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willchen's profile

Scholar

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147 Messages

Wednesday, September 4th, 2013 7:21 PM

Wh is the UVerse tech support system so broken

Why is AT&T so functionally incompetent?  AT&T can't seem to fix the root of the problem, only the symtons, taking well over a month to diagnose.  The techs that came out were great people.  They're just hampered by the functionally incompetent AT&T corporate structure.  The CEO & upper management are at fault for implementing a system that causes repairs to take over a month.

 

I know what the problem is, but they insist on jerking me around with tier 1 & tier 2 service techs that can't fix the root of the problem.  My ADSL2 line had been functioning for a good 10 months without issue until a router or switch was replaced at the C.O.  Ever since then, I lose internet for 10-30 minutes at a time.  This suggests the router is at fault, yet they insist on sending out line techs to "fix" the problem.  All they're doing is putting a bandage on the issue, not addressing the main issue of correcting the settings on the switch or router.  The line noise has reduced, and I don't get disconnected as frequently, but this only suggests that the new router or switch is freezing up because of overloaded logs in RAM and is resetting itself periodically, or some 1d10t low level tech is watching zabbix, ganglia, nagios, or some other monitoring software and resetting it, without fixing it.  I saw no service issues until the equipment was replaced.

 

 

Here's my notes of the downtime.  I left off some details to keep the lenth down, but it's a month's worth of details.

 

 

AT&T Outage Monday, July 29,approximately 2:30 pm.  DSL went down.
 Rebooted Modem twice,
   red lights on Service.
   Broadband remaind green
   Power Green
   Wireless Blinking Green
 Called AT&T 1 800 288-2020 - The automated message had me reboot the modem again and wait 10 minutes before calling back.
 Called AT&T again after 10 minutes and was on hold for about 30 minutes. The actual conversation lasted about 8 minutes.  The CSR scheduled service tech to come Tuesday, July 30, between 4-8 pm

Tuesday July 30, approximately 3:300 pm.  Automated call form AT&T with a message indicating the line was up again.  I immediately call AT&T because the line was still down.  This time I see
  No light on Service
  Red Light on Broadband
  Green Light on Power
  Wireless Blinking Green
The CSR doesn't know what was happening. - Maybe their database wasn't updated.  I continued to wait for the tech to arrive between 4-8 pm
At 6:17 pm, I went out briefly, while the rest of the family was home, and saw an AT&T truck down the street at the intersection.
On the way back around 6:25, I stopped and asked the tech if he was coming to my home.  He said he was going to different address and that he was on a break.


I waited until 7:30 and saw no tech yet, so I call AT&T again.
The tech said he reset the port and my line is up until Wednesday, July 31, at approximately 7:10 pm.  Internet comes back at approx.
The tech said he reset the port and my line is up.

Wednesday, July 31, at approximately 7:10 pm, the line goes down.  Internet comes back at approx. 7:20 pm.
Just before 10pm, the service light went red.  I call AT&T.
They appear to be working on the line, but the tech can't do anything since the 4-8 pm service was never cancelled.  I give him the history of the week's down time.  The line continues going up and down during the call.  After the call, the line remains stable until 10:28 pm.  It comes back at 10:33 pm.  For about a week, I continue to lose service around twice a day and the line resets.

 

I called AT&T nearly every day, this first week.  They eventually schedule a tech on the weekend, and discovered a "tip to ground" connection on my line to the C.O. This requires a different line tech to be sent out.  I'm apparently get numerous bad packets, which is what's supposedly causing the problem.  I already explain again that the problem isn't the line, but in the replacement equipment.  I still get the same service interruptions and keep calling to have my line or port reset, to reduce the outage from 10-30 minutes down to 5-10.  The outage frequency also drops from twice a day to once a day.

 

Another week goes by and a new tech comes out to put in a new splitter and the line is cleaner.  It seems to fix the problem, but a few days later I lose connection.  With a cleaner line, there are fewer bad packets, and the problem span drops from a day to 2-3 days.  I think this tech may have disconnected my alarm line when he added the splitter, but I don't notice it until the alarm company calls me during their monthly check.

 
Friday, August 23, 3rd Tech Replace the line to the home seems to be ok.


Tuesday Sep 3, 10:13 pm Internet is down for 16 Minutes.  A 3rd tech had already come out.  AT&T keeps trying to fix the line to the home, but my line was in worse condition and it had worked just fine on the older router/switch.  It's now out to 10 days between outages.  This points to a problem at the router or switch.  It has nothing to do with the line.

 

Cleaning the line only extends the uptime, but if a line experiences any issue, the router accumulates the errors and disconnects.  I can't get any of the functionally incompetent techs to go beyond their script to fix the issue.  I don't care if I get a 10% improvement in line speed, if I get frequent 10-30 minute downtimes.  I use my internet to connect to work.  I can't afford to get disconnected when I'm configuring a server, firewall, or switch.

This last tech wants to run more tests on my line and take the DSL offline for hours to a day to test my connection again.  These tests do not solve a problem.  AT&T needs to have real techs, not script readers.  I've fixed my own tech problems, so I only call AT&T when it's a problem directly with AT&T.  I've diagnosed and recommend fixes to the techs that have come out to fix my DSL lines whenever I've moved.  The techs that install lines frequently messed up and miswire the connections.  This case is similar.  I don't need my line speed to improve by another 1%.  I want it to be up 24/7 as advertised and not cut me off if I happen to be doing something important.

