AT&T’s Fast-Access DSL Service and their Laughable ‘Tech Support’
Here lately, computers and related components have not been very friendly to me. As I reported earlier, I recently got a new laptop computer. Everything is fine in that regard. Now, I’m having major problems with my DSL connection….and this isn’t the first time. My service is with AT&T(formerly Bellsouth). When it works, it works well. When problems arise, good luck.
First of all, I’ve had an on-going problem with this connection. 95% of the time, everything’s great. But everytime it rains or the sky gets cloudy, I lose the connection. I’ve had multiple AT&T technicians here at different times, and none of them can figure out why. And the worst part is, calling “tech support”. After holding forEVER, you finally get someone who speaks very broken English. I’m all for diversity, but heck, if I call tech support, I’m already frustrated. Connecting me to someone I can’t understand doesn’t help the situation. Then, you have to go through the same old song and dance everytime. I don’t need to check to make sure my ethernet line is plugged in to the wall. Their tech support apparently have no special skills. They are obviously reading what they are telling you, some sort of flow chart I suppose. If you try to ask a question, they are completely lost.
After calling and going through the whole phone episode, the technician came by when I wasn’t home. He left a message that he couldn’t find any problem with it. REALLY? Then why is the connection still down? Why is the little light on the modem red instead of green? Of course, he didn’t leave a way for me to call him. The only way to contact AT&T is through their help desk.
Today, my connection seems to be staying up for the first time in 3 or 4 days. However, I’ve gotten zero emails. I generally get quite a few everyday, and have gotten nothing for several days, so I know there’s still a problem. If you’ve tried to contact me in the past 4/5 days, please forgive me for not responding. I’m not bothering with AT&T tech support again. I’m not wasting 30 minutes waiting to talk to someone who is clueless. I believe my time with AT&T is quickly coming to a close.
Moving on to a New Broadband Provider
Choosing a new provider is not something I’m really looking forward to. However, the experience with AT&T has given me a new understanding of just what I’m looking for in an internet provider. Some of the questions I’ll ask before signing up for a new service might be…
- If a problem arises, who can I call for help?
- Do they speak fluent English?
- How much is the service, with all the gimmicks aside?(I’m not so concerned with the introductory rate for the first 3 months)
- If I need a technician to come to my house, how fast can I expect that to happen?
I’m done now. Thanks for reading 
My own experience with AT&T’s tech support in regards to DSL was similar … I’ve gotten Indian call centers before but the folks I spoke with at AT&T had accents that made me wonder if AT&T had opened a call center in Puerto Rico. It was nothing but thick, Ricky Ricardo-by-way-of-Al-Pacino-in-Scarface Latin accents.
Take a look at Speakeasy and see if you can get their DSL service. Also who is the cable provider in your area? Do they offer high-speed Internet.
At least you haven’t had to use DirecPath
hi Brian,
I’ll be sure to look into Speakeasy. I’ve not heard a lot about them around here. Here in Tupelo, the cable provider is Comcast, and I may go that route. If I do that, I’ll probably ditch my Dish Network service, and both DSL and telephone from AT&T.
You’re description of the tech support accent is spot on…..makes me wonder if we talked to the same person, hehehe.
I’ve had a few connection problems in the past … drives me nuts. I’ve got a backup 56k modem account just in case (not that you can do much at that speed - except emergency surgery to your sanity).
I’ve also seen smaller independent networks go down for exactly one entire day a few times - which happens when they don’t get the check to the line provider in time.
Hey Shane. My AT&T account has a back-up 56k connection as well, however I haven’t bothered with it. As a matter of fact, out of 3 pc’s in my house, I don’t think I have a modem installed on any of them. At 56k, Gmail probably wouldn’t load.
Hi Anthony! Well isn’t this a surprise? I actually stopped by to get help with one of your themes I’ve been messing up, and here you are talking about the same issue I wrote about in a TWO part series about the woes of Att DSL and my constant switching back and forth to cable internet depending on who makes me more disgusted.
Anyway in that first piece it’s about price and how to test your speed. But I’ll hurry up and write part two. Which is about technical stuff and how to get a GOOD connection from them since this seems to be your issue.
Dave
Cool Dave, I’ll look forward to reading it!
I just wanted to let you know that the Comcast cable service in
Nashville is quite good. Compared to ATT getting shot in the head is quite good as well.
I just got into the Blog thing and it’s mostly confusing but I’ll get it done eventually. I’m using your Darkwater theme (modified) and it’s fantastic compared to the others I tried. Thank you for making it easy for me. I wouldlike to know how to add audio to my site, if you have time to help a super rookie.
Bill, Thanks for the input about Comcast. I still haven’t changed providers at this point, but probably will before long.
As far as the audio thing, I’m probably not the best person to ask about this. I don’t have audio on my site, so I would have to do some research to find out how myself. I know that there are audio players that you can download to put on your site, but I don’t really have any recommendations for you.
I have a problem for the past month with AT&T blocking emails from freeserve.co.uk. After numerous phone calls and emails the problem still exists. Each time I have to go through a litany of “trouble shooting” which is entirely irrelevant to the problem. The “techie” does not listen to the problem no matter how clearly it is expressed. They can only read from a script in very highly accented English and have no clue about what I am talking about. I was told in a phone call ten days ago that the problem would be resolved in 72 hours. Needless to say that was a barefaced lie, like being under fire in Bosnia! I am looking for another ISP>