I received a letter from the internet slumlords over at Insight Cable today. Frankly, I expected a check crediting me for the huge chunks of down time I've suffered due to Insight's invisible upgrades. No such luck. Instead, Insight congratulated me on being an Insight sucker/customer for a whole year now. They also informed me that Insight is going to continue my low introductory rate of thirty bucks a month for providing me internet service when and if they feel like it. Next came an e-mail from the dorkwads at Insight letting me know that my service "may" be disrupted June 3rd while they make yet even more invisible upgrades. Yup. Sounds like Polly will once again only be able to blog via smoke signals soon.
Tax supported wi-fi is looking better and better and even slightly justified lately.
BTW, did anyone see Gary Sandberg at the Council meeting a few weeks back when he stated that disrupted internet service was not a serious issue?! Are you kidding me? I guess we know who Sandberg's internet provider isn't.
If your mind is too open, your brain will fall out. Warning: Names, identities, descriptions, and pictures have been changed and/or used to protect the innocent as well as the guilty. PollyPeoria should not be used or quoted as a source for your senior college thesis.
Wednesday, May 31
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26 comments:
I'm just insecure and paranoid enough to believe that, Vonnie. However, my neighbors are having the same problem. Come to think of it, they seem a bit paranoid too...
Interesting phone call to receive. I guess if you're an "old" customer of Insight's - years and years and years - you don't get a price break at all. So, enjoy your brief price break.
But, don't forget how to do the smoke signal thingy. I too suffered days and days of "down time" thanks to Insight's upgrades. It was a big deal to me!
Upgrades shudgrades. I could have driven to the 10 people that read my site, and just told them what I thought. It could be that the Insight commercials promoting customer service that show employees doing weird stuff is the reason they're down all the time...They're not working!!!!
Installing those NSA cable taps is hard work...
Wonder if they would like a new customer. We are changing to Insight this weekend. Almost tempted to cancel and stay where I'm at. How often does this happen?
In the words of Elwood Blues, "so often you'll hardly even notice"
OK...thanks: We'll switch
Gentle Anonymous,
Some timid, well thought out, 100% hysteria free, advice for you....
DON'T DO IT!!! RUN!!! SAVE YOURSELVES!!! INSIGHT IS THE WORST INTERNET "PROVIDER"/slumlord EVER, EVER, EVER!!!
My guess is that Mr. or Mrs. Vonster works for Insight, because Insight really, truly sucks!!!
seriously disagree. I had SBC before switching to Insight. Customer service sucked. If I talked to someone who spoke english they didn't know what they were talking about...India must have been sleeping or something. My bill went up $30 for no reason that anyone could tell me. One month it was $30 and the next it was $60. I was never under one of their specials or anything.....and when I inquired, no one could tell me why it went up, but the wouldn't bring it back to $30. My connection with SBC went down for 3 weeks..again, no one could tell me why. I finally figured it out and it was there fault. My profile had been deleted...do you think I got my money back? And we're not talking about a day or two...this was damn near a month I paid for that I didn't have service.
So Insight was down for a couple days. Big deal. I much happier with download speeds and customer service with Insight than I ever was with SBC.
Wow, Anon -
I've never had a problem with SBC. I know people as well as yourself have. However, except for a few times when I've experienced slow download speeds, I've NEVER had what Polly has experienced where Insight had been down for days.
Polly - I LOVE these "introductory" rates to get you to switch and then a year later they jack the price to "the regular price". I know, I read the fine print that said that was going to happen. But for how people change internet providers as often as they change their shorts nowadays, you would think these companies would give longevity discounts to reward one for staying. I've been with SBC for 3 years. After the intro was up, they didn't raise the rate, which I couldn't figure out...probably overlooked something on their end. When it did go up, I got this letter stating that it would go up to $49.99 a month, no contracts to sign, could go month to month, etc. I called and said "Why can't I get a yearly contract like I have now and seems to me you should REWARD long time users with a price break". The response was "Oh, you can get a yearly contract". They don't TELL you THAT in the letter. My DSL Pro is 21.99 a month....for the next 12 months and I'm happy as a clam..well, a clam that isn't sitting in Dixon's Seafood display counter.
