N-- and Y--, July 29

3pm, AT&T U-verse knocks. Two people, the young lady from last week and a young man. He is clearly her supervisor.

Y-- introduces himself and N--.

Sir, I'd like to ask you a little more about why you don't want U-verse. When N-- talked to you, all she wrote down was "cost".

Y-- listens to the explanation.

Thank you sir. Y-- turns to N--. You see, he's really interested in the Internet. You just wrote down "cost" but the cost of what is important. Y-- describes the detail that should have been in her report.

N-- looks uncomfortable. It's tough when you're young and in a sales, and N-- seems shy, too. Not a good job fit.

More discussion. Y-- offers a month service trial, no cost. The right package is U200 w/Elite Internet. Consolidating cellphone bills gains a 20% discount but is applicable only after the first month. Long discussion about features and service.

She Who Must Be Worshiped With Chocolate asks whether U-verse has BBC America.

Yes.

Okay, try it. Order the full package of U400/Elite (upsell all the swell channels -- $134/mo), then back off to U200/Elite ($94/mo) if the service stays after the trial period. The total package long-term monthly cost is less than TWC/Roadrunner but just barely.

Due to regulatory controls and the complexity of the offering, it takes a while to complete paperwork, verify the order, make a hand-off call to AT&T, schedule installation. N-- is learning a lot, much of it basic, such as repeating aloud order numbers over the phone to ensure correctness and printing clearly in blue ink.

Y-- is learning too. The first month of U400 TV is no-cost, but the Elite Internet service is $35. Y-- apologizes, and adds a $50 supervisor's coupon to cover it.

5:30pm, they leave. Installation is Saturday, August 2.

AT&T really wants into the TV business.