Cutting the cord and falling into the abyss

We received so many unsolicited calls on our land line that we stopped picking up the phone until we knew who the caller was.  Too often, no message was left.

I received almost only junk email on my cpinternet account through our CenturyLink account.  Besides offers of garage door openers and of sex, I received messages in Japanese and Turkish.  Very rarely did an old contact use this account.

Besides, our nominal 7Mbps speed was often under 4Mbps.  We were eligible for an upgrade to 12Mbps, but we had to call an 800 number to find the details.  Once upon a time, Qwest, the predecessor to CenturyLink would state on its website how much 256Kbps, 512Kbps, and 1Mbps would cost, exclusive of taxes and fees.

A digression on telecommunication taxes and fees: the telecommunication companies (telcos) can’t give these accurately because the vary widely from locale to locale and narrowly from month to month.

We also had an iPhone 4s through Virgin Mobile (VM) because we got a deal a few years ago from Best Buy.

Along the way, we started using cell phones through Consumer Cellular: you can’t miss their ads, especially if you are an AARP member.  Consumer Cellular (CC) stated on its website the exact cost of each service and its level that you requested.  You could change these at any time, either up or down.  I eventually bought an iPhone 5s from CC.  They piggy back on the AT&T network (at 3G rather than 4G).  Not only could I use the iPhone in Brimson, but I could use the phone as a hotspot for my iPad or MacBook.

With all of these providers, our total monthly payments seemed to be getting out of hand.  I did a small spreadsheet to compare using only CC instead of multiple providers.  If we bought another CC iPhone, our costs would drop about a thousand dollars per year (not including monthly payments for new phone.  Even then, we would still save hundreds of dollars a year.

One problem was our wireless printer.  How would we access it without our DSL modem?  I pulled the phone cord from the modem and found that the printer still worked.  The DSL modem was our router, even if it was not connected to the phone system.

We ordered a new CC iPhone 5c, and when it arrived, we set it up for my wife’s use.  We could also use it as a hotspot, and so she wouldn’t have to depend on my iPhone if I was elsewhere.  Also, because it worked in Brimson, we could use our phones as walkie-talkies.  We would have much better reception, and nobody else would be listening to our calls.

Except, we couldn’t get her phone to work because we couldn’t transfer the VM number without an account number.  None of our VM bills had an account number, only the phone number.  We had to call VM, and of course, the first person we talked to couldn’t do it.  We were switched to someone who suggested we might get a better deal.  Unmentioned was the cost.  After I don’t know how many minutes, we were told our account number.  Then we called CC with it and they activated my wife’s iPhone.  We didn’t have this hassle when we dropped our land line at our cabin and put it on a Home Base wireless system.

Next step was to call CenturyLink to cancel our phone and DSL.  Again, we were routed to someone who tried selling us faster service.  We declined, and sometime in the next day or two the phone no longer worked, but the modem still accessed the network.

Ah yes, we had separate ISP, CPinternet, from the bad old days when we had only 56Kbps dial-up (56 Kilo bits per second for those too young to remember dial-up).  When we started with QWest at 256Kbps we kept CPInternet as our provider.  CPInternet really had great customer service, too.  Then CPInternet was bought by Hickory Tech of Mankato.  Then Hickory Tech bought Enventis and assumed its name.  Still great customer service.  Then Consolidated Communications of somewhere bought Enventis.  I didn’t have much need to call customer service, until we wanted to cancel our ISP connection.  My first attempt got the automatic wait message of something like “Enventis is now Consolidated Communications”.  On the ninth reiteration of this, I hung up, and tried another time.

Then new problems started, some of them my own doing.

The printer works from my wife’s iMac, but not my MacBook, the one I tested printing from.

I attempted to reset my wife’s old iPhone to erase all our data before recycling it.  It needed the password for her Apple ID.  We thought we knew it, but all the variants we tried were rejected.  I spent over a half-hour with Apple Support trying to resolve it.  Terry cheerfully assured me that he had seen many problems like this. Unfortunately, he had to admit defeat and suggested we take it to a Genius Bar in an Apple Store.

In all my attempts to reset her phone, I picked up my iPhone and clicked reset.  Ah! My Apple ID.  My password worked.  Dummy!  You just reset your own iPhone!

I’m running out of space, but I’ll give the short story on the next problem.  We used up our quota of CC data and were automatically cut off.  I finally figured out that my iPhone was still trying to load the one program that was no longer available from iTunes, over and over and …!

Iiee-
ee-
ee-…

This also was printed in the Reader Weekly of Duluth, 2015-08-20 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2015/08/20/5807_cutting_the_cord_and_falling_into_the_abyss.

Round robin service robbin' my time

I started this entry near the end of May as "Good Service from a Large Corporation" but never finished it or posted it.  The original follows up to the ellipsis (…).

Last week our internet service kept going out.  The "internet" light on our DSL modem would go out, and we couldn't send or receive any data.  We would unplug the modem, wait about five minutes, and replug the modem.  Within a couple of minutes, all the modem lights would be lit normally.  This kept happening more and more frequently.

We attributed it to the wind and the rain that went on for about three days.  But when the weather cleared the problem persisted, maybe with less frequency.

I sent email to our phone company, CenturyLink, with the suggestion that the storm may have been causing the problems.  I received a sympathetic reply from Martina that there was no known problem in our area.  My guess is that few people call up when they have problems that they think will go away.  Martina also suggested that I call a service number or set-up an online chat.

I was reluctant to do so because, with so many companies, one just goes around in circles.  Also we were heading to our cabin that has no DSL.

