The ADSL Man made a big point of telling me, at least three times during his visit, that I should call his cell phone directly if I have any problems in the future instead of dialing the general China Telecom help line.
[For those of you in Shanghai, the China Telecom help line is reachable by dialing 10000. They even have English menus and English speakers available! Quite helpful.]
At first, I chalked this eagerness up to a heretofore unseen level of customer service. I’ve never had a repairman insist multiple times that I can call him anytime, day or night, on his personal cell phone nonetheless, if I should ever have any problems with my ADSL. This, coming from the same man that previously refused to give me the access code to connect to the Internet.
Turns out it’s a bit trickier than that. I’ve independently verified from third party sources (read: “Native Shanghai Folks Who Aren’t Easily Duped”) that the ADSL Man’s easy availability comes at a price. Here’s The Deal:
If you call China Telecom directly, they assign a local contract repairman to your house. It’s a free service.
If you call the same repairman directly, China Telecom has no idea that you’re getting something repaired. The repairman, at the end of his Personal Repair Service, will ask for payment, presumably of the I’ve-Just-Painted-Half-Your-Face-At-The-Cosmetic-Counter-So-Why-Don’t-You-Pay-For-The-Other-Half variety. “I’d hate to see your ADSL not work, ever again, but I sure will give fixing it another go if you could help defray my travel costs today. I took the Mag-Lev train to get here. Nice desserts on that train, you know?”
So: Call 10000. Do not call the repairman directly. That’s The Deal.