I sat down the other day to call Qwest and Comcast to find out what my options are for internet access. I was expecting to find that DSL would be a little cheaper, but that cable would be able to be installed more quickly. My primary concern at the moment is cost, but installation speed is a close second. I was suprised to find no real advantage to either one.
I called Comcast, and the girl on the phone was extremely helpful (which has been true of most of the people I’ve spoken with at Comcast). She answered all my questions and gave me any bit of information I might need, as well as letting me know about some options I didn’t know were available which saved me some money.
She knew I was about to call Qwest to compare pricing and she said “I’m pretty sure you’ll find it’s a little cheaper for DSL, but I really think you’ll be happier with us…” and then she sweetened the deal by giving me the installation kit for free and knocking $10/month off my bill for the first three months. I asked about this, and it turns out Comcast gives their operators some leeway to give some free stuff to customers to motivate them to stick with their services if they’re thinking about leaving.
It boiled down to about $45 per month with Comcast. That’s $10 cheaper than normal because I’m going to have normal cable services as well. The installation fee was only about $10, the modem/install kit was free, and she knocked $10 per month off my bill, so for the first three months I’ll only be paying about $35, and back to $45 after that. Also, they could get someone out to install the cable on the day we move in, so that’s nice.
Then I called Qwest (actually, I called the company that would be my ISP, DSL Northwest, who I’ve used before, and are pretty good). Maybe I just got a guy who doesn’t normally run the phones, but it was like pulling teeth to get any information out of this guy. He told me that it’s $51 per month for stand-alone DSL services (nice that I don’t have to get a phone line anymore), with a $20 installation fee. He was unclear on whether or not Qwest would also charge me an installation fee. Finally, he said that they could have DLS installed in 5 days, which is a dramatic change from the 2-3 weeks Qwest took last time I got hooked up (which was, admittedly, four years ago). He seemed to be in a hurry to get me off the phone, so I did, but I felt like it was a toss-up.
Both Comcast and Qwest are within $5 of each other, and both could get my services hooked up by our move-in date. Neither one had an outragous installation fee, and neither one required a phone line. In the end, I chose Comcast simply because I’ve generally had good service with them (the phone calls are a good example, but we also had Comcast internet in Washington), and I’ve had nothing but bad experiences with Qwest. I know it’s a silly thing to base this choice on, but with no clear advantage to one over the other, why not base it on the fact that Comcast actively wants me as a customer, and was making offers to get me, while Qwest didn’t even want to answer my questions?
I'm a 30-year-old 
David Says:
Wednesday, August 24, 2005 at 9:05 am.
I think you’re completely justified given your vast experience with Qwest and their lackeys. I thought judging companies and services based on customer service was something that only old(er) people did but the older I get the more I realize that it’s almost more important than the actual services they offer.
Mariah Says:
Friday, January 26, 2007 at 9:26 am.
wow this gives alot of information. i am looking up for school in my computer apps class which one is better. one of the questions was who ranks higher in customer satisfaction and this clearly answers my question. it is amazing that i found this site cuz this helps me alot. thank you.
Erik Says:
Thursday, June 7, 2007 at 1:52 pm.
Well I’m so pissed off at Comcast’s poor service and lack of any kind of “giving a damn” that I called QWEST this morning to order their high-speed service.
Comcast couldn’t care less!
Brandon Buttars Says:
Wednesday, November 21, 2007 at 5:53 am.
Yeah I thought about Comcast and may still use them. My city runs their own internet and it always drops no fail when I need it the most. But it’s taken a week after things should have been installed to get Qwest internet up. I was suppose to have 7mbps and I’m only getting about 2mbps. I still have my old cable connection and the speedtest on that is saying I’m getting about 5 to 6 mbps and it’s $20 cheaper. What the hell Qwest. Oh by the way since my 5 phone calls in a week to Qwest every single person I’ve talked to has been in India.
Meng Says:
Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 2:18 pm.
So this mean that QWEST isn’t as good as COMCAST?
Or which is better?
Anyone can help me out?
Scott Says:
Friday, January 18, 2008 at 9:12 am.
Well, the short answer is that they both suck.
The long answer is that in my experience here in the Portland, Oregon area, Comcast is slightly better - but it’s really about picking the lesser of two evils.
The best advice I can give you is to document everything - whenever you make a phone call make a note of what number you called, at what time, and the name of the person you spoke to. If you can, get a badge or ID number from the person as well.
That way if everything goes poorly, you can assert yourself firmly by referring to your notes if different people tell you different things, and if worst comes to worst, that information is what you’ll need to submit a complaint to the Better Business Bureau.
Stephanie Says:
Sunday, July 27, 2008 at 1:26 am.
I’m about to relocate to my own little apartment to the East side and I have contemplated getting a different internet provider, being from Portland too… I’m unaware of any other offers out there except Qwest and Comcast. Ugh.