The Worst Internet Service Ever
I couldn't believe that this area does not have DSL or cable. The phone lines are not fiber optic. For a while, I installed a second phone line and went back to dial-up, equivalent to going back to the Stone Age. Dial-up was just a bit faster than writing a letter and mailing it. Actually, we did have a cable of sorts, but the signal was so weak at the end of the line, that I could not even get clear local television channels. After paying to lay a new cable line, I was still unable to get a decent TV signal. When they offered to provide my Internet service, I just laughed.
I live at the 2600 foot level and can actually see the flashing lights of many radio, cell phone and communication towers in the distance, but yet I can't get more than an inconsistent bar or two on my cell phone, so a wireless Internet was out.
So, I was left with satellite. It was expensive and required a two-year contract. They would not guarantee a consistent signal, which may be affected by the weather. I thought satellites were ABOVE the weather. With little or no options other than going to the local library or a small village in Mexico (both of which had better Internet service), I agreed to the satellite system. When it works, it works "okay", but in the last eight months, I only get an inconsistent and weak signal very early in the morning and in the middle of the night. I am guessing that there are two subscribers, and only one of us can use it at a time.
When I call the tech support, my blood pressure boils. I almost had a stroke today. I spent the usual two hours on the phone; about 15 minutes navigating their automatic voice commands (which rarely apply), another 15 or more minutes on hold listening to their ads about how wonderful they are, and about an hour and a half dealing with heavily-accented man from India named Jeff (this is what he told me!). I guess that with the out-sourcing of technical support to India, they pick an American-sounding name to try and fool us into thinking that they are really in Denver. My hearing is not very good, and when you are trying to understand someone with a very heavy foreign accent, I had to constantly ask him to repeat what he just said. This, of course, added to my frustration.
Having called this tech line many times in the past, I know their dance. Because I did not hang up while on hold, or have a nervous breakdown listening to their cheesy music or advertisements, I was now forced to deal with incompetence. They announced that my call would be recorded for training purposes. Yes, that's right...training. One time when I called, there was a party going on in the background. When I asked about the background cheering, I was told someone was getting an award for doing a good job. Apparently, Jeff wasn't invited to the party.
He asked me if my computer was plugged in. He then asked me if my satellite modem was turned on. Don't you love it? After I assured him that I was not a two-year-old and born without a brain, we proceeded. He asked me if we were experiencing bad weather. We were not. I could tell this disappointed him. In the past, they have blamed rain, wind, hot weather, sun spots, and a storm in New Jersey (I have yet to know the relationship to my problem in California). I suspect he would blame mosquitoes, dirt on my satellite dish, blowing leaves, or fly-by birds, if he could.
He then took me through an endless series of tests to determine why I do not have service. During his test, I lost the signal again. He told me to log on to another site. When I informed him that I could not log onto another site since I presently do not have Internet service, he said he would need to talk to his supervisor. More music. More ads. More time elapsed. Then, a dial tone. I guess if you can't solve the problem, you just hang up.
I called back and the dance started over again. After another half-hour, I talked to a guy who claimed his name was Dave. He sounded suspiciously like Jeff, and was apparently reading from the same instruction book. I asked to be transferred to someone that could cancel my service. Dave (or Jeff) was very upset about this request. After I vented my story, he happily transferred my call to somewhere. Another, dial tone. I can't even cancel my service!
Has the world gone crazy or is it me? I try to be a patient and courteous man, but I was teetering on the edge of insanity. I imagined Jeff and Dave given each other the high-five. I have a fantasy about using my frequent-flyer miles and go to India and kick the living chutney out them.
As I type, I have lost my Internet signal about a dozen times. It has taken me about an hour to post ONE message on the ENT board. I will have to go to work early tomorrow and post from my office, or pack up my laptop and go to the library. I usually just sit in my car outside and use the wireless signal so I don't have to wait in line behind the guys secretly downloading porno.
Maybe I should move.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: stress, internet service
26 Comments:
Here is a joke I got from a friend of mine. Thought you would enjoy it since you have been on hold in India! I laughed!
Mujibar was trying to get a job in India. The Personnel Manager said, "Mujibar, you have passed all the tests, except one. Unless you pass it you cannot qualify for this job."
