Love/hate Earthlink tech support

[skeptic53]

Kinda off-topic (or reverse topic?) but I gotta vent:

This AM our DSL was out. Rebooted the computer, zip. Shut off the modem, restarted it, zip. Reset the modem, zip. Reset the router, zip. Removed the router, zip. Checked the phone line, it's OK. The DSL sync light would go out, then blink, then steady for a bit, then repeat the sequence.

Called tech support, mainly to learn if the problem was area-wide, therefore just a matter of waiting. It wasn't.

Now I know techs have scripts they follow that have been tested for efficiency, but still.

I went through 3 escalating levels of techs, each of whom had me do *ALL* the things the previous techs had done. The second tech had me go to the command prompt and type in a command to reset the IP, but he dictated it to me incorrectly. He had a thick accent, I went over it letter-by-letter, he said "P as in Paul" when it should have been "T as in Tom". I asked several times as .pxt seemed very odd in a command. He also said forward slash and indicated it was on the ? key, should have been back slash. This led to the third tech.

I had to move the desk, crawl under and swap the ethernet cable end-for-end, find & install a new telephone cord, run down to the garage one floor below and plug the modem directly into the phone box, plus go through every computer diagnostic test and reset I've ever seen, including resetting the IP with the correct command.

The problem in the end? The DSL signal was too weak & unsteady. They turned it up, and boom, problem fixed.

Elapsed time: 2-1/2 hours.

On the plus side: The problem got fixed, no on-site tech needed, the three techs were polite and friendly, very willing to spell commands letter by letter with confirming "..as in.." words, and it took less than a day. And I'm aware that the 3rd tech having me repeat what the 2nd tech had me do corrected the error dictated by the 2nd tech, but I think his erroneous command had no effect one way or the other. And I'm well aware some people are on hold 2.5 hours before even talking to a tech.

I just wish they'd tried turning up the DSL signal earlier in the sequence.

[bean]

Kinda off-topic (or reverse topic?) but I gotta vent:
He also said forward slash and indicated it was on the ? key, should have been back slash. This led to the third tech.

Actually, that IS the forward slash. Hate to tell ya

[iridios]

Actually, that IS the forward slash. Hate to tell ya

However, most commands in DOS use the backslash which is on a different key, usually right above the enter key.

I think the OP meant that the tech told him the completely wrong key when describing the backslash.

[skeptic53]

However, most commands in DOS use the backslash which is on a different key, usually right above the enter key.

I think the OP meant that the tech told him the completely wrong key when describing the backslash.

Yup, he was telling me where the forward slash key was, when the command actually needed the back slash. I asked him about this, too. "Are you sure it's supposed to be forward slash?" "Yes, it's on the key with the question mark".

He also called c: "Cee dot dot"

I asked "You mean 'Cee colon'?" He replied "Cee dot dot!"

I don't know a lot of DOS but I've never seen "c.." in a command, so I typed c:

[ThinMick]

Kind of reminds me of the time I called Comcast (after their DNS had been down for more than a day) and I asked the tech for the IP address of a working Comcast DNS. His response? "There's no way I can give you that. That changes with every call." ...

So, now that I was quite sure he was not a tech before they hired him (It happens a lot, here. That's not an insult, it's an observation.) I asked to speak to a Level 2 tech. He then said he was a Level 2 tech and hung up on me. ... ++

I finally went downstairs and looted the name cache on the router until I found what I was looking for. (Gods bless Slackware!)

Only bad exerience I've ever had with Comcast tech support. Usually, I can ask a clear and simple question, get a clear and simple answer, and I'm off the phone in under five minutes.

[Broomjockey]

I don't know a lot of DOS but I've never seen "c.." in a command, so I typed c:

Doesn't c.. go back up a level in the directory?

For instance, you were at C:\Documents\MyFolder>
typing c.. would take you to C:\Documents> ?

[LostMyMind]

that would be cd..

Short for change directory

[JustADude]

Sucky Mediacom Tech

On the topic of bad support, I just signed up with MediaCom's 10mbps connection when I moved into my new place, and they've been having a few problems. Mostly nothing too big, just a few outages around 3-4am, which I figured were for maintnance/upgrades. Today (yesterday now, I guess), though, my modem/router completely stoped working. First time it goes out, I call and they have me do a reset, which I had forgotten to try . Thumbs up for the script there.

