Some Unhappy With Qwest DSL Service
DENVER -- Digital Subscriber Lines offer faster internet connections, and they're making their way into more and more homes. But now, some customers are upset about the DSL service offered by Qwest.
Qwest is expanding DSL all over the west, and aggressively marketing the high-speed service. But folks like Bruce Prather wonder if Qwest isn't taking some of its customers for granted.
Prather runs a company that's heavy on machinery, but also relies on the Internet for a good portion of its sales.
"The way they used to do it is you send your salesman out, and now you use that Iinternet as your sales force, so when it's down, it's like having a sick salesman," Prather told 7NEWS. I mean, you're out."
For the past two weeks, Prather's Qwest DSL service has been down more often than it's been on, he said. And when he's called his Internet provider, he's been unable to get through.
"But at no time did Qwest have the courtesy to inform us, as one of their customers, that there's problems with their system, and that very much upsets me," Prather said.
He's not the only person upset. A number of Qwest customers have e-mailed us complaining about service interruptions and about all the hours they've spent on hold with Qwest operators.
"Customer no-support service," one man said of Qwest.
"I think it's ludicrous the way I've been treated," Prather said.
Qwest blames last week's outages on the Code Red worm, and says instructions for clearing the infection from customers' computers were available by phone. But Prather says that what he went through was a nightmare, and he's canceling his DSL service -- as soon as someone answers his call.
"Being a small businessman, if we treated our customers like Qwest has treated myself, we'd be out of business," Prather said.
This is ironic, 7NEWS reported, since Qwest's mantra when it took over U.S. West was customer service. On Monday, the company provided information about its DSL service via fax, but a Qwest spokeswoman said that she needed more time to prepare for an on-camera interview.
Qwest is expanding DSL all over the west, and aggressively marketing the high-speed service. But folks like Bruce Prather wonder if Qwest isn't taking some of its customers for granted.
Prather runs a company that's heavy on machinery, but also relies on the Internet for a good portion of its sales.
"The way they used to do it is you send your salesman out, and now you use that Iinternet as your sales force, so when it's down, it's like having a sick salesman," Prather told 7NEWS. I mean, you're out."
For the past two weeks, Prather's Qwest DSL service has been down more often than it's been on, he said. And when he's called his Internet provider, he's been unable to get through.
"But at no time did Qwest have the courtesy to inform us, as one of their customers, that there's problems with their system, and that very much upsets me," Prather said.
He's not the only person upset. A number of Qwest customers have e-mailed us complaining about service interruptions and about all the hours they've spent on hold with Qwest operators.
"Customer no-support service," one man said of Qwest.
"I think it's ludicrous the way I've been treated," Prather said.
Qwest blames last week's outages on the Code Red worm, and says instructions for clearing the infection from customers' computers were available by phone. But Prather says that what he went through was a nightmare, and he's canceling his DSL service -- as soon as someone answers his call.
"Being a small businessman, if we treated our customers like Qwest has treated myself, we'd be out of business," Prather said.
This is ironic, 7NEWS reported, since Qwest's mantra when it took over U.S. West was customer service. On Monday, the company provided information about its DSL service via fax, but a Qwest spokeswoman said that she needed more time to prepare for an on-camera interview.
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