Century Link (There is no hope for Customer Service)

I have had 2 of the 3 major internet providers in our area. Comcast which is pretty reliable, technicians are usually pretty good, customer service isn't too bad, but since they have "the best product" the prices are ridiculous! When I lived further north I had Frontier and I actually really liked them. Customer Service was awesome and the technicians were great, prices were perfect!

So I'm back in Shoreline, I'm stuck with DirectTV and cannot afford Comcast, so I turned to Century Link. I got online and started chatting with someone from the company, after about 45 of back and forth making sure I got him to list all of the details for my records I agreed to service. It ended up only being an additional $15 a month when bundled with my DirectTV. I was extatic, my modem was on it's way. 5 days after my modem was supposed to arrive I called Century Link. No clue where it is, then I get passed to someone else who tells me it will be there in 4 days.

The very next day my modem arrives, I set up my computer plug in and... Nothing! I was half expecting that because set ups usually have some funky twist that has to be resolved so I kept my cool and called Century Link. First person I talked to could not help me because there was no account under: My name, address, phone number or social. Three hours later a kind southern lady figured out that they were re-using old account numbers and that I wasn't properly put in to my "recycled" account number. Back to tech support.

This time the guy from C-Link answered my problem pretty quick. The reason my internet wasn't working was that when the technician came to plug me into the grid, the grid was full. He assured me not to worry and that when someone cancels I am first in line, and at the least they will upgrading my area in two months. And unhinged!

At first I could not even comprehend how a company could drag someone through such a pile of &*$# with no regard for them. My questions were how could you charge me my $50 deposit when you can't even provide me service. Why would you not be apologizing and offering compensation for my trouble, both the 10+ hours I've spent listening to your BS the past week as well as the total lack of respect for me and my family? IT GOT WORSE! I finally had to hang up on them and cool off for a day or four.

When I called back to cancel my service again they could not find my account number, I couldn't go through it again so I hung up. I got online and chatted with a rep again and they said I couldn't cancel over the internet. I can sign up but not cancel. I had enough, I pulled a card I had been saving for a very long time, a card that I used with DirectTV and with Comcast in the past. It was just a bluff then, but I didn't want to spend another second talking to Century Link so I contacted the Attorney General.

I asked them to look into it, I didn't want to cancel I just want what I signed up for. I got a call today that service will be provided by the end of the week, fingers crossed, but I reserve the right to be doubtful. In the end, I do hope that I get this hooked up and that I can get good service and respectable customer service from them in the future. But, it is just a shame how absolutely pathetic customer service is. You have most customer service reps that have a very hard accent to understand and that I don't think know a great deal of English. The only thing I have to say about that is, "You do not hire a blind man to be a valet." You should not hire someone who cannot speak very good English to help someone who speaks English. Customer Service Reps should treat customers like they are standing right in front of them, not with an arrogant tone that they are somehow better than the customer because they have mastered fixing problems with your device that you have not.

It's unfortunate that companies are allowed to monopolize as much as they do, customer support used to be about customer retention. If you didn't please your customers they would find somebody that would, now a days there are no other alternatives and they can do as they please.