SpitwSpots

A former residence, where we are living, signed up for Internet Service through Spit Spots, a local Homer, Alaska provider. He agreed to a two-year contract for their service. The person, whose name is on the account, moved out of state, so we continued to make the monthly payments for service, under his name. We found the original speed was not meeting our needs, so we upgraded our account to 10Mbps, back in December 2012. Even after we upgraded, the speed of the connection was not as expected. Numerous calls were made to Spit Spots, to try and resolve this issue. The Tech Support team, ran some tests from the local office, and stated that everything was working normally, as intended. But, still the speed was not there. After continual complaint calls, Spit Spots agreed to send out a technician. This was scheduled for July 18, 2013. Yes, we've been dealing with poor service for that long. On the day of the appointment, we called to verify that they were still coming. They stated that they called and left a voicemail, stating that they would not be out on the 18th, and needed to reschedule for the July 19. Later that day, they called to tell us that they could not come out the 19th, and it would be at least 2 weeks before they could schedule a technician. This was unacceptable, as we have had numerous issues issues, and have made numerous calls. All of which ended with their support team telling us that everything was working normally. That it was because our kids play online games. Other times, we were told we needed a new router. I advised them, that I had been keeping a speed test log. Sometimes the testes were done when the kids were online. Other times, I performed the speed tests when I was the only one online, and only had the web browser open. The speed logs showed extreme inconsistencies. Spit Spots reluctantly agreed to send a technician out on July 20th. The tech arrived, and connected directly into the equipment, bypassing out router, and removing everyone off the network, except himself. Their technician, once onsite, was able to confirm, and verify that we were no where close to the 10Mbps speed, which we have been paying for, for months. He decided to swap out the dish, as their signal comes over the airwaves, much like a cell tower does with cell phones. After placing the new dish, he once again tested the connection. Again, we were still not getting the 10Mbps that we purchased. He went back and realigned the dish, and still, we were not getting the speeds agreed upon. He then stated that when we upgraded to the 10Mbps speed, that we should have upgraded our equipment to the larger dish, as they recommend that to all 10Mbps subscribers. He also stated that the dish is on is on a 3 foot tall tripod, that gets mounted on the roof. I asked if he could setup the larger dish, without mounting it, for testing purposes. Then if we were able to get the 10Mbps speed, he could mount it correctly. He stated that he could not, and it would need to be mounted. When asked if it could be removed, after mounting, he stated that the would leave the tripod mounted to the roof, and only remove the dish, if we moved, or terminated service. I told him that I did not find that a reasonable solution. The tech stated that if we ever did move, that any new residence would most likely get internet service through Spit Spots, so he felt leaving the 3 foot tripod attached to the roof, would just make it easier for any new residence. He also advised me that he did not have the equipment to install the larger dish at that time, and it would need to be scheduled to August 6, 2013. After numerous tests, they upgraded our residential quality service, to a higher priority business class, which got us closer to the 10Mbps speed. (It was around 6Mbps) They said they will reduce the amount me pay, to more accurately reflect the 6Mbps speed, until they could resolve this. After they left, we continued to run speed tests, and even with the business class upgrade, the speeds were still inconsistant. Sometime, even late at night, 2am, the speeds reflected were as low as 1Mbps. Numerous calls were made again, to try to get this resolved. They once again stated that they wanted to install the bigger dish. I told Kenny, that the only problem I had, was the fact that they had to mount the dish, and if it didn't resolve the issue, that I would now be stuck with a 3 foot tripod attached to the roof. After speaking with the technician, Kenny came back on the phone to advise us that they could setup the larger dish without mounting it, so we could test it. And that if we found it resolved our issues, then it could be mounted. This, I found acceptable, and we scheduled the install of the larger dish for August 6, 2013. I also asked about a refund for all months we've been having problems. He stated he would need to look into that, before he could authorize a refund. Days went by, and we received no call back from Kenny. My wife decided to call him and find out about the refund. He told her that he would issue a refund for 3 months of service. We found that acceptable, for all the problems we were having with their service. Later, he called back, and told my wife that he could only issue us a credit on the account. I called back and spoke with Kenny, to find out why he said he would issue a refund, then changed it to a credit on the account. He also stated that the credit was only for the difference between the 10Mbps speed and the 6Mbps speed. Which equated to only $20 per month, so a total of only $60 credit, which he already applied to the account, prior to my speaking with him. He also stated that we had a past due amount. I was unaware of any past due bills, but I told him that I would need to research that, and I would get back to him. We have had nothing but problems with Spit Spots as an Internet provider. They are overpriced, their connection speeds are not consistent, and their customer service is lacking. There are other Internet Providers in Homer, AK. Spit Spot charges $150 per month for 10Mbps speed. ACS charged $109 per month for 10Mbps speed. (ACS will also drop the months charge to $73 per month, if you sign up for a 1 year contract.) If you want to save yourself the headaches. If you want to save yourself the hours you'll waste on the phone. If you want to save yourself the endless arguments with the kids about poor Internet. Do yourself a favor. Don't use Spit Spots as your Internet Provider. It took us a while, but we finally realized this, and switched over to ACS, and have not had any issues.