The tech is NOT always right.

[Andara Bledin]

We got two modems when we moved and had to start a new contract with Earthlink. They never billed us for either one. We're currently using one of them for our DSL Exteme connection.

^-.-^

[mattm04]

I have Cox Communications. Very reliable service only 1 service call in 4 or so years to install a signal amplifier thingy due to too poor of a signal to get correct speeds on internet or HDTV signals. A little more expensive than the other services though, but this is all I can get besides sat/dial up in my area.

[DeltaSierra]

I had to deal with incompentent techs a few times. The craziest was when I had only recently gotten DSL and was having some issues with the phone lines (later found out it was an issue at THEIR end not mine.) In the process of troubleshooting the tech told me to make sure I had the DSL phone filter installed on the line GOING TO THE COMPUTER! When I tried to explain that you can't put a DSL filter on the line that goes to the modem, the tech insisted that I HAD to, or I wouldn't get DSL. Needless to say I hung up and got a diff tech who knew what they were talking about and they sent somebody out who found the real issue.

[Getpowned]

i work in internet tech support and that does happen alot its not as hard as people make it to be you which dont even work there knew more than the csr lol this also happends alot some people are just not going to know there job until they have alot of experince sounds like you got a NEWB!

[Midorikawa]

I used to work for Cox before another company took over in my area. I had MANY similar experiences that usually were just fixed with me writing the MAC address down and going in the next day and fixing it from there rather than have one of my more clueless coworkers stuff it all up.

More than once I called in about a cable box being disconnected (even GIVING the tech the troubleshooting steps involved) only to hang up and go back to browsing the net and get the "oh eff off" from the server. ...yeah. calling back in did stuff all, and only resulted in me sending supervisors bad reports about idiotic "techs"...until I got told to stop sending emails to sups, and subsequently, quit fixing my own account. It's no easier from the inside than it is the outside, which is about the saddest thing I've typed in ages.

[Shalom]

I've had problems with Verizon's DSL on occasion (it's much more reliable now, but when they first rolled it out there were some problems). Router with built-in DSL modem isn't getting a connection, or drops it, or something obviously wrong between the router and onward. (Turned out to be a rat's nest of bad wiring in the basement, but that's besides the point.) Quoting the rant I made on 0.verizon.adsl at the time:

So you all know the script. "What OS is your machine running?" What the heck difference does it make, there could be no computer attached to the router at all. Just for the helluvit maybe next time I'll tell them it's an NCD Xterminal with no OS, see what they do with that. (I was afraid they'd just say "Sorry, we don't support that, you're on your own, have a day" and hang up...)

Of course the first thing they tell you is to reboot the computer. (Useless.) Then to reboot the router. (This may work, esp. if it's their router that's hosed rather than mine, since if 10.5.28.1 or whichever one it happens to be is off contemplating its navel, I might get a different one that's more onto its job, but does zip to fix the underlying problem. In any case, that hasn't been the problem lately. Of course if the DSL connection is down, rebooting the router will get you a new one. Problem with doing this is that you thereby lose all the logs, which is why I started running syslogd, so that I can preserve evidence.) Of course the TS guys' aim is to get you connected and the hell off the phone, but that's it. Ensuring that you *stay* connected isn't something they are going to do, that'll be the next Level 1 guy's problem the next time it goes down.

[otakuneko]

Ensuring that you *stay* connected isn't something they are going to do, that'll be the next Level 1 guy's problem the next time it goes down.

Hehe, this is so true.

Though seriously, for anyone who paid even a lick of attention in training, they should've known the OS is irrelevant when the problem is between the modem and the ISP. Usually, it was a password issue on PPPoE lines. User would change their password on the main account, not knowing that the modem authenticates with the same account... next time the modem needs to reconnect, boom, no access. This happened so often that I would hazard a guess that a good 90% of our calls involved changing the password stored in the modem. It got to the point where I often wouldn't even bother asking what OS the caller was running, all I cared about was if they could get a browser open to talk to the modem...

I use Verizon. The voice non-recognition system basically does the exact opposite of what I say.

Trust me, we on the other end of that horrible IVR hated it with just as much passion, if not more, than you.

[KabeRinnaul]

I'm on Suddenlink. They're generally helpful on the phone, once you get past the level one Jim Who's Not From India phone guy and up to an actual tech - and SL's phone guys seem only too happy to bump any problem more complex than "what's it need ta be plugged in fer?" up to the next level.

Although for some reason, every few months there will be a week-long period where the connection dies for about 30 seconds every day. Always at the same time day to day, but different times for each different week period. Like it was 11:22 pm for one week. Then 1:05 am a few months later. Then 12:01 am a few months after that. Then 9:30 pm... you get the idea.

[Midorikawa]

Quoth KabeRinnaul

I'm on Suddenlink.

My condolences. That was the "other" company that took over for Cox in Texas where I lived. Have them look at signal levels on the modem/cable box/mta. Have them also check the node you're on for history of T3/T4 resets, or other signs of catastrophic failure on their end. We were "trained" to always blame customer equipment, that SuddenStink's gear is perfect and faultless.

Miserable company for a customer, even worse as an employee. I could fill the forum with just "morons in management" stories from there if I wanted to.

[Getpowned]

yea that kind of stuff happends all the time to the newbs. if you would have gotten me i would have recognized the problem in sec and ended the call in a couple of minutes.