in between deadlines and odd jobs, I've been hunting for a reliable postpaid broadband provider.
Brand S has been my default prepaid provider, but there's a point when you get a bit tired of scratching those cards or getting load...plus, when service gets iffy, it's not even worth a 15-minute call to get a refund...
Brand G had been my first choice, since we were using their landline service. After being assured that there was an (oh-so-precious) available slot, I applied for account modification, was told to expect their crew in 7-10 days.
...and didn't hear a peep from them. And to make a long story short, after three weeks and four frustrating phone calls to their customer service reps (and the unbelievable excuses they came up with), I told them to cancel my application for modification. If they were already giving me such a tough time BEFORE I got their service, I could easily imagine the hell I'd be going through after signing a contract with a lock-in period. Gah.
so I inquire about a trial run with Brand B...and lo and behold, I get scheduled for a demo within the week, their staff was very professional (and even confirmed with me the day before about the appointment) ...plus they delivered the goods, in a simple and efficient manner.
Ironically, Brand G's tech support called up a couple of times after I sent in my cancellation request (kulit!) saying they had an available spot, and would I like to push through? My eyebrows were already doing loop-the-loops. Sure, I said, if they could manage to guarantee installation within that very same week, I'd consider. (and with their spotty service, I seriously doubted they'd make good)
Thought that was the last I'd hear from them, but apparently they bamboozled someone else into saying yes --and the last I heard from Brand G's reps was that they'd be sending a crew over (the same day Brand B was scheduled for a demo). Well, Brand B's rep did the demo, signed me up and I've got broadband, easy peasy. It's not uber-fast, but it gets the job done.
I think Brand G's people rang the doorbell some hours after that. Tsk. If they had delivered on what they had promised all those weeks ago, I may have been a happy subscriber. Instead, they pretty much demonstrated what kind of service their subscribers get. Imagine paying three weeks for broadband you can't use?
Brand G has been getting a lot of flak in the past year for spotty service, and their people should focus on the actual products' performance, instead of trying to push the products. Offer the world all you want, but if your customer can't even get decent service, you'll lose your battles on the home front.