Mujibar said, "I am ready." The manager said, "Make a sentence using the words Yellow, Pink and Green."
Mujibar thought for a few minutes and said, "Mister manager, I am ready." The manager said, "Go ahead."
Mujibar said, "The telephone goes green, green, green, and I pink it up, and say, 'Yellow, this is Mujibar.'"
{Mujibar now works as a technican at a call center for computer problems.)
I was a bit worried that I would sound racist (I am not) about the Indian Tech support, but they really are the main trouble-shooters for Internet issues now. Indians are highly educated and work for considerably less than U.S. workers. Most are very courteous and helpful; some are out in left field.
Clearly, when someone calls tech support, they are already angry and upset. The long periods on-hold just adds to the tension. By the time a nice Indian man answers the phone, they are often dealing with one, ugly, angry American. I would not want that job.
Thanks for the joke. By the way, my Internet is still the worst. I am posting from work today.
My husband called tech support for our internet (which does not work consistently even though we live right outside a highly metropolitan area, in case this is of any comfort Dr. Moser) and was connected with a very friendly and helpful but unfortunately thick-accented Indian. My husband had considerable trouble understanding him and had to ask him to repeat nearly everything he said.
Toward the end of the conversation, the man instructed my husband, "Now, press-ah the spackbah."
My husband said, "Excuse me?"
"Press-ah the spackbah."
"The what?"
"The spackbah."
"The WHAT?"
"The spackbah. THE SPACKBAH! SPACK! BAH! SPACKBAH!"
After asking for a description of the key, my husband deduced that it was the space bar!
Rod, I have Hughes Net satellite service here in Northern Michigan....same problem, no cable, no dsl. Mine seems to be better than yours though (if it wasn't, I couldn't do my job with Nova).
Good to hear from you,
pat k (of doogie and sandy fame).
I have been thinking about Hughes Net, although they are the providers for my current ISP (that rhymes with Mirth Net). Thanks, Pat...I think I may make the big switch (as long as I am not going to get the same problem).
I have this ear problem for about 2 years now. It all started when I came back from a trip overseas. My ears I felt couldn't 'pop'. I thought nothing of it. Then I got a cold, a bad one. Then I started taking over the counter meds, including aspirin. Then all the sudden I fell out, not-unconcious, and they took me to the ER. I could hear people taking but I couldn't even speak. When I finally talked my left ear was ringing loud, with a 'cricket' sound that hasn't left me for the last 2 years. I don't know what to do and is driving me crazy. My doctor said it was 'tinnitus' and referred me to an ear specialist. But he couldn't do much. Actually he didn't do anything. He took some test to test my hearing and since my hearing wasn't that bad, he said I was OK. Well, I am not OK. I am going crazy over this 'horrible sound that won't left me sleep' and stays with me all day and night. I tried 'internet meds' but nothing seems to help. My question: what is this? I feel the ear pressure at times, like I am still sitting in that 'fateful plane' and even when I swallow it still not popping and the sound is crazy, I can't take it anymore. Please help me or at least give me 'clue' or to what I should do. Thank you for your professional help. I laughed at your joke, is funny!
anonymous above:
For information about tinnitus, please read this article. You can also ask questions about your specific situation on Dr. Moser's message board.
Thank you.
I actually have very good internet service, but sometimes I do have to call for support. The last time I had to call because my dsl modem would not connect to the internet. I had tried many things at home. I rebooted the modem and my router. I tried connecting the PC directly to the modem and bypassing the router. None of it worked, so I called for help. I got a very nice guy with an Indian accent. The first thing he told me to do was to turn off the modem and turn it back on. I explained I had done this repeatedly, but he said I would be surprised that this would work. Well, it didn't work. I then explained I was using a home network and my router did not come from them. He then said that had to be the problem. I told him it wasn't since I also tried to connect without the router. He finally agreed to try some other steps and found out my dsl modem did not have the correct password anymore to connect to the internet. By this time, I was very frustrated. The whole time he was speaking to me like I knew nothing about using a computer and he knew everything. I do LAN support as part of my job and hate the attitude I get when I talk with customer support from India.
