am i being fobbed off by indian call centre

[carlosnotts]

i posted earlier about my cable probs and i ended up calling the broadband support.
basically i told them that my internet keeps cutting off and online gaming is nigh on impossible what with keep getting disconnected.i also told them that i had been with them 6 years using the same modem and could that be the problem?
anyway,1 cs was quite rude and would not send out an engineer because the modem was working.i tried my best to explain that it was an intermittent fault but she is telling me that the modem and connection is perfectly fine!
well after trying to explain to this woman that things were not quite right she put me on hold to speak to a manager.i waited a few mins then i was hung up on

2nd call to broadband support seemed to go better.the bloke had me do a speed test which showed i dl at 114kbs.he then said that i was on the wrong ubr server and that was my problem.he then told me to turn off my modem etc while he switched the ubr server.
after the ubr server was switched i then got 125kbs download on the test.he said that the problem should be fixed.

basically i just want to know if the ubr server thing is a genuine problem or was he just fobbing me off?

i would really appreciate any help from someone that understands this because i'm unsure

cheers in advance

[nffc]

Answer these... http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...ad.php?t=15305
To my (non-ntl) ears it seems they are.

[Rone]

Goodness gracious me.
I cant believe the indian call centre would ever try and fob anyone off.

Much.

[carlosnotts]

1)What, specifically, is your issue? internet keeps losing connection and giving page not found errors and 360 keeps getting disconnected on xbox live using different games
a) Is there a specific time that this issue is most prevalent? seems rather random
b) How long has this issue been going on? (days, weeks, months etc) the internet losing connection has been happening since i got reconnected at my new addy 18 months ago but its only since i got my 360 in feb that it started to bother me due to the online gaming (used to be ok at my old addy with the same modem when i used to play my ps2 online!

2) Do you have cable TV? If so, is there any reception degradation? no cable tv.

3) Have you contacted customer support about this problem? If so, what did they say? that is in my 1st post on this thread

4) What troubleshooting steps have you taken to resolve this problem? (aka: if you haven't tried to help yourself, why should *we* help you?) tried running xbox live through router as well as straight from the modem.powered down all equipment and unplugged etc etc

5 Who you are and what you have
a) Where in the country are you? nottingham ng5
b) What is your operating system? xp home
c) What is your home network setup? Provide details. belkin wireless router
d) If you have more than one computer, is the problem occuring on all other machines? just have laptop
e) Are you running a firewall of any sort? Have you ever installed one? Did you try to turn it off during troubleshooting? i use the xp firewall and i tried with it on and off

[Stu038]

Have you done what Stuart C suggested here yet?
While unintentional cutoffs are an often unfortunate side effect of some CSRs having too many buttons to press on their phones Theres' absolutely no excuse for anyone being rude to you. That said its all about perception.

[nffc]

You're in NG5? Likely you're on a similar part of the network to mine (NG4) - mine's been OK but last few days it's been a tad slower initially loading pages.

I had to power cycle all the kit when I got home from work and it's a bit better.

[sollp]

I don't think your being fobbed off, more like they are asking a set of questions that are put to most customers, you've got to remember that there are people who use the internet who have little idea of how a PC works let alone the internet, so asking these basic questions can resolve some customers problems.

Unless the fault is happening when the CS or TS is interorgating the modem with the various programmes they use, it's difficult for any CS or TS to know what the fault is, that is why the basic set of questions is asked. They can't go about sending a service tech to visit you everytime you phone in with something that may be an network issue, IE the cable network or an issue with the network beyond NTL.

You've got to realise that there are many faults caused within the customers equipment, like the PC or router or software on the PC ect.

[carlosnotts]

Originally Posted by sollp

I don't think your being fobbed off, more like they are asking a set of questions that are put to most customers, you've got to remember that there are people who use the internet who have little idea of how a PC works let alone the internet, so asking these basic questions can resolve some customers problems.

Unless the fault is happening when the CS or TS is interorgating the modem with the various programmes they use, it's difficult for any CS or TS to know what the fault is, that is why the basic set of questions is asked. They can't go about sending a service tech to visit you everytime you phone in with something that may be an network issue, IE the cable network or an issue with the network beyond NTL.

