When I began this blog, I resolved to name organisations only if praising them. I was determined not to use this privileged communication platform to snipe at firms who’d done me wrong. But lately, my internet service provider (ISP) has been driving me crazy (and jeopardising my business) with what I believe to be very poor service.
In Small is the new big Seth Godin happily names every organisation he describes, good or bad. I admire Seth; should I follow him? Even if it doesn’t feel right? Even if it’s a firm that could wreak terrible revenge on my communications and destroy my business in the process?
During my human resources degree and career, I learned to praise people publicly and criticise them in private. The trouble today is that I have no personal access to my ISP. I can’t take them into a quiet room or ring them for a chat about why I’m unhappy with their performance. When I do ring, I get the ROBOT.
At first I didn’t fear the ROBOT, as I had Natalie Tran’s* fabulous guide to dealing with ROBOTS. Alas, like Skynet, my ISP’s ROBOT has evolved to counter even Natalie’s brilliant strategy. I managed to access a human twice. Now that the ROBOT has realised what I’m up to, however, it puts me on hold for ages, then cuts me off. Touche!
It’s such a shame. For two years my ISP service was flawless – the envy of all who beheld its mighty power. Now it drops out most mornings, as well as last Saturday night and all day yesterday. Beset by client deadlines (and smack in the middle of trying to create my new website) I’ve literally been weeping and tearing out my hair.
A technician came two days ago. I offered him a coffee. He asked to use my toilet, then said he’d do something to something outside. When I went to check on him a short time later, he and his van were gone. No farewell, no paperwork.
Yesterday an outage forced me to cancel my bookkeeper (O Fortuna!). Today the technician came back. He said the connection speed was great on his test modem (with its associated uber-plan). Unfortunately, because he didn’t know what plan I was on, he didn’t know what speed I should be getting. I asked if he could ring and ask. He replied that as a contractor who didn’t work for my ISP, he couldn’t. We agreed that if I rang, I’d get the ROBOT.
So now I seek your guidance. Is this post the thin edge of the ranting wedge? As a small business blogger, do I have the right (or even responsibility) to name less-than-fabulous firms for your benefit? Or will that merely incite a useless slanging match?
This is a very serious question. Web 2.0 is a technological tidal wave with two breaks. You can surf it for miles, or it can smash you on the rocks. Just ask Domino’s Pizza.
I humbly invite your views.
Paul Hassing , Founder & Senior Writer, www.thefeistyempire.com
* To learn more about this YouTube star, read this article from The Age.
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Author
Stephen Hamilton
May 7, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I’d suggest you’re on the right track – where possible praise publicly and complain privately. But what to do when you can’t access a human? Sheesh – you could try not paying your bill, but that might take months to get a person who can help to call you. I have to say you have little alternative to name ‘n’ shame, with the view to getting a grown-up from your ISP to call you to sort out the problem.
The other advantage of doing it this way is you might find others who’ve had the same problem with the same company, and who can suggest a useful way of resolving the problem.
Just my two cents!
Author
Paul Hassing
May 7, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Thank you, Stephen; your two cents is worth a great deal!
Author
Megan from myBRC
May 7, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I think Stephen’s suggestion to learn from others is a constructive facet of this debate…rather than just to complain and embarrass for the sake of it.
Author
Anthony
May 7, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Absolutely name away … Your writing from your own experience and it will be very helpful for others looking and the business in question. The forums at Whirlpool.net are full of loving and loveless rants that are hard to pick which is a sponsored comment or a legitimate experience. I think your blog holds a lot of credibility and your opinion is valuable. If they suddenly start being better then write about that – might get you some better service in the end.
Author
Mark Law
May 7, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Great post Paul. I think it is very valiant of you to have adhered so strictly to you kind rule. They have left you no choice now but to name and shame in the full knowledge that what goes on the web stays on the web.
Go for it!
Author
Sonia Cuff
May 7, 2009 at 3:50 pm
It’s interesting to see that your ISP issue has turned into an ethical dilemma re your blog. In “There’s no such thing as ‘business’ ethics”, John C Maxwell suggests the Golden Rule is the only rule to make decisions by. If someone else had a problem with your service, what would you want them to do? Sure, that’s not helped when corporates make it impossible to actually talk to them! As Stephen mentioned above, the value in sharing is so others can see examples of actual experience and share or offer advice. I think this has a lot to do with how it is communicated. Rather than ‘why X is a completely useless company’, just point out the facts of what happened and any opportunity you gave company x to redeem itself.
With my I.T hat on, paying extra for a business grade ISP plan should get you better service, and also try a USB mobile broadband modem as an emergency backup (you can even get pre-apid ones these days with no monthly fee or contract term).
And, if the tech is happy with the line quality, I’d suggest your ADSL modem may be at fault – you’d need to swap it with a known working one to test this theory. ISPs are not very quick to do this for you, but I’ve seen too many internet problems cured by replacing that piece of hardware, even if it works some times or even most of the time.
-Sonia.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 7, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Thank you Mark and welcome to the discussion! Looks like you may know a thing or two about this caper!
Author
Paul Hassing
May 7, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Thanks, Sonia, for the kind, useful email you sent when I was down. I’m happy to see some of your great advice reproduced here. While folks like you, Mark, Stephen and our other regular guests could certainly keep the discussion civil, I fear that inviting a branded free for all could prove unhelpful.
Anyway, Seth Godin also says that once you bung something on the Web, it’s out of your control. So let’s see where the chips fall. I’ve been online all day today, so that’s a blessing.
Author
CGabriel
May 7, 2009 at 4:36 pm
This is a HUGE issue in talk radio!! It is the endless debate of “To Name, or Not to Name…”
And on Blog Harbor, I’ve done two pieces on horrific customer service. In both, I absolutely called out the offending companies – one was JCPenney and the other was Caribou Coffee (both here in Minneapolis). In both, I was more than happy and absolutely prepared to deal with any rebuttals anyone from either company wanted to throw at me. Bottom line: The service was so utterly disgraceful, they BEGGED to be called out by name. Their dreadfully rude employees demanded I mention the companies by name.
But…
On my radio program, I have never called out a company by name. The reason is what a mentor of mine called The Law of Immediacy. His position (and the position of many, though not all) was that in radio, by naming an offending company you are giving them the chance to rebut your claims – in essence, I’d be opening the door for a limbo-like debate that might weaken my argument even though I may be completely in the right. Put another way… A Slanging Match.
In print, however, it’s different. You can make your entire point uninterrupted. Any rebuttals come in the form of a phone call, an email or a letter. None of the three will ever weaken your argument because those will never see the light of day…or your column/blog.
So, all things combined, here’s where I stand: I will only call out a company/individual by name in the most extreme cases. If it’s a situation I damn well am ready to pursue beyond the purpose of doing a nice segment or two on the air – or 750 words in a post – I’ll name them. But if it’s a minor annoyance, I’ll be vague.
And underneath everything is Responsibility. I will never — NEVER — call out someone unfairly or embellish something out of anger or frustration. This is both wrong and, can get a broadcaster/writer in serious trouble. We both know that, but not everyone does – or, they “forget” there are certain rules in play.
More than anything else, if you’re going to talk it, better be ready to walk it.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 7, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Dang, Christopher, you just added a whole new dimension to this discussion! And Sonia’s Law of Debate Permutation just gained another proof. Your real-life stories and hard-won experience really make this blog sing. Thank you!
Author
Paul Hassing
May 7, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Speaking of Skynet, I just got this tweet: Forex MegaDroid Robot. Automatic, 100% Hands-Free Forex Robot Uses Rcpta Technology And Breaks All Records. http://tinyurl.com/cvamem
Author
SpikeTheLobster
May 7, 2009 at 6:38 pm
I’m not a big businessman. I’m generally an end-product consumer, so my views come from there – with a touch of extra oomph for being a customer with an online voice and (in the past) a “managing director” title with which to scare people!
I believe in both praising and blaming. Every good action deserves to be rewarded, because far too few companies – and consumers – do this. It’s too easy to forget that good service is not your right, but it is right to give good service. Example: when I flew home for my father’s funeral, the day was awful. British Airways did *everything* to make it better: they had a hire car sitting waiting, with the forms already filled, so all I had to do was sign; they upgraded the return flight so we travelled first class for no extra cost; even the cabin crew knew and made an extra effort (they were actually hilariously funny and made the trip a real event). I called AND wrote to BA to thank them.
On the other hand, complaining should – IMHO – be done privately or vaguely AT FIRST. If a reasonable resolution is not reached, then I’ll shout. They get a chance to deal with it quietly, but if they blow that chance, then I’ll blame them publicly. Always be careful not to libel or slander, but apart from that, it’s fair game. It lets other people know. It forces the company to look at their service. It brings extra blog visitors… er, hang on…
My bank is a good example of this: they’ve really blown it. If I had a personal blog where I wrote about such things, there’d be a HUGE entry on there. As it is, I’m just changing banks. LOUDLY.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 7, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Hello again, Spike. I don’t know which I enjoy more: gleaning more of your fascinating background or benefiting from your highly relevant experiences. Suffice to say both leave this forum richer. Thank you particularly for sharing the tale of your father’s funeral.
Author
Wendy
May 7, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Wow, a lot of great comments to a difficult dilemma. If you did write about the company by name in this forum, what would it accomplish? Is there the chance a real person would call you because of this blog and fix all your problems? If yes, then you should write about them by name. If absolutely no, it would only bring everyone and their Greek copywriter to complain to you about their horrid service, I wouldn’t call them out by name. But then, it’s easy for me to say… I think your gut knows what to do!
Author
Paul Hassing
May 7, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Dear Wendy, I get the impression that you’re a particularly switched-on soul. I weigh your words carefully. The first drafts of this post (and there were many) did name the firm. But, thanks to time, sleep and the counsel of experts and friends, I decided to go generic.
My gut has been happy with this decision. I don’t think naming would have achieved anything positive. And today has been my first IT-drama-free day in weeks. As I just said to my IT Guy, Mercury must be reading this blog! Thank you for your kind comment.
Author
Andrew Hurl
May 7, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Whether to name these companies or not? Coming from ‘Gen Y’ and growing up with technology, I’m still astounded by the rate of growth in Web 2.0 and its giving every user a pedestal to voice whatever they want, to anyone who will listen!
Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Forums & Discussion boards are a socially acceptable way to interact, discuss and vent & they know no boundaries!
If you’re talking to a friend or colleague over coffee & they are purchasing a product you have had a bad experience with I suspect you would provide them your feedback?
If I was looking for an ISP & I was looking to subscribe to your current one, would you provide
your personal experiences, positive and / or negative to assist them in their decision?
I don’t see communicating this via the internet in a blog as any different, but maybe that’s my Gen Y showing!
If your case is extreme and you have genuinely exhausted all available means to raise it with those in power to rectify your case then by all accounts I’m happy to see you name a company. BUT! you have to be prepared to catch what you throw.
When naming, keep in mind that 52% of Australians research a product or service online before they purchase. When searching, it just might be your blog, tweet or comment that they read when making that decision. If you are going to vent and name a company, justify your reasons, paths you took to achieve resolution BEFORE you posted and then your point of view has some depth. Too many people name only to shame companies online as they think the worlds listening but cannot, or will not, justify their comments.