My company also outsourced the first level support of our tech helpdesk to India and it is very hard to deal with the people that answer the phones. I will call for status on a ticket and I get a canned message. I then tell the person that I can see that my ticket has not been worked on and I want to know why. This usually gets a different response. Most callers to the helpdesk don't have access to the ticketing system.
I guess this is a fact that we have to learn to live with, but the people in India have to learn to treat women with respect and realize we know technical stuff too.
I too had Hughes net for my Internet service. I ran regular speed tests on the link and found I got 10% of the advertised speed. Ater 11 months and 18 hours talking to tech support in India, I finally convinced them to send someone out to replace the antenna as the transmitter was sure to be defective. After that, I got the full rated speed on the satellite link.
Unfortunately, I discovered that past the satellite is the Hughes network center and that was introducing delays so I ended up with 10% of the advertised speed during any real use.
When my phone company began to offer DSL, I switched. It's reliable but only at about 25% of the advertised speed. They aren't even supposed to sell it if you are more than 20K feet from the nearest repeater and I'm 29K feet. But I live with it because it's the best game in town.
Jim
PS: I have to reboot the modem about 10 times every day because the system stops transferring data. (sigh)
What an enjoyable read ! I was laughing so hard. It was partly because I could so relate to "the customer" support part of it, and partly because it sounded so real and your writing was dry and wonderfully humorous. I couldn't wait to send it to my husband sitting at his computer across from mine. I hope he sends a comment. He's gonna love it, I just know it.
LdyLopes2002@aol.com
Ellen in Colorado :-)
P.S. I so hope you get some good Internet soon !
Try this: press 2 for Spanish. You will generally get someone who is bilingual here in the USA. Cool trick :-)
I also had dial up connection for a long time, no cable or dsl available we were to far out in the boonies, cable is five {5} miles on either side of me, My son got me a "Wild Blue" Sat Sys for fathers day3 years ago, what jpy that was, The only time I lose connection is when there is a bad storm to the SSW of us,One day about a year ago I got a e-mail from the company[Wild Blue] that thet wanted to come to my house todo a UP Grade, it had been found out from there servcers that I Needed a up grade, they came out and did it in about a half hour at no extra cost. So I am hooked on them, perhaps you should look at their service, you hab=ve all the wirein in place so all it would take is modum / Reciver I think Good Luck,, Max Dixon In WI Boonies
I, too, had problems with our internet working (even though it was dsl). Our service kept kicking me off after 10 minutes. When calling tech service, I talked to "Ethan" from India - very nice, very knowledgable - and I couldn't understand half of what he said. We both had to repeat ourselves continually - it was extremely frustrating and in the end was a complete waste of two hours of my time.
It was so frustrating, I had a friend call on my behalf. After an hour on the phone, my mild mannered friend was irritated and angry and throwing a temper tantrum... and I still had signal for only 10 minutes at a time.
My husband then took the plunge: called; got upset; asked for a manager; asked for someone based in America and got one; spent another hour on the phone. Result: same problem.
Then I remembered the old adage, "if you want something done, talk to the secretary." So when I was talking to our phone company about our phone service, I mentioned my frustrations with their internet service. I explained that I thought it was a bad router, but had been told repeatedly (as had my friend and husband) that it couldn't possibly be the problem. This very nice CS lady send she could send me a new router and upgrade my service without increasing my bill!
She sent it. I changed out the router and we've been fine ever since.
I still find it interesting, that when it comes to paying your bill, or purchasing service, all the customer service reps are based in the US, but for technical service they are all based in India. I guess they just want to make sure they get paid.
Have I missed something? You've moved away from civilization to get the best that nature has to offer you, then you complain when civilization hasn't followed close behind?
M.H. ISRAEL
CHECK OUT GIMPEL'S GALLERIES
http://hometown.aol.com/gimpelthefool/myhomepage/brag.html
What is wrong with wanting the best of both worlds?
JoJo
An added expense, but purchase a 'crack'berry and tether to your laptop? Best of luck to you! :)
Dr. Moser, A guy with enough intelligence to earn a PhD should possess enough common sense to check the ISPs, utility services, etc. before moving into the habitat of squirrels, bears, etc.
