It's been dodgy for years, but we're stuck because it's the only company that will come into the city, according to the new mayor.
I tried Verizon once, but it was worse. So I ditched it after two days. A computer consultant I hired to set my system up said Verizon never should have sold me the service to begin with.
I wish I had better news for you. My advice is to keep calling every time you have problems and persist in asking someone to come out to check. If we all do this, eventually they will tire of dispatching trucks out and possibly fix the node.