I called Earthlink tech support on Wednesday, March 26 to report an issue with our DSL service. Connectivity was intermittent and the issue seemed related to our phone line. I simply wanted to speak to someone who might help me determine if it was our phone service or our Earthlink service.
 
In the course of 30 minutes, I was passed to no fewer than five people, none of whom spoke intelligible English and each of whom referred me to the same 866 Mac Support number. None of these individuals could be persuaded to go "off script" and any time I pressed to have my own questions answered I was passed to the next person. Adding to my frustration was the fact that I had to repeat my account information and 'story' to each person, only to find that there is no record of our home phone number (the very number we use for Earthlink service - Huh?!) in Earthlink's database.  
 
Finally, Earthlink tech reps (again, in broken English) began calling our home to resolve this outstanding issue – using the exact phone number they claimed to not have on record (I had provided my personal mobile number when speaking with the fifth and final person I talked to.)
 
Thanks for wasting my valuable time. We've been with Earthlink for years, but it's time to move to greener, more competent pastures.