New DSL service disconnects frequently

Question

Bit on the $17.99 offer for 1mb DSL service. First time it was available in my area. Talked on phone around 20 July. Modem and filters arrived in about 5 days and startup day was 29 July.  Got an automated phone call saying man would come to house to do some checks between 8 am and 5 pm, but that he wouldn't need to come inside.  He never came because I live down a long lane and I watched all day for him. Installation using CD and instructions on my end went ok, and was soon online on 29th.  Westell modem 7500.  
But, then found that my connection dropped regularly.  A couple of times it stayed on for 4 hours, but mostly it stays on 2-3 minutes and then is off for 2-3 minutes, etc.  Sometime it is off for hours at a time.  The service is not available when the green internet light goes out on the Westell modem.
So I call the 1-800-567-6789 Verizon number for help.  As you probably know it takes 20-30 minutes of phone time to wait before you talk to an actual person.  The recordings tell you that most problems solved by turning off and back on your modem, computer, etc.  As if we hadn't already done that multiple times already.  And the recordings tell you there is lots of help on various websites . . . as if you could get to those websites without having your DSL connection actually working for an extended period of time.
The help gal then tells me to do all the things I had already done, like turning off and on, etc.  She then says she ran some tests that show no problem.  Meanwhile the internet light on my modem is sometimes on and sometimes off.  But still no problem shows on her tests, she says.  Now the internet light has stayed on for maybe 10 minutes, so she says she is done because everything probably OK.  I tell her this is not uncommon that it stays on for 10 minutes or even a few hours, but eventually it always drops the connection.  She says she can't upgrade me to next level of help since it is my first call.  I say, you mean I have to call back tomorrow with the same problem.  She says, yes.
OK, next day same problems but I can't take the time to call so a day is burnt.
Third day the internet light stays on for 4 hours, so I am feeling pretty good.  But then the light goes out and I loose my connection at around 10:30 PM.  Too late for me to start a call, so another day is burnt.
Fourth day, yesterday, mostly a repeat of previous day, so at around 8 PM, I call the 1-800 number again.  Go through the same 20-30 minutes of wait time with suggestions to turn off and on everything, go to websites, etc.
Got a gal in Phillipines.  Pretty good English and very pleasant.  She says there is no record of my first call, so this is really my first call.  However, after I complain about that, she talks to her supervisor and he/she says they can upgrade m to next level of help.
So she tells me a tech expert will start testing my line.  After 15-20 minutes she tells me there is a problem with my modem 'authenticating' so they will send me a new modem.  But I remember reading another thread here by a guy who got 3 Westell modems and still had problems . . . . so I am not overly hopeful about the outcome for me either.  Why does Verizon stick with a modem that is known to have multiple problems??
Anyway, I was on the phone with Verizon that time for close to an hour and a half.
Next day, which is today, my wife fields an automated call from Verizon which says they are going to send a tech to our house and for her to punch in some numbers, which she can't do because she doesn't know what time I want.  The recording gives her an 1-800 number to call back to schedule the time.
I am floored when I see the number is actually 1-800-567-6789, because I know what hell is waiting for me when I call that number.  And I have to go through this hell just to reply to a call from Verizon which asks me to call them back to schedule the appointment.  But that number has nothing to do with scheduling appointments.
So I call the 1-800 and go through the same **bleep** as before with all the recorded helpful hints about turning off and on, go to websites for help etc.  But I am simply trying to reply to a call from Verizon to set up the techs time to come.
Then the recordings finally get to the point where I punch the 1 if I still need to talk to a person.  Have been on the line already about 10 minutes.  The voice says the wait time will be less than 5 minutes.  15 minutes later I am still getting the news that my wait time will be less than 5 minutes.
Finally a guy from India answers.  I have now been on the phone for close to 25 minutes waiting for this real person.
He starts telling me to turn off and on my modem, etc.  I tell him I am just replying to call from Verizon to set up the time for tech to come to my house.  He tells me I have called the wrong number.  I tell him it was the number the recording said to call.  He says he will try to transfer me.  I panic.  He then tells me when he talks to another dept they tell him there is no record of my ever having called with any problems.  I yell at him.  He talks some more to someone on another line and reports that they actually now find that I have called before . . . in fact just last night.
OK, so now he tells me he will transfer me to the person who will help with the appointment.  But this new gal asks me what lights are showing on my modem.  I say, what does that matter and how is it relevant to scheduling the guy to come.  And anyway, I don't have the modem turned on because I think that is not a good idea to leave it on all the time.
She insists that I must turn on the modem and . . . for first time that anyone at Verizon has ever told me . . . she says I should leave it on constantly until the problem is solved.  This apparently is because the tech people might be trying to do some tests on my line even before they arrive at my house.  OK, so I turn it on and the green internet light does not go on during the rest of our conversation.
So she schedules the tech to come to my house next Thursday, 6 August.  I ask what time he will arrive.  She straight faced (I presume) said I must wait there all day 8 am to 5 pm.  I ask her if she doesn't realize the absurdity of this.  She will only comment that that is the way Verizon does it.
I then ask her if she doesn't also recognize the absurdity of the 40 minutes I have spent on the phone, being cycled around, when I was only returning a call from Verizon to schedule an appointment.  She gives a nonsensical answer, so I repeat the facts.  Now she does admit that it is probably not fair and there should be a better number to call rather than the general 1-800 number for this situation.  I ask her if they ever talk about these absurd situations and poor customer service things at staff meetings or with their supervisors.  She doesn't answer that question, instead asking me if there is anything else she can do for me today.  I say that yes, there is something else, and that is to answer my question about what the staff meetings have to say about these absurd situations and what do her supervisors say about it.
{please keep it relevant} 
Message Edited by ElizabethS on 08-01-2009 05:54 PM

Answer 1

#1 Check the IP Address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, and DNS Servers on your computer.
This means for example if you are on Windows XP...
a) Go to Start -> Run.
b) Type in
cmd
and press enter.
c) In the new window, called the command prompt, type in
ipconfig /all
and press enter.
#2 With your web browser go to the default gateway.
#3 Enter in the current user name and password of the router.
The default User Name is
admin
and the password is
password.
Thanks dslr.  OK, I did what you said and found the default gateway was  192.168.1.1
When I went to that place on my browser, there was no place for User Name or Password.
But under the column 'Gateway Status' I saw:
Download:  1181 Kbps
Upload:         447 Kbps 
Connect Type:  PPPoE
So how does this info help in my problem of frequent disconnects?
Or did I still not get to the place you wanted me to go?
Thanks much.