You don’t have a responsibility to name in shame, but I believe you have a right when its backed with suitable evidence to justify your stance. Slanging match? Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. Not everyone will agree with you but it could lead to a healthy discussion as has been demonstrated on this very blog
Just my 2 cents (and I’m ready to catch!)
Author
Paul Hassing
May 7, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Wow, Andrew. I thought you were just my IT Guy, but it turns out you’re a wise mentor too. Your comment suggests a great deal of careful thought. I’ll sleep on this one to give it the time it deserves. Thanks so much for contributing!
Author
Malcolm
May 8, 2009 at 8:24 am
This is an easy one. Name names.
Companies and businesses go out of their way to ask for your referals and have a ‘who else can we help’ approach. This is the way of the world so they must take the Yang with the Yin. I certainly dont suggest that you put the axe through anyone without giving them the opportunity to fix it as afterall mistakes and oversites happen. A quick fix and an apology can actually be benificial for the business!
I cant understand the reluctance to name a serial non performer. Why do they deserve your protection, so they can continue to dick people around with no consequences? If they are named then perhaps they will learn, your readers wont use them so wont have to go through all this and you can get a new ISP! Think of it as a public service.
Name them then copy the Robot on the blog. Bugger em. Gi hard or go home. Perform or perish I say.
So who are they?
Author
Paul Hassing
May 8, 2009 at 9:58 am
Thank you for your view, Malcolm. By the strangest coincidence, I’m enjoying my second IT-drama-free day. It’s extraordinary. However, if the clouds of doom gather again, your advice will ring in my ears.
Author
Megan from myBRC
May 8, 2009 at 10:54 am
I see where Andrew’s coming from…but I wanted to put another spin on that. When you tell a friend over coffee about your bad experience, you’re only telling one person. And that person knows you and your standards/expectations/behaviours/credibility and can judge for themselves what level of gravity to attach to your gripe.
Whereas when you publish online, you can tell thousands of people – and yet those people don’t have the same context.
If I was looking for an ISP, even amongst my own contacts I would seek advice/experiences from people I trust, and I may even have a few whose complaints I would dismiss because I don’t think they know enough about it, or because I think they have a history of poor customer service experiences – and maybe it’s got more to do with them, than the ‘offending’ business?
Maybe it’s the issues management side of me, but I suppose I’m wary of unqualified (as in, by me) rants and the damage they can perhaps unfairly wreak. That’s not to say people don’t have the right…I’m just not sure I put a lot of value on them, and in that case, maybe they’re not very constructive? But that said, Andrew’s right about the value of generating healthy debate.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 8, 2009 at 11:04 am
Good point, Megan. I forgot to mention that my IT expertise is about as good as my bookkeeping. What I lack in knowledge, I make up for with politeness, enthusiasm and questions. This completely freaks out most people sent to Empire House.
Author
SpikeTheLobster
May 8, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Wow, incredibly pertinent point there, Megan. Reminds me of all those times I’ve been warned off particular writing sites: third-hand knowledge of someone being ‘scammed’ by a site often turns out to be a case of the individual not having read the Terms Of Service, being unnecessarily obdurate or – in the vast majority of cases – being a dumb teenager who thinks the world owes them everything and doesn’t understand that a business isn’t going to spend $1 transferring funds to them when they have 12c in their account. I’ve even seen some cases where an individual sets up an entire web page about the “scam”, and they’re 100% in the wrong.
It’s always vital to give enough background and to research supposed ‘bad service’ properly.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 8, 2009 at 10:00 pm
You’re dead right, Mr Lobster. We’re very lucky indeed to have the in-tune Megan as our facilitator. Without her guidance, this post would surely have devolved into a fruitless foodfight. Brava!
Author
Stephen G
May 8, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Hi All,
Great posts folks…
Hey! Do you guys remember this? Apparently, it was published in the Sydney Morning Herald back in 1999. I thought it might appeal…especially to Spike (it’s a bit long, but I reckon it’s worth the read
:
“BANK ON MY ACCOUNT, OLD CHAP
My dear Bank Manager, I am writing to thank you for bouncing the cheque
with which I endeavoured to pay my plumber last month.
By my calculations some three nano-seconds must have elapsed between his
presenting the cheque, and the arrival in my account of the funds needed
to honour it.
I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire salary,
an arrangement which, I admit, has only been in place for eight years.
You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and
also for debiting my account by way of penalty for the inconvenience I
caused your bank.
My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused
me to re-think my errant financial ways.
You have set me on the path of fiscal righteousness.
No more will our relationship be blighted by these unpleasant incidents,
for I am restructuring my affairs in 1999, taking as my model the
procedures, attitudes and conduct of your very own bank.
I can think of no greater compliment, and I know you will be excited and
proud to hear it.
To this end, please be advised about the following changes.
First, I have noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone
calls and letters, when I try to contact you I am confronted by the
impersonal, ever-changing, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank
has become.
From now on I, like you, chose only to deal with a flesh and blood
person.
My mortgage and loan repayments will, therefore and hereafter, no longer
be automatic, but will arrive at your bank by personal cheque, addressed
personally and confidentially to an employee of your branch, whom you must
nominate.
You will be aware that it is an offence under the Postal Act for any other
person to open such an envelope.
Please find attached an Application for Contact Status which I require
your chosen employee to complete.
I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about
him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative.
Please note that all copies of his/her medical history must be
countersigned by a Justice of the Peace, and that the mandatory details of
his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must
be accompanied by documented proof.
In due course I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she
must quote in all dealings with me.
I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have
modelled it on the number of button presses required to access my account
balance on your phonebank service.
As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Let me level the playing field even further by introducing you to my new
telephone system, which you will notice, is very much like yours.
My Authorised Contact at your bank, the only person with whom I will have
any dealings, may call me at any time and be answered by an automated
voice.
By pressing the buttons on the phone, he/she will be guided through an
extensive set of menus: 1) to make an appointment to see me, 2) to query
a missing repayment, 3) to make a general complaint or inquiry, and so on.
The contact will then be put onhold, pending the attention of my automated
answering service.
While this may on occasion involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will
play for the duration.
This month I have chosen to refrain from The Best of Woody Guthrie:
Oh the banks are made of marble
With a guard at every door
And the vaults are filled with silver
That the miners sweated for!
After twenty minutes of that, our mutual contact will probably know it off
by heart.
On a more serious note, we come to the matter of cost.
As your bank has often pointed out, the ongoing drive for greater
efficiency comes at a cost – a cost which you have always been quick to pass on to me.
Let me repay your kindness by passing some costs back.
First, there is the matter of advertising material you send me.
This I will read for a fee of $20 per A4 page. Inquiries from your
nominated contact will be billed at $5 per minute of my time spent in
response.
Any debits to my account, as, for example, in the matter of the penalty
for the dishonoured cheque, will be passed back to you.
My new phone number service runs at 75 cents per minute (even Woody
Guthrie doesn’t come free), so keep your inquiries brief and to the
point.
Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an
establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.
May I wish you a happy, if ever-so-slightly less prosperous, New Year.
Your humble client.”
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
SpikeTheLobster
May 8, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Thanks, Stephen!! Amusingly enough, I have used similar language in my current dealings with my bank. They never seem to respond to my wry, British wit. I’m terribly disappointed.
On the other hand, back in the days when I had my own company, I actually managed to successfully charge a bank an administration fee, mostly because they sucked. I still have the statement with that one on it, I was so pleased with myself!
Author
SpikeTheLobster
May 9, 2009 at 5:32 am
For fans of synchronicity, this is hilarious. I just received a rebuttal/polite response to a comment I made on my blog about Guru.com : http://scrawlbug.com/2009/04/30/freelance-writing-jobs
I can’t believe the timing! Wonderful comment, though: perfect business response, in my opinion. I hate the word, but I’ll use it: Kudos to them.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 9, 2009 at 9:09 am
Great to see you back, Stephen; that’s a ripper! Spike, I wrote a lovely comment on your blog and then lost my internet access (and the comment) at the last second. Access is now patchy. Rest assured I’ll return and read more of your writings when I get past this hassle. Time to call the ROBOT. Again.
Author
Stephen G
May 9, 2009 at 11:12 am
Hi Paul and folks,
Dude! Get yourself another ISP (or 2) while you are dukin’-it-out with the ‘unnamed’. Besides, if it is the ‘unnamed’ ISP I think it is, YOU WON’T GET PAST THIS HASSLE!
Not unless you just walk away, which is no doubt what they are counting on.
‘They’ get to sell another debt to the debt-collectors; no ‘official’ harm, no ‘official’ foul. You get a scar on your Credit Record, keep paying to use their ‘omnipresent’ infrastructure via their many, constantly changing & often relatively innocent ‘succubi’, and the world continues stumbling on it’s merry way from one historic financial crisis to the next, thanks to the genuine community care and egalitarian fiscal policy at the forefront of the ‘unnamed’s’ ‘market leading innovation, Constant And Never-ending Improvement (CANI – which I call ‘constant & never-ending interruption), and 400 million dollar a year Customer Feedback Programs (“because we value your views”). It is also, at least phonetically, the first 2 syllables of the word ‘Cannibal’), and mandate to maintain an employee base just large enough to force gov’t bailouts (read – just large enough to force US to re-finance they’re ‘apparent’ incompetence), at the next optimal economic cycle adjustment.
I use the term ‘apparent’ incompetence, because I do not for one moment believe these large organisations are run by idiots (Idiot defined – an entity that cannot think for itself). Quite the opposite in fact.
Anyway, I think I have painted enough to get the image across.
I’ll leave with some empirical ‘chewy-gum’:
On an ‘unnamed forum site’ (http://bit.ly/XoJ7L), which “is about telecommunications and you. It’s where you can become involved, have your say, and ‘unnamed’ listens – on issues affecting all Australians and the telecommunications industry. ‘unnamed forum site’ is managed by unnamed’.”
Quote from ‘unnamed’ ISP CEO on the afore-unmentioned site:
“Debate is a good thing. These telecoms issues are important issues …Everyone should take part in that debate.
Debate is important as long as we respect each other.
Debate is important as long as we do it to learn from each other.
One of the great thinkers said that civilized people treat each other as reasonable – that’s
why they argue. Barbarians don’t argue; barbarians club each other. We don’t do that… usually.
The bottom line: There is nothing wrong with a good argument – what we call debate.
It is through argument and debate in politics, in the media, and in the marketplace of ideas that civilized people get a glimpse of the truth and make decisions about their future.”
I could go on and on and on…Hehe! Just like ‘them’ ey? :- )
Cheers
Stephen G
PS Spike, I’ve yet to pop over and check out your comment…but I will and like all good little ‘Terminators’ that eat their ‘Weeties’…’I'll be back’
Author
Stephen G
May 9, 2009 at 11:26 am
PS: In my previous rant (which of course I cleverly forgot to include this in ‘previously’
), I intended to highlight the seeming disparity between ‘corporate memory’ and ‘public memory’…not to mention the myriad advantages (for the ‘community’ of course), availed by conveniently packaged lifespans of unincorporated members of the public…
Ok I’m shutting up now…for now
Cheers
Stephen G.. again!
