Review by (hidden by request)
(review was emailed from domain Bigfoot.com)
lodged 11.8 years ago
 Saint Louis,Saint Louis,MO
 $39 per month- (12 month contract)
 "Technicians are great, low cost." "Poor communication, backbone and infrastructure issues, long wait times, no follow through." "Breaking my contract due to problems with service."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
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I signed up for ADSL with Southwestern Bell May 21st 2000.
Installation: The installation was originally scheduled for June 5th but
the actual installation occurred July 14th. The technician was great!
Being a computer geek I setup the computer while he ran the cable and we
were done in record time. The connection was smooth and everything was
great on the data side.
Installation problems: I experienced a problem with hissing on my primary
line and after a couple of months, a new modem, a new POTS splitter, three
technicians and a sacrifice of a chicken to the Internet gods it was
discovered that I had dirty connections (too much porn I guess). I was
billed for the technical call but managed to get my bill credited as it
indeed was a problem on their end.
ISP: The technicians are a great bunch of guys (I now know most of them
but we'll get to that in a sec) and are more than willing to help you out.
ISP Problems:
1. Starting in November I noticed a latency in my connection. As an online
gamer (Quake2) any latency causes major issues and is generally a "bad
thing". I troubleshot the problem down to their connection to their
backbone (Digital Express) and called for help. Wait time of over 30
minutes.
I talked with a technician in December and we troubleshot the problem again
(I can't blame then for not taking my word as I would have done the same)
and discovered a router problem within their network. They documented the
problem and claimed to have escalated the problem to their network group.
Wait time of over 30 minutes.
In January (February and March) I still had not heard back so I called back to check on the status. The technician said the ticket was closed and proceeded to walk me down the same troubleshooting path until he agreed it was indeed a router problem on their network. He documented the problem and claimed to have
escalated the problem to their network group. Wait times all over 30 minutes.
2. Their backbone connection (Digital Express) has gone down a couple of
times and tends to be a bit slow for my liking but this is just my personal
preference as a gamer. I did however call just to document my whining.
Wait time of over 30 minutes.
3. Starting around the end of March I noticed a problem with both
connectability (is that a word?) and performance. I called the tech
support group and after being informed of a 45+ minute wait time I hung up
figuring they were aware of the problem.
4. Within the past month connectablility has been a challenge. Again, I
called the tech support group and after being informed of a 45+ minute wait
time I hung up figuring they were aware of the problem.
5. Within the past 8 days I have been unable to connect 5 out of 8 days
(not times, days). Each time I called and was notified that the wait was
45+ minutes so I just hung up and played FreeCell.
6. Tonight I decided to wait for a technician and after 35 minutes managed
to get through. The technician was great (they ALL have been great) and
informed me that Southwestern Bell has a class "C" license for their DHCP
customers. Because of the demand and because some of their users have
managed to find away to get blocks of those numbers, they have been unable
to allow all of their users online during "peak" times. This problem has
been going on since March 31st and that explains my connectability issues I
have been experiencing.
Conclusion: Being computer geek by profession I asked around and
discovered that 6 of my peers have been ADSL customers of Southwestern
Bell. 4 of those 7 have broken their contracts and changed ISP's, 1 has
been getting the run around for three weeks trying to sign up and is
unhappy already, and finally 1 is happy as a clam.
After being unable to connect last night I called this morning to what the
cost would be to break my contract and change providers. I was passed back
and forth between the ADSL order line, and the ISP side of Southwester Bell
and ended up talking with 8 different people. I was told various fees
(between $33 and $200 dollars), that my contract was up on various days
(between May 21st "order date" and July 14th "installation date").
After talking with the technician tonight (see problem #6) I plan on
calling Southwestern Bell first thing tomorrow and have them let me out of
my contract as they have not been providing the service that was agreed
upon.
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