Friday, January 2, 2009

Why Qwest Sucks

So we've had Qwest internet for a little over a year now and the service has been pretty good. It has served us well but the other day we decided to switch because we could save about $25 a month by going with Digis internet. So, I researched Digis and found what we wanted and I called Qwest on Dec 30th to ask if there was anything they could offer to keep us with them. I talked to a couple of representatives and the manager in the Loyalty dept. I was told that they had nothing that they could offer. So, I called Digis and scheduled them to install their stuff today. After the installation, I called Qwest to cancel and the lady told me that she could offer me 6 months for free and the high speed package for the same price I'm paying now after the 6 months. We had just paid $100 for trhe digis install and so I decided not to take the deal. After the call I started thinking and figured we could actually save more money if we took the deal. So I called Digis and they offered nothing. I kinda expected that. I then called Qwest back and told them the stpry of what happened. I got bounced from products to loyalty and finally talked to this guy that told me that they couldn't offer me the 6 month deal. he said that we can offer you 3 months of your current service at $29 a month instead of $46 a month. I thought that was a joke and I told him that. He said that he could have made the six month deal had I called before the end of the year. I mentioned that I had called before the end of the year and their loyalty department offered me nothing and said there was nothing that they could offer.

He apologized and said that there was nothing he could do and I told him that it was crap and asked to talk to his manager. About 20 minutes later, the supervisor came on and asked me what was the matter. I described everythign that had been said and offered and he said that the offer could only be made before the year end and that there was nothing he could do. He apologized for not being able to offer anything and we said goodbye.

Can I tell you how incompetant and unprofessional this makes Qwest look. You guys are a joke and I think it is ridiculous. I'm glad that I found out that your customer reps are just as uninformed and ignorant as the reps at comcast. I really hope digis works out for us because I do not want to have to decide which idiot company to go with. The one that lies to customers or the one that can't figure what the crap is going on when the internet doesn't work. Qwest, you have officially lost my business and now instead of getting me to leave quietly I will make sure and tell everyone just how retarded your policies are. What happened to the customer is always right or even the common sense thinking that says if you help your customer then they'll probably gain loyalty and stay with you. It's unfortunate that you can't figure out how to treat the people that make you money. I really hope you figure it out, because as of now... You suck at customer service and that's enough to keep me from purchasing anything from you. It's the entire reason we haven't shopped at KMart in many years. It's funny... If you would have offered us anything at all instead of lying to us, then we probably would've stayed a customer...

18 comments:

Cade said...

So do you like Digis? I'm going to leave Qwest for many of the reasons you described. I was thinking Comcast, but now would like to try Digis. Do you like Digis? Should I convert?

Jason said...

Digis has been fine for us. I really haven't noticed much of a difference. My only complaint so far is that the initial outlay for the equipment sucks, but you'll make it up quickly due to the cheaper price, and you don't get a public IP Address by default. It costs an extra $5 a month. I like that it has about the same download speeds as Qwest (They are usually slightly slower) and that it has almost double the upload speeds I got on Qwest. I recommend it if you have a tower nearby.

Crystal Vaccaro said...

I am thinking of leaving Qwest also. I work out of the house and need the internet to do ALL of my work. My internet wasn't working for a week. They had sent three guys out here in their 4 HOUR time slots they gave me for EACH person...thats twelve hours Im just waiting for someone to show...and Im lucky if they decide to grace me with their presence. The first guy was a no show...no wait he came at 6 when I had been waiting from 1-5 and they said it was my fault for not being there. The next guy came three hours early and I happen to be there, lucky me, and he told me what was wrong with it told me that nothing could be done until Monday and left. Someone else showed up on Sunday for no reason at all...I have no idea why this guy came out but he told me the same thing the last guy did but that he would have it all set by Monday morning. He even gave me his number so if there was a problem I could call directly.
How nice, I thought. Someone wants to help...not so much I called six times and no answer or call back over a three day period.
When I finally had everything fixed all they could offer me was a refund on the days people were supposed to come out and fix my internet, not from when it went down...seven dollars. That really makes the twelve hour wait, drive to my denver office, and late night visits to my friends to use their internet ease my troubles.
Truth is, I can't even get mad at the guys doing their job because they just read to me what they are suppose to. I have a problem, they type it in, they read a response. It doesn't mean it isn't frustrating that there isn't anyone responsible for the way the company is organized.

Bretagne said...

