http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21850956 en Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:45:40 EDT Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:45:40 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21850956 anon : I had Speakeasy since Dec 2001 when we moved to Manassas. Got 384Kbps SDLS service, with 4 static IP and a SLA. Before they were purchased by Best Buy, their customer service was kind-of decent.

I did not had to call them many times.

First it was to activate my e-mail account (they forgot to do that). Got resolved in 3 minutes.

Second time to get my 4 IPs re-assigned because they were scattered all over. Never got a resolution, but some lame excuses, if I remember correctly. It was mentioned that if I would be willing to pay some unbelievable amount that "could possibly get resolved". Dropped it, since their offer was unbelievably expensive.

Third time is now - Jan / Feb 2009 - (after they got purchased by "Best" Buy) and it's awful.

12 days ago I noticed I could not ping the gateway. I power-cycled and then checked every switch and router inside my house. All was OK. Power-cycled the DSL modem. No change to the situation. Called their tech support. John Givins pretended he ran tests (did not revealed in detail what he wad doing) and determined the modem is at fault. Arranged I'd be sent a DSL router as a replacement. Got the DSL router not overnight, as I should have, but 3 days after (partially because bad weather - can not blame Speakeasy here). However, the power supply would not match the router. Complained about that. Got a second power supply re-sent "overnight".

After 7 days I finally got a compatible power supply and DSL router. Plugged those in. Still no connectivity.

Called Speakeasy again. This time Jenn ran tests with me again. Jenn's theory, confirmed later by Covad, was that the noise on the line is out of acceptable limits.

Jenn suggested I stay at home during the week-end, since the phone company might come during the week-end to fix the problematic loop, because it seems it is a cable problem between the CO and my house.

Of course, the phone company (Verizon) reps did not show up during the week-end. Nobody contacted me for 3 days. When I finally called then after 11 days they are pointing the finger at Covad, and Covad is pointing the finger at Verizon.

After "guessing" the wrong answer (till I have a reason to believe otherwise, my modem is fine), sending me the wrong equipment and saying "sorry", they finally are escalating the case. 11 days after I opened the case.

However, there is no end in sight, since Verizon (Speakeasy's competitor) are dragging their feet and did not get involved yet. And Speakeasy - which is providing a *fake* SLA (99% speed "guarantee") does not seem to care too much.

Meanwhile we had bad weather and I had to stay at home. Would I have had DSL available, I could have worked from home. Since I did not had this, I had to take 2 days of vacation, since I could not work from home.

I can not do research from home and I am losing time and money just because of that.

Seven days out of this delay are directly attributable to John Givins, who does not know his job! Jenn made me believe that by today (Monday) things would get resolved. I am paying over $100 / month for a business type of service to receive poor customer service and excuses. Not a good deal, if you ask me!

*Stay away* from "the new" Speakeasy, that is my advice!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21850956 Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:27:18 EDT