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TwitterIt’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, so it’s unfortunate to start 2009 with a rant about a company that doesn’t know how to deal with its customers.
In Sackville, the only cable provider in town is EastLink. Back in July when we moved to our current home, I was in Sudbury with my mother and Claire was stuck having to handle the move on her own. So I wasn’t around to supervise the cable installation and Claire had other things to tend to.
This past Christmas, we moved the TV to a new location so we could put up the tree. Here’s what I found:
EastLink's Shoddy Work
EastLink’s installer had drilled through our hardwood floor, right next to pre-existing wall outlet, to run the cable to our TV. From there, the signal is split and then run back into the wall outlet to connect to Claire’s office for the cable modem. You see, almost every room in the house has a neat, in-wall cable outlet. It was originally wired that way.
Downstairs, directly below this outlet and the hole the guy drilled, you can see where most of the house’s cable outlets come out to connect to a splitter. That’s his white wire hanging loose on the left before running up through the floor.
Coaxial cable junction location
The splitter, of course, is no longer there, having been removed by the EastLink installer who apparently is under instructions to leave the house with exactly as many outlets as have been ordered, regardless of how many may have been there for the previous satellite-based installation.
In any event, it shouldn’t have been a problem to use the existing outlets, no matter how many of them are left active (i.e. connected to a splitter). There was no reason in hell to drill through our floor at this location other than sheer laziness or stupidity. I don’t have a problem with an installer disconnecting outlets we haven’t paid for, but I do have a problem with him messing up the perfectly good, clean wiring and punching holes in the floor.
Today we took down the Christmas tree and I was reminded of this nonsense because it’s in plain sight again. So I phoned EastLink to explain the problem and ask them to send an installer to correct the shoddy work.
Instead of saying something to the effect of “That’s terrible, we’ll send someone to have a look”, the agent started quizzing me about how many outlets I had in the house. I told her that wasn’t the point; the guy had drilled through my floor when it was clearly unnecessary, and the work was of poor quality. I just wanted the cable signal to come out of the wall outlets, like it had originally when we moved in.
Well, she said, it will cost $9.95/month for an additional outlet.
I don’t think you understand, I said.
I tried to explain why it was unacceptable to me to buy an additional outlet to have the damage undone. (I didn’t even get into the fact that until last month we were paying for a second TV outlet that the guy never hooked up.)
The agent then proceeded to tell me that Claire had signed off on the work and therefore it must have been OK. I explained to her that Claire would have signed off on the basis that the TV was working and that the work is definitely not OK, so please fix it.
The EastLink agent then said that it had been too long since the installation, so they couldn’t do anything about it. I explained that the TV stand had been blocking our view of the hole in the floor and the splitter just hanging there and that I would have definitely called sooner had it come to my attention earlier.
The agent still wasn’t getting why I had a problem with the installation since I was only paying for a single outlet. Does it make sense, I asked, for the installer to completely bugger up a house’s wiring and drill unnecessary holes through an expensive hardwood floor to make darn sure that I only get a single cable outlet in the house? Is the installer instructed by EastLink to sabotage existing cable outlets?
No, the agent assured me, he’s not instructed to do this. But she would do nothing for me. I asked to speak to the supervisor, who apparently by this point was already monitoring the call.
We went through the same thing again, so she could “explain” their policy on number of outlets to me. I related, once again, that this was not the point. The point was the damage done to my floor and the pre-existing wiring. To which she too responded that it had simply been too long since the installation and there was nothing she could do. One more time, I told her that the second-rate work had been obscured to me for all this time and was now apparent since the TV had been moved.
This time she asked me how big my TV was. What does that have to do with anything, I asked? Well, it must be a pretty big TV for you to not have noticed the hole in the floor, she suggested.
Look, I said. It’s unfortunate that you’re dodging your responsibility to correct your installer’s lousy work based on your doubts about the size of my TV, the fact that you have my wife’s signature on a work order and that it’s been over 5 months that the work was done. I’m not even asking for the floor to be fixed; I just want the wiring re-done correctly.
