After I reconfigured the router/modem I bought and rebooted it, my son walked in and said his XBOX wouldn’t connect. A quick check of things on my desktop confirmed that my Internet connection was down. A nice red light on the router confirmed that.
I double checked the user, password, but the router wouldn’t connect. I had a DSL signal, but not an IP from the WAN side. So with my son urging me on so he could play XBOX live, I called Qwest back and got a new customer service rep. I explained my issue, and she asked if I had a Qwest modem. I said no, mine had died last year, I’d replaced it, and was now replacing the router again. At that point she said she couldn’t help me.
Silence for about 30 seconds.
I wasn’t even sure what to say. That is truly a way to turn a customer off. However with no choice in the matter, I went on to ask her to check my user/password. She did, they matched, and she said that she couldn’t help since she didn’t know Netgear and they program everything into their Qwest modems.
With subsequent questioning from me, she revealed:
- The DSL signal can be PPPoE or PPPoA, but PPPoE is recommended.
- The VCI setting needs to be 32 and the VPI is 0, and I can use either LLC or VC multiplexing
- Qwest modems are at Wal-Mart and Best Buy locally
She would not have mentioned any of these if I had not asked questions. She would have let me hang up the phone and call back for more tech support if I couldn’t figure it out. She at no time initiated information to help me solve the problem or even to move forward. She never told me that I should go to a store and get a Qwest modem if I couldn’t get this to work.
She just kept saying they didn’t support non-Qwest products.
I can appreciate the fact that they don’t want to support other products. Totally understand the training issue there, but providing settings, like the VCI/VPI settings (she never identified which was 32 and which was 0, I had to experiment), would be nice. Suggesting that I go get a Qwest modem if I had issues, and telling me where to go would have been acceptable.
Instead, I wasted almost 10 minutes of my time arguing with her, and Qwest’s time, because she didn’t want to help me.
Amazing.
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1 comment:
Hello Steve, my name is Brian and I work for Qwest. I ran across your blog post here, and am curious if I can help you out in any way. By reading your post, it doesn't sound like your issue was resolved with our DSL tech support representative, and I'm not sure if it has been resolved yet.
If I can help in any way, whether with technicial support or something different, please let me know. You can send me an e-mail at TalkToUs@Qwest.com, and I would be happy to help.
I really apologize that you've had this experience with us, and if there is anyway to make your experience with us better, please let me know. :0)
Thank Steve,
B
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