WHY AT&T BROADBAND SUCKS MY ASS. -- by seanrox
It's a intrepid tale of inadequacy and severe case of customer service "I don't give a shit".

So it ends... The new cable modem came out of the box swiftly, power, ethernet, and cable connected within seconds. Pop the browser open. Hallelujah! Google! After NINE days of hell, this webdesign.geek was free to live once again. You would think replacing a simple piece of hardware would be easy. Not so.... not with the reich of AT&T Broadband Customer Service. This isn't the full story just bits and pieces... Wednesday... SUPPORT So, last weekend, my broadband modem just stops working. No "cable" light. The line is good, and everything else is cool. I need a new modem. Sounds simple enough... muhahahaha. No. I make my way thru the 5 minute maze of telephone menus to get to customer support. They answer, and walk me thru the same ol' "do this, then that" stuff, then agree, yep the modem is busted. I need a new one. We try to schedule to get someone out... someone will call me the next day from local DISPATCH to set-up an appointment. Thursday... NO DISPATCH PHONECALL DAYONE. I wait for my phonecall... no one calls, so I call SUPPORT to find out what's up. They don't know, they can't call dispatch. So, I call the other two other possible departments in AT&T (BILLING & MOVING) to see if I can get some help. A lady in BILLING says she can set up an appointment for next Wednesday. Next Wednesday!?!?!?!?! Are you kidding me? That's 7 days!!!!! Worse: my appointment window is from 8am-8pm!!!! She tells me that DISPATCH *will* still call me, and this date will be a just a back-up appointment.... Friday... WRONG! DAY TWO. Friday now... no phonecall from DISPATCH. I call support again. I'm told, "you have an appointment for next Wednesday, they won't call you!" HUH? BILLING screwed me!!! They confirm that as well. I'm screwed til Wednesday... "nothing you can do sir". Saturday/Sunday... withdrawls from dependency DAYS THREE & FOUR. Never realized how deep-seated the Internet has become in my daily existence. No phonebook, no IM/Email, no file-download, no news-on-demand, no TV schedules, no streaming music, no blogging, no web design, no sending out proposals, no trivia-solving, no mindless websurfing, no shopping, no paying bills online... basically, except for work, I was a single, tech-junkie drying out after a 9 year online binge. I was useless, and meandering thru my daily life without direction. I tried to read a book I've been meaning to read and watch DVDs as well... then wanted to cross-reference... couldn't-- no web. It was like "half" an experience. Lord knows how I made it thru the weekend. Monday...CHECK-IN DAY FIVE. Feeling it was my duty, I go thru the phone menu olympics to SUPPORT to ensure my appointment still exists. I have to tell my story over and over again... cable modem this and that. The appointment exists still. Good. Tuesday... CHECK-IN NERVOUS DAY SIX. Same thing... "cable modem, cable modem, cable modem"... appointment set for tomorrow 8am-8pm. sheesh. Wednesday... ARRIVAL??? DAY SEVEN. I awake early to ensure I don't sleep thru the door-knock.... Long day. I call SUPPORT a couple times to ensure that someone will come out today to replace my cable modem. They assure me everything is cool. 7pm rolls around, I'm getting nervous. I call SUPPORT again. They assure me everything is cool. Few minutes after 7pm, technician at the door!!!! Excited, I run down to the door. The tech asks, "cable TV?". I say, "actually cable modem". We turns around and walks away saying, "I don't do that." Wrong guy. WHAT!?!?!?!?!?! SEVEN days plus the 11 hours I've waited on that day, and they sent the wrong guy! This dick was so useless, he wouldn't even try to call DISPATCH to get someone over that *could* help me. Told me to call SUPPORT. (Might I mention, I'm livid at this time, ready to punch ANYONE?) Support gets a piece of my mind... I get thru to support to tell my tale... "Steve" in Utah is useless to help me deal with DISPATCH. He looks at my information and tells me that I had been signed up for "CABLE TV installation"!!!! What? I have a cable modem issue! "Sorry, sir" guess someone messed up. I guess so!!!! Not only could Steve in Utah not get ahold of DISPATCH... he wouldn't connect me with his supervisor "James" (whom has no last name, Steve tells me), but also tells me that "this is the way it is". Wrong thing to tell me. Steve in Utah received the brunt piece of my mind... mostly for being a dumb-ass... I knew he couldn't really help me.... and that's the frustrating part. AT&T is a pile of redtape shit that empowers NONE of it's employees to really help the customer. AT&T sucks my ass. Anyway, I got an appointment for Friday (two days later)... 3 hour window (instead of 12hours).... the guy came and I'm up. I will get my revenge. Just you wait.