SBCGlobal (AT&T Yahoo!) Review

Keep in mind that i was a SBC Global customer for over 6 years. We had a phoneline and DSL. The internet service was decent for what were paying for it. But a few weeks ago we decided to try and save money getting rid of our phone line. Basically it would cut our bill in half. In my first conversation with the SBC rep, i was told it would be "no problem" I was told, "Your phone and internet will be shut off on Monday the 4th (of May) Your DSL may be out all day but will up the following day at the latest." She was right about one thing. Both services were disconnected on Monday. But the DSL NEVER came back.

So thats when the headaches start. Tuesday the 5th at the end of the day i checked our connection and there was nothing. I thought "I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it was difficult/they were busy/etc." I waited til Wednesday to call in. I first tried TECH SUPPORT. After some searching for my info they told me that there was problem with my order and they could not help me so they asked me (politely, always very politely) "To please hold while we transfer your to someone who can help you" in this case it was ORDERS and PROVISIONING. At that point they didn't have an answer. BUT they did say, "We will call you when the issue is resolved"  I didn't get that call back so i suppose this statement was true because they never resolved the issue.  I was busy on Thursday but after checking my connection Friday the 8th and finding it still down i was wondering what was happening. After talking to Provisioning agin they had figured out that when giving me a Stand Alone DSL line they made a mistake and my new line had the wrong codes or something? Regardless, they acknowledged it was their fault and they were working on it. I said ok at least we know what it is now lets fix it. But they didn't seem to know How or When it would be fixed. I said i needed to talk to someone who could help me. They said they would have someone call me. This is the only time someone called me back. Celest called and apologized and said that being that it was Friday and at the end of the day that there was nothing they could do. But he could possibly have the issue resolved on monday, possibly tuesday.  So that is one week of no service after being told on a day or two. Again i played the waiting game.

(I would like to point out that i was going along with them at this point because i still believed i was saving money and SBC Global had one of the best rated services by consumers online.)

I was in a hospital for a few days starting Monday so i wasn't able to check for DSL access. When i did return Wednesday the 13 there was no change! I called and they said "It says you should have access, ;et me transfer you to...." It was like a game. Passing me off to other departments. The two times i got them to transfer me to a manager of some kind (i believe they called it ESCALATION) i was on hold for 10-15 mins and a recording said "We are experiencing heavy call volume, please try again later. CLICK!" Hung up on by a machine! Twice! The second to last person i talked to that week told me. "It says your order is pending until 8pm Friday. Your account will be activated at that time"  I was out all weekend so i assumed it would be up by Monday the 18th. It wasn't. THe last person i talked to was the easiest person i dealt with during the whole experience. It took 1 minute to cancel my account. I assume they were praying i would have done it sooner. Bottom line...

I called Comcast that afternoon and had hi-speed cable the next morning. What a concept. I know Cable is more but at that point we NEEDED a ISP. we do most of our bills online and keep track of alot family that way too.

This story is a warning to others.

DO NOT GET JERKED AROUND BY THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

Give them ONE chance to help you. If you get transfered to more than two departments you are getting played. By passing you around, no one has to deal with you for too long and you will get frustrated and hang up.

They will ALWAY SAY "i'm very sorry for the inconvenience" "I'll be more than hapy to help you" etc etc.  They are just reading a script. They are coached to say all these things. just be aware. I am pretty calm but i was livid by the end. I probalby spent about 10 hrs in two weeks trying to get someone ot help me and it never happened. Just be aware!!!

-Ryan