Jangled Nerves from Jingling Bells? Save Like Wild on Call Management Features

NEW YORK -- The familiar ring. It can bring good news from far away, generate new business, or link you with friends you haven't heard from in years.

Increasingly, however, Bell Atlantic's residential customers are finding the familiar ring is difficult to manage. More people are working at home, and for many customers, off-hours are spent seeking quiet time amid a deluge of messages.

Recognizing the needs of the burgeoning work-at-home market and individual customers' frustration with the growing stream of incoming calls at home, Bell Atlantic is offering new price breaks on packages of services and value offers on popular individual products like Caller ID, Call Waiting ID, Home Voice Mail, additional lines, and other time- management tools.

And, while customers tame their busy lives, during the "Save Like Wild" campaign they also will earn a chance to win one of ten "wild vacations" of their choice, each worth $25,000, through a sweepstakes offer underway through April 3. Entry is automatic when ordering the most popular services, but no purchase is necessary. Ten winners will be chosen at random in May.

"We see two distinct sets of needs in our home marketplace," said Bob Ingalls, vice president-consumer marketing, Bell Atlantic. "For the work- at-home customer, products like Value Pack and Big Deal offer super savings on as many as a dozen different services, and fill the role of an electronic administrative assistant."

"But when the door of the home office closes at night, we then find the busy family intent on preserving a shrinking window of quiet time. They might simultaneously talk on the phone and surf the Web. An additional line helps. They might catch up on personal calls. That's when Call Waiting ID is indispensable. Whatever they choose, our services help customers manage the growing volume of regular mail, e-mail, faxes, deliveries, and voice messages so that home and work life can stay organized and enjoyable."

Building upon last year's enormously successful "Simple Savings Days" sales campaign, Bell Atlantic is providing money-saving offers on all of its time-management features:

Value Pack/Big Deal: This introductory offer gives customers access to more than ten popular calling features, including Caller ID, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, *69, Three Way Calling, Voice Dialing and Call Block for less than $20 a month. In addition to the savings the package represents, the first month is free. Customers also can receive a free Call Waiting ID display unit, a discount toward local phone service, or a price break on a special phone that lets you use all the services in the package.

Call Manager: Customers ordering this combination of Caller ID, Home Voice Mail, and Call Waiting for the first time receive a free Call Waiting ID display unit or discounts toward local phone service with the purchase of any two of these three products. Most setup charges also are waived.

Caller ID: Customers who haven't had Bell Atlantic's Caller ID before receive a free display unit or a discount on an upgraded Call Waiting ID box. Customers who order Caller ID and one additional service will receive a free Call Waiting ID box or discounts toward local phone service. Setup charges are waived.

Additional Lines: Bell Atlantic is offering a $20 savings on connection charges through April 3.

Home Voice Mail: First time subscribers pay no monthly fee for the first month of service. Some setup charges are waived.

Call Waiting: Existing Caller ID customers can receive a $10 rebate on their local phone bills if they order now.

Last year, Bell Atlantic customers ordered over eight million units of Caller ID, Home Voice Mail, additional lines, and other optional products. The company expects the services to be equally popular in 1999, and has designed the price packages understanding that customers needs are becoming more complex, and service packages must help them simplify their information management tasks.

"Using communications to manage your time effectively doesn't have to be a hassle," said Ingalls. "With these offers, we're telling customers the job is easy - and fun."