No, sir, we will not be sending someone to your home.
Well, I said, your problem now isn’t that I will discontinue my service with EastLink as a result of your unwillingness to take responsibility for your installer’s incompetence. Your problem is that I share my customer service experiences with as many people as I can.
Have a nice day.
Jan 03, 2009 @ 16:24:42
Wow, that’s seriously f’d up. AFAIK, the only thing the cable company owns or has legal rights to is the locked cable box outside your house. The existing house wiring is yours to do whatever you feel like.
I have my house wired similarly with coax panels in each room. I use coax to route video around, and I don’t even have “Cable TV”. If a cable tech came in and messed up my stuff, I’d be pissed.
Jan 03, 2009 @ 21:47:43
Wow. And I thought Rogers was bad.
Jan 06, 2009 @ 10:35:53
I am responding to this post about Eastlink in a blatant attempt to increase search engines ability to find it when Eastlink is the search term used. Hopefully Eastlink has a social media expert searching and responding to Eastlink blog posts.
Jan 09, 2009 @ 09:43:14
Drilling through your hardwood floor, just to satisfy some draconian corporate policy?
I think you should Consumerist this thing.
Mar 16, 2009 @ 16:44:14
At least you got hooked up. I started calling Eastlink in January 2009 to have digital cable installed in our home in Newfoundland. An installation date of Jan 28 was set up and we were told it would be an [all day] appointment. No problem so far. In the mean time I contacted Aliant and Star Choice to inform them we would not be keeping their internet and TV subscription respectively.
On Jan 28 installation crew arrived an informed me they could not do the install as the Telephone Pole outside my home did not have a drop installed next to the digital cable. I informed the guy [that isn't my problem, you guys know this is a new digital cable and was just recently installed on the pole line up and down the highway here. Can't you just install the drop?. Nope, that's another crew's job....Called the Eastlink folks and got some lady in Halifax who proceeded to tell me the install would have to be rescheduled and that the problem was my house. I told her she had it wrong and the problem was the cable on the pole and a simply drop would solve the issue. To this day she would not agree with me on that.
So, here I am with no TV and no Internet service. Had to call Aliant/Star Choice and schedule a reconnect. This was accomplished after two working days. I then [like a fool] contacted Eastlink and rescheduled another install. A date wasn’t available until March 13 so I agreed and assumed this would give the install crew ample time to connect the drop etc. Once again I inform Aliant/StarChoice that I would be discontinuing their services and they very politely noted the last day of service 15 March [gave Eastlink two extra days in case there was another problem].
The faithful day arrives when my install is finally going to happen! Nobody arrives in the morning so I contact Eastlink in Halifax and am assured that the Install crew would be there sometime today and that it was an [all day appointment]. By the time 5 P.M. rolled around and still no Install crew I again contact Eastlink and once again was told not to worry they would be there. Again at 7 P.M. I call and once again the lady said they would be arriving. I told here they had better bring some good flashlights as it gets dark here in Newfoundland in March around 7:15 or so.
Needless to say we did not see any install crew or did we receive any call to explain anything. I called Eastlink bright and early the next morning and asked why I had not been hooked up. The lady stated that the crew had worked late and didn’t have time to get to my house. I asked her why no one had even bothered to contact me. She stated it isn’t company policy to do that. [WHAT?]
So once again here I am without TV and Internet service. After calling Aliant and Starchoice again I was restored and back on line. It has been a very embarrassing and
disappointing experience to say the least.
The worst part of this whole ordeal……I was informed that not only would I not be hooked up today, a day late, but the next available date to do an install at my house would be APRIL 21. I had been dropped to the very back of the queue. Needless to say I will not hold my breath. I contacted Eastlink and requested to speak with someone in management or at least someone in a supervisory role but [surprise] no one has bothered to contact me. Maybe the good Lord is trying to tell me something??????? Stay away from Eastlink. What a way to conduct business….
