Anybody else suffer through the incompetence that is Qwest/CenturyLink?

[abbeyco]

Honestly, that they call themselves "service oriented" is the most pathetic thing I've ever heard. After spending over an hour on the phone earlier this week to have my DSL speed upgraded, they never wrote the service order for it and when I called back today, when the service was supposed to be live, I found out that the service order was never written. It took being transferred to 3 different people only to find they could write an order immediate and try to get it handled by the middle of next week. No explanation of why the first contact couldn't/didn't handle the request but they'd be happy to now write the order for me.

The only other game in town is to change to Comcast and I'll never, ever switch to them. After having been a customer for over 25 years, you'd think they could get a simple order right but no, they manage to bungle the smallest of things, leaving me to wonder why I spent nearly 75 minutes on the phone earlier this week.

I'm keeping my current speed as I can't justify paying them more for the privilege of being treated like crap. They're great a apologizing but as far as service execution, they absolutely suck.

What's your experience with them been like?

[tularetom]

1. I switched to Qwest when they refused to divulge customer info to the Bush admin

I had AT&T long distance service before that but when AT&T caved to the Homeland Security request for call info, I switched to Qwest who told them to get hosed.

The service was OK as long as Qwest was in charge. In fact it's still OK but the price immediately went way up when century link bought out Qwest. Consequently I'm a bit disappointed.

Keep in mind I don't have internet or local phone service through them, just long distance.

Right now I'm looking at other options including phone service through cable modem or jsut shit canning land line service and relying on my cell phone 100%.

[abbeyco]

4. I have Vonage thru my DSL and have been happy with that

But it would work better if I had the higher speed. I'd look at doing phone through your cable modem as it's a nice change and after 4 years, I have yet to have an issue with Vonage - everything is related to my DSL.

Good luck as I've got several friends who only do their cell phone 100% and they haven't looked back!

[Gus2525]

2. Abbey, I have a Centurylink story for you. I have Verizon wireless Mifi internet service which is

a bit slow on you tube video here in the mountains of Va. I have a Centurylink landline and wanted the DSL service. My neighbors and I have been told for years that it is unavailable where we live, despite being inundated with mail ads for the service. I received a call one evening from Centurylink asking if I wanted to get their DSL. I said sure. I gave them all the info and played along. Them before I hung up I stated that I didn't really think the service was in place. She again checked my address and assured me I would get the service the next night at 7 P.M. I went and dropped $100 for a modum, and was sure to keep the receipt. The next night... of course, no service. Called service, and they couldn't figure it out. Two days later they ran a check, and sure enough, no infrastructure to support service. THEY initiated the call. TOLD me I would get service, and didn't even know it wasn't available! Yep, more than incompetent.
Oh ya. The landline phone # they gave me, it was a medical fax number previously. We have continued to get 10-15 fax calls all hours of the day and night. Needless to say, I gave the poor guy I spoke to about the problem plenty of sh*%^#@t.

[abbeyco]

5. Qwest has pulled that same stunt in the Colorado mountain towns

My former boss lived 40 miles west of Denver and while she could get phone service, the infrastructure for DSL ended about 1 mile from her home. I left her employ 7 years ago and she's still having the same thing as you - incessant calls and mailings about their DSL service and each time she orders it, it's the same crap sandwich: oops, we don't yet have the infrastructure built out to get you online with us. The merger w/CenturyLink was supposed to get the infrastructure build fast-tracked but it's still 2-3 years out.

I'm stunned but shouldn't be surprised that they're in the business of selling what they can't actually deliver - it seems the way of lots of "service" companies these days.

[Sedona]

3. Twice been dis'ed by Century Link

I run a small real estate office. Six VOIP phone lines, voice mail, call forwarding etc etc. and high speed wireless with a local provider. The local guys are great as an ISP but suck at VIOP. They just can't get us consistant service that doesn't drop out. It's been making my life at work miserable on and off for months. The local guys are trying, they're nice guys, but fail to give us what we need for more than a few weeks before they have to change out some piece of equipment or "put us on another tower" whatever that means.

So I call Century link a month ago and tell them I want to switch back to hard line phones. I need $1000 worth of equipment and in the neighborhood of $400 a month in services. I spent an HOUR on the phone explaining exactly what we need and I'm told someone will get back to me. No one ever did.

So two weeks ago I call them again. They have no record of my phone call from two weeks before. So I spend ANOTHER HOUR being passed around to three other reps before they find me the person who supposedly can help me. All along I have to explain my needs to each person I speak to. I tell the last guy our needs and expectations and he says great, he can do all that, but I'm on my own finding the equipment and getting a tech to install it and making sure it is compatable with thier services. He's said he was going to work up an order and call me back the next day. He never did. I had his direct line and extension so the following day I left him a voice mail, still no response.

At no time did I treat any of these people with anything less than complete respect, I have excellent customer service and communication skills. I even treat the people who work for me like my clients. Everyone gets service with a smile. They had no reason to blow me off other than they couldn't be bothered to follow up on a $4800 a year account. I guess we're too small potatos to matter.

So, it's about time for my VOIP to start spazzing out again, I expect it at every moment, on every one of the hundreds of calls I make or take every week.

I thought the break up of the Bell companies 30 years ago was supposed to create competition. There is no other company offering hard line telephone service in my community.

(edited because my typing skills leave a bit to be desired)


Now what?

[abbeyco]

6. Throwing away business with both hands -

how absolutely pathetic is that?! My final conversation today was with a supervisor in their Business Office (whatever that means) and while she was nice, she couldn't explain the how they could screw up something so basic. Are you dealing with their Business vs. Residential group? I've heard that's supposed to make a difference but in your case, it sounds like it doesn't matter - they can just simply afford to throw away business, must be nice, huh?

I told them I'd blog, Facebook and Tweet about this and while my ex, who works for them, is a FB friend, I'm not going to hold back - they need to hear clearly and loudly that their lack of service is costing them business.

Like you, I've been very polite as it's easier to get help when behaving nicely, I did keep commenting on how much time I'd spent on the various calls and that I wasn't going to be investing anymore time being treated like they didn't care. Apologies are sure nice, but they're a dime a dozen and they still don't get the problem fixed.

I wish you luck and wish I had a solution for you!

[pnwest]

7. Qwest is the single worst business entity I have

ever had the misfortune to do business with. I had Qwest in AZ. I have actually made decisions on what apartment complex to choose based on if they had Qwest cable or someone else. Every time you call them, it is a 90 minute commitment, you are transferred to 6 different people, nothing is done correctly, customer reps promise the moon and fail to deliver. I started with them before I was married, and after I married I could not get them to change my name on my account for 2 1/2 years until I dropped them , but that's the very least of my story with them. There are no words to adequately describe the incompetence of that company, and how much I hate Qwest.

[anti-alec]

8. And Centurylink refused to upgrade our line to 40/5 when my dad less than 3 blocks away got one..

I didn't understand why.