Author
Stephen G
May 9, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Hi Folks…again, :_ P
Ok, I don’t have ‘a life’…well not today
Nice to see Malcolm pop-up between ‘sets’… :- P
I’ve just been stuck on this ISP issue that you are having Paul (the more practical aspects of it)…and at the risk of commenting when I may not have all the technical facts and going a bit off-topic (for which I apologise in advance), I wanted to pop this in, in the hope it may be useful to folks setting up websites for their businesses:
I just can’t comprehend how your developers (for not adequately assessing your overall business infrastructure and advising accordingly), let alone a large ISP (for simply not delivering), could put you in such a position in 2009?
Every time I have been involved with a professional web project (no matter my role), I always ensure that my/our developers have a good battery of RAID Platforms for development, backup and testing. And then, most importantly, whatever the enterprise/project, that there are multiple servers/hosts (around the world preferably), mirroring our project’s servers (i.e. our website/s). This is not an expensive exercise (assuming honourable transactions), and when weighed against other commercial insurance policies and/or potential ‘downtime’ losses.
I use MD Webhosting (http://www.mdwebhosting.com.au/) for my little commercial (but non-ecommerce) site. It costs me $9.90 per month for a package that more than meets my needs (no I’m not an affiliate…just a satisfied customer…so far
). Internally, my current ISP have large batteries of clustered servers and entire redundant networks (Melbourne & Sydney)…then there are external mirror servers etc. I reckon I could still get to my site in with a willow-branch in a nuclear winter…
I reckon your developers need their arses kicked for not noticing and/or advising you that your main business is subject to the performance of a single ISP.
As a professional, I would not have ‘taken-on’ on your project unless your online business investment was suitably protected with adequate commercial communications protocols (e.g. mirror sites/servers & multiple ISPs). I would consider it a key component of such a ‘professional’ service delivery.
And that’s my ‘2 bobs worth’ on that… (takes me up to about $17.80 ey? :- )
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Andrew Hurl
May 9, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Hi Stephen,
I think your lack of ‘technical facts’ has lead you completely on the wrong tangent!
I trust Paul will not mind me correcting your some information, but the issues his facing relate in no way to the website development that he has undertaken, for who I am the primary contact ‘The developer’ as you may reference. The issue he faces is purely related to his ISP (Internet Service Provider) who provides his cable service to “Empire House”, granting him access to the internet.
It is in no way related to the website development, hosting infrastructure, or temporary halt of the project (except the fact he cannot get work done to focus on his own website content!)
With all due respect, I think your post highlights my previous mention of giving anyone a pedestal to stand on even though what you are saying is inaccurate!
I don’t like getting kicked up the arse but when we start providing service like his current ISP is, you have my word I’ll be finding a new industry
Andrew
Author
Stephen G
May 9, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Hi Andrew,
Excellent and very poignant example…thank you… :- )
Suggestion:
==========================
Hi Stephen,
I think the general drift of your observations are indeed valuable to those considering a commercial website of their own… it highlights some of the pitfalls in acquiring and maintaining a viable commercial web presence and some ways of minimising their impact.
In defense of our development team (for which I am responsible), I would like to add that we are proud of the work that we do and in Paul’s case, that we have done.
In our professional experience with other businesses using the heretofore ‘unnamed’ ISP in question, we have not had reason to consider it such a threat. Paul’s particular case has been noted and we will learn from this valuable experience…unfortunately it was out of our hands.
Cheers
Andrew
=================================
There ya go cobber…I reckon that would’ve made you look great and me look like an idiot :- )
Nice try though :- )
Stephen G
Author
Andrew Hurl
May 9, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Hi Stephen,
Not here to look great, or make anyone an idiot, and my reply might have been slightly more constructed but alas I was out enjoying the beautiful Saturday afternoon!
Your suggested reply would be warranted if we (the implied “development team”) had in any way recommend the services which are currently impacting his business, but this is not the case.
Andrew
Author
Stephen G
May 10, 2009 at 11:35 am
Hehe :- )…Too much fun! :- )
So!…were we talking about the pros & cons of ‘naming’? :- P
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Paul Hassing
May 12, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I’m just back from Bright and should be out walking on the last afternoon of my holiday, so I’ll be brief. I greatly appreciate your concern, Stephen. Andrew I confirm that I’ve had nothing but fast, fabulous service from you and that my dramas have been completely beyond your remit, sphere and control. Now, out to the catch the last feeble rays of sun!
Author
Stephen Hamilton
May 12, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Wow…genuinely interesting discussion, even with the various tangents taken. Actually, especially because of the various tangents taken.
My position is still basically the same: name as a LAST RESORT, as a means to try to get someone from the “unnamed ISP” to communicate directly with you, and to glean experience from others who’ve had the same problem.
I must concur with Sonia – a proper business-grade DSL service is the go. One of the things that you pay extra for is monitoring of your router/modem and usually swift replacement if there are any problems. It costs extra, but it very likely will represent better value for you.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 13, 2009 at 3:35 am
I’m really glad you’re digging the scene, Stephen. I was a bit taken aback by the newly robust tenor of the conversation. But it seems to have been pursued in good faith, with no feelings hurt.
I thought I was on a business-grade cable scheme, but it seems the word ‘extreme’ has been devalued over the years by soft drink ads and reality TV shows! Once I deliver my site content to Andrew, I’ll be looking long and hard and what I have and could have.
Many thanks for your return visit and kind comment.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 14, 2009 at 9:18 am
ISP dramas at 10.00 pm yesterday. ISP dramas at 5.00 am today. The ROBOT has evolved further. It now recognises my voice and hangs up before I’ve spoken two words.
I tried to explain that I’ve been a customer for 23 years, but it wouldn’t listen. I’m having to ring clients to tell them my email’s down. VERY bad juju. If this were the Old Testament, my ISP’s head office would be a smoking ruin.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 14, 2009 at 9:31 am
In desperation, I just rang the mobile number of the Technican who twice visited me.
He had scribbled it on a Sorry We Missed You card when he arrived 40 minutes before our last scheduled five-hour visitation window.
No answer. I got message bank, but it wouldn’t accept my message. NOT. HAPPY. JAN.
My next move will be to email the link to this post and comments to my ISP. Wish me luck!
Author
Stephen G
May 14, 2009 at 10:14 am
Hey Paul :- )
Re: your earlier comment about ‘robust tenor’: Yep! It was all pretty innocent initially. I didn’t know Andrew or that he was there…fortunately, he is a great conversationalist with a great sense of humour…added a bit of spice :- ) Anyway, we are now Twitting away like a couple of ‘love-birds’…a happy ending indeed :- ) Andrew’s new Twitter page is here – http://bit.ly/19RnX2
As for your ongoing ‘ISPitis’ – GET ANOTHER ONE for heaven’s sake! :- ) Then if you ever get the current ISP sorted (which I doubt), you’ll have 2 ISPs. And while you’re at it, and if you don’t have one already, make this next ISP connection mobile (you know? with a mobile modem?).
Good to see you back and beaming with ‘Fighting Words’ :- ) Your latest article ‘Feedback to the Future’ (http://bit.ly/BzUsb), is a cracker, I’ll be back to put my usual $17.80 worth in later…
Have a good one mate…
Cheers
Stephen G
PS Oh yeh!…Good luck :- )
Author
Paul Hassing
May 14, 2009 at 10:31 am
Thanks Stephen. If my ISPlea fails, I’ll definitely follow your advice and that of others. My email has just sprung to life again, so I’m sending my request for help while I can!
Author
Paul Hassing
May 14, 2009 at 10:37 am
Not the most auspicious start…
‘As part of the delivery process, your message was relayed to a machine which does not handle delivery status notifications. As a result, it is not possible to determine whether the message will get to its final destination.’
Author
Stephen G
May 14, 2009 at 10:53 am
Mate! It seems to me that your ISP has already failed, on several ‘key’ levels…I think you’d better send them the ‘Feedback to the Future’ article too? :- P
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Paul Hassing
May 14, 2009 at 10:57 am
Too late! The conversation has already spilled. Like in that old Dr Who episode with the man who turned into a plant and pervaded an entire house…
Author
Stephen G
May 14, 2009 at 11:14 am
Is it ever ‘too late’ for ‘Feedback to the Future’? Hmmm! That’s a toughy :- )
Author
Paul Hassing
May 14, 2009 at 11:19 am
Progress! This reminds me of Woody Allen’s home appliances stand-up routine. Names have been suppressed to protect the… Never mind:
‘Thanks for contacting X. This is an automatic response to let you know we have received your enquiry. Please do not reply to this email. If you have any other questions about X or your X service, please visit our Help Centre at X Kind regards, The X Team.’
Like Big Kev, I’m Xcited!
Author
Stephen G
May 14, 2009 at 11:21 am
Maybe I should put that in the other article…what’s it called again?…Oh yeah! Feedback to the Future…Crap! I’m nearly in tears laughing here… :- P
Author
Stephen G
May 14, 2009 at 11:29 am
Nice one Kev :- )
Hey! Did you see the Gruen Transfer last night? The guys from the show have registered a company called ‘Nine of Ten Experts’. I reckon that’s clever…
Cheers
Stephen G
PS If you’ve got a strong sensibility check this out. It was a ‘Pitch’ ad that wasn’t allowed to be shown on last night’s Gruen Transfer – http://bit.ly/13lm7i
Author
Paul Hassing
May 14, 2009 at 11:36 am
Didn’t see it but will check the link. This morning has been divided between suffering IT woes and tabling them. I must turn to client work while I still have web access. Catch you soon!
Author
Stephen G
May 14, 2009 at 11:36 am
Oh Crap! Typo in ‘Comment 47′…that ‘Gruen Transfer’ company is called ‘Nine Out of Ten Experts’.
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Andrew Hurl
May 14, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I had to drop in, been watching the emails flow in all morning, but had to post just to be post 51 – I’ll read everything in detail a little later on!
Author
Paul Hassing
May 15, 2009 at 10:08 am
The latest:
‘Dear Paul,
Thanks for your reply.
Regrettably, I am unable to visit the link you provided as our internet access is restricted.
If you could give me an outline of your issue so I can further assist.
Kind regards,
X
The X Team’
Regrettable and surprising.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 15, 2009 at 10:42 am
‘Dear Paul,
I have received your reply, however still with no information.
The attachments provided have not translated properly.
If you could provide your account query in the actual text of this email so that I can read and assist you.
Kind regards,
X
The X Team’
Today’s essay question: Is X also a ROBOT?
Author
Andrew Hurl
May 15, 2009 at 10:45 am
I’d reply and request they contact you as a matter of urgency on Y phone number
Least it would prove its human, and get you talking to a person!
Author
Paul Hassing
May 15, 2009 at 10:49 am
Good idea, Andrew. Having spent 47 hours documenting this problem in excruciating detail, I’d (foolishly) hoped to achieve a modest economy by getting my ISP to read it. No dice. I shall prepare a herbal tea, gird my loins and follow your advice as soon as I’m able. Thanks!
Author
Stephen G
May 15, 2009 at 11:35 am
Hi Guys & Folks,
Good call Andrew. :- )
And Paul, I reckon you should be commended for even attempting to journal this issue, which too many have been subjected to for far too long. On top of that you are doing a fine job of it. I hope you are able to keep it going until the bitter or sweet end. I think it will help a lot of people, especially when it attracts helpful practical suggestions like Andrew’s…great stuff.
