Fool that I am, I called Spectrum the other day to ask when it would be adjusting my bill to reflect the lengthy cable outage that I and others experienced last month. (Is that laughter I hear?) Time Warner used to knock off a few bucks after an extended loss of service, so I assumed …

I called the billing number. The lady I spoke with, in Ohio, had no idea what I was talking about. She asked me if I had reported the problem at the time. No, I hadn’t. I had figured that Spectrum knew about it since it was their cable that was down. Nope, you have to report it at the time. Really? And just how does one get through during a serious outage? No answer.

I asked the lady if she could give me the phone number of someone who could help me, preferable in or near Portland, Maine. No such number, she said.

Later, after I took my medication, I tried the Johnson Road number on Spectrum’s website. It was answered by a pleasant young woman in Raleigh, North Carolina, who also did not know anything about Maine or its weather, let alone downed cables.

She said she felt bad that she couldn’t help me and suggested that I show up at the Spectrum Store on Johnson Road. “OK,” asked I, “what’s the phone number?” “They don’t have a phone number,” replied she.

What do you think my chances are of getting anywhere with Spectrum? What was that? Did I hear someone say something about a snowball and a warm place?

Sally Hinckley

South Portland