YOUR COMMENTS

Computer issues? More like BS issues. I called 10 days in advance of April 3rd to have my phone and dsl service moved, keeping the same number.

Today is May 3rd, still no phone or dsl. Numerous calls have resulted in numerous excuses. One quote:"We don't know when you will get your service, it might be an hour, it might be two days, we just don't know."

I'm told there is a "problem" with my order, but no one seems to know what the problem is or how to fix it. After being told my phone was disconnected and the number was put back in the pool, I said I went to my old residence, since I still had a key, plugged in a phone and got a dial tone.
Dialing my number made the phone ring, amazing, nothing at all had been done.

I was told that Friday, May 1 would be the latest day. I did mention earlier that it is May 3 and still no service. Have I been patient enough yet?
- Dave, Berlin

I gave Fairpoint the benefit of the doubt. I went from Verizon DSL to Fairpoint and kept my landlines. After dismal performance with DSL I finally went to Time Warner Roadrunner last week. To be honest, I'm not seeing any better performance with Roadrunner except that when I sent a picture over the net it goes much faster. I'm still not comfortable with giving up the landline as the cell frequency here is not the greatest. Just went in to check my online billing situation and can't get into that either, so I bet I'm going to get charged for my DSL connection and have to deal with that problem, too. Folks, thank the State PUC for this mess. They created it...............They foist it on us knowing full well Fairpoint couldn't deliver. Oh for the days of Ma Bell - at least she knew what she was in business for.
- sandy, thornton

It is a rare moment I agree with Joel from Nashua. The Executives who promised the world to the three state PUCs, chose Cap Gemini. Fairpoint's Employees are doing the best they can with what they are working with, because that is their job and their living.

All the complications with the cutover just compound all the problems Fairpoint has here. Starting with a declining wireline business, high debt and the promise of 1990s DSL for everybody. I had expected Fairpoint to be in bankruptcy at least 2 years after the sale. I now think it could be the end of this year. There is no way Fairpoint could recover from this. There name is mud in NH. Sadly some good people will be out of work after they tried so hard to get this right.
- Chris, Merrimack

It is well known in the Telecom Industry anytime there is a cutover between companies and systems there will be difficulty. All the finger pointing is not helping but only affecting the stock market in all companies involved. Granted systems will have failure and difficulties from order flow thru to billing. Being from the inside of this project, nothing is ever mentioned on how inadequate the Wholesale Orders are coming into FairPoint with Reject Fatal errors upon arrival into FairPoint GUI that cannot be provisioned because the Competitive Local Exchange Company do not know how to submit correct orders due to the lack of knowledge on rules of ASOG and LSOG. If the Telecom Industry would work more on efficiency of their own companies order request and make an effort for a cohesive team work with FairPoint, it would definitely be a win-win for all. PUC wake up and know where the problem areas are and who are complaining most. Those complaining most have a lot of training of their own to do! Of all the escalation's I have looked at, over 90% plus are not system problems."TRAIN YOUR REPS ALL TELECOM's ON OBF RULES AND REGULATIONS".....
- Jim Smith, Manchester

its ashame this happened at all. the puc should never have allowed this. The were warned by experts and the people who actually do the job.
- joe, salem

The bottom line is that there are several parties to blame for all that is happening here. Shame on Verizon for selling out in the first place. You knew there were issues and you knew Fairpoint was not going to be able to support the people of NH. Shame on Fairpoint for biting off more then you can chew. Your response time is nothing short of amazing. In the real world, the people of NH should have the option to fire your service. And then there is the PUC who approved this sale and allowed Fairpoint to provide their substandard service to the good people of NH... You should be ashamed at how you represent us. To those that feel bigger government, more oversight, transparency, more regulation is a necessity... Consider closely how these factors have punished good people of NH.

The most important factor to keep in mind is that there are options. Land lines are dieing... its a political football. They are not necessary. Here is a few suggestions: Cell phones, VOIP services or call Comcast.

My family has no regrets about getting rid of the land line 5 or so years ago.
- Randall, Manchester

"Approximately 200 Capgemini US employees, based in Atlanta, and 325 Indian employees, based in Bangalore, have been assigned to the project for its two-year term."

Bangalore? Lol.
- Jay, Londonderry

So glad our family got weened of land lines years ago.

I do however feel terrible for commercial customers in need of a land line.

For all those home customers, I advise looking into going cell. I am aware not every location has cell coverage, which is bizarre in itself in 2009.

If you do get cell coverage in your home and decide to drop the "land line" you'll not be sorry
- Harry, Atkinson

I don't understand what went wrong with Fairpoint. We had them for long distance at my former employer. They were awesome to deal with and literally pennies a minute to place a call. As most of our clients were in NY we made tons of calls a month. Our bill would be maybe $40. I was really looking forward to them taking over the horrible Verizon service I got. I got dsl from Fairpoint and can only access 1 of 3 e-mail accounts. Pay my bill on-line? That's a joke. Still waiting for my $10 credit as well. Sad Sad Sad
- Tricia, Lebanon

Hey Spike in Brentwood, what does the President have to do with Fairpoint Communications? Does he own the company? Does he own stock? Perhaps you'd like to explain the connection?

If I'm reading Jill from Manchester correctly, it appears as if upper management at Fairpoint made, to be kind, an extremely stupid decision regarding their choice of a computer system to operate their service model.

Sometimes people just don't think things through and others pay the price...the employees of Fairpoint, because they bear the wrath of the customer, and Fairpoint customers, because of their utter frustration at perceived poor service, incorrect bills and general abysmal CORPORATE performance.

That's the difference you need to keep in mind. The folks who answer the phones are just like you and me...cogs in a wheel...I just WISH the executives who had made this choice of Capgemini were on the phones right now.

I switched to Vonage several years ago and haven't had a lick of a problem at any time except if the power goes out. Then I have my cell phone. Having a landline is too expensive and not worth the time or effort. Some folks have to have a landline, I'm well aware of that, but they don't make much sense anymore. I hope things even out for you Jill. Keep your chin up!

Peace
- Joel, Nashua

Do yourselves a favor...... DROP YOUR LANDLINES! We don't need them anymore.

Cellphones are so much more reliable and you don't have to deal with companies that NEVER should have been allowed to set up business here in NH!

I have never been happier to have cancelled my land line service the second "Stupidpoint " took over. I knew this is what was going to happen from the beginning!
- Deb, Manchester

I've dropped my land line and know lots of others who have done the same thing. If enough people would do this, maybe Fairpoint will go back to North Carolina.
- Mike P., Loudon

Gee, Isn't Fairpoint non union? I wonder if the unions have anything to do with all these problems? Just curious. It is the same personel, same billing process, same IT people. Just non union, Hmmmm.
- Allan, Rochester

This is all just clean up stuff from the old ILEC. Once this passes, things will be much better. There are many more people who can receive service and so much to do now that someone is taking our service area seriously.

If those metrics were public, what would it matter? Does 7,906 mean anything to you? What if it was 9,000 or 5,000? Are you going to do something useful with the data or just troll with comments?
- Jeremy Hitchcock, Manchester, NH

Quote from 2007 annual report - Lifted from the capgemini.com web site;

Success in US telecommunications | Capgemini is supporting FairPoint Communications, US specialist
in rural telecommunications, for its merger with the landline organization of US telephone provider Verizon. The
contract – in excess of €100 million – was one of the largest to be signed by the Group in the United States.
Capgemini’s objective is the convergence of all products and services on a new IT platform in order to manage 1.6 million
extra telephone lines, build new operating centers and define a new organization for the integration of both operators’
teams. Approximately 200 Capgemini US employees, based in Atlanta, and 325 Indian employees, based in
Bangalore, have been assigned to the project for its two-year term.
- Harwood, Manchester

"We consider it to be competitive information...that we don't want our competitors to know about" except that, thanks to the racketeers at the PUC and in the legislature, you basically DON'T HAVE ANY COMPETITORS. So Fairpoint has top-secret metrics for its improvement of customer service? And Obama promised to have the administration most free of lobbyists and crooks in our nation's history, except when he saw fit to make exceptions. This is another con job dressed up as science. Fairpoint will, in July, announce that it has met its milestones; and who are we to disagree?
- Spike, Brentwood NH

Harwood,

The employees did not select the computer system, but we get the joy of debugging it.

.
- Jill, Manchester

Jill,, I don't hate you .. I just want your pathetic company to go out of business. The sooner I see "Fairpoint Declares Bankruptcy" the better. My bill just arrived.. totally all wrong. I called the number on the bill and was told that number was wrong, and to call another number, and then I spoke to a young guy who said "I can't do anything about the bill at this time"... Enough already.. Fairpoint was a cheap trick to begin with, and now the cheap trick has become an eyesore. Please go out of business, bankrupcy, gone, not coming back, good bye.. ta ta
- tom, manchester,nh

Computer systems are only tools. Tools which are studied, compared with competitors' alternatives, and purchased (or contracted) after a careful selection process.

What would you think if a musician played horribly, but said to not blame him - it was a bad guitar. Wouldn't you think "well, YOU studied and chose THAT guitar!"

Don't blame the tools YOU chose.
- Harwood, Manchester

For all of the unhappy customers, please don't hate Fairpoint, hate Cap Gemini....

We Fairpoint employees have been busting our chops & the managers have been busting their chops. The issue is not Fairpoint, but the new computer system from Cap Gemini ...it has had more problems than you can imagine.

We understand your exasperation & we totally agree with it. We are doing our best. Please hang with us. If you don't, we understand... but please remember that we have been doing killer overtime trying to resolve the problems & it all keeps coming back to "IT issues".

Each problem is being resolved...we will get there.. please have faith..
- Jill, Manchester