For me, this provokes a question about ‘loyalty’. It seems that in recent years ‘the corporate sector’ has put a lot of energy into ‘acquiring’ or improving customer loyalty. It would appear however, that they are yet to figure out what to do with this loyalty. Your case in particular, as a customer of 23 years with our heretofore ‘unnamed’ ISP, is an assiduous demonstration of this. What are companies ‘actually’ doing with this ‘hard-earned’ customer loyalty? I mean really! I’m not talking about ‘coupons’ & ‘fly-bys’ & bundled discounts…I’m talking about responding to loyalty on a ‘human’ level…
Keep going mate…it’s all good :- )
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Paul Hassing
May 15, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Thank you, Stephen; your words are a balm. Having invested so much effort, and being so generously supported, I feel I must press on. It’s not Fromelles, but it’s a worthwhile struggle.
I abandoned fly-buys as a bad joke long ago. I recently overheard someone say that once a certain firm signed a customer, they did all they could to ensure they never heard from them again. I’m starting to feel like that customer.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 15, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Striving to complete my new website with Andrew. Just lost email again so can’t give him detailed feedback. Web speed is back to a crawl so can’t flip around demo site to vet page alterations. Hats off to Megan’s design skills; this blog is the only site I can load in less a minute!
Author
SpikeTheLobster
May 15, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Yeesh. At this point, if it were me, I’d send them an email demanding a refund of my year’s subscription and would change provider. A support team who can’t access their own supported system? ISP with limited internet access? Hello? Contradiction in terms? With an email system that can’t handle attachments? Who’s their boss? Fred Flintstone?!
There’s bad service and there’s incompetence. This DEFINITELY falls into the latter category after those last two emails. My advice: refuse to do more. Email and state that unless they have it sorted within two days, they’re gone and you’ll be demanding a full refund (with tens of pages of documentation), lodging a complaint with the business practices bureau (or whatever the Aussie version is called) and blogging the entire thing VERY publicly. Not to mention sending it to the press.
That’ll wake them up.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 15, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Funny you should say that, Spike. Herewith my latest:
‘Dear X,
Why is your internet access restricted?
As X is the ISP providing my high-speed cable connection to the internet, I would’ve thought you’d be able to visit websites to sort out my problem.
Regards, P.’
I’m certainly upset enough to follow you and the other hawks. But I’m also transfixed by how farcical this is getting. I must see if they answer my questions. If not, it’s good night from me, and goodnight to them!
Author
Paul Hassing
May 16, 2009 at 8:05 pm
‘Dear Paul,
Thank you for your reply, my name is X.
I appreciate that you would like to know why our access is restricted. As with most large organizations, our internet access is limited to work related sites and is not filtered by what we are not allowed to view but rather to what we are allowed to view. As I am not able to visit websites to sort out your problem, please reply with details of your query and I will be more than happy to assist further.
I look forward to your reply.
I trust this information has been of assistance, and further information is readily available via our online Help: X.com, otherwise I am happy to provide further clarification.
Thank you for choosing X.
Kind regards,
X
The X Team’
Any questions?
Author
SpikeTheLobster
May 16, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Only one question: how is this ISP still in business?
Author
Stephen G
May 17, 2009 at 10:39 am
Mate! The least these guys could do, would be to provide their loyal customers with a pair of Magnum 45s signed by Clint Eastwood, so that you too can walk around all day shooting yourself in both feet!
AN ISP THAT RESTRICTS IT’S OWN WEB ACCESS! Hahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaa! Gasp, gasp, stagger, stagger,…crash!
Reminds me of New Zealand! Hehe! Don’t worry it’s an affectionate dig…but then, aren’t they all? :- P
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Paul Hassing
May 18, 2009 at 11:23 am
Hi again, Stephen! I had a whole weekend of good access and this morning has been OK too. If I can just get my remaining site content to my IT Guy, I can spare a moment to review my ISP options.
Author
Paul Hassing
May 18, 2009 at 4:21 pm
‘Thank you for your recent query through X.com,
As we continually strive to improve our services and products to deliver you a better customer experience, we’d love to know how well your enquiry was handled.
It’s as easy as clicking on the link below, which will take you to a simple survey page. Please take a moment to tell us about your experience.
To open the survey, please click here.
We appreciate your contribution and trust that you will continue to enjoy your internet experience with X.
Kind regards,
The X Team’
Author
Stephen G
May 18, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Ah! The indefatigable human spirit…coming to the fore in our hour of need…I too often regale, ‘never underestimate the power of denial!’. What more potent illustration could one find for the shortcomings of ‘Constant and Never Ending Improvement’. Maybe the X-Team & Co. could do a handbook called “Efficient Energy Wasting” or ‘Passing the Energy Wasting Buck’???
On a more ‘life promoting’ note – I find it interesting that there are many meaningful overlaps emerging from the subjects of ‘Naming Rights’ and your latest article ‘Feedback to the Future’( http://bit.ly/SaK5a ).
I had an edifying experience today with an Insurance Broker. I’ll post the email ‘unnamed’ on the ‘Feedback to the Future’ blog…
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Paul Hassing
May 18, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Please do, Stephen. That’s the first time I’ve seen ‘insurance’ and ‘edifying’ in the same sentence, so I’m on the edge of my seat!
Author
Stephen G
May 18, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Done! :- )
Digg this fine blog I’ve stumbled upon – it’s called ‘Feedback to the Future’ ( http://bit.ly/2MEA7 ) – See Comment No: 16. Hehe!
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Stephen G
May 18, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Shit! I’m gunna hafta pull my head in a bit mate…folks are gunna start wonderin’ if you’re paying me under the table? :- P
When little do they know that I’m actually working toward being paid to go away! :- P
Cheers
Not Him Again!
Author
Edwin
June 3, 2009 at 11:13 am
Ugh! Y’know – if you’re NOT going to name the company here – for your own readers – then you are hiding something (the company name). And if you are hiding that particular fact, then what else are you prepared to hide? This debate is clear as far as I’m concerned. It angers me just how many chickens and fence-sitters there are out there – making the world a much crappier place by protecting idiot companies. What the hell is the web about if not honest debate. Especially BLOGs. If a reader has had a great time using the named ISP, they’ll pipe up and you’ll get informed discussion! Seth Godin is a multi-millionnaire Blogger – partially because he’s no coward. Transparency is what we want. Not weird, scaredy-cat protectionism. Who the hell do you think we are? Are you not naming just to get comments in your BLOG? How will your readers trust you if you’re withholding info like this. What else are you withholding? And ask yourself, “Is it doing you any good?” I think I know where NOT to buy my next e-book.
Author
Paul Hassing
June 3, 2009 at 11:27 am
Thank you, Edwin, for your completely fresh perspective. After 69 disparate comments, that’s no mean feat!
It’s an astonishing coincidence that you should make your comment today. Only two hours ago, I named a former employer in this discussion: http://www.smartcompany.com.au/boss-lady/men-youre-on-notice.html It felt very strange. I wonder if you approve.
I will ponder your view carefully. Again, many thanks! P.
Author
Stephen G
June 3, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Nice one Edwin. :- ) I think what you have to say definitely needed to be said…and not just here…
I totally agree with you morally; however, in ‘defense’ of this particular blog, I would proffer that the ‘non’ naming of ‘the company/s’ in this particular instance may have been in the interest of the conversation. i.e. Had the company been named from the outset, the conversation would likely have taken an entirely different slant.
I also consider that this conversation could well serve as a prelude to a more ‘confronting’ and specific conversation at a later date…for which I sincerely hope you return :- )
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Stephen G
June 3, 2009 at 1:10 pm
PS: I thought the ‘coward’ implication was a bit harsh though…
Author
Edwin
June 3, 2009 at 1:48 pm
No I stick by it. What’s the point of self-publishing (BLOGs) a story about an awful company but not telling us who it is. That’s “baiting”. “Hey kids, someone in class has been very naughty, but I’m not going to tell you who it is and you’re ALL getting an ice-cream.” What the? Money where your mouth is, I say. Otherwise, you really are part of the problem by playing it safe and and not “solving” anything. A reputable publisher might sanction the artoicle and choose not to publish – but these are BLOGS for Christ’s sake. And we’re self-censoring. I say that’s “Yellow-bellied!” Or a weird thing to do at the very least. Maybe it’s just designed to get community comments happening, like this article http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p296380887_Bad-business-ethics-or-just-business.html (I doubt Sam wanted what she got there). If I was naughty, I’d understand punishment and try to get the community of nay-sayers on side. It’s an oppotunity for this IP to get custom, I say – so who loses? You won’t get sued if it’s just a BLOG and the facts are true. Or maybe it didn’t happen. Might be different if you worked for the company or were selling affiliate links to it. just don’t publish if that’s the case because then it really does become a rant.
Author
Stephen G
June 3, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Re: “You won’t get sued if it’s just a BLOG and the facts are true.”
I reckon that ‘being sued’ and ‘the lawsuit being successful’ are 2 different things. And I for one do not like the idea of being sued, nor do I believe that the ‘truth’ of ‘facts’ have any bearing at all on whether or not one can have such actions brought against them. The action of ‘sueing’ is pursued to attempt to determine the ‘truth’ of ‘facts’ and whether a dispute actually exists and is actionable at law. It’s expensive and takes up a lot of time and can cause a lot of damage. regardless of the success of the lawsuit.
e.g I know a blind guy who got sued for sexual abuse of a minor because a little girl, that was a friend of the family, who was staying in his home, happened to grab him by the ‘willie’ when he was getting dried after a shower (that’s his story). The mother found out and sued. The case was not successful (i.e. he was found to be innocent), but he lost his job and a lot of friends as a result.
I just put “blog sued” in Google and got 494 results. Taking the inverted commas out, I got 6,850,000 results.
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Paul Hassing
July 8, 2009 at 8:33 am
The problem has returned.
Author
Stephen G
July 8, 2009 at 9:51 am
Crap Dude! What was that problem again? :- P
I reckon this might be a ‘sign’. A sign to do another blog called ‘Naming Rights 2 – Offspring’ or something like that?…
With your recent success at bringing ‘Steve’ from the Yellow Pages into the ‘Seeing Yellow’ article ( http://myob.com.au/blog/seeing-yellow/ ), your heretofore ‘unnamed’ repeat-offender may like the opportunity to display their ‘Customer Support’ and/or Troubleshooting prowess in our ‘oh so civilised’ public forum?…before we put our war-paint on, get our ‘sling-shots’ out and generally get a tad more uncivilised?
As I recall, you have already extended such an invitation and they neglected to even consider declining it didn’t they?
I think we have established that we not only have the right to name, (considered by some to be a ‘responsibility), but you have the right to ‘air’ your concerns specifically in attempt to find specific solutions that the heretofore ‘unnamed’ repeat-offender has failed to provide…even though you have paid them.
Perhaps they will reconsider and appoint a ‘Champion’ to defend their ‘name’ to ensure that the joust is just? :- P
I’m oiling my visor and sending my chainmail ( http://theringlord.com/ ), to the dry cleaners as we speak :- ).
