. If you're trying to use it via your cell phone, yes, but make sure you're hooked up to wifi. If you're not you'll pay the normal outrageous data roaming fees. The Extensions app won't work with data speeds less than 3G.
Jess, I initially had issues too, with quality and customer service. It's been a while since I've had any problems though. I wouldn't give them gold stars for customer service, but they do what I need when I need it. I may not be as picky as I used to. Now CenturyLink? I can't decide if they or Comcase should die a fiery death.
I need to revisit phone/internet. I had the ball rolling and then stuff.
Senior review Monday. Acting head of mission is in the hospital, director of operations is retiring and as part of that, no longer on these reviews,acting director can only meet for 3/4 the time. If I didn't think this project was cursed from the get go, I would be convinced now. And I overheard some scuttlebutt that the support desk feels underprepared, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE BEEN WARNING THEM FOR 36 MONTHS AND THEY'VE DONE NO DUE DILIGENCE. I can't. Just can't.
I'd be wary about only having a cell phone if you work from home, but that's about it at this point. I get wanting to keep the number, though, Burrell. I would freak out if my mother ditched her home number.
CenturyLink is my current phone company. I haven't had any problems with them, but my unlimited-long-distance-flat-fee just went up to $77/month, and that feels like an awful lot to pay for seven-eight phone calls a week to my sister and my BFF.
I'd be wary about only having a cell phone if you work from home
That's me. My work cell is my only number for work; no landline. My personal cell will always stay separate. It was a pain in the ass to regain financial responsibility after I left my first job, and I lost my awesome grandfathered plan at the time.
I got rid of the landline last year, but not many people actually call me. I do a lot more communication with locals via Facebook, actually.
I'd be wary about only having a cell phone if you work from home
Calls to my work number already get routed to my home number anyway, because the softphone on the laptop never works right.
Today is a perfect example of why I can't cancel it: old childhood friend -- her father and my father were BF back when they were in middle school -- called me just to say hi and catch up. But I also have a better understanding of why he wants to switch it over to VoIP eventually.
You guys find the cell phone is clear enough? I feel like they are still enough less-good than a landline that it's noticeable. Of course, at my job, it's usually a conference call with six people on cell phones in other countries, so extra barriers....
