false activation times

[mzro2016]

Hello, I am disappointed in you. I've been booking Sonic for over a year and a half. About 5 months ago they said that would activate the Sonic network in March. We are already in July and nothing and now it appears to me that the Sonic network is activated in July. and we are already close to August, what disappoints me is that they are not honest with the community about the activation time and only bring us with excuses. I was really excited about you because I thought it was the best thing about fiber today, but with those delays and excuses it's disappointing, you have to be honest with the community, this is my address 1455 167th Ave, San Leandro CA 94578. I go on and on time waiting

[jordan.m]

Hello! Building out brand-new Fiber infrastructure in an area for the first time is a work-intensive and time-consuming task. It requires coordination with the city and, in some cases, other service providers. Unfortunately, delays and complications beyond Sonics' control make it challenging to give an accurate, narrow window for when Fiber installs will begin in your area. As you've experienced, the current estimate for July is subject to change but exciting nonetheless and a good indicator that we are approaching the finish line. I have escalated your inquiry and will reply back here once I have some more information. We appreciate your patience throughout this process and look forward to getting you on 10gig soon!

[knewman]

make it challenging to give an accurate, narrow window for when Fiber installs will begin in your area

And yet, that's exactly what Sonic does, knowing that it isn't likely to be true. It's the first interaction with the customer, and it is a poor start to the relationship.

As you've experienced, the current estimate for July is subject to change but exciting nonetheless and a good indicator that we are approaching the finish line.

I can tell you that was certainly not my experience.

[igorru]

Would you rather they give no estimate at all instead of one that is not accurate? They tried that before, but customers didn't like not having estimates. The point is: you cannot please everyone. Seems like most people wanted at least some kind of update even if not very accurate, so there you have it.

[briareus]

Would you rather they give no estimate at all instead of one that is not accurate?

What I would rather have are two things:
1) A way to see Sonic's current coverage and expansion in progress, with the sort of detailed notes that people normally have to come to this forum and complain to get. I know that pretty much no ISP actually offers this level of detail and it's not happening for a variety of reasons, this is just me dreaming of a better world.
2) Updates sent out to customers when their estimates slip to let them know what's causing the delays. More labor-intensive than responding here but can probably be done by area, and would reach people who likely don't even know about these forums and just feel like they're shaking a magic 8-ball every time they open the status page.

[jordan.m]

Would you rather they give no estimate at all instead of one that is not accurate?

What I would rather have are two things:
1) A way to see Sonic's current coverage and expansion in progress, with the sort of detailed notes that people normally have to come to this forum and complain to get. I know that pretty much no ISP actually offers this level of detail and it's not happening for a variety of reasons, this is just me dreaming of a better world.
2) Updates sent out to customers when their estimates slip to let them know what's causing the delays. More labor-intensive than responding here but can probably be done by area, and would reach people who likely don't even know about these forums and just feel like they're shaking a magic 8-ball every time they open the status page.

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to provide us with this feedback. As mentioned in your first request, sharing roadmaps of future and existing coverage is not something we plan to do simply for competition purposes. If other providers were to obtain this information, they could undercut our service. As for your second request, I agree, this would be nice to implement for our customers with pending orders. I would be happy to pass your feedback "up the chain" to see how feasible this would be. Thank you again. We appreciate your support!

[mbolling74]

Would you rather they give no estimate at all instead of one that is not accurate? They tried that before, but customers didn't like not having estimates. The point is: you cannot please everyone. Seems like most people wanted at least some kind of update even if not very accurate, so there you have it.

I personally would like an estimate that is based on something "real", "We have acquired permits to hang fiber in your neighborhood, based on our current level of staffing and workload we hope to get started in the second half of June 2024" "Due to unfortunate events and unexpected acquisition of materials the we are now backlogged and don't have a schedule available for building in your neighborhood until August"

I mean I went from June, then at the beginning of June when I checked it said August, now that it's August I check and it says December. So end of May there should have been some knowledge that there was no way it was getting done in June, and when I checked in July still ready to go in August... August 2nd... nope not until December. Now I get that doing work takes time, and sometimes unfortunate things do happen, however having those goalposts moved every single time the month of the anticipated arrives makes me feel like the month is not based on anything tangible, it's just a virtual carrot being dangled in front of me.