Customer Service Nightmare: CenturyLink Left 86-Year-Old Piano Teacher with No Phone or Internet for a Month

Helen Marie Plourde, an 86-year-old piano teacher from Saint Paul, Minnesota, was left without home phone or internet service for more than a month by cable provider CenturyLink, shedding light on the inefficiencies in customer service plaguing internet and cable giants throughout the country.

Ars Technica reports that Plourde, an active member of her community and a piano teacher, found herself in a predicament when her internet and home phone service went out for an extended period. Despite multiple attempts to contact both her Internet service provider, CenturyLink, and Velocity, a liaison company between the provider and the customer, she received little to no assistance. “Even the tone of voice was like, ‘Well, ma’am, it’s too bad, but you’ll just have to wait,'” Plourde recounted about her call to CenturyLink. The outage lasted more than a month, although miraculously the companies jumped into action to restore her service the day after Ars Technica contacted them for comment.

Velocity, the company responsible for acting as a go-between for CenturyLink and its customers, admitted shortcomings in their approach to resolving the issue. “I believe we could have done better here,” said a company representative. “I typically expect these types of tickets to be escalated to me to rattle the cage at CenturyLink. It doesn’t always help, but we will always try.”

The lack of internet access had a significant impact on Plourde’s daily activities. She is a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and serves on a human trafficking committee. “All our communication is online, and there are so many things. I’m on a human trafficking committee,” she said. Plourde also reflected on how the absence of internet made her think about rural areas that lack this essential service. “It’s just been stifling because you want to look something up, or you’re thinking of something you need to check, and you can’t access the Internet.”