Reply #10: It's great until you have a problem, then suit up for battle [View All]

In all instances, after you have called Tech Support and given them your basic info, INSIST on speaking with a second-tier tech.

Tier one support has been outsourced to India. They are courteous and and read the script diligently but they are working off a checklist that seldom resolves the issue. They are not skilled, experienced or intuitive, they are reading a script. And in all fairness, it has nothing to do with the fact that it's an India call center...SBC's tier one support has ALWAYS been this way.

SBC changed their policy after numerous customer complaints. It is now your RIGHT to INSIST on second-tier support, right up front. In the past, transferring you to tier two was solely at the discretion of your tier one tech (or you yould yell and stomp and ask to speak with their supervisor, which would usually do the trick).

DO NOT install the "SBC Yahoo" software. If you have Windows XP, you do not need it. Just make sure you have the current drivers for your network interface card and create a new connection in the "Network Connections" section of control panel. I made the mistake of installing it...and an SBC tech came to the house, REMOVED the software, told me it was the reason I was having disconnects and slow-downs, and they had the audacity to charge me $60 for this, which I had to fight. If you don't have XP, maybe someone here can advise you on what to do.

If you get through to the RIGHT people, they will help you...quickly and efficiently. If you don't know how to swim the waters and GET TO these people, trust me...you most certainly WILL suffer at some point.

In Silicon Valley CA, SBC owns the phone lines...so no matter what DSL carrier people here go with, when problems need fixing, they are fixed by SBC. Going with a different vendor does NOT mean avoiding SBC.