Sound the trumpets and release the dogs of ‘civilised inquiry & conflict resolution’? …”God! I miss the screamin’…” :- )
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Paul Hassing
July 8, 2009 at 10:07 am
Thank you, Stephen. I have almost zero upload speed on my 20 mbps $69.95/mth premium cable internet connection. This renders the whole thing virtually useless.
Your ideas are very good.I think I’ll put you in charge of the trebuchet battery, if that’s OK.
I’m giving this crowd ONE MORE CHANCE. If they don’t come to the party, I shall borrow one of your gauntlets, smack them in the face with it, and then throw it down with highly meaningful emphasis.
Author
Paul Hassing
July 9, 2009 at 10:24 am
Dear X,
As you can see from the attached, my problem has returned and my upload speed is virtually nil. I’ve bought a new $3000 PC a few weeks ago, so I know it’s not a problem at my end. Could you please send me a replacement modem? I think this is the problem, as the technician’s modem worked fine both times he visited. As I have a home-based business that relies on fast internet access, this is a matter of some urgency. Regards, P.
Thanks for contacting X.
We aim to respond to your email query within 24 hours, however due to a larger than expected demand for our services wait times are currently exceeding 36 hours.
We apologise for any inconvenience and will get back to you with an answer to your query as soon as possible.
Kind regards, The X Team
I’m afraid this is unacceptable.
I’ve been blogging about this problem for several months now.
I’ve hitherto resisted the temptation to name BigPond.
My patience is now at an end.
P.
Author
Paul Hassing
July 11, 2009 at 10:30 am
As you can see below (and attached), my upload speed is far from what it should be.
I have a new client coming to me for Twitter training on Monday morning.
If this problem isn’t resolved, I won’t be able to run the session and I will lose the client.
I have been flagging this issue for months and am almost certain the problem lies with the modem you sent me.
Could you please sort this out ASAP!
Author
Paul Hassing
July 11, 2009 at 10:31 am
Dear Paul,
Thank you for your email, my name is Nicole. I appreciate your time is valuable and I apologise for the delay in responding to your enquiry in relation to the problems that you are experiencing with the upload speed on your BigPond® service.
I can appreciate that you would like this matter sorted and I can confirm that I am unable to assist and you will need to contact BigPond Technical Support on 133 933 (open 24×7) and they will be able to assist you with this matter.
I have also referred it onto our specialist Technical Support Team for resolution due to its technical nature. An email reply will be forthcoming from this specialist team once they have investigated this further for you.
If you ever need to contact this team in the future you can email them directly via the link below:
http://my.bigpond.com/help/contactus/default.jsp
You may also find our BigPond Online Help a useful resource for any enquires that you may have, as it contains a large variety of answers to assist you with information on your account and our products and services:
http://www.bigpond.com/help/default.asp
Thank you for choosing BigPond.
Yours Sincerely,
Nicole Young
The BigPond Team
Author
Edwin
July 11, 2009 at 11:24 am
Oh dear. I fairly had a go at those guys, myself. http://www.edwinjameslynch.com/?p=185 Telstra are absolutely terrible and their BigPond is rubbish. I just left them (because of all the reasons you are now having, Paul) and went with iinet naked. Nobody’s perfect, but iinet seem to “care” a bit more and tend to fix stuff pretty quickly. If only to keep the custom. Telstra have no such policy – obviously. And that’s the thing we’re talking about here isn’t it? “Care!” I’m surprised their shares go up and down, but with enough BLOGS outing them, perhaps we can get rid of the buggers. I’ve just had yet another experience with Telstra. I left them and they tried very hard and persistently to charge me phone rental for the months I wasn’t with them. They actually threatened to inform the credit rating people! For a bill they sent by mail, bi-weekly for the entire 3 months after I’d left them. Right that’s it. I hate writing nasty blog posts, but I just gotta on this one. They are ri-dic-ulous! I’m sorry for your pain, Paul. But leave them. There might be a contract severance fee, but it’ll be worth it in the medium to long run. They are a nuts company. If it were a person, I’d say they were very depressed and in need of medication. I left them and have had only minor hiccups with iinet which were fixed within an hour of calling. I really am sorry for your pain here, Paul as I recently experienced it myself. the camel is now off my back. Considering it’s just a phone company, the stress and crap was horrendous. It was like a marriage-threatening fight with a spouse. These are just bloody companies. They have no right to get inside our heads, rent free, like this. You may have to end the relationship because in my experience, they are likely to blow another minor problem all out of proportion with their lack of “care” and sincerity. I’m so glad they were excluded from the big broadband rollout.
Author
Paul Hassing
July 11, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Thank you, Edwin. I appreciate your comments. It is a very sad day. I’ve been with Testra since I left home 24 years ago. And this is my reward. It’s not easy to attract new clients in this climate. Now I have to decide whether to cancel my new client training session on Monday. For I may well lose internet access on the day and have two people staring at me wondering why they ever thought I was Web 2.0 literate. I will definitely check out iinet. Best regards and thanks again. P.
Author
Paul Hassing
July 15, 2009 at 7:25 am
Dear Team, the email below contains a tip to beat the ROBOT:
Dear Mr Hassing,
Thank you for your email dated 14/07/2009 regarding your inability to access your storage.
If this is the case, we need to escalate this issue to our second level of Technical Support. For security reasons, we do not complete escalations via email, as sensitive information, may be required.
I recommend you to call the BigPond Technical Support at 133 933 for further assistance. If you are having trouble with our Voice Service System, just say “Consultant” and your call will be routed direct to one of our representatives.
If you have any other questions, please visit our Help Centre at http://www.bigpond.com/help.
The Help Centre is a handy resource for our members which includes things such as our Frequently Asked Questions and our new Email Troubleshooter which has been set up to help you solve all your email problems.
Thank you for choosing BigPond.
Kind regards,
Jacel Querimit
The BigPond Team
Author
Paul Hassing
July 15, 2009 at 8:34 am
Dear Jacel,
I have spent too many hours of my life struggling with BigPond’s telephone ROBOT.
I shall consult the online community for their views before proceeding further.
Regards,
P.
Author
Stephen G
July 15, 2009 at 10:23 am
H Paul
Erstwhile ‘online community’ representative here :- )…
Yep! I’d say if we ran a guessing competition, the odds for folks guessing it was ‘them’ would likely have been somewhere around ‘impossible not to’?
When I recently moved to a beautiful little town in the mountains, just outside of Canberra, I entered a communications zone where I can ONLY get Bigpond Wireless & Telstra Mobile coverage (I don’t have a landline). So I reluctantly changed providers and went back to my old ‘nemesis’.
Before I go on ‘my’ little tirade, I consider it only fair to tell you that over the past few weeks, my partner Karen has had to endure me stomping around the house expressing my disdain at having to admit how impressed I am with the technical aspects of the connections. I have had consistently strong and stable connections on both my wireless modem and phone…beyond even what I expected…better than I had in the city…mind you I’m paying more than twice as much for the same amount of bandwidth!
My issue/s with Telstra/Bigpond have always been pretty much the same:
On Personal/Business grounds – Crap customer service! Especially when it comes to trying to contact them. I need to set aside at least an hour to either phone or email…and the results are usually like yours Paul; offensive, insulting & result-free! I believe that their contact systems (i.e. phone & email) are designed to discourage all but the most desperate customers from enduring the ‘pointless labyrinth’ in an all too often vain attempt to solve their problems.
On Moral/Civil grounds – I feel disrespected; they have earned neither my trust or loyalty (yet they still attempt to ‘extract’ these things from us with activities that could only possibly be achieved by a company with no conscience and no appropriate regulation of its monopolistic behaviour).
I also really resent it when the employees of such a company have my personal details but do not have the decency to provide a Surname, real name, or a ‘direct’ line of return contact for ongoing issue resolution. So, if &/or when I am fortunate enough to have their fleeting, clock-watching ‘attention’, I have to regale my issues ad nauseam to a constantly changing array of nameless careless people. And if one persists long enough, as I have in the past, one finds out that internal communications within the organisations themselves is virtually non-existent. But at the first whiff of litigation, they suddenly have full & comprehensive files on everything…go figure.
I also feel very strongly (and I have to admit that due to a lack of evidence & resources, my ‘feeling’ is based on my own experience, word of mouth over many years and educated extrapolations), that this company has done more harm than good to this country & its people (kinda like John Howard only a bit slower & less obvious).
How could I justify such a claim? With a cost-benefit analysis to determine how much it ‘actually’ costs our country just to try and deal with organisations that ‘care for the community’ and ‘value feedback’ as much as Bigpond/Telstra et al…
And they try and make us believe that the Global Financial Crises (historical cycles that we still seem unable to learn from), was caused by the ‘sub-prime lending market’. Yeah right! And antibiotics were touted as humanity having ‘conquered disease’ (ref: http://bit.ly/MUhap), and Asbestos was safe and smoking was good for us, and hemp is still bad…and on and on and on…and now we are messing with ‘Genetics’?
The Global Financial Crisis along with a great deal of other ‘financial’ crises, large (e.g. Poverty), and small (e.g Paul :- ), are caused by PEOPLE treating other people like crap.
How many times have you heard some upstanding citizen from the Building Trades (for example), bragging to their mates at the pub about how much they get from their ‘Government Contract’ to do some small job. AND OFTEN THE SAME BASTARDS HAVE THE AUDACITY TO RIDICULE THE UNEMPLOYED!!!!
I had a ‘mate’ of mine (about 20+ years ago), who beamingly informed me that he was getting $75.00/hour to sit under a bridge in his Bobcat.
I had ‘mates’ in the RAAF who used to compete with each other to see who could steal the most valuable equipment in a year.
We are a small population (approx. 22 Million). Let’s just keep ripping each other off and complaining about how the state of the world is someone else’s fault shall we?
Ok! I’d call that a ‘Rant’ :- ) I hope my ‘blanket’ sticks to the…
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Paul Hassing
July 15, 2009 at 10:50 am
Thank you, Stephen. If you nail an oak pulpit to your mobile oven and tow it to Hyde Park, you’ll clean up! It’s very nice to know I’m not alone in my anguish. The ball, he is in their court! P.
Author
Stephen G
July 15, 2009 at 11:13 am
I’ve been saving it up!…can you tell? :- P
Pulpit is already built-in mate…and it’s stainless steel, so I can do it in the rain! :- )
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
SpikeTheLobster
July 16, 2009 at 2:39 am
Hi Paul,
You know my feelings on this: I’d switch provider and send your current ISP a bill for my time, effort, phone bills, lost custom and everything else. With 21-day payment terms. You’re running a business. They’re messing it up.
I just did this with my bank and they paid up. They *have* to, pretty much, although they’ll call it a “gesture of good will”.
Incidentally, for a little inspiration, I thought you might like to see the text of the final email I sent to my bank (not letter, just an email) before commencing the whole change of account/bank process:
“Congratulations. Just when I though a whole month could go by without you screwing my accounts, you’ve taken over £450 again. YET AGAIN. DESPITE my repeated communication and arrangements and efforts to sort out your astoundingly useless internal communications.
Send complaint forms. Now. I’ve had enough of dealing with your incompetence on a monthly basis.
And no, I won’t phone – I have no intention of spending ANOTHER £10 of my money sorting out your blinding stupidity.
Sick to death of it. Complaint forms, compensation forms, ombudsman forms. The whole lot, please. This nonsense has gone on far too long and I’m fed up with having to explain everything afresh every single month.
Send forms: huge complaint, changing of bank and much negative publicity in the press to follow.
Thank you.”
And yes, I really did send it.
Author
Paul Hassing
July 16, 2009 at 9:47 am
Dear Spike, that is a phenomenal letter! You can’t half write! I must gird my loins to do likewise. Thanks heaps for sharing your angst; it’s quite inspiring. I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this any more!!!
Author
Stephen G
July 16, 2009 at 9:48 am
Bluddy awesome Spike :- )
I reckon we should apply to the Oxford Dictionary to include the term ‘Lobsterism’ in the future edtions… :- )
I’m seriously considering sending some excerpts from my latest Phone Bill to my bank regarding the $54.00 in phone calls and 3 hours of my time taken to get Internet Banking set up. I’m yet ‘considering it’ only because of the likely time and cost involved in seeing it through…
No ‘Bigpond Ambassadors’ willing to ‘boldy go’ yet Paul?
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Paul Hassing
July 16, 2009 at 9:52 am
Not a peep from them, Stephen. I’ve also named them at http://www.smartcompany.com.au/internet-secrets/20090715-ignore-social-networking-at-your-peril.html
I’ve rebooked that new client for Monday. I’m still suffering dropouts around 5% of the time, but I can’t put this guy off a second time. If I lose access during my Twitter training session, I will be very very cross indeed…
Author
Stephen G
July 16, 2009 at 11:49 am
Not to labor the point mate, but both Spike and I have pleaded with you to get another ISP. Really, it’s pretty simple these days…you can be connected to your new ISP in a short amount of time. Most of the large ISPs have Mobile Broadband with variations of ‘Pre-Paid’ness. You go down the shop, by a Pre-Paid Connection Kit, take it home, install it and away you go.
I think it is warranted when you have reached a point of ‘rebooking’ clients and worrying about Training Sessions.
Example: My partner Karen uses her own Vodafone Mobile connection in the City…but when she comes out to my place, because Vodafone doesn’t have coverage out here, she just uses my Bigpond account. I have installed the Bigpond connection software on her Laptop, so all she has to do is plug-in my modem and she’s away…it’s quite common that folks will have 2 or more ISP connections installed on the same computer…no probs, really! :- P
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Stephen G
July 16, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Paul,
I realise this is a tad off-topic, but I thought it worth mentioning:
I just popped over to the ‘SmartCompany’ blog that you referred to above. I was looking down the left-nav column where they list “Smart Blogs” ( http://www.smartcompany.com.au/internet-secrets/20090715-ignore-social-networking-at-your-peril.html ). I wondered if you featured on it…naturally :- ). It’s quite a long list. I noticed that rather than reading the headings, I just scrolled down the list looking for your now very familiar picture (i.e. avatar).
It then occurred to me to inquire as to whether or not you and Spike had considered just how much ‘branding’ power your humble little avatars are building?
Cheers
Stephen G
PS Do you think we should take bets on whether Malcolm turns up to do the 100th comment? :- )
Author
Paul Hassing
July 16, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Interesting point, Stephen. Seth Godin considered avatars important enough to write a jolly good piece on them. I still need to get a proper studio headshot done, to replace my happy snap.
As a reclusive writer, paying a professional photographer to do mood-lit 8 x 10s of me in my jim jams on a stuffed tiger is a bit of a reach. However, I do think my avatar is a powerful branding tool, so I’ll keep you posted!
Author
Andrew Hurl
July 16, 2009 at 12:16 pm
I think the red shirt goes quiet well with your logo, Paul!
http://www.thefeistyempire.com/team
Author
Paul Hassing
July 16, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Thank you, Andrew; as site creator, you’d know! I actually like the photo a lot, notwithstanding the demonic red eyes. It’s one of just a handful of images that captures the true essense of the inner me…
Author
Paul Hassing
July 16, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Dear Stephen, when it works, my cable gives me up to 20 megabits per second, so I can download a movie in a matter of minutes. I never download movies, but I regularly get 5 and 10 meg PDF files to mark up and send back.
This toing and froing with complex product cartons, brochures, catalogues, press ads and the like can get quite frantic, so I need the fastest of the fast.
I’m yet to spot another crowd that can give me uber-fast speeds like this. I don’t imagine wi-fi or phone lines can cut it. Anyone please correct me if I’m wrong.
Where do people go for alternative cable? I’m only 3 km from Melbourne’s CBD. How hard can it be?!
Author
Stephen G
July 16, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Ok…I didn’t know it was ‘Cable’…
Optus & Neighbourhood Cable are the only ‘actual’ cable providers that I know of other than the ‘named’…(hey have you ever noticed what ‘named’ is when spelled backwards? ‘deman’…were we talking about ‘spells’ the other day? :- ).
Anyway, try these resources mate…I find them useful from time to time:
http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc/?action=list
http://broadbandguide.com.au/?gclid=COivqJ_vzpgCFQMnGgodWHDb1g
Cheers
Stephen G
PS Ok! Where’s Malcolm? :- )
Author
Paul Hassing
July 16, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Nice links, Stephen. thanks a bunch!
Author
SpikeTheLobster
July 16, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Stephen: I’d never really considered avatars. I always used a plastic alien before, but switched to a real mug-shot when I started freelancing (fewer people are likely to hire an alien, I thought).
At a guess, my avatar builds a brand, alright. It brands me “baldie”.
Author
Stephen G
July 16, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Dear ‘Baldie’,
I’d hire you and I’m absolutely certain you’re an alien :- )
And you can now stop wondering what’s under my hat…or perhaps more accurately, what’s not under my hat…:- ) Ah yes! The joys of gradual decomposition… :- P
Actually, I reckon you both have great pictures…I reckon as brands, it would be difficult to improve upon them by ‘trying’.
So Paul, I reckon if you change your picture you’ll change the brand…I don’t think brands are as much about content as they are about perception and association. ‘Hello Kitty’ comes to mind…
I’ve got a picture of a Hello Kitty Power-Sander here.
Cheers
Stephen G
Author
Paul Hassing
July 17, 2009 at 7:24 am
That’s great to hear, Stephen. Someone said my red eyes made me look wicked. And I’ve long worried that my slight stubble was a problem. However, with the imprimatur a man of the people such as yourself, I’m home and hosed!
Author
Paul Hassing
August 1, 2009 at 11:56 am
I’m pleased to report that my online access has been working well for a good while now. However…
Author
Paul Hassing
August 2, 2009 at 8:16 pm
I can’t quite believe I’m reporting this, but the Telstra ROBOT rang ME! I was going to table the incident here in a comment, but I’m so gobsmacked by the ROBOT’s evolution that I must give this development its own post. Stand by!
Author
Paul Hassing
August 4, 2009 at 9:41 am
Check this fresh post for the latest: http://myob.com.au/blog/i-robot/
Author
Paul Hassing
September 15, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Latest news:
http://www.theage.com.au/business/telstra-breakup-plan-rivals-crow-20090915-fomh.html?autostart=1
Author
Paul Hassing
December 5, 2009 at 8:36 pm
A special Telstra Bigpond Christmas message just came through:
‘This email is to let you know that your BigPond Broadband service has been slowed to 64kbps because you have reached your monthly usage allowance.’
No warning. No heads up. Just BANG!
Guess the ROBOT wins this round.
I had been playing Wiggles videos on YouTube for my nephews visiting from Adelaide.
Not any more.
Well, what do you expect for $69.95 per month?
Thanks a lot, Telstra. You guys absolutely rock.
Author
Paul Hassing
December 10, 2009 at 9:07 am
My sincere thanks to Stephen Hamilton and Sonia Cuff. You both recommended Internode, and from what I’ve seen so far, they look pretty jolly good. Does anyone else have anything to say on Internode?
Meanwhile, I’ve just fired a shot across Telstra’s bow:
‘Dear BigPond Team,
If I decide to cancel my broadband service with you, how do I go about it?
Please note that your response may be recorded and used for blogging purposes.
Regards,
P.’
Author
Andrew Hurl
December 10, 2009 at 9:59 am
I have been with Internode for 5 years, and over the last 12 months moved our 100 corporate clients to a managed corporate network with them
1000% happy with Internodes service, for over 5 years
Author
Stephen Hamilton
December 10, 2009 at 11:59 am
Don’t just take my word for it, check this out: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=815313
Author
Paul Hassing
December 10, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Thank you, Stephen: I will!
Meanwhile, in an parellel (and not terribly good) universe far far away…
‘Dear Paul,
Thank you for your email, my name is Amelia, and I understand you are enquiring about cancelling your BigPond® service.
As one of our valued BigPond® Members, it’s a shame to see you are considering cancelling your service. Before you do take that next step, I would love to take this opportunity to address any outstanding issues or concerns that you may have, so please provide me with the details.
In saying that, if all avenues have previously been exhausted, and you do wish to discuss your options or proceed with the cancellation, you simply need to speak with one of my Team Members on 13 POND (137 663) Option 3 – Then option 2. They are available to take your call Monday to Friday 8am to 8.30pm and Saturday from 8am to 8pm (EST), and I am confident they will do all they can to retain you as a valued customer!
Regrettably we are unable to cancel a service via email.
If in the future you are in a position to return to BigPond you can find all of our latest offers via, http://www.bigpond.com. We’d certainly love to welcome you back as a BigPond Member.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 10, 2009 at 12:08 pm
‘Thank you, Amelia.
Your understanding is correct. All previous avenues have indeed been exhausting!
Over the past 6 months, I’ve spent many, many hours enduring, recording and trying to resolve my problems with Telstra.
To date, this process has cost me around $2000 (conservative estimate) in lost productivity.
I’ve not put a figure on the mental anguish I’ve suffered.
If Telstra would like to reimburse me for $2000, I’ll be happy to invest the additional time necessary to provide you with the details.
We could then have another go at addressing any outstanding issues or concerns that I may have.
What do you say?
Regards, P.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 10, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Thanks for that, Andrew. You’ve just about sealed the deal!
BTW, Stephen, that link you gave is amazing.
‘Internode Appreciation Thread’. I’ve never SEEN such a thing!
It even says stuff like: ‘I recently switched to Internode too from BigPond and only wish I had done it sooner.’
I’m feeling the love! Best regards to all.
Author
Paul Hassing
December 10, 2009 at 12:19 pm
‘Dear Paul,
Thank you for your reply to my email regarding problems with your BigPond® account.
Paul I am sorry to hear that you have had so many troubles with your BigPond® service and I apologise for the obvious stress that have resulted from these matters.
Customer feedback such as this is greatly appreciated as it allows us to continually identify areas of service that require improvement.
It is our intention to provide the highest level of service and quality to our customers. I am sorry that your recent experiences were far below the standard of quality that we at BigPond® pride ourselves on.
I would like to sincerely apologise for any inconvenience or frustration that you may have experienced.
Regrettably I am unable to provide any credits relating to time loss and compensation but I will be more than happy to address any other outstanding queries or concerns that you may have.
Thank you for choosing BigPond.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 10, 2009 at 12:25 pm
‘Dear Amelia,
Thank you for your words.
It sure is a pity about the money. Oh well.
I do have one outstanding query. Perhaps you could help me with that?
My colleagues and I have been discussing the service offering at Internode.