When we came back on Saturday evening, we still had the problem now and then.  When I woke up in the night, I checked if the internet light was on.  I reset the modem from my iPhone, it came on.  Before I had gone back to bed, the light was off again.  I reset the modem again and went back to bed.  When I got up in the morning, the light was off again; I reset the modem.  Repeat three times within an hour.

I'm not sure when the light finally stayed on, but I called my ISP, Hickory Tech, to hear if they had heard any problems.  The support person who I talked to said there had not been any major problems reported.  He thought, as I did, that the modem may be becoming faulty.

I fussed and fumed about going to the CenturyLink store in the local mall or to Best Buy.  I would do that on Monday.

Meanwhile…

Well, on that following Monday I did nothing about buying a new modem.  Over two weeks later the problem still persists but as I write this sentence the internet light is on.

I think the Monday was Memorial Day, and I knew Best Buy would be open.

On Tuesday after Memorial Day I did have an online chat with Melanie of Boise of CenturyLink.  She did some tests and found that our service had been throttled back.  She wrote "…all I did was go in and correct the provisioned [sic] speeds from 3M to 7M".  I thanked her and told her she deserved a raise.

However, speed has dropped again.  We also had a major power outage last night; see "Taking life for granted".

So, I'm back dithering about buying a new modem.  The ActionTec website recommends the "C1000A for CenturyLink" or the "Q2000 for Century Link".  I went to BestBuy page for the C1000A and looked at customer comments.  Many said that it was simple to install but a few others described exactly the problems I have been having with my DSL modem bought in October 2005 (the date is on one of the line filters).  These comments were made for purchases this year: 2013!  I should shell out a hundred bucks just to have the same problems again?

If some people have no problems at all and some people have problems no matter when they bought their DSL modems, I would say one of two things is happening.  Either the quality of the modems is inconsistent or the quality of the internet service provided by CenturyLink is inconsistent.  Or maybe both.

I didn't feel any better about my quandary when I found out that CenturyLink was rated 14 of the worst 15 companies for customer service by Business Insider.  And replacing telephone service with cable service isn't a good alternative.  Charter is rated 3 in the worst customer service list!!!

See all my other rants about this problem in
Internet service – What free market?
Internet service but not customer service
Who is worth more, the CEO with rigid rules or the employee giving excellent service?
Free market and the Internet
‎

I guess my only recourse is to have a chat with Melanie in Boise every so often to get my provisional speed bumped up again.  She gave the best customer service on this issue of anyone else.

To end on a good note about customer service, see
Why do people pick on the Post Office?

Moving days - web site articles to this blog

I'll be slowly moving my Reader Weekly articles from my web site at http://www.cpinternet.com/~mdmagree to this blog.  I've heard rumbles that CenturyLink wants to be the ISP for all of its DSL customers.  Rather than do any moving in a rush, I'll just start slowly, and hope for the best.

Who is worth more, the CEO with rigid rules or the employee giving excellent service?

For background, see "What Customers Want, Companies That Bend the Rules", Elaine Pofeldt, Forbes, 2012-06-30

How often have you gone around and around with a "help" person following a script?  How often have you gotten above and beyond help that solved your problem in minutes?  I bet in both cases the CEOs got huge salaries that make us wish we had their pay for one year in a bank.  I bet in the first case the person got a meager salary to keep "expenses" down.  I bet in the second case the person was give some free rein in making sure the customer was satisfied.

A friend often wasn't getting my emails.  Sometimes he did, sometimes he didn't.  I went to his house to see what his setting were.  I could find nothing unusual.

I had taken my laptop and tried sending him email.  His provider, CenturyLink, wouldn't let me.  I tried the usual tricks of changing the settings in my mail program, Microsoft Outlook.  Nothing worked.

I called my ISP, Hickory Tech (also CPInternet), and spoke with a knowledgeable person in Minnesota.  He said that CenturyLink blocked access through other ISPs (or something like that).  Almost every time I've called my ISP, I have received helpful service.

I called CenturyLink.  The support person, probably half-way around the world, never understood the problem.  She put me on hold several times to consult with "higher support".  We just went around and around with me repeating the same thing over and over again.  I finally told her that we were getting nowhere and I hung up.

Ironically, my friend is getting all my emails now.  Did "higher support" diddle with something?  We'll never know.

From something I read recently, CenturyLink's call center might be in the Phillipines, now competing on price with India.  I'm rather certain that Hickory Tech's support is in Mankato, Minnesota.  The latter are probably making more in a day than the former in a week or even a month.

Interestingly, if I want to use DSL, my only choice is CenturyLink.  Back from the dialup days, I've been using a local ISP that was bought out by a Minnesota telecommunications company.  I had a choice in selecting the ISP.  I've heard that CenturyLink wants take that choice away.

The size of a company is not always a measure of customer service.  Small companies might ignore customers and big companies might give excellent advice.

When my previous laptop went belly-up, three weeks after the AppleCare contract expired, I went to Best Buy to get a new one.  The Geek Squad took out my old hard drive and sold me a USB case to put it in for use as an external hard drive.

Things went fine until I upgraded to a new OS level.  Suddenly my computer wouldn't recognize the external hard drive, my wife's with an older OS would.  I sent email to the manufacturer of the hard drive case and never received a reply.  I went to Best Buy for another reason and asked about the hard drive.  The Geek Squad employee, the same woman that did the diagnosis on my older computer, told me to check the preferences.  I didn't find it in System Preferences, but I did find it in Finder Preferences – showing external drives in the sidebar was not checked.

Say what you will about Best Buy, but it made a smart move buying The Geek Squad and giving them some latitude in helping customers.