ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 2, 1997 TAG: 9703030005
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
First, we got 911 as the quick number to call for emergency help. Now, the country has so many emergency calls that people in some communities get a busy signal when they need help the most.
The latest proposal is to establish 311 as a hot line for urgencies.
But what is an urgency, and what's an emergency? How do you know the difference? A body could croak just figuring that out.
Gone are the days when you dreaded getting the mail because it included nothing but bills. If only the day's mail would be just lists of what you owe instead of missives that require making even more decisions.
For example, on a typical day you might get a letter that Delta Air Lines' SkyMiles will no longer give frequent-flier credit for AT&T "True Choice" customers' long-distance calls. Think quickly - do you even have True Choice, or are you a True Rewards AT&T customer, which gives a discount on calls but no air miles credit?
And now that Delta has forsaken AT&T to team with MCI, should you do the same? To get the answer, you'll have to calculate long-distance rates for each telephone company against your calling patterns, and throw in the value of the Delta bonus miles you get for switching.
And you have to work tomorrow, so when will you find the time to even consider those options?
Oh, how we yearn for the day when the envelope from Lane Bryant included only pictures of new clothes and not literature about a health insurance policy.
Will it never end? It doesn't appear so. But there's help.
ConsumerWise, a special section included in today's newspaper, has been compiled by The Roanoke Times business team to help simplify some of the decisions we all face.
The section has information and tips for the dilemmas of working, shopping, staying healthy and choosing that long-distance carrier.
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