You have more sympathy than I do- I hate qwest and I hate the people who work for that company-Cause they know they are lieing, they know they are giving you the run a round, they hope you will get tired of running in circles and just give them the money and back down. Well-I will not back down. You have crossed the wrong woman. LIES- Promises-that are broken, and a perice of crap help desk. What do I have to do to watch the tv I have paid for? I call Direct TV- they said that I'm paid up, so Qwest- who bundled it all into a steaming heap of shit- is closed- I have things that I wanted to record, watch- and I can't because their lowsy help desk is closed. They caused the problem, "the error is our fault" Yes it is- and yet I am suffering. I am going to do research, and find out who the Big man on campus is- and let him have it-QWEST SUCKS IN COSTUMER SERVICE_I HOPE THEY GO UNDER AND TAKE THEIR LIEING EMPLOYEES WITH THEM!

Anonymous said...

I have been trying for months to get an answer from Qwest. I would like to change from a 1.5 to a 7Mbps connection. Although every thing checks out ok, my distance to DSLAM, SNR Margin, Attenuation, and my modem I am told that only 1.5 or less is available. No one will tell me why or even attempt to find out. Sooo the first time anything of comparable speed comes along I will dump Qwest with joyful glee. Yes Qwest you have me by the whatchamacalits but someday competition will arrive and they will reap the benefits or your neglect.

Anonymous said...

I agree. Qwest is so stupid. They bought alot of my personal information from other companys and used it to charge us an extra $15.00 every month, for no reason !!!!!!!!!!!>:P

Kate Bacon said...

Qwest isn't a service provider...they are thieves who promise to provide something for a set amount and then they don't yet demand money. That is theft, the legal definition. The "technical experts" read from a list of questions prepared and know NOTHING about technology. They are useless and waste your time. Qwest is a shameful excuse for a company and the FCC needs to grow a set and lower the boom. LEAVE Qwest...tell them to take their final bills and eat them. Demand service for your money.

mikey said...

I used to work for these people and had their service.I switched my internet to cox cable.Problem solved.Being an ex employee i could go on for hours about them and CWA the loser union they are in bed with.Biggest most scummy thing is they replaced knowledgable old time employees,with bilinguals.To cut down on payroll.Most of those people lost thier retirement working from uswest.Because of qwest.

Anonymous said...

Qwest has been verry good to me,
but i guess i know to ask the right questions

Jason said...

I would love to know what the correct questions are to ask. Also the original post had nothing to do with asking. It had to do with them making promises and then not coming through. They lied. Not sure if it would have mattered what the question was if the answer was a lie.

Anonymous said...

Qwest blows! We switched over to Cox because could not ever bill us correctly. All we signed up for was Qwest's DSL package, yet each month $20 or more would show up on the bill for no reason at all. Customer service was hit and miss; majority of the time the representative would apologize and fix the issue. Only to have the same clusterf*%k issue occur again and again. Finally, I called and canceled our DSL. We have had cable internet now for 6 months and have had no complaints at all with them.

Qwest needs to get it together. It is obvious that their priority is signing up new business. The honeymoon is over as soon as you get an account with them. After that they won't tell you out right, but the message is clearly to go screw yourself. We gave them a shot, but both my wife and I regretted it 100%.

Anonymous said...

Scam artists and blatant cheats who will lie right to your face! I've been a land line phone customer since 1992. In 2008 after nine years of Choice TV and Online ("cable" and broadband) they notified it would no longer be available and I would have to switch over to Direct TV and Qwest DSL. I passed on the TV but purchased 7mbps DSL for a $32/mo "price for life" if I maintained the service for two years. A year later it showed up as $38/mo as a $6 "promotional discount" had expired. Six months later, June 2010, it goes up another $10 the explanation being that was supposed to be on the bill from the get go - back in 2008!! But they weren't going to back charge me. How nice. Even though I have the date and time and the name of the Qwest person and his ID# and the confirmation number of the $32/mo "price for life" deal I bought in 2008, these lying sacks of crap aren't going to stop charging me $48 a month. That's $192 a year all because I acted in good faith.

Elias said...

From my own personal experience (I'm not only a DISH customer but I work at one of the call centers, too)I can tell you DISH is by far superior...not just to COX but to ALL cable providers. DISH has a dual-tuner receiver with the largest DVR hard drive in the industry. They have the most HD in the industry and offer over 170 international channels with a Mexico specific package other companies don't carry. Like I said, it's not really even a competition.

