Empire Access: An ISP I Don’t Despise

In my part of NY there are very few high speed ISPs. For many years we had one option, now we have a handful.

Empire Access is one of the newcomers. My sister has been a customer for a few years and had no complaints and they’ve sponsored several local events. That was enough good press for me to give them a shot. I had some back and forth with them about a year ago and their sales rep Peter was actually enjoyable to talk to.

I had just negotiated a better monthly price from my existing ISP and the offer wasn’t compelling enough at the time to embrace the cost of switching, but I told Peter to call me back in a year.

To my surprise, he did. A salesperson who actually follows up when you ask them to? Now you’re speaking my language.

My negotiated rate was up and I was ready to make the leap. Peter offered a great deal and answered all my questions, so I signed.

The day before my install I called customer service to verify some information. My primary concern was to verify that all I would be getting is the OTT box, as I don’t need a router/switch/AP. Customer service said that I was scheduled to get the whole kit.

Then to my surprise they responded with no problem I’ll just update your service ticket. Customer service who actually listens and responds!? You’ve got to be kidding me. Could it get any better than this?

It can! The day of install:

  • Technicians showed up during their scheduled time slot.
  • They read the customer service notes, I only got the OTT box.
  • They helped me out by using the existing hole that my former provider drilled through my walls. Yeah, walls. Long story, old house.
  • They offered to take their shoes off when entering my home! Thanks, gents.
  • They waited for me to confirm that I had an internet connection, cleaned up, and left.

The job was completed within 15-ish minutes.

Everything has gone smoothly and I’m not irritated. I might still be in the honeymoon phase, but it is refreshing to sign-up with an ISP and not feel instant regret.

If you’re in a market that has options other than the big guys, consider giving a smaller provider a chance (and if you can, go with Empire Access 🙂.)

P.S. I’ve set a reminder to come back to this post in 6-months to provide an update.