Mar 16, 2009 @ 19:51:44
Thanks for sharing that, Frank. Come to think of it, I too, have had to waste several hours waiting on earlier occasions for installers to show up during the 8am to 6pm “window”. One of those times they were complete no-shows due to weather.
Mar 17, 2009 @ 11:08:15
Just got off the phone with an Eastlink Rep in St John’s Newfoundland. Had a very “civil” conversation, and it was refreshing to talk with someone who would actually “listen”. We went through my particular story and she agreed it was outrageous what had transpired to date. She apologized for the treatment my wife and I had received and stated that she could have someone at my home tomorrow to complete the install. I told her no thanks as I have lost all confidence in her company and my problem is [what happens if I start encountering problems once I'm hooked up]. Will I get the same treatment. For now I will stick with Aliant and StarChoice. StarChoice was good enough to offer me extra channels at a reduced cost, so this was not ALL bad. Bottom line——-Check out the company before you purchase……
Mar 22, 2009 @ 14:57:22
you guys are scaring me, as I’m planning to move into my home (that Pierre rented when he first moved to Sackville) in July and get eastlink to set stuff up.
Jun 29, 2009 @ 10:29:40
Typical of Eastlink. I once had my phone cut off by them, after being harrassed for over $300 which I did not owe. They cut my phone off when i was 8 months pregnant and in a high risk pregnancy. I spent over an hour on the phone with them ( racking up my cell phone bill which I did not have daytime minutes for), explaining their mistake to them. She puts me on hold for several minutes and comes back saying (surprise!) I was right and that they actually OWED ME $80 in credit. They sent me a check. I cancelled my phone service with them.
They totally suck at customer service!
Jul 14, 2009 @ 11:45:03
Eastlink sucks big time!
Aug 17, 2009 @ 15:33:26
I have had similar problems with Eastlink installations since moving here to Canada. I am originally from a small town in Maine. Even in small town USA we have a choice in cable companies. This puts cost lower and services from them at a higher level because these companies are competeing for your business.
I live in Cape Breton now with my wife, and since moving here I have been completely appalled and let down time and again by Eastink. In our last apartment they drilled holes through the hardwood floors just as you have pictured. I watched as they did it, and thought “If I was the landlord I would be screaming!”. I have since bought a house of my own, and Eastlink had previously been installed. I had to wait over a week for the install, which I thought was obsurd, but apparently standard in the Maritimes. Recently however, we did some renovations and my phone went down (part of the Eastlink bundle). I called on a Sunday from another residence and spoke to an operator who gave me some troubleshooting tips. I tried the remedies, but to no avail. I called back and they set up an appointment for the following day(all day appointment). I left a phone number for them to contact me. At this point I was ecstatic about their promptness, and called my employer to take the following day off to meet the repairman. I was told he could arrive anywhere between 8am and 5pm. I called at about 10 am to check up on them and to inform them that I now had a cell phone and would be on premises(They now had 2 numbers with which to contact me).. I waited the entire day until approximately 3:30 pm before I decided to call. I asked the operator when the repairman would be arriving and if I had possibly missed them. The operator then told me that I was scheduled for the following day a Tuesday!?! I proceeded to tell them that I had taken the day off, and they told me sorry but there’s nothing they could do. I asked when they were planning on calling me, and they had no answer on their little computer screen to give me. It really frustrates me that people can do a business like that here. No offers of reimbursement. I pay my bills on time every time and with Eastlink you need to pay a month in advance(another farce). How can they simply offer me a sorry after wasting my entire day and costing me a days worth of wages. I pay them over $150 per month for services which cost me half of that in the States. Even with higher taxes here in Canada, I know their profit margin must be much higher. We are slowly making them rich while they could care less if we even have use their services while we pay for them.
Sep 08, 2009 @ 20:53:30
the trouble with Eastlink is they pay very low and there is a constant cycle of employees coming and going.