You've got to realise that there are many faults caused within the customers equipment, like the PC or router or software on the PC ect.

i explained to the woman that i have tested the obvious things like the router,leads etc.i told her how i have had drop outs when the router is connected/not connected.i also explained that when i use xbox live i run the ethernet straight from modem to the 360 without the wireless router plugged in.she said that the tests were saying things were ok and i should call back when the connection drops.
if the connection drops for a few seconds how can i call her and get her to run a test?
the main thing i am worried about is the ubr server thing.has the other cs person lied to me intentionally?
almost 6 years with ntl and the first time i need some help from them i get this
i truly feel like a valued customer

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by sollp

I don't think your being fobbed off, more like they are asking a set of questions that are put to most customers, you've got to remember that there are people who use the internet who have little idea of how a PC works let alone the internet, so asking these basic questions can resolve some customers problems.

Unless the fault is happening when the CS or TS is interorgating the modem with the various programmes they use, it's difficult for any CS or TS to know what the fault is, that is why the basic set of questions is asked. They can't go about sending a service tech to visit you everytime you phone in with something that may be an network issue, IE the cable network or an issue with the network beyond NTL.

You've got to realise that there are many faults caused within the customers equipment, like the PC or router or software on the PC ect.

Understood, but why do they insist on it when the customer has done these checks before they ring up. I know for sure now that we are going to be charged I wont be having them wait for me to reboot my pc etc. whilst the clock is ticking on my phonebill so all that will be done before I ring them, and that I expect them to skip that part of their diagnostics and go on from there. Its not rocket science.

[Mick Fisher]

>i truly feel like a valued customer

There was a time when the customer was always right, even when they were wrong.

With Ntl the customer is always wrong, even when they are right.

It seems the Indian call centre only exists to make money for Ntl for when you gotta pay for the call. Up to now they have just been practising for the big day.

So yes I reckon you got fobbed off big time. Don't feel bad though, if you had DSL they would just tell you they have raised the matter with BT and that would be the last you would hear of it.

ALL communications companies SUCK big time. Tis the nature of the beast.

[sollp]

Originally Posted by Chrysalis

Understood, but why do they insist on it when the customer has done these checks before they ring up. I know for sure now that we are going to be charged I wont be having them wait for me to reboot my pc etc. whilst the clock is ticking on my phonebill so all that will be done before I ring them, and that I expect them to skip that part of their diagnostics and go on from there. Its not rocket science.

Agreed, i know they won't deviate from the script at times, i've experienced calling them myself knowing there is a fault and had them telling me everthing was ok when i knew there was a fault, but the guy wouldn't have it as the tools he was using was saying the upstream was connecting to the UBR. Think its was a dodgy connection on the ethernet port on the modem,(was some time ago now) thats was causing the fault. I was calling on the behalf of a customer to get the modem replaced.

---------- Post added at 10:20 ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 ----------

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

>i truly feel like a valued customer

There was a time when the customer was always right, even when they were wrong.

With Ntl the customer is always wrong, even when they are right.

It seems the Indian call centre only exists to make money for Ntl for when you gotta pay for the call. Up to now they have just been practising for the big day.

So yes I reckon you got fobbed off big time. Don't feel bad though, if you had DSL they would just tell you they have raised the matter with BT and that would be the last you would hear of it.

ALL communications companies SUCK big time. Tis the nature of the beast.

I'll extend that to ANY company. They all spout the usual rubbish about putting the customer first then fail at the most basic hurdle

[Invicta59]

I attempted to upgrade to the 10mb service. After one week of not receiving it I was told by an Indian lady that there were upgrades going on in my area. After two weeks of not receiving it I was told by an Indian lady that there was planned maintenance going on in my area. On the third week I was told by an Indian man that I wasn't receiving the full 10mb because I was running programs on my PC (which is really all I have it for, oddly enough!)

When I got through to an nice Scottish customer service lady, she put me back on the 2mb, refunded me the money I'd paid for the service I'd never received, and gave me 50% off my broadband for 3 months as a gesture of goodwill.

God knows how India ever got an IT industry - they certainly don't deserve one

[hairport]

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

So yes I reckon you got fobbed off big time. Don't feel bad though, if you had DSL they would just tell you they have raised the matter with BT and that would be the last you would hear of it.

I had a very similar experience with Indian technical support as the original poster. I had intermittent loss of connection several times a day. Sometimes they would last for only a few seconds, some for 20-30 minutes...

Everytime I called them was told it was working fine... In the end I spoke to customer services and told them I wanted a cable modem rather than the STB. Since then I haven't experienced any problems though it cost me £50!

I never had a problem with DSL... in fact I still have my DSL modem 5 years old and still going strong.

Tim