The man who referred to himself as "Cool Dave" in e-mails may have made many of his Quik Internet customers around Northwest Colorado lose their cool when the Internet service went offline without notice Wednesday.

David Bray of Rangely is the franchise owner of Quik Internet. He has provided dial-up Internet service for 1,200 customers in Craig, Meeker, Rangely, Steamboat Springs and Vernal, Utah since 1999. The Quik International Web site boasts 225 franchise offices in 21 countries, more offices than any other Internet company in the world.

Bray said his business is having financial trouble but he wasn't aware that the company that he receives phone line service from would "pull the plug" Wednesday.

Bray said he would try to reinstate service for Quik customers as soon as today, but he said "there is a strong possibility that the service would go offline within 30 days."

"I cannot say it won't happen won't again," Bray said. "If anything, we want to get online so we can communicate with customers."

Quik International's Chief Executive Officer Murray Mead said Bray fell behind in payments on the use of phone lines and the telephone company that provided that service cut off Quik's local Internet connections before Bray had a chance to warn customers.

In response to a question about Bray's reputation for service, Mead said Bray once told him that he knew not only the names of all of his customers, but also their children and their dogs.

"This is a rough situation," Mead said. "I know that Dave is just beside himself over this."

Michael Lausin owner of Solutions Orientated Systems, a computer support company in Craig, said he had referred about 60 customers to Quik Internet when the business was established.

Lausin said the proliferation of Internet service providers and high-speed connections make it difficult for businesses to compete.

"They were great Internet providers," Lausin said. "Unfortunately economics plays a role in this business."

Former Quik Internet customer Jan Lackey of Craig never met Bray personally but she enjoyed how he ended each e-mail with "Cool Dave." Usually Bray would e-mail a note in advance if the server or e-mail would be offline for a period of time, she said. Lackey also appreciated the "decent, honest service," that Bray provided, but Wednesday's sudden disconnection was frustrating.

Without Web access, Lackey had no way find out more information on the service's status or to locate the company's corporate telephone numbers to find out about the balance of her bill that she recently paid. She had to find a new e-mail address and shop around for another Internet service provider by asking for help in from a friend who could access the Internet.

"I think it's really rude, if anything," Lackey said. "I'm angry that I didn't get a heads up. I've been a good customer. If they were going to bail, I wish they would tell me about it."

Chris Ruyan, the office manager at Craig Electric Motor & Machine did some quick rearranging Wednesday. When she realized that Quik Internet service was disconnected, she hustled to get new service with NC Telecom early Thursday morning.

The switch means the company has to purchase new letterhead, secure a new e-mail address and purchase new business cards. Wednesday's workday was a frustrating day of hand-typed tasks and missed phone calls, Ruyan said.

"I've had Quik for ... ever," she said. "I've never had any of those problems before."

Quik Internet can be reached at 675-3047 in Rangely.