I would have responded sooner, but for the last two frickin days I have been barred from the internet again, due to invisible upgrades being made by Insight. Bastards. I really hate them. Vonster, I'm glad they have been good to you, at least they are preforming a service- actually working for somebody- but for me and mine they SUCK!!!
Before Insight I had SBC. My beef with them was they did not install DSL correctly. I could not use the phone and be on the internet at the same time, which is vital. Often someone will be on the internet while someone else is on the phone in my household. Plus, I need to be able to order pizza while surfing Zappo.com for more shoes. Anyway, numerous calls to SBC asking that they repair the problem yielded no results.
Until late April Insight was good. However, I no longer believe them when they say they are making upgrades and barring folks from the net days at time with no service or credit. I would guess that I have not been able to access the net from my home computer at least fifteen days in the last month. They suck, suck, SUCK!!!
Hey, Polly, today Insight came to my door to offer my free cable and 50% off my service package!
Screw existing customers! There's so many new ones to get!
There are only a couple of broadband services available in Peoria. SBC DSL and Insight. Cable is much faster and more dependable. I have been with Insight since cable was offered and it was called @Home, Overall, the service has been up 95% of the time.... Some people are too stupid to reset their router/modems and don't reliaze that has to be done every now and then, You have to be smarter than your computer. If you complain that you were down, Insight has always offered a credit. They have me many times since this upgrade. No, I don't work for Insight, they're just the best in this area. Quit whinning already.
emtronics,
If I were alone in my absolute hatred of Insight I wouldn't feel justified in whinning (sic), however, there have been other whiners who wrote editorials to the paper and even called their councilperson. No, I don't live in Patrick Nichting's district, but he said he received many calls regarding the continued disruptive service. I did ask for credit and was denied. Frankly, I shouldn't have to ask for credit. They know when they haven't provided service and the fact that they bill regardless shows how slimy a corporation they really are. I have to reboot my computer every day lately in order access the net. Not labor intensive, but time consuming and annoying as hell. Moreover, rebooting only works 25% of the time. I do agree that being located in a smaller market we are screwed with few choices- although I did not notice any speed differences between SBC and Insight. Does anyone out there use MTCO?
I didn't say reboot your computer, I said you have to reset your modem, which is the same as saying reboot the modem and router if you use one. I can not believe you weren't offered discount. It was offered to me, my friend, and his friend. If you think Insight is screwed, then you'll love SBC. Talk about down time and it is slower than cable. As for complaining to their councilperson about cable, I can see that, but only because the city collects a tax on cable and only maybe one person did. To tell ya the truth, the only problem I had was with their email being down for a few hours, I think that's because I knew how to release my IP address and renew it in Windows, and I reset my router and modem on occasion.
Okay, okay. I meant modem. I did EVERYTHING Insight said. Unplug everything. Router, modem. blah, blah... wait a few minutes, jiggle the handle on the toilet, dance the hokey pokey and prayed a Hail Mary and still nothing. As far as refund/credit, they stated one was appropriate only if there were damages and/or lost revenue due to failure of service. To which I say, Bullsh*t! I paid for a service which they failed to provide. I'm thinking enough people have called demanding refunds that they are changing the rules... So I will say it again, this time in a far more reserved, thoughtful, and mature manner... INSIGHT SUCKS ASS!!!
I agree with your high self if Insight changed the rules mid stream. Their upgrade was a cluster F**k and they knew they screwed up, but now the system is running again OK, right? I mean I had very very little trouble BEFORE the upgrade, and now no trouble after the upgrade. Besides, if you think Insight sucks, try SBC/Yahoo DSL. They could suck a softball thru a garden hose. Now go have some herbal tea and fill the bong. ")
Never could get into the tea thing, tried a couple of times but it always smells like the elephant den at the zoo. Coffee is much better and more effective. Polly is too conservative (Read: chickensh*t) to go the bong route. My employer has the "right" to require me to take a piss test at anytime, because heaven knows my job requires precision decision making skills someone could die if I press the wrong button on this keyboard, I tell you!
