June 17, 2001
High Speed Nothing
So at the end of April, I ordered DSL service from my current ISP,Earthlink. I was informed that the service would start on May 18th and that the installation was simple and easy. The modem arrived in 2 days and they were correct, installing it and the NIC card was a snap. On May 18th I tried the DSL modem and I was unable to connect. I called Earthlink and they said that it would be fixed in 4-7 business days and if it wasn't to call back then.
Six calls later and numerous emails, I am still dialing up with my 56K modem and there is no resolution in sight. The most recent email from Earthlink is that they think the modem is bad and needs to be replaced. I remain unconvinced. I feel very confident that when I receive the new modem in about 2 weeks, the service will still be unavailable.
All of this I can understand, even forgive. What is more concerning to me is the very low level of customer support and the lack of concern on the part of Earthlink to get this resolved. At one point I asked that they get it fixed and call me back. I was flat out told that this was not an option. Being an advocate for the customer experience, I asked why. The answer was, "If we did that, there would be thousands of calls to make and lots of people calling in would not be helped because we would always be on the phone calling people back." Hmmmm, an interesting thought. My take on that is that there is something wrong with the process then. Why are so many people experiencing problems?
Well, not a whole lot I can do about it besides finish writing the letter that I have drafted to the CEO, Director of Technical Support and other sundry executives within the company, cc'ing their competitors and advocate groups, right?