Anonymous said...

Warm regards to the Case Family. Qwest has definitely messed up with us. They offered 1.5 M DSL at a fraction of what we were paying with Earthlink––just cut that service and we'll have you running in three days, they said. Here's your confirmation number, they said.

It's going on two weeks, and they've yet to honor the deal. They say that my confirmation number and order aren't even in their system any more. They acknowledge it's all their fault, they apologize and thank you for being so calm over and over, but they do nothing. They promise to call and don't. WORSE, they now claim that speed isn't available on our line anymore––the same Qwest landline over which Earthlink provided 1.5 M for many years! But for about the same amount quoted previously, they can offer 256K! Even though as they say, "it's a far cry from what you had."

Two weeks ago, I was satisfied with what I had. Qwest made me a deal & I'm now thinking of ditching their DSL, land line, and when the contract comes up, their Verizon phones. But don't just get mad, don't just drop Qwest, holler to the regulators at your DOJ consumer division and at your PUC. With any luck, Qwest will be hit with fines and forced to honor their promises.

In Oregon, the contacts are:
http://www.doj.state.or.us/contact.shtml
http://www.oregon.gov/PUC/consumer/comppro.shtml

Anonymous said...

Hi, I posted a week ago. Still don't have any DSL. Not at the quoted speed (1.5M) and price ($15/mos for first six months). But I've heard from several more Qwest reps including one who when I chuckled at her explanations, told me she could see that "we weren't getting anywhere," and hung up!
Her explanation for not honoring a verbal contract? "The service is not guaranteed until it is delivered."

I believe this is Qwest legalese which translates into: "Sorry sucker, you go with Qwest and you're buying a pig in a poke!"

I'm still looking at my options and there's a high-speed wireless service locally that looks promising with 3 mg speed for $35, in state phone for $25, and long distance for 3.9 cents a minute. Not decided, but clearly, landline isn't always best––nor fastest by a long shot.

As to the Qwest troll above who said we're not "asking the right questions," service isn't supposed to be a party game of 20 Q's! Qwest told me I'd have 1.5 megs 3 days after disconnecting my Earthlink service. It's going on three weeks and they say the best they can deliver over the very same landline that Earthlink used is 256 K.

They were quite jolly about telling me that the PUC can't regulate their services delivered over the internet. That doesn't mean you shouldn't call the PUC and demand change. They track complaints. Call your senators and representative while you're at it.

One more thing? Always, always read your Qwest bill and look out for unauthorized third-party billings.They sneak these on the tail of your regular billing, then give you a song-and-dance about how they're only the middle-man, and take their sweet time about crediting your account when you catch them. Don't pay these charges!!

How to put this politely? Qwest indeed aspirates.

Anonymous said...

I have the cable company coming out this week. I have been a Qwest customer for more than 20 years. I am paying for 'up to' 7mbps service but only get between .25 mbps and 1.3 mpbs. I call the company, they send me to some guy in India, who then tells its my modem. They send a new modem (4 times already) but the service never gets more than 1.3 mbps. More phone calls, more techs, and then they say well that's the best you can expect is 1.3mbps. I'm just tired of their crap. I'll let you know how Comcast cable works out.

Anonymous said...

WOW, I hadn't even had the service installed and I realized how awful they are as a company. They initially told us they would install on Friday when both my wife and I work. Be ready from 9-5 and we will be there. Yeah right. My wife took off work and around 3:00 in the afternoon she gave them a ring to find out that they had switched our install day to the upcoming Monday. My wife told them that wasn't acceptable. They gave her quite the run around. Then I had the dish company call and they gave him the run around. After that, I called and spoke to the most uneducated terrorist from who knows where. All I can say is that he is far from bilingual.He does not speak english. Luckily, we haven't contracted with them since the setup was scheduled through a dish company. Needless to say, they will have a tech at our house on Monday and nobody will be home. We are not using qwest. We will be looking to digis or clear. Qwest is garbage.

Unknown said...

Qwest is the worst!!!!

I paid my bundle bill online, their records show they never received it though my bank account says it went to them.

So they disconnect my DirectTV. To solve the problem until the bank issue is resolved, I just repay the bill over the phone. They said service would be restored in anywhere from 2 hours to 24. It has now been 28 hours later and my TV still does not have service. DirectTV says only Qwest can fix this and their billing office is closed until tomorrow. Stay away from Qwest like the plague!