[ale] Special Place in Hell Reserved for BellSouth

[Sean Kilpatrick]

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| Benjamin Scherrey wrote:
| > FWIW - SpeakEasy does answer their phone and return calls - they just
| > don't seem very effective at getting BellSouth to move their butts.

| and Geoffrey responded:
| FWIW, my experience with Speakeasy was the same as the previous poster. 
|   They never returned calls, I never was able to get anyone on the phone.

FWIW  My experience with Speakeasy was far different.  I started out
on their web page and when I called I got a quick answer and a
knowledgable techie helped me through the initial "get started"
balogna. I have had to call them only twice and each time I quickly
got through to a techie who could speak unix/linux commands and
quickly helped me sort through and solve the problem.  
Although they do not _guarantee_ a static IP address for what I am
paying them, that's what I've got, in effect.  Since the first week
I have had no problems and rock-solid service.  With Earthlink I was
having to reboot the DSL box and the router weekly to cope with
constantly changing IP addresses. That crap hasn't happened once 
with Speakeasy.

As for HellSouth, I had a problem once (while with MIndspring/EArthlink)
with the "last mile" and solved the problem this way:
(in a low volume, but firm tone of voice) "I really do not want
to have to file a formal complaint with the FCC, so perhaps I should
speak to your supervisor."
That got me to the first level supervisor, who didn't really 
understand what FCC stood for. So I persevered by quietly insisting
that I be allowed to speak to a higher level supervisor, until . . .
I finally got to someone who understood that he really didn't want
me to make a formal complaint to the FCC.  Less than two hours later
a competent lineman (unlike the first doofus who showed up the day
before) found the problem and with a quick snip-snip of his wire
cutters cut me off from the source of the line noise that had crippled
my DSL service while leaving the voice quality unimpaired.

Things would be a _lot_ different if Georgia's State Corporation
Commission had any power, but it doesn't. It's totally toothless.
And the big utilities know it.

Sean

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