Feb 01, 2010 @ 21:57:28
I have lived in Delta B.C for 20 years and have had great success with Delta Cable.. that is until they were purchased by Eastlink. I have had too many problems and like everyone previous says “no customer service” I subscribed to HD tv and bought a PVR and paid for all the hd channels as well as internet connection. 8 mos later 1 by 1 my HD channels start to dissappear! After far too many calls (from B.C. to too far back east for me) I’m repeatedly told that although I’ve been shelling out 150.00 a month these HD channels had been supplied for free and now the trial is over! Eastlink could not present a contract that could back up this so after weeks of arguing we settled on the 20.00 extra with a 10.00 discount for 12 months. It wasn’t much good having a 52″ tv and no HD signal.
Today my PVR and Internet doesn’t work and I’ve called Tech assistance and have been told my account is on hold. (My non-PVR old style tv works fine so I ‘m not sure how that is.) I have a direct withdrawl on my Mastercard so my account should be current. I have had no phonecalls,emails or letters about my account and my Mastercard worked fine this morning. My call to tech support was transferred to accounting and I was left on hold . After 10 minutes I hung up.
I could NOT reccomend this company to anyone looking to do business with them.
Feb 11, 2010 @ 16:34:17
As a former employee of Eastlink (at their head office in Halifax) I can’t say the number of bad experiences people have posted here surprises me. Needless to say, Eastlink’s bad reputation is growing and is a result of extremely poor management.
Like most private companies their eye is on the “bottom line”. They haven’t updated their archaic business model from when they were a small, local provider. Their focus is purely on profit, not customer satisfaction, good service or providing a solid product.
With regards to a majority of their installations, its contractors (with Eastlink Ids and trucks), not actual employees that perform these duties. So your experience will greatly vary, as there is not real “standards” on how installations are done. The attitude here is ‘Just get the damn thing done, we don’t care how, so we can get paid.’
Needless to say it was this type of foolishness and sub-standard management of the company that prompted me, and several others, to quit working for them.
As a business looking for a provider I wouldn’t expect much. I can almost guarantee your project won’t be completed on schedule. This is why the NS Provincial Government is currently looking at fining the company several million dollars.
Feb 14, 2010 @ 02:32:47
As you know i was with persona back in 2006 or 2007..then sences EastLink came ..I god a big bill so i did pay..After new month …all tv freezeup 2 time in a month and still it keep happening ..And then i sign up on Eastlink website to lookup my bill ..and guess what..i can not log in at all ..so me i try to retreave my username and pasword , and i did wait till next day …And guess what now …no damn luck …so me i try signup again and guess what now …on website , its says ( you already have account ) so what the fuck …i got so pist off right now ,,,so what happen next? well me i stop pay them ..i was go back to vianet and plus i whent back to shaw direct …Few days later …i lost my internet and phone from vianet..so me i call vianet see what going on ..they told me to check modem and all connection so i did …i was running back and fourth on pay phone witch about 4 km away from my home and i done that about 5 time..so now i got even more pist off that vianet tech …and i told them right off..but guess what everyone…that not all …guess what happen , …i just for the hell of it ..i whent outside and go look on my poles where my cable are ..and i did look and what did i see ? my fuckin damn cable disconnect …so …i call back to vianet on pay phone again its about another 4km away from my home and i told them what i see .i told them but i whent to website ( i was using somebody internet ) i told Eastlink that ( if you try disconnect me 1 more time ..i will sue you ) ..so i did say that …i did say sorry to vianet tech …and everyone work there …but i did not say sorry to that fuckin moron (Eastlink)…so the next day i got it back…and guess what…its not all…after few month …after that..i recieved a bill ..and guess how much ….over $370 ..when i told them to send my bill into my mail and did not doing it and now they sending it …like fuckin hell i won,t damn pay that bill …the way they treat it us ? no chance in hell i won,t pay it …if Eastlink want to sue me …go head..i will get a law suit on them..plus …on top of that..this website ? …i will saved it …and i hope all people in sudbury will change to shaw direct…i love shaw direct i got few channel of hd and its cheapper too…plus the very good news too the picture and sound? well guess what…they are awesome …never had no problem ..what a picture i got on my tv..as for me to everyone live in sudbury ontario canada..i hope they going to shaw direct and the hell Eastlink …hope they doo…
well that all and good luck to everyone and take care..
bye now
Bern
Dec 17, 2010 @ 08:07:34
I just signed up for Eastlink and my TV was freezing and pixelating. I called thier support line and they didn’t do a damn thing for me.
