Our DSL has been down since June 24. Our home phone has also been down because we use VOIP over that DSL line.
The service and support I have received from Speakeasy.net over this issue has been so dismal that I have cancelled our service with them, and we are moving to Comcast cable internet.
On June 24, I came back from lunch to find the DSL light out on the modem and no service. I called the support line and they next-day shipped a new modem because in their diagnosis, that seemed to be the problem. Next day, new modem, still no service.
Now the fun began. Speakeasy subcontracts with COVAD for the DSL service in our area, and Verizon owns the lines. It turns out that the phone line, somewhere between the pole and the switching station was at fault – a break or something. This happened once last year as well, and took over a week to get back up. The explanation they gave is that sometimes squirrels chew through the wires.
So, over the last week, I have been repeatedly promised a resolution within 24 hours. And those promises have not been kept. Supposedly, the issue was escalated, but still nothing changed.
In reviewing the support record online, I saw a pattern of miscommunication of account IDs, line codes, etc. between the three vendors involved – basically a blame game where noone really cared that my DSL and phone were OUT COMPLETELY. This morning when I looked, the latest update said that we wouldn’t even expect another update until July 14… 2 1/2 weeks after I lost service. Here are excerpts from the latest entry:
Verified and found Verizon has accepted our order and issued a FOC date for 07/11/08.
We will follow with Verizon and next update the ticket by COB 17:00hrs 07/14/2008 as service delivery and Verizon remains closed on weekends.
I immediately cancelled the service. My only other real option is Comcast (because Verizon is the other DSL provider in the area, and it’s their line, so I wasn’t confident it would even work). I asked for expedited installation, and they are scheduled to come out on Tuesday, July 8, almost a week sooner than I would even get an update from Speakeasy. And the service is cheaper – and supposed to be faster – than the service I was getting from Speakeasy.
So, if Comcast does a decent job, we should have our internet up again on Tuesday. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Then I’ll probably order VOIP from them as well. Oh, and the phone number wouldn’t transfer, so that’s another annoyance.
In summary, I went with Speakeasy because they were a boutique DSL service that catered to techies and crowed about their personal service. And they can’t even tell me when my DSL will be up again.
AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!