Emtronics, follow along with the rest of the class would ya? I HAD SBC DSL. They were fine, could not tell a difference as far as speed. However, everytime I received a phone call I got disconnected to the internet. Many attempts to remedy the situation failed and thus I jumped onto the Insight wagon. I was fine with Insight before the invisible upgrades, but we are now on TWO months of pathetic service and excuses. I think I deserve a credit without asking for it. Let alone being denied one because I had no damages. They don't know my blood pressure. They don't my numerous fans, all thirteen of them have spent sleepless nights, suffering from painful withdrawl denied my wit and wisdom, worried if I was okay.... Hey a girl can dream!
Sorry Polly, I work for the government and I am expected to be stoned so.....If you were disconnected from your DSL when your recieved calls, then one or more of the wires, there are two, were crossed. In the old days, there were four wires, Red, green, yellow, and black. Red and green were the actual phone line, the other two were either another line or they powered the light in your Princess Phone. Remember those? Well, with the advent of LCD's (light emitting diodes) yellow and black were no longer needed but it was important to keep all the reds and all the greens together. If they were crossed, then you couldn't "break" the dial tone with the then new touch tone phones. Dials didn't matter. After the phone company upgraded fully, polarity of the red and green no longer mattered except now with DSL which transmits the freq down the line and you need filters to keep that from intrupting your calls and visa versa. Simply put, all a tech had to do, is check your poraity and switch 2 wires, your DSL would have worked. Am I following along now? :)
Emmie Baby,
A+ for effort, although my brain is dizzy from reading your solution to my former problem! While you very well may be correct, SBC sent two different repair dudes to my home to remedy the situation. Maybe THEY were stoned? After "repairs" I would still lose my internet connection when a call came in, about 40% of the time. SBC blamed it on my alarm system. Even though I repeated told them I don't have one. Stoned dorkwads!
Sorry to make you dizzy. It's easy for me to understand but hard for me to put it to words for someone with little knowledge of the phone system to grasp. I do computer repair and DSL installs for prople who do not have a clue when they get the kit. Many a time I had to enter the phone interface and check polarity. The repair guys for SBC, at least the ones I have run into seem to be rude and could care less about your problem. I had a seperate line for my modem in the old days when dialup was it and it disconnected me all the time. The repair guy said it was my cheap phones, still, I made him climb the pole and lo and behold, a squirrel had chewed through the line exposing the wires to moisture. OOPS, was he pissed.
Emmie Baby? We haven't even had dinner yet nailcakes. lol
nailcakes? Huh?
Very old term dating back to Zap Comics....you seem to have a good sense of humor and that was my dry attempt to stir it... Emmie
No prob. Sorry. Zap Comics is not a known element in my world. Comics are kind of a guy thing, no? Kind of like the Three Stooges.
INSIGHT SUCKS were the words I googled to find like minded folks who suffered at the hands of the cable giant- it has been two weeks of hell, cable box caught fire, they denied liability and took box, then after they Had the Evidence they said it was cathair - ok then, no liability on anyone's part, fire, no lawsuit, just asking for some credit to cover elec fix- and now, after they have evidence (I gave them outlet and box after they agreed to credit my bill a lousy hundred bucks), they deny it- this on top of cable internet that is on again and off again- I have done the reset dance up to twelve times in a morning and finally just quit- had a friend here to visit, he had business online and had to leave a day early to get a better connection- INSIGHT SUCKS- and right now there is NO competition- but, soon, att will be here- I have too many trees for dish- so, I sit and wait and bitch and moan and am sending emails and smoke signals to whoever listens (no one apparently) thanks for your post- phyllis
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