Sects, Lies and Red Tape

by Patricia Fusco ISP-Planet Managing Editor [May 18, 1999]

Part 2: Protest and Survive

Are consumer sects all part of a larger conspiracy exercised by the telecommunications industry to minimize competition and maximize margins? No. The grass roots and the half-truths are simply business as usual, reminding ISPs that Ma Bell may have been disbanded, but the Baby Bell’s learned their business models from Mommy Dearest.

Bruce Kushnick, author of The Unauthorized Biography of the Baby Bells, estimates that somewhere between 30 to 50% of all Internet Service Providers receive sub-standard customer service from their line provider.

ISP service complaints include no notice for routine maintenance scheduling, lost service tickets and line orders, unreturned phone calls, rampant billing errors and blatant lies about service guarantees.

In an informal survey, a sampling of ISP chief executive officers reported telco-billing errors ranging from $12,000 to $180,000 a year, with painstakingly slow account reconciliation and adjustment procedures. Threats of discontinued line feeds often force ISPs with an urgent billing issue to sever business agreements and incur early termination penalties for sub-standard service.

Kushnick said the "contemptuous and incompetent level of customer service that phone companies provide to ISPs is not a conspiracy to drive ISPs out of business." Kushnick theorized that the "pathetic customer service provided by phone companies is a consequence of their standard business model and lack of training."

According to Kushnick, the Baby Bells have historically faced two issues each time a new service is provided to customers. First, there is a staffing issue. There simply are not enough personnel to provide a decent level of service to ISPs.

Kushnick said, the "Baby Bells operate today with half of the staffing levels of 1997. The PUCs in New York and Ohio had to step-in and fine the Baby Bells to get them to increase their customer support levels."

Second, existing support staff is poorly trained and failing to meet the demands of the marketplace. Kushnick said, "until the Bells spend some money emphasizing new service training programs for telecommunications support staff, there will be no relief for ISPs, or anyone else."

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