Thursday, October 14
Worst ISP Update
A while back, I tried to start a Google Bomb for my nominee for Worst ISP, Time Warner's Road Runner service. It never really took off, as you can see from the Google search below. Up until recently, they have been my only choice for Broadband Internet Access at my house.
Well not any more, SBC is offering DSL in my neighborhood now. Looks like after all the efforts I went to in getting rid of their telemarketing calls, I will now have to investigate going to their services. Funny how things work out.
See on September 26, 2004 my Cable Modem from the Worst ISP started working really slowly. So I called their tech support. I'm the only house on my node, so I should have really fast speed. Instead I was testing at 200-300 kbps. (I should be running at 1.5 Mbps or higher.) After nearly an hour of testing, which required me to disassemble my network and attach a laptop directly to the cable modem, the tech told me that there was a problem with my line, and a tech could come out on Saturday to fix it for me. This is the third time that the line has died at my house, so I was pretty upset, but figured I could work things out with them. On Saturday the tech showed up on time and was very nice. He informed me that I was getting, "Corrected Bits" from the head end of things, which were at their Central Office (CO) and the problem woudl be corrected by Sunday night. Still kinda peeved, but I guess I can wait one more day. So come Sunday night, things are not working, I call tech support again. They tell me that there is not a problem at my end, but that the cable at my house is good, and a cable tech will be out in 7-10 days to replace the cable. When I asked why that differed from what the tech told me, they said I probably misunderstood. Keep in mind that I'm an MCSE/CCNA and work on networks day in and out, so I'm not just some Clueless Fuck that got a cable modem, I actually can troubleshoot problems like this easily. Customer Service is closed on Sunday nights. So I'll call them on Monday and see what they have to say, maybe I can get their current introductory rate of $29.99 for six months out of the debacle. At least then I could get something for my lost time, and not being able to work at home for at least two weeks. Monday comes, keep in mind that this is the 9th day in which I've had service interruptions and poor performance. The customer service rep I spoke with was nice, but about as useless as a Football Bat. There was nothing he could do for me except give me two weeks credit, and by the way, the tech on Sunday was wrong about the cable guys coming out, since the ticket was started on the weekend, it wouldn't get into the system till late Monday, so it would be 7-10 days from Tuesday till things got back up and runnig.
Sorry, TWC, as a certified Uber Geek, I can no longer recommend your services as I have in the past. Your service is so rotten I can't begin to describe it's stench.
Oh, and feel free to add the Worst ISP link to your Blog/Web page, it is never too late to get a Google Bomb up and running.
Current Monthly Cost of TWC Cable Modem at 1.5 Mbps - $49.99 Plus Tax (Roughly $52.00)
Current Monthly Cost of SBC DSL at 1.5 Mbps - $26.95
Current Monthly Cost of SBC DSL at 3.0 Mbps - $36.99
Plus SBC will throw in 4 movie tickets, a $32 value where I live now. Hmm... What should I do...
Google Search: worst isp
Well not any more, SBC is offering DSL in my neighborhood now. Looks like after all the efforts I went to in getting rid of their telemarketing calls, I will now have to investigate going to their services. Funny how things work out.
See on September 26, 2004 my Cable Modem from the Worst ISP started working really slowly. So I called their tech support. I'm the only house on my node, so I should have really fast speed. Instead I was testing at 200-300 kbps. (I should be running at 1.5 Mbps or higher.) After nearly an hour of testing, which required me to disassemble my network and attach a laptop directly to the cable modem, the tech told me that there was a problem with my line, and a tech could come out on Saturday to fix it for me. This is the third time that the line has died at my house, so I was pretty upset, but figured I could work things out with them. On Saturday the tech showed up on time and was very nice. He informed me that I was getting, "Corrected Bits" from the head end of things, which were at their Central Office (CO) and the problem woudl be corrected by Sunday night. Still kinda peeved, but I guess I can wait one more day. So come Sunday night, things are not working, I call tech support again. They tell me that there is not a problem at my end, but that the cable at my house is good, and a cable tech will be out in 7-10 days to replace the cable. When I asked why that differed from what the tech told me, they said I probably misunderstood. Keep in mind that I'm an MCSE/CCNA and work on networks day in and out, so I'm not just some Clueless Fuck that got a cable modem, I actually can troubleshoot problems like this easily. Customer Service is closed on Sunday nights. So I'll call them on Monday and see what they have to say, maybe I can get their current introductory rate of $29.99 for six months out of the debacle. At least then I could get something for my lost time, and not being able to work at home for at least two weeks. Monday comes, keep in mind that this is the 9th day in which I've had service interruptions and poor performance. The customer service rep I spoke with was nice, but about as useless as a Football Bat. There was nothing he could do for me except give me two weeks credit, and by the way, the tech on Sunday was wrong about the cable guys coming out, since the ticket was started on the weekend, it wouldn't get into the system till late Monday, so it would be 7-10 days from Tuesday till things got back up and runnig.
Sorry, TWC, as a certified Uber Geek, I can no longer recommend your services as I have in the past. Your service is so rotten I can't begin to describe it's stench.
Oh, and feel free to add the Worst ISP link to your Blog/Web page, it is never too late to get a Google Bomb up and running.
Current Monthly Cost of TWC Cable Modem at 1.5 Mbps - $49.99 Plus Tax (Roughly $52.00)
Current Monthly Cost of SBC DSL at 1.5 Mbps - $26.95
Current Monthly Cost of SBC DSL at 3.0 Mbps - $36.99
Plus SBC will throw in 4 movie tickets, a $32 value where I live now. Hmm... What should I do...
Google Search: worst isp
Number of people who will never get their time back from reading this page:
