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[Telecom] VOIP Technical Support (or lack thereof)

Several months ago, I was subscribing to a VOIP provider on a two year contract.

About four months before the contract was up, the audio on my end became so garbled that I couldn't understand my callers or the person(s) I was calling.

I asked my VOIP provider to troubleshoot it. They tried for a couple of months. They had me bypass my Cisco 871 router and connect my PAP2T VOIP device directly to my cablemodem. It wasn't great, but the quality was much better.

Then they pointed the finger at my Cisco router. I asked them to troubleshoot it. They refused. They said they will troubleshoot Linksys and several other SOHO routers but they would not support Cisco (which IMHO is the best).

After two months with no resolution, I negotiated a deal with another VOIP provider who assured me that they would support my Cisco router and that same VOIP device. I was assured that they'd get this working for me.

So we configured the PAP2T up for the new service and submitted porting requests for my toll-free and my home numbers.

The quality was the same. They'd troubleshoot it for a day or so and then drop it. I'd have to call again every few days to make them pursue it further. I pointed out to them that they promised me they'd get it working.

I decided to get another Cisco Smartnet contract so we could get some help from Cisco TAC.

Cisco TAC went over that router with a fine tooth comb. They could find nothing wrong.

So I asked the new provider to troubleshoot again. They never isolated anything. I even gave them access to my Cisco router so they could look at the configuration.

After two months with no resolution, I purchased another of that same Linksys PAP2T VOIP devices. It was strictly a shot in the dark (which is not the way to troubleshoot (buy this and replace it. If that doesn't work, buy that and replace it, etc.)).

It cleared the problem immediately. Neither one of those providers could isolate the problem and it took four months to resolve it. If they had determined the device was bad in the first place, I could've replaced it a lot sooner.

It is clearly a disgrace to the VOIP providers' industry.

I contacted my old provider (who had charged me for the two months that I switched before the end of the contract). I told them about the resolution and insisted they refund the two months of charges since they failed to identify the unit as being defective.

Just a few days later, those charges were refunded to my charge card. At least they did that much.

So far, the new provider has not charged me for service. We'll discuss those first two months if they charge me for them.

Fred

Reply to
Fred Atkinson
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On Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:56:38 -0600, Fred Atkinson wrote: .........

...........

As the Dilbert carto "Why is it always the *last* thing that you try that ends up fixing the problem, if you'd only choose that option first then you wouldn't be so incompetent".

-- Regards, David.

David Clayton Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Knowledge is a measure of how many answers you have, intelligence is a measure of how many questions you have.

Reply to
David Clayton

Two months with no resolution by the old company. Two months with no resolution by the new company.

Then I take a shot in the dark and inadvertantly fix it when they couldn't.

It wasn't the last thing they tried. I'd say that they NEVER identified what would fix it.

It just shows that these VOIP companies hire budget people and no one with real troubleshooting skills. They make no effort to bring any of their people up to speed to resolve the more difficult problems.

That's the sign of inferior management. The VOIP industry is giving itself a very bad reputation.

Regards,

Fred

Reply to
Fred Atkinson

IMHO:

Subscribers are willing to tolerate this lousy service, partly because they don't have a frame of reference to expect better, and partly because they like the cheaper price. The gold standard used to be the service level from the Bell System, but since Divesture, the Baby Bells' service quality has declined as they cut costs to be competitive.

(Ironically, people expected _more_ from the old Bell System since it was a monopoly and provided end-to-end service. Today, people don't blame the phone company if their ac power goes out and their phones do not work as a result.)

As mentioned, after the hurricane my neighbors were quite surprised that I had still had phone service while they lost theirs. Further, people do so much of their talking on cell phones which have inferior voice and connection quality. To me this all illustrates the lower service expectations.

I suspect that if company attempted to provide today a high level of service quality and first-rate customer support, it's prices would be so high that it simply couldn't compete in the marketplace. This isn't just telecommunications, but banking and other services, too.

Reply to
hancock4

There is an interesting model of the way this process works - and which fits the landline/cellphone/VOIP behaviour very well - in a paper by David Ahlstrom.

The full reference is Ahlstrom, D. (2010). "Innovation and Growth: How Business Contributes to Society." Academy of Management Perspectives 24(3): 11-24.

There is a copy on the Internet at

Look at Figure 4 (P 18, 8th page of the PDF).

Landline quality of service probably exceeds the performance "demanded" by the average customer. Cell phone and VOIP - certainly when introduced were below that standard, but had other innovations ( mobility) or price advantages (VOIP) which allowed them to overcome the perceived performance disadvantage.

Ahlstrom's models suggests that over time VOIP and Cell quality will exceed that 'demanded' by customers only to be replaced in their turn by ???

Reply to
Peter R Cook

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