A few hours later it goes out again,though: power light and the 4 physical LAN connection lights are the only things on... and I only had 1 comp hardwired in, which is saying 'cable unpluged'. I check the cable, power-cycle it, and then reset before calling the techs. The guy on the other end kept giving me the dumbass solutions and ended up schedualing a tech to come out. The kicker... he kept saying he didn't think the modem was the issue. Me, I think the sucker had a burnout.

[BravoOrig]

Well there are good and bad techs everywhere. Some only know how to answer the phone. Were you able to do a reset and fix the problem, or is it still left for a field tech to come out? In this case I'd say it's the gateway having a problem, same as I would tell you if you had a Linksys router doing the same. It maybe a policy that a tech has to come out and replace the gateway, whereas with just a regular cablemodem, it can be swapped at the local office.
BravoOrig

On the topic of bad support, I just signed up with MediaCom's 10mbps connection when I moved into my new place, and they've been having a few problems. Mostly nothing too big, just a few outages around 3-4am, which I figured were for maintnance/upgrades. Today (yesterday now, I guess), though, my modem/router completely stoped working. First time it goes out, I call and they have me do a reset, which I had forgotten to try . Thumbs up for the script there.

A few hours later it goes out again,though: power light and the 4 physical LAN connection lights are the only things on... and I only had 1 comp hardwired in, which is saying 'cable unpluged'. I check the cable, power-cycle it, and then reset before calling the techs. The guy on the other end kept giving me the dumbass solutions and ended up schedualing a tech to come out. The kicker... he kept saying he didn't think the modem was the issue. Me, I think the sucker had a burnout.

[JustADude]

Well there are good and bad techs everywhere. Some only know how to answer the phone. Were you able to do a reset and fix the problem, or is it still left for a field tech to come out? In this case I'd say it's the gateway having a problem, same as I would tell you if you had a Linksys router doing the same. It maybe a policy that a tech has to come out and replace the gateway, whereas with just a regular cablemodem, it can be swapped at the local office.
BravoOrig

Nope, it's likely completely fried. I tried again and when I was doing the reset I noticed The Burnt Smell Of Doom coming from it. Oh, and the tech refused to believe the gateway could be the problem. He kept insisting it was my computer.

[BravoOrig]

Just call in early morning or late night, the lines are open 24/7. The most they'd have to do is sched a tech to come out, and let the tech decide. If you insist on have a technician come out, I most likely would schedule one for you, but first warn you that there could be a trip charge if the tech finds nothing wrong. Not necessarily in your case, but for the calls where I've troubleshot everything, and it has to be your computer, I'll warn you of that. Once you've been warned, and you still want them out to your house, it's your money and your time. I think in this case, best to sched a tech to swap it. All LAN lights on the gateway being on, would not be due to your pc. PM me your email address and this once, I'll see what I can do.

[JustADude]

Well, the tech came out today and guess what? I was right, it was burnt out; turns out these are a brand new model, and they've been doing that frequently. The guy hooked up the new box and I was back online in 10 minutes. No clue what burnt out, but it's great to be back on my big connection. Yay Deathmatch.

[BravoOrig]

Well atleast someone listened. The rule is 95% of the time, your connectivity issues are not because of the modem. Most of the time it's a signal issue. Obviously for you, it was the modem, the lights wouldn't act like that due to a signal issue, or a pc issue. Like anything electronic though, it's either crap out of the box, or will last for years, till lightning strikes. If you have trouble getting to sites, such as Yahoo or any others, and it takes you to Seeq.com, there's a simple fix. Login to the SMC gateway interface, I forget the correct 192 ip, and go to the LAN section, and you'll see something like "mygateway.net" as the domain name, change it to mchsi.com and it should work after that. Stupid SMC people.

Well, the tech came out today and guess what? I was right, it was burnt out; turns out these are a brand new model, and they've been doing that frequently. The guy hooked up the new box and I was back online in 10 minutes. No clue what burnt out, but it's great to be back on my big connection. Yay Deathmatch.

[starla671]

Earthlink Support

I've had my fair share of headaches with them too. Don't get me wrong, the reps are really nice, but some of them have such thick accents that when they talk fast, it's hard to understand what they're saying.

[ebonyknight]

I cringe everytime I call for some kind of support and I hear an Indian accent with an American name. Jeez, you ain't foolin anyone.

I have had MORE than my share of incompetents. You know what the kicker is? My GF is Indian and couldn't agree with me more.