Earthlink sucks...Part II

Earthlink redux

I promised this one, and now I'm ready to deliver the goods...

If you'll recall my previous post on the topic of sub-par customer support by one of the U.S.'s largest ISPs. Well, it doesn't end there.

After apparently exhausting all other resources and giving logic the bird, a DSL "specialist" provided my brother with the following brilliant scheme to diagnose his DSL problem:

1. Grab a pair of wire strippers, wire cutters, an extension cord, and some spare wire.
2. Locate his home's NID box.
(see where this is going?)
3. Grab your DSL modem. Plug it into the extension cord and drag that sucker outside.
4. Open the NID box and locate the incoming telco wiring.
5. Strip a small section of the wires and attach aforementioned wiring to the newly exposed wiring.
6. Attach loose wires to the exposed ends of your Cat5 cable.
7. Run like hell when the Qwest guy shows up.

The last one's mine. On top of all this, they provided my brother with a "Release of Liability" clause with the instructions and informed him that "your phone company may want to be informed prior to performing any alterations." Gee, ya think? I can't imagine that Earthlink would not be held responsible if someone went snooping around their house for loose wires and started cutting into them.

Fortunately, my brother is an intelligent human being with a degree in Social Work. He knows not to go cutting into random wiring around a home built in the 1940's.

Some people aren't so bright...