Correct. The last hop is a switch, and it will not drop packets. It is a limitation of traceroutes/Ping Plots. They can only show the one direction. I have to run it back to you for you to see the path back to your computer, which is always different than the path to the server. If the error is on the return trip, it shows as a problem on the very last or next to the last hops of the traceroute/Ping Plot due to the uni-directional limitation they have.
Think about it. We have no reason to lie and every reason to get things fixed. This impacts our very livelihood. AT&T is not perfect and I have been known to lambast them as well, when they fat-finger things.
You can bank on the following: At any given minute of the day, there is a problem somewhere on the Internet.
Normally, these things last a minute or two, and most people run along oblivious to the fact thier ISP just panic rebooted thier routers. On the rare occasion when extended outages happen, they do cause a mess as all the routers get busy trying to get around the impacted areas.
Then there are event related issues. At certain times of the year, the Internet just gets nasty. Events such as school being let out for the summer, school starting in the fall, the month of December, spring break and so on. Like clock work, the Internet is always a mess during worldwide or nationwide events.
