How To Deal With A Bad ISP

Some of you who read this may wonder why anybody would even bother with an ISP that’s bad to begin with. The answer is simple – it’s usually because the customer has no other choice. Most of us have 4 broadband choices, that being cable, DSL, satellite and wireless provider (for an example of a wireless provider, go to www.sprint.com and click “Mobile Broadband Cards.”)

But then there are those who only have one choice for broadband. It’s either the local Telco for DSL or the local cable company. This local ISP knows they’re the only game in town, know they have no local competition, has a call center that treats its customers like absolute crap and couldn’t care less because they know local customers – including you – have no other alternative.

What qualifies as a “bad” ISP? It’s any ISP that does not deliver on its service promise. If your internet cuts out daily, that’s bad. If your connectivity is slow as molasses even though you have the “fastest” possible service package, that’s bad. You know bad when you experience it.

The first reaction by you, the customer, is anger and justifiably so. But what happens is that you call over and over again, the problem(s) never get resolved and you’re forced to deal with subpar service that you pay good money for.

If you want to force your ISP to live up to its service promises, there is a way to effectively get positive change to occur. It will take some effort on your part, but the end result should work because you’ve tried everything else at this point.

First, here’s what not to do:

Don’t call the BBB

The Better Business Bureau can only assist those who have made a well-documented (keyword there) effort to resolve any issues with a bad company first. If there is no paper trail, BBB can’t do much. I’ll touch on this later.

Don’t call an attorney

If you employ the services of a lawyer against a local ISP, you will lose. This is because the ISP has a lot more money than you do and will bury the case in red tape. By the time you see any action take place, several months will have gone by and your wallet will be empty from attorney fees.

Don’t yell at customer support

You will want to yell and scream at your ISP’s customer support on a daily basis. This will not help you whatsoever.

Now we’ll cover the proper courses of action.

Step 1. On any instance of a service outage, call, report it, and request specific information.

Your internet connectivity cuts out often. Don’t ignore this. For every instance, call the ISP. Yes, you will get the same old tired excuse of, “We’re sorry and we’re working on it,” but the point is that you got it on record.

While on the phone, specifically request the call ticket number for the support request. If the call center states, “We don’t use those” or “We don’t give those out”, this is a lie because a call center cannot operate without some way of documenting the calls that come in. They give the “no number” excuse only so they can claim later the support request never took place.

You can be very honest and say, “I’m specifically requesting a call ticket number because I’m tracking the progress of your support system. I am dissatisfied with it at present and as a customer I require a record of this call. You are using a call ticket system. You have a call ticket number that was generated the moment you answered this call. Please provide it to me. This is not an unreasonable request.” (And it isn’t.)

Be calm, collected, stick with it and get your information. In some instances you will notice the phone rep will get very nervous when you ask this information, because at that point they are forced to follow through with the support request you made and document it properly.

If the rep absolutely refuses to give you this information, once again stay calm and collected and state you will not hang up until you have absolute proof that there is a record of the call.

If no matter what you do you cannot get this information, don’t worry, you have a record. The call will show on your next phone bill. So at least you have something.

Before hanging up, specifically ask the rep to read back what is in your support ticket word for word. You will find often that the rep will once again get very nervous because you’re forcing the rep to do his or her job properly. That’s okay. Stay calm and don’t be surprised if you hear a lot of stuttering, stammering and that, “Oh my God, I actually have to write this ticket out” panic-attack attitude. It’s worth it for a properly written support ticket.

In addition, document everything. Document the exact time you called, the length of how long you had to stay on hold, how pleasant or unpleasant the support rep was and anything else you can think of. This is where your paper trail against the ISP starts. You’ll need this information later.

Step 2. Request an equipment check at both the ISP and your home.

You know that whenever you request the ISP to check your connectivity, they always say, “Everything is fine here!” Of course they’ll say that, but you know it’s not true.

When you call to complain about slow connectivity, the first thing the rep will do is put you through this mind-numbingly scripted process to check to see if it’s your computer’s fault. You know it’s not, but that’s okay. Follow through with it. Jump through the hoops they give you.

Once finished and it’s proven the connectivity is still slow (again,) specifically request a technician come to your home to test the modem and the line(s). If the rep says, “I can test your service from here, sir,” reply with “I would feel much more comfortable if a tech physically came here to test the equipment personally.” Stick with this and don’t relent until you have confirmation that yes, a tech will stop by and inspect your equipment.

You may have done all of this already, but there are extra steps:

Call the ISP to request a tech to come to your house repeatedly. Once a week if you have to (but not more than that.) It’s most likely true that the reason your connectivity is slow is because of crappy equipment on the poles – which obviously isn’t your fault.

If you call enough times, they will be forced to upgrade the equipment outside just so you stop calling them. Yes, you are purposely being “the annoying customer,” but this does work. Remember that you’re not screaming or yelling at any time during this. All you are doing is making friendly requests to ensure that proper service levels are attained for what you’re paying for.