As an industry professional, what is your opinion of that ISP and its products?
I would greatly value your expert feedback.
Regards, P.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 10, 2009 at 1:00 pm
‘Dear Paul,
Thank you for your reply to my email regarding your BigPond® connection.
I am unable to provide comment about other ISP providers and the service and products that they offer and I am sorry to hear that you are considering moving your service from BigPond®.
Paul I can see that this matter has obviously frustrated you immensely and I apologise for this.
Thank you for choosing BigPond.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 10, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Well, SBO sports fans…
At this point, I think I’ll discontinue my efforts to derive satisfaction from Telstra BigPond.
The two themes that have emerged from this latest (albeit polite) interaction are:
1. I am unable.
2. I am sorry.
From where I stand, both are correct.
Internode me, baby!
P.
Author
Edwin James Lynch
December 10, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Ugh! This company is basically living in the dark ages. I can’t believe there are ANY upward movements on the ASX.
Author
Paul Hassing
December 10, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Nice to see you back, Edwin. Wish I had a sunnier outlook for you here. At least I followed your advice to name. How are things in your world?
Author
Edwin James Lynch
December 10, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Good. Now. I just quit two of my three jobs (1. Making Docos about mentally challenged people and 2. teaching web design and writing at Curtin University) which leaves me web designing in 2010 ( http://www.geoffreymultimedia.com ). Teaching 1,000+ students a year (that’s marking 4,000 assignments) was draining my essence. I might just do a bit more blogging like your good self. Earn a nice $50 per month in Google Adwords
Author
Paul Hassing
December 10, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Nice one Edwin. Nice site too! I had to dive into your comment and move your brackets a bit so the link would load. I like the sound of your mission statement very much.
Oh to make money from Adwords! If you manage $50/month, you must do a guest post for us. Thank you for sharing! Best regards, P.
Author
SpikeTheLobster
December 11, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Been away a while… and all this happens!
That email from Amelia is your basic blow-off: she says “yeah, sorry, but I’m not actually going to do anything” in management-speak. I love your reply, though – very ironic.
I’d have been less clever, I’m afraid, by being very blunt and telling them that I don’t give two hoots about their apologies. Apologies don’t fix broken gear. Apologies don’t bring back lost clients. Apologies don’t pay the phone bill for having to call them all the time.
If she can’t do something concrete about the problem, then she’s just another part of that very same problem. Action, money or shut up (and face the humiliating consequences and compensation claim). Those are her choices.
Got one of those letters to write to my bank, actually. Again.
Very much looking forward to hearing what she says about the other ISP. I’ll bet it’s “I can’t comment”. :
Author
SpikeTheLobster
December 11, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Umm, I think there’s something wrong with the comments, Paul. I can get 120 older ones or 3 new ones, but not the bit in the middle (where she replied and all that).
Author
Paul Hassing
December 12, 2009 at 9:17 am
Great to see you back, Spike. I sure have been enjoying your blog posts lately.
I think I’m better at being inneffectually clever than bluntly effective. It’s a skill I honed under years of bullying. Makes for good email repartee, but crap service. Restaurants love me; always thanking them for the extra cockroaches…
Anyway, you and I can see we’re flogging the powdered bones of a never-alive horse with Telstra. Your call on the ‘I can’t comment’ was 100% accurate!
With regard to the other comments, there’s an Older Comments button just below the post. However, Megan may be able to set the dial so all comments appear every time to save faffing.
Do please share your bank letters with us. They are absolute gold. Thanks again for gracing our antipodean shore with your podean attentions. Best regards, P.
Author
Paul Hassing
December 12, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Just received:
‘Thank you for your recent query through bigpond.com,
As we continually strive to improve our services and products to deliver you a better customer experience, we’d love to know how well your enquiry was handled.
It’s as easy as clicking on the link below, which will take you to a simple survey page. Please take a moment to tell us about your experience.
To open the survey, please click here.
We appreciate your contribution and trust that you will continue to enjoy your internet experience with BigPond.
Kind regards,
The BigPond Team’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 12, 2009 at 5:49 pm
‘Please tell me that you’re kidding.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 12, 2009 at 5:50 pm
‘Thanks for contacting us.
One of our consultants will contact you within two business days to assist with your enquiry, however if your request is urgent, please ring us at 13POND.
This is an automatically generated response and is not intended to answer your email, but we wanted to confirm that we have received your message. Please do not reply to this email
Yours sincerely,
The BigPond Team
If you would like further assistance while you’re waiting for a team member to respond, please visit our Help Centre at http://www.bigpond.com/help‘
Author
Paul Hassing
December 12, 2009 at 5:57 pm
‘Red swans flying backwards.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 13, 2009 at 6:22 pm
‘Dear Paul,
Thank you for your email, my name is Jessica, and I have received an email from you without a question or request for information.
If there is an outstanding query, or you wish to provide some feedback, please provide me with the details and I will respond promptly with the information that you require.
Alternatively, you may find our online Help site a useful source of information for any enquires that you may have, as it contains a large variety of answers to assist you with information on your account and our products and services.
It also contains handy self-help tools such as our Email Troubleshooter and useful information on the latest security alerts. To visit BigPond® Help now please click:
http://www.bigpond.com/help/default.asp
Thank you for choosing BigPond.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 13, 2009 at 6:23 pm
‘Hello, Jessica.
I have just one question:
Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear?
Regards,
Uncle Feisty.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 13, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Everything’s turning blue.
Author
Paul Hassing
December 13, 2009 at 8:41 pm
‘Dear Uncle Feisty,
Thank you for your reply. I am unsure of the whereabouts of the Snowdens of yesteryear however, if you have a question that relates directly to BigPond®, please contact us again and we will be more than happy to help.
Thank you for choosing BigPond.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 13, 2009 at 8:43 pm
‘Thank you, Jessica.
You have helped me more than you know.
UF.’
Author
It was me
December 13, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I had similiar problems just this week gone with what once was the ONLY Aussie Telco. Technician failed to read his instructions correctly and turned up at the wrong address. Even though it wasn;t our fault – they placed the new installtion on hold until WE contacted them, then when we DID contact them would ONLY offer a replacement appointment some 8 days later.
Until I discovered the power of social media – once discovered my powers were enormous and we only incurred a 48 hour delay
It’s true – the noisy whell – does get all the oil
SHouldn’t be that way
Author
Paul Hassing
December 14, 2009 at 6:41 am
Hello IWM. Thanks for sharing your story. I’m very interested to know how you used social media to derive a ‘better’ result. Are you at liberty to expand?
Author
It was me
December 14, 2009 at 6:58 am
I used twitter – I just @ the company and within hours had a solution. It was that easy.
I seriously didn’t think it would work – but it did and I am more than pleased with the results, after the fact
Author
Paul Hassing
December 14, 2009 at 7:11 am
Wow! I’m most impressed, IWM. Thank you very much for that clarification. Would that I could’ve enjoyed similar success with my six-month struggle. I must be hanging out in the wrong chat rooms…
Author
It was me
December 14, 2009 at 7:26 am
I must admit I did start ranting – here is an exert:- @telstra -another area-another name-how long can they duck-shove for? – Besides the fact the tech is idiot for turning up at 323a & NOT 323
@telstra to have a technician turn up at 323a and NOT the rear of 323 is disgusting has has cost me ANOTHER week for your F** ups………
Can’t find the other tweets – but problem was seriously solved and I don’t general let bad service off the hook like that!
Author
Paul Hassing
December 14, 2009 at 7:45 am
Golly! Well, it sure seems they’re listening to Twitter. Next time you’ve having a cuppa with them, maybe ask them to cast their eye over this saga! Not that there’s anything they can do any more. That boat has well and truly sailed, sunk and rotted. Thanks again.
Author
It wasn't me
December 14, 2009 at 8:32 am
you could always try the same approach – just twitter @ telstra and see if they respond
Worth a try
Author
Paul Hassing
December 14, 2009 at 8:52 am
Thank you, IWM. After my latest efforts, I don’t know if I’ve got it in me. I really think I’d need that two grand compo payment up front to even consider it. I feel my life force ebb every time I communicate with Telstra.
Author
It wasn't me
December 14, 2009 at 9:59 am
I agree with yu – which is one of the reasons that my mobile and internet are not with them – have to have landline due to service issues, which if I was with another carrier – would cause even further delays in repairs (ongoing)
This sort of event happens every 6 months or so – some are more memorable than others http://itaintalwaysso.blogspot.com/2009/12/ive-was-never-so-scared.html
Author
Paul Hassing
December 14, 2009 at 11:03 am
Funny you should mention landline, IWM. My research suggests that Internode can give us the same speed we currently get with cable, but for $20 per month LESS and with 8 gig MORE.
This much download would free us to Skype ourselves stupid. Which means we wouldn’t really need the landline anymore. So we may be able to ditch Telstra completely.
BTW, that sure is a gripping piece of writing you did. And the photo! Wow!
Author
It wasn't me
December 14, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Don’t forget that IF you lose power – you will lose the ability to make any phone calls and this summer is the year that it is predicted we are to lose power more often and longer than other years – so keep that in mind also
Again my blog (today’s post) touches on it – without the warning of possible lengthier/more often power outages – due to power shortages. If there is another fire and this one touches the lines – that will fry the lines and leave a state/s without power for periods of time – not determined.
Keep that in mind please
Author
Paul Hassing
December 14, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Good points, IWM; thank you. If Fonnie and I both keep our mobile phones, will this protect us from the scenarios you describe?
Author
It wasn't me
December 14, 2009 at 1:00 pm
depends on how long the power stays out for – I mean if power goes out at 8pm – often phones were taken off charge at 8am – so liekyl dead by 8am the following day.
All things to consider.
Author
Paul Hassing
December 14, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Dang! Never thought of that. Think I’ll get me a bat signal!
Author
Paul Hassing
December 14, 2009 at 3:43 pm
‘Dear Paul,
Thank you for taking the time to reply to Jessica’s email and I am glad that the information she provided was of assistance to you.
You may also find BigPond® Help a useful source of information for any enquiries that you may have, as it contains a large variety of answers to assist you with information on your account and our products and services.
To visit our online Help, please click: http://www.bigpond.com/internet/help/
Yours Sincerely, Michelle.’
Author
It was me
December 14, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Homing pidgeons might be a better option
In the mean time here is some light reading – the post I made reference to above!
Here
Author
Paul Hassing
December 15, 2009 at 10:21 am
Ha! Say, that’s a really good article you wrote, IWM. Crystal clear and completely doable. And jolly well written. Many thanks for the link.
Author
Paul Hassing
December 16, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Groundhog Day:
‘Thank you for your recent query through bigpond.com,
As we continually strive to improve our services and products to deliver you a better customer experience, we’d love to know how well your enquiry was handled.
It’s as easy as clicking on the link below, which will take you to a simple survey page. Please take a moment to tell us about your experience.
To open the survey, please click here.
We appreciate your contribution and trust that you will continue to enjoy your internet experience with BigPond.
Kind regards, The BigPond Team’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 16, 2009 at 4:02 pm
‘Dear Team.
Alas, I’m a bit ‘over’ your surveys, as the merest glance at my email trail of tears will attest.
If this latest survey-related email has been generated automatically, you may wish to temper your system a little for customers who have been through your wringer.
