I didn't want to deal with Qwest anymore and wanted to use a feel-good local company, so I chose Speakeasy. Their OneLink DSL (no telephone line required) and VOIP service seemed ideal for us. Even with Qwest's insane promotions ($26.99 DSL service), Speakeasy ends up being about the same price if not cheaper, due to Speakeasy's own promotions and Qwest's myriad hidden fees.
The problem we had was with the installation -- I set up a street race and molasses in winter beat Speakeasy's installation process by a mile. Not only do two techs have to come out to your home during the day while you're there (one from Qwest for some reason, and one from Covad for some other reason), but they ship two separate pieces of equipment to you via UPS (one DSL modem and one VOIP adapter), so you have to take FOUR days off work, or have somebody at your home. Not only that, but they don't start any part of the installation process until the last part is complete. Here's a timeline:
1) Schedule Qwest visit -- you can't pick the date, and it's at least a week away. If you miss their visit, the reschedule is at least another week away.
2) Schedule Covad visit -- who knows why they couldn't have scheduled this beforehand, but now there's at least another week wait, and if you need to reschedule, it has to be at least 3 business days after the first scheduled visit.
3) NOW they'll set up your VOIP number. We wanted to transfer our existing Qwest number, but the Covad rep said they had to disconnect our Qwest line while installing our DSL -- which contradicted what the Speakeasy rep told us (he said that we could use our Qwest line until the moment our VOIP was ready to use). It takes one to two MONTHS for Speakeasy to transfer an existing number, so we would have been out a phone for that long if we transferred. So we decided to get a new phone number, which is a hassle, but still takes 5-10 business days.
4) They'll mail you your VOIP equipment AFTER the phone number is set up -- make sure somebody is home all day to catch the UPS driver!
This is such a laughably ridiculous process that takes well over a month to resolve. Compare this to Qwest, which installs your phone line and DSL in about a week, and Comcast, which only takes a couple of days.
Yes, Speakeasy's customer service representatives are very responsive -- they answered my online questions (or rants) in about 10 minutes. They aren't particularly knowledgable, though -- they gave me incorrect information at least a couple of times, including information that led me to be without a phone for over a week. After waiting on hold, they also transferred me to other departments that happened to be CLOSED, twice! There's nothing like waiting on hold for 15 minutes and then being transferred to a "sorry, we're closed" voice mail.
Please take my advice and just get your Internet through Comcast and VOIP through Vonage or another company. Even after all this trouble, my Speakeasy DSL is comparable to Qwest and much slower than my old Comcast service. Comcast's customer service isn't as responsive (although it's not much worse), and after using Comcast's service for 3 years the only reasons I needed to contact them was to install and to disconnect my service. PLUS, Comcast doesn't require a one year commitment -- after this stupid installation process with Speakeasy, I'm committed to my service almost two months past the end of my one-year apartment lease. Thanks Speakeasy!
PROS: Responsive customer service, company that will let you use your Internet however you want.
CONS: Not very knowledgable customer service, incredibly asinine installation process, one year commitment required.
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