Another tip: Be there when the tech is there, else the ISP will say, “We sent a guy, everything is fine” when in fact he never showed up at all. Always schedule a tech to arrive when you are home.

Why be there when the tech is there? So you can physically get a receipt for the work performed. It will usually be on a yellow sheet that he writes out in his truck detailing what he did. Always take this receipt – even if the tech said there was nothing wrong. This is yet more documentation for your paper trail against the ISP.

One final tip (this may not work but it’s worth a shot): A tech when dispatched is given the work order via the call center. He has this documentation describing the problem with the customer’s (you) service. Ask the tech if you can get a copy of this work order because sometimes the description is not listed on the receipt. If it is, then don’t ask. But if it isn’t, ask. You will see if the rep who took your call took any time at all to detail your support request by physically looking at the work order.

Step 3. For every instance of slow connectivity, perform a speed test with several different free services, and print out the results each time.

Your ISP has a speed test checker. Use it. And if they don’t, well, you know why.

Perform speed tests with these sites:

• http://www.speedtest.net/
• http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/
• http://www.bandwidthplace.com/
• http://www.dslreports.com/stest
• http://www.ip-adress.com/speedtest/

Run them and print out the results each one every time your internet is slow or appears to be slow.

If the results show that the speed test is below what your ISP service package dictates you should have after performing these tests, this can be used to prove the ISP is in breach of contract/service agreement. Remember that this only applies if the average number is below what your ISP service package dictates.

Step 4. Request a printed copy mailed to you of the ISP’s service agreement/contract.

If when you call the rep says, “Oh! That’s online at [this address],” don’t accept that. Have it mailed to you. If for whatever reason that cannot be done (which is borderline illegal,) physically go to the local office where the ISP is, go to the front desk and ask for it. You will get a strange look by the receptionist when you do this. That’s fine. Stick with it and get the service agreement papers.

When you physically request paper, this sends the message that you mean business because nobody ever requests it; they will know you’re going to read it carefully. You’d be surprised sometimes at how service levels can magically increase to proper levels just by requesting paper.

Step 5. Read the service agreement from top to bottom; seek out anything you can use to place blame on the ISP.

ISP service agreements are written in such a way where they can basically get away with anything. What you will have to do is comb through it slowly and pick out anything that you can use to your advantage. Look for words like “reasonable” and “faith” (as in “good faith” as a pseudo-promise of a service level.) These vague terms can be used to your benefit, because you can prove “unreasonable” service levels easily.

Also look for terms that are not in the service agreement. Is there any mention of what happens if the ISP fails to deliver on a service guarantee? Are there any guarantees at all? Are they spelled out in plain English? Look for stuff like that because you can use it against the ISP later on.

What is the point to doing all of this?

There are there points, actually. What you want to do is the following:

1. Establish the ISP is in breach of service agreement/contract. All the calls you make and documentation you acquire will prove this to be true.
2. Establish you have tried in good faith to resolve the issues with the ISP yourself. This is again proven by all the calls you make and documentation you have – including all the receipts from the service techs that came by.
3. Establish that the ISP is not providing service levels in the best interest of the customer. This is proven by snotty attitudes received from service reps, inept service technicians (should that occur,) very long hold times when calling for support, and your repeated attempts to fix the same problem over and over again.

This is a 1-2-3 knockout punch. The ultimate goal is to push the ISP into a corner that they absolutely cannot get out of.

How long should you do this before taking stronger action?

With most ISPs, particularly cable companies, the standard contractual length is 30 days so you must establish that the ISP has consistently delivered bad service for at least that length of time. Two weeks is not enough. It must be 30 days or more.

What do you do after that span of time?

Assuming you have concrete evidence the ISP has consistently delivered a service level below what the service agreement states, now you can call the BBB. You’ve got a very well-established paper trail in the form of a mountain of documentation, proving the ISP is not delivering proper service levels. And you did so in a way that was very civilized with no yelling, screaming or threatening.

What will be the reaction of the ISP?

Once you’ve pushed the ISP into a corner, the first reaction will be to refund your money. Take it, but don’t discontinue your service.

You will continue to deal with bad service by the ISP until they are forced to upgrade their network equipment. You may even get completely free service due to the ISP’s constant bungling of the way they handle their service level. This is fine. Take the free ride. Eventually they will tire of giving you absolutely free service and upgrade so they’re not losing money by having you as a customer.

You may get results without ever having to call the BBB

Chances are high your internet connectivity issues will get resolved without ever having to take strong action, such as calling the BBB.

When you establish a history of connectivity issues with an ISP, this sticks out like a sore thumb in their support system. It is in their best interest to resolve any and all issues quickly so they don’t continually lose money by sending out techs over and over, and giving you free service for service levels they didn’t reach according to their own agreement documentation.

If you follow the rules, stay civil and get your paper trail established, this is the best way to empower yourself to get internet connectivity that actually, you know, works like it’s supposed to.