The whole business model needs to be revised

It's a pity I have to give 1 star because I don't even think Afrihost deserve as much as that. I signed up for fibre through Afrihost on 8 October, with a start date of 29 October. During that time I contacted them numerous times to ensure that everything was set up and ready to go.

On 29 Oct, no internet. Despite spending hours on the phone with them on the afternoon of 3 Nov, the line was only actually activated on Monday, 6 Nov. More hours spent on the phone and we determined that they were unable to make use of my router because they are not fami**** with a MikroTik router and needed to send me their router. It is now 3 days later and despite numerous calls and whatsapp messages and escalations, the router hasn't even been given to the courier yet. Teddy who we spoke to last Friday (the 30th) said he had ordered it then. When we called on Tuesday they said it hadn't been ordered. Today is the 5th.

I have since been assisted by Kitso, who has been very patient and helpful. However, my problem is with Afrihost as a whole and their inefficient systems and processes.

1) Why give the option of using your own router if their technicians are not able to program routers other than the specific models they are fami**** with? Alternatively Afrihost need to provide training or employ at least one technician who actually has experience in different types of routers.

2) I do not moonlight as an IT technician yet somehow I have spent 2 full afternoons on the phone trying to program my router. Why can't Afrihost just send someone out like Vox does? I live in Cape Town which is a major city centre and they should have people on the ground here. I pay Afrihost, as the service provider, to make it work. If I was going to do it myself then why not just go direct to Octotel and cut Afrihost out since they add nothing to the relationship.

3) You would think that on my numerous calls prior to 29 Oct to check that everything was ready to go and internet would be working, that one of the people I spoke to could have checked what router I have and made sure it was compatible. In fact during the sign up process where they ask if you want to use your own router, they should ask what router you have and they should blacklist the ones that they can't use.

I have provided some constructive suggestions here in the hope that they will be taken seriously so that other people don't have to go through what I have.

My partner and I are working professionals who rely on the internet and have now been working off of our cellphone data for the last week, costing us a lot and also making us appear unprofessional when the line is unstable and we can't do video calls properly. We can't both plug into the LAN point so while we are paying Afrihost for internet, they are delaying the viable use thereof. I just cannot believe their "hands off" approach and I can't imagine if someone of the older generation with less "internet smarts" than us had to try and go through this. Unacceptable service and now we are stuck with them. It is so frustrating.