 

AT&T needs to be broken up again.  It does not care about real service.  It only cares about lip service.  No matter how nice and great the CSRs and Technicians are, it can't make up for the fact the company is structurally deficient and I can't get them to fix the known root of the problem.

Scholar

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147 Messages

10 years ago

ADSL2 Modem went offline and I rebooted twice and got nothing.  Rebooted my computer also.  Started 3rd reboot while wating on overly long phone mentu and queue.  When I got through, the tech started a line test right when the reboot finished and I was online.  They're going to send a test out.  tomorrow morning.  Ever since that equipment failure at the CO, I've had problems.  The older ADSL was more stable.  I started to ask if they could just upgrade my upload speed, since I do work and I prefer more upload speed.  I was placed on hold and got hung up on.  There's a hint of Philipino accent, but her English was pretty good.

 

Typical AT&T phone service.  The techs know very little and can do very little.  They'r next to worthless except for very simple things.

 

It's no wonder cable has all the customers in the US.  AT&T is still trying to play catchup because of their CEO and upper management greed in the 90s

 

Scholar

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147 Messages

10 years ago

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Takes-100-Million-in-DSL-Subsidies-125474

 

http://www.muniwireless.com/2007/10/31/community-broadband-act-moves-to-the-u-s-senate/1023/

Excerpt from the old 2007 article:


 Bruce Kushnick, who we've written about before is now coming out with a book that details how the telcos scammed approximately $200 billion from all of us (about $2,000 per household), promising fiber to every home with symmetric 45 Mbps speeds and an open access model that would allow anyone to offer competitive internet services over that connection. This is a promise that they have not kept... though, they have kept our money.

 

 

 http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATTs-Expansion-of-1-Gbps-to-100-Cities-is-a-Big-Fat-Bluff-128628

Former Community Manager

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10.4K Messages

10 years ago

 

Hi @willchen 

 

I'm sorry you're having some issues with your service. We will be happy to help you with that! Please send us a private message by clicking here. Please include your full name, phone number, account number and the best time you can be reached, and one of our best specialists will contact you directly to assist.

 

Thank you,

Dmitriy

Scholar

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147 Messages

9 years ago

Sorry, I had fixed it already and hadn't come back.  You guys are an intermediary that are only helpful when we first get jerked around by the regular customer call center.  After all my numerous previous calls, I must have enough of a history to be fast tracked.  Woe to the new customers trying to get in-depth service.  New callers have to follow the constant barrage of scripted responses to reset the modem before they call.  I no longer get that message to reboot my modem before I call.  Even before my very first call, I was technically savvy enough to have rebooted it a few times.

Scholar

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147 Messages

9 years ago

Mineapolis is getting 10 Gbps for $400/month.  They already have 1Gbps for $65/month.  Why is AT&T still ripping us off with such slow speeds to the home?

 

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/12/minneapolis-residents-to-get-10-gigabit-fiber-for-400-per-month/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arstechnica%2Findex+(Ars+Technica+-+All+content)

Scholar

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147 Messages

9 years ago


@willchen wrote:

Mineapolis is getting 10 Gbps for $400/month.  They already have 1Gbps for $65/month.  Why is AT&T still ripping us off with such slow speeds to the home?

 

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/12/minneapolis-residents-to-get-10-gigabit-fiber-for-400-per-month/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arstechnica%2Findex+(Ars+Technica+-+All+content)



@willchen wrote:

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Takes-100-Million-in-DSL-Subsidies-125474

 

http://www.muniwireless.com/2007/10/31/community-broadband-act-moves-to-the-u-s-senate/1023/

Excerpt from the old 2007 article:


 Bruce Kushnick, who we've written about before is now coming out with a book that details how the telcos scammed approximately $200 billion from all of us (about $2,000 per household), promising fiber to every home with symmetric 45 Mbps speeds and an open access model that would allow anyone to offer competitive internet services over that connection. This is a promise that they have not kept... though, they have kept our money.

 

 

 http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATTs-Expansion-of-1-Gbps-to-100-Cities-is-a-Big-Fat-Bluff-128628


That should have been more than enough money to get us fiber links now.  When do we get it?  If we're not getting it when are you reimbursing us?  Your corporation has some good hard working employees, but your CxOs are a bunch of thieves.

 

I'm done with your service and finally switched.   I stuck with AT&T too long.  I should have left when you switched the name back to AT&T.  You should have rebranded.  The old name brings back memories of AT&T, the horrid monopoly that ripped off old ladies for $75/month for a phone rental, because they never called to return the rental phone and buy that $15 phone from the store.

 

You've also changed your layout to make it tougher for users to find forum topics.  I guess it's good way to hide complaints from other customers.  Unfortunately, those complaints and solutions benefit your customers.  The new layout seems like is was designed not to help customers.

 

In a competive market, complaints spur changes to improve service.  In regulatory capture, complaints go nowhere, and you employees can't even effect any real change because you are also powerless.  You need to be able to collect the complaints and pass it on to the CxOs.  In a competitive market, you'd be able to collect that data and actually get it to your CxOz and something can be done.  You need to fix your call centers and service.  Instead your CxOs are just collecting money and not really doing all that much for all that salary except to figure out how to collect more salary for themselves.

 

Those of you in Texas, where AT&T corporate is based are lucky, because the Cxx levels live in the area and their complaint will cause major change, but the rest of the country just has crap service from AT&T.

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