I apoligize if we have any on-site install technicians here on the Forum, but I don't have much respect for that field.
Having worked the Tech Support side for 3 Cable Internet Providers (Rogers in Canada, and Roadrunner & Charter in the US) I've seen more abuse and horror stories than miracles and courtesy.
- Service interruptions Lasting weeks and months were regular enough that no one in our Call Centers were surprised, especially our Supervisors who wanted nothing to do with the customers or their "problems".
- I've had incompetant on-site Technicians call our Call Center for support becuase they didn't know what to do with the modem once they arrived at the Customer's house!
- If the technicians did install the modem but encountered a problem, they'd leave and tell the customer they'd be back out tomorrow, but of course they never did and the field notes they left for us to read had no explanation or diagnosis of the problem.
- Oh, and this bit of info is for any of you being serviced by Charter in California (like Fyron): Some of the install technicians like to bring their friends to work with them, along with booze (to make the work go by faster I guess). This isn't a one time occurance. I heard this from customers at least once a week, and from different parts of California. And if you don't get these idiots, you may get the install techs who bang on your door in a very threatening manner and intentionally (and rudely) intimidate the customer and their children. I only worked on the Charter contract for 6 months, but that company is Criminal in almost every area. I won't even bother describing their Sales policies (or lack of them) or support structures. It's mind-boggingly horrible.
Competent on-site Technicians are few and far inbetween. That's one of the reasons why I suggested you record the names and/or ID numbers of each person you have contact with. Use this info to get these techs in trouble. They've shown a lack of understanding of the issue and an unwillingness to follow through. Chances are the Supervisors are bigger idiots than the on-site people too.
These kind of shinnaigans are part of the reason I left my Tech Support job. When no one running these companies cares about the problems being brought to their attention on an hourly basis, then it's time to take my services elsewhere.
Moving onto a less aggrivating topic...
Right now I'm getting my DSL service from Bell Sympatico, and service-wise it's been fine. I've had maybe 2-4 outages in the 4 years I've been with them, and none of the outages Lasted longer than a couple of hours. Unfortunatley they keep raising the bill while not providing any improvments to the service. I'll be switching over to Rogers Cable soon for their Business Lite Service, which will allow me to setup a Server. Not to mention that i'll be paying less that what i'm paying now for Residential Service with Sympatico, and i'll get more webspace, more e-mail address, and more speed. And, for icing on the cake, my mother works for Rogers, so i'll be getting a discount on a Service that was already cheaper than my current one. Bell Canada can take their price hiking practice and cram it up their Nortel modems
