Qwest Message Cites Media For Call Delays

DENVER -- Qwest Communications International Inc. has been getting hammered on all sides for shoddy customer service, and in response, the telecommunications company left customers with a recorded message that blamed the media for its long delays, 7NEWS reported.

Qwest patrons calling a customer service line to complain about incorrect billing, long holds, computer problems, and other frustrations received a recorded message that blames the news media for the flood of calls and the long hold.

The recorded message said, "Due to the high level of media coverage our billing issues have received, we are receiving unusually high call volumes. You may experience long hold times. "

Qwest spokeswoman Barbara Faulhaber said Wednesday that the message would be changed.

"We had no intention whatsoever to blame the media," she said. "We take full responsibility for this."

The message had not been changed by late Wednesday afternoon.

TheDenverChannel broke a story on July 23 that said a computer glitch had caused about 14,000 Qwest cellphone users, about 1.4 percent of its 1 million cellphone customers, to receive astronomical bills in eror. Some Qwest wireless customers were charged as much as $600 a minute. The story was picked up by other media outlets over the next week.

People calling about their bills jammed Qwest's customer service number, and one man said that he spent an hour and 45 minutes on hold Tuesday.

Qwest told TheDenverChannel last month that a computer problem resulted in faulty bills being sent to about 14,000 people in its 14-state region, or 1.4 percent of its wireless customers. Faulhaber said that news reports about the problem prompted calls from some customers who weren't affected.

Other consumers said that their high speed DSL service has been spotty, and that Qwest has done little to help them fix their problems, or re-establish their Internet lines. Qwest blamed the Code Red worm that attacked network computers for knocking customers offline last week. Customers were told that it could be easily remedied by following instructions on their Web site.

"I've tried their versions, their instructions, and variations, but I can't get past step 3," a Denver business man told 7NEWS.

The man, who was so worried that Qwest will never help him, refused to be identified. He said that as a business, the Internet becomes a lifeline, and that Qwest does not seem to recognize that.

"My initial wait was over two hours, and then it put me back into the queue where the wait was over 100 minutes," the man said. "Blaming the media seems to be an easy way out for them, but the reality is, they're going to be losing customers."

Although customers told 7NEWS and TheDenverChannel that they have waited anywhere from a half-hour to two hours, Faulhaber said that the delays were on average 12 to 15 minutes.