Bob Soots, PhD
Dear Dr. Moser , have not written your site for some time as my ear problems are "under" control with medicine , etc. I remember having more ear irratations when my stress level went up (along with my blood pressure !) . I thought that living way-out in the "boondocks" like you would be less stressful , just "shows to go ya" what a computer/TV world we live in ! Twenty years ago this would not even be an issue , you'd just get a TV antenna & watch the local stations (ALL 6 of them !) & would not even care what a PC , Blackberry , I-Pod , etc. were ! Hughes does have a better sattelite computer connection then most servers , I used it about 10 years ago when thay just started or was owned by "Primestar" , wish you luck , believe it or not I occasionally "add" you to my prayers at night as you ALWAYS was courteous & prompt in anwering our & mine WebMD questions , thanks again for being a "stand-up" guy , now stand up so you can see those towers where people actually get ISP service & can use a cell phone , etc. ! Take care , Don Grzebielucha (Buffalo , New York) formerly known on WebMD as thedon31
Believe me you do not have to be in a slightly remote area of California to experience this frustration. I am located in Missouri where the same conspiracy is taking place. Isn't it amazing how when the cable/internet bill is due we obliging souls are to pay promptly or suffer the threat of disconnect.Yet, when we first sign up for SERVICE we are deluded assuming SERVICE will actually be what we are paying for. You are not alone in this plight and I for one feel it is about time to say collectively, "we are mad as hell and will not take it anymore!" What's the world coming to? Going to "foreign lands" in a hand bag I tell ya!
This is an interesting discussion thread. There are many honest opinions here, but some readers missed the point.
The nightmares with Tech Support teams are universal, whether one is dealing with an American or an Indian. One can encounter less-trained personnel anywhere, not necessarily offshore only.
The fact is that Companies need to invest more in customer service infrastructure and training. And we need to push for it.
Try dealing with Service when you are somewhat deaf, particularly to high notes, and the female service tech accuses you of sexism when you ask to work with a male on the service call!!!
I am so sorry to read all of these internet difficulties you all are having. Whenever I call customer service and get an accent, I hang up. I know that is not possible when you are having computer woes, but with the bank, I just call until I get no accent. I have MSN dial-up and have trouble trying to get help online. Sometimes they lead you to a place where there is no solution to your problem, or after writing a long explanation of the problem, it won't transmit at the end! Oh, I could just have a stroke. Good luck to all of you. Thanks for the laugh because I know how you feel. So frustrating.
Well, I made the big jump...and had a new Satellite installed. So far, after one week, it has been great. Yes, it is Hughes Net. The installer gave me a few inside bits, including the location of the satellite "repeater" is in Las Vegas; the other one was in New Jersey or Florida (famous for their weather outages). I was only getting less than 40th signal, now it is better...and I did not have to cut down a 100 foot tall douglas fir tree (like one man suggested). You think it would be easier to move the dish than chop down a tree!
Anyway, Hughes Net uses out-sourcing Tech Support in India as well, so hopefully it will be a while until I need to call them.
By the way, it took me HOURS to cancel the old service. They kept tranferring me to different people, including the Indian Tech Support. Finally, I said "Do you understand the word, CANCEL?"
geez...that sounds abt right! it's the same here. n we're suppose to be ADSL n sometimes i think why bother having ADSL when it's something worst than dial-up! dont even want to talk abt the customer service!! uugghh...
I had a similar experience trying to cancel my mother's Earthlink service. I finally had to threaten "Paul" (yes, he was Indian and hard to understand) with legal action if I was transferred to yet another customer "service" rep (he was the 3rd one I'd spoken to). It took a total of an hour and a half to cancel the service. While I do have my own personal objections to outsourcing American jobs to ANYWHERE overseas, at least the people they do hire should get some training in improving their pronounciation. It would help tremendously when dealing with American customers.
Side note: I'm appalled by the horrible spelling and grammar on this site. If this is a sampling of our current American workforce then maybe there's a good reason to outsource the jobs. Sorry, I know that's mean but it's very discouraging to see this type of thing.
Hate to say this but the first joke posted has some shades of racism. Jokes about any ethnic group, whether they are Asian, Indian, African American, Polish, Hispanic, Jewish, or blonde people are politcally incorrect and can be offensive.
Also, Mujibar is not a common Hindu Indian name. It is actually an Islamic name.
Post a Comment