If it has been generated manually, you guys are even scarier than I thought.
Regards, P.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 16, 2009 at 4:07 pm
An excerpt from Kafka’s latest (just discovered) manuscript:
‘Thanks for contacting us.
One of our consultants will contact you within two business days to assist with your enquiry, however if your request is urgent, please ring us at 13POND.
This is an automatically generated response and is not intended to answer your email, but we wanted to confirm that we have received your message. Please do not reply to this email
Yours sincerely, The BigPond Team
If you would like further assistance while you’re waiting for a team member to respond, please visit our Help Centre at http://www.bigpond.com/help‘
Author
Paul Hassing
December 17, 2009 at 3:31 pm
‘Dear Paul, My name is Mitchell, and I am sorry that your recent experiences with BigPond® have not been satisfactory.
I can assure you that this particular survey is generated automatically, and is sent out at random. If it is unwelcome, you are of course free to ignore it in its entirety.
As I have tell you have had some issues with us of late, I would like to attempt to make good and offer you my personal assistance with any outstanding BigPond related matters you wish to raise.
Should you like to take me up on this, simply reply with the relevant details and I will do my best to help you.
Yours sincerely, Mitchell The BigPond Team http://www.bigpond.com
Our Christmas Gift to you, buy now and pay $0* delivery!http://shop.bigpond.com/ (*excludes BigPond Tickets & BigPond Experiences; offer ends 31st Dec 2009)’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 17, 2009 at 3:32 pm
‘Hello, Mitchell.
I would indeed like to ignore that particular survey in its entirety.
I’m delighted that you’d like to make good and I look forward to working with you.
As you’ll know from my previous emails, I’ve incurred $2000 (conservative estimate) in my efforts to resolve this situation to date.
Once Telstra has reimbursed me for this amount, we’re free to proceed.
Shall I send you my banking details?
With best regards and many thanks for your good offices. P.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 17, 2009 at 4:05 pm
‘Dear Paul, Obviously, as someone with my role, I do not have the delegation to apply such credits without sufficient grounds to do so. I am sure you can appreciate this.
This is not however to detract from my offer of assistance in any way. I would still like to try and help you. I simply need to do so within the limits of the rules I am bound by.
If I can confirm that you are owed this money, I do have the ability to have it applied to your account, but only when it can be proven necessary.
Given this, if you can please be more specific with your requests and the reasons for them, it will be much easier for me to try and assist you.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 17, 2009 at 4:06 pm
‘Thank you, Mitchell.
It has indeed become obvious that you and your colleagues do not have the delegation.
My appreciation of this is acute, to say the least.
Do you have access to ‘The Internet’ in your office?
If so, I shall send you a ‘Uniform Resource Locator’ (URL) so that you may access the ‘Weblog’ and ‘Thread’ pertaining to this matter.
Otherwise, I shall be forced to send a ‘Carrier Pigeon’.
Regards, P.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 17, 2009 at 4:37 pm
‘Dear Paul, I do have internet access however it is limited and external links are often blocked. You are still more than welcome to send it to me and I will attempt to access it.
Otherwise if you can describe the matter in your own words, this will work just as well.
Kind regards, Mitchell’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 17, 2009 at 4:38 pm
‘Dear Mitchell,
I regret to report that the complexity and duration of this matter has rendered me unable to describe it in my own (or anyone else’s) words.
Therefore, I include the link to absolutely everything you need to know:
http://myob.com.au/blog/naming-rights/
As a representative of my Internet Service Provider (ISP), I do hope you can access this Internet page.
Please let me know how you go, as we have many interested observers.
Regards, P.
PS: We just clocked $2,120.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 17, 2009 at 5:05 pm
‘Dear Paul, Regrettably the link you provided me with was blocked by our filters as I feared.
I apologise that I have not been able to assist you as yet. If there is any way you can think of to convey your issues to me, I can assure you I will attend to them as a priority. However I do rely on you to provide these details to me.
Kind regards, Mitchell.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 17, 2009 at 5:10 pm
‘Thank you, Mitchell.
I understand that you must operate within Telstra’s constraints.
May I ask if you’re based in Melbourne? If so, do you happen to sit near (or have access to) a window?
I’ve recently acquired a Bat Signal from eBay.
As it’ll soon be dark, and storm clouds abound, I may be able to modify this device so it projects the salient points of my grievance into the night sky.
Would that work for you?
Regards, P.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 17, 2009 at 5:22 pm
‘Dear Paul, Unfortunately this will not work as I am not in Melbourne.
If it would suit you better, would you like for me to call you personally to discuss your grievances? If so, please reply with a contact number and a time and date you would like me to contact you. I will then call you and we can discuss this issue in detail.
Kind regards, Mitchell’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 17, 2009 at 5:32 pm
‘That’s a shame, Mitchell.
Thank you for your kind offer.
Unfortunately, as Telstra has not given you the power to access the Internet or reimburse my costs, our discussion would be fruitless.
I appreciate that you’ve done all you can.
Unfortunately, the system within which you operate has limited that to nothing.
BigPond and I will simply have to agree to disagree on this matter.
There may be one, small thing you can do for me.
Could you please put a note on your system to stop me getting any more surveys asking how good Telstra is?
I’d be very grateful.
If this is not within your power, would you agree to do one of my surveys instead?
Regards, P.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 18, 2009 at 11:49 am
‘Dear Paul, As requested, I have removed you from the list of potential customer who can receive such surveys in the future.
If there is anything else you would like my help with, please feel free to contact me. Kind regards, Mitchell’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 18, 2009 at 11:49 am
‘That’s very kind of you, Mitchell. Many thanks indeed. Regards, P.’
Author
It wasn't me
December 18, 2009 at 11:52 am
#44 Brilliant “If this is not within your power, would you agree to do one of my surveys instead?”
You’ve done well
Author
Paul Hassing
December 18, 2009 at 11:59 am
And now for a bit of light relief. My dark fiction piece, ‘The Random Breakfast Generator’ was inspired by modern ‘customer service’ interactions like this. You may find it amusing:
http://imagineday.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/the-random-breakfast-generator/
Author
Paul Hassing
December 18, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Thank you, IWM. These Telstra folk sure put the ‘small’ into ‘small mercies’. It’s very nice to know you’re watching and reading. Best regards, P.
Author
Paul Hassing
December 20, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Received this morning:
‘Thank you for your recent query through bigpond.com,
As we continually strive to improve our services and products to deliver you a better customer experience, we’d love to know how well your enquiry was handled.
It’s as easy as clicking on the link below, which will take you to a simple survey page. Please take a moment to tell us about your experience.
To open the survey, please click here.
We appreciate your contribution and trust that you will continue to enjoy your internet experience with BigPond.
Kind regards, The BigPond Team’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 20, 2009 at 5:52 pm
‘Please do NOT contact me.
Mitchell promised…’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 20, 2009 at 5:53 pm
‘Thanks for contacting us.
One of our consultants will contact you within two business days to assist with your enquiry, however if your request is urgent, please ring us at 13POND.
This is an automatically generated response and is not intended to answer your email, but we wanted to confirm that we have received your message. Please do not reply to this email
Yours sincerely, The BigPond Team
If you would like further assistance while you’re waiting for a team member to respond, please visit our Help Centre at http://www.bigpond.com/help‘
Author
Paul Hassing
December 20, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Hi Paul, Thank you for your email, my name is Mo and I understand that you do not want to be contacted.
I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience that these surveys may cause, they are purely random and usually get sent out when the customers contact us. This is just a way for us to get some feedback from our customers.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.
I trust this information has been of assistance, and further information is readily available via our online Help:
http://www.bigpond.com/internet/help/, otherwise I am happy to provide further clarification.
Thank you for choosing BigPond. Kind regards, Mo The BigPond Team
http://www.bigpond.com‘
Author
Paul Hassing
December 20, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Hi Mo.
Thank you for your understanding.
Do you like Kafka?
My weekend has three hours to go.
How do you think I should enjoy it?
What happened to Mitchell?
And Amelia?
And Nicole?
And Jessica?
Is this like Survivor?
Are we climbing the rocks, seeing the fire poles of all the people who have gone before us?
What about Jalel?
And Michelle?
Are they dead?
Am I dead?
Is this like that really weird episode of Lost in Space?
The one where Dr Smith must atone for his sins?
Help me, Mo.
Everything’s turning blue.
Except the swans,
Which are flying backwards.
Regards. P.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 21, 2009 at 10:03 am
‘Hi Paul, Thanks for your email.
Paul, I understand that my colleague Mitchell has organised to remove you from our Customer Survey List.
If you have a specific question or query with regard to anything else, I’ll be more than happy to answer it. However, if you do not wish to receive anymore emails from the Bigpond® team, all we require is for you to state that you wish for us to no answer your emails.
I trust this information has been of assistance, and further information is readily available via our online Help:
http://www.bigpond.com/internet/help/, otherwise I am happy to provide further clarification.
Thank you for choosing BigPond. Kind regards, Mo.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 21, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I’m lost. I’m in space. It’s forever.
[img]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q9ZWRG91L.jpg[/img]
Author
Paul Hassing
December 22, 2009 at 11:35 am
… and this is the Kafka book I’m reminded of:
[img]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xo1tAgYBL._SL210_.jpg[/img]
Author
Paul Hassing
December 23, 2009 at 10:25 am
‘Thank you for your recent query through bigpond.com,
As we continually strive to improve our services and products to deliver you a better customer experience, we’d love to know how well your enquiry was handled.
It’s as easy as clicking on the link below, which will take you to a simple survey page. Please take a moment to tell us about your experience.
To open the survey, please click here.
We appreciate your contribution and trust that you will continue to enjoy your internet experience with BigPond.
Kind regards, The BigPond Team.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 23, 2009 at 10:30 am
‘Dear Team,
I did not have a recent query.
Please stop sending me these surveys.
With the time you save by not bothering me, you’ll be able to watch this:
http://astore.amazon.com/thefeiemp-20/detail/B00004S896
And read this:
http://astore.amazon.com/thefeiemp-20/detail/1433246457
Please do not reply to this email.
Leaving me alone could be your Christmas gesture of appreciation for my contribution.
Thank you. P.’
Author
Paul Hassing
December 23, 2009 at 10:36 am
‘Thanks for contacting us.
One of our consultants will contact you within two business days to assist with your enquiry, however if your request is urgent, please ring us at 13POND.
This is an automatically generated response and is not intended to answer your email, but we wanted to confirm that we have received your message. Please do not reply to this email
Yours sincerely, The BigPond Team’
Author
It wasn't me
December 23, 2009 at 10:40 am
Bogged down in their own adminstration – no wonder I (along with many others) call them BOGPOND.
And they wonder why they are losing money hand over fist and having to raise the prices all the time – sack a few people and put people in charge who actually know what they are doing and talking about.
Good luck Paul – You’ll need it
Author
Paul Hassing
December 23, 2009 at 10:46 am
Thank you, IWM. I’m trapped in the ceiling with Carol Anne and the ghosts of Telstra customers past.
That scary clown doll is also lurking around here somewhere.
I can’t hear you, Mommy … Mommy?
Thump. Thump. Thump! Thump!! THUMP!!! CRASHHH!!!!
…
AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hQkBLrd1rE