Apr 23, 2011 @ 22:38:01
I’m a customer service representative at Eastlink…actually, my official title is “Sales & Service Representative”. There is no actual “Customer Service” Department with Eastlink. Anyways, we low-paid reps have no actual power to do anything other sell cable. We have no way of contacting installers, or putting customer complaints through to higher-ups, or issuing credits, or anything other than selling more services. I mean we are 100% incapable of it. We don’t have any phone numbers or buttons on our computers to do any of the 3,000 things customers actually need done.
Our supervisors don’t take customer calls. In fact, every time a customer insists on speaking to a higher-up, the poor representative gets in trouble. Our calls are monitored but so long as we sell the customer something it’s a “pass”, regardless of what the issue is. If we don’t manage to sell, it’s a “fail”. At the end of the month, Eastlink finds a way to steal back all the commission the agent has worked hard for for the past 4 weeks, either because sales weren’t high enough ON EVERY CALL or because…well, that’s the only real criteria for what makes a succesful call. We don’t even have any training on how this stuff is installed or what is involved. They teach us to use the computer system and then say “go sell stuff”.
In summary, when you call Eastlink because your bill is outrageous, or some idiot installer drilled holes in your hardwood floor, it is completely impossible for the agent you are speaking to do anything other than try to sell you Hi-Def tv. I don’t know if it’s any better at Bell Aliant, but I do know that, as an employee, I would never give Eastlink my business.
Jun 01, 2011 @ 09:02:20
I came across this information quite by accident online.
I was looking up information on faster internet speeds offered at Eastlink. I am a former Employee of Eastlink. I worked out of the Truro office. I was there from 2004 to 2007. I have worked at a Customer Service Agent & Service and Repair. I have been on both sides of the conversation of customer and employee.
I have also took “ownership” of the calls coming in. I used to speak with allot of people in one day if it was a sales day, and I spoke to few if it was a repair/installation type day.
First; I would like to say to the customers who call in need of help. Please select the service and repair selection. CSR’s (customer service reps) can only sell you a product or rebook an appointment.
Second; I am getting tired of employee who says they can’t do anything. What a load of crap. I never in 3 years was left with an upset customer. I put in extra time and I did follow ups and even sometimes not even getting paid for it. Good customer service sometimes requires you to do something for someone else….people have forgotten about that. Sometimes I think about going back as they could use someone like me to teach or remind people that,” good customers come from good representatives.”
So an employee will not get a bonus…if they only have repair calls, …Oh well….it was mentioned during the hiring process you would be trained for customer service and repair. How about counting on something that will happen…your hours. To many people are just getting by and you’re bitching about your bonus that might happen. Problem is that people don’t like to take ownership, it creates liability and that means it might be on your conscience and you might have to do something about it… I know for a fact that Eastlink still says, “take ownership of each and every call”
Lastly, I would like to say in general the installer will do his/her best to get an install right, but as a consumer you have a few things to do as well. If it is a new house, find out what company installed cable last, when was it used last? If it is a new house, did you have the cable and telephone wires added during the construction, it should be and if it is not they will have to drill holes. Find out what grade of cable wire is currently being used and run it yourself.
As a former employee of Eastlink who left and continues to get full WTS bundle (watch talk and surf) Please Customers do your homework on your home and wire situation before booking and Eastlink, CSR’s Please after you say who you are just “LISTEN” to what is being said.
Jan 01, 2012 @ 21:59:39
I find this surprising, switched from shaw direct 2 years ago for the mlb package have had very little trouble with customer service other then trying to phone them(hire more CSR’s) but if a channel or channels are down they are usually working again within an hour after I tweet, I get very good reception & fast internet on my system.