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Thread ID: 99786 2009-05-15 02:22:00 Who are the 'Fat Cats' of New Zealand ISPs? braindead (1685) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
773962 2009-05-15 02:22:00 Just been reading an article "Confessions of an ISP Customer Service Rep (www.pcworld.com)" in the US online PC World.

Interesting look at what happens behind the scenes. 		braindead (1685)
773963 2009-05-15 02:32:00 I must say, I had some absolutely exceptional service from TelstraClear's technical support line recently. The call was answered quickly (I think I was on hold for about 15-20 seconds), the person was very knowledgeable and helpful, and seemed to be trying to help me solve my problem rather than just follow a script. somebody (208)
773964 2009-05-15 03:54:00 I recently had to configure a dial up connection for a Quicksilver customer, It hit the wall when I went to configure his e-mail servers.

Here is the three minute challenge, what are the quicksilver.net.nz email servers?

Feel free to look on their homepage, its a wealth of customer support.

http://quicksilver.net.nz/ 		Metla (12)
773965 2009-05-15 03:55:00 I recently had to configure a dial up connection for a Quicksilver customer, It hit the wall when I went to configure his e-mail servers.

Here is the three minute challenge, what are the quicksilver.net.nz email servers?

Feel free to look on their homepage, its a wealth of customer support.

http://quicksilver.net.nz/

My incoming mail server is a: POP3 Server
Incoming mail server - pop.qsi.net.nz
Outgoing mail server - smtp.qsi.net.nz

From: www.quicksilver.net.nz 		somebody (208)
773966 2009-05-15 04:03:00 Cheers for raining on my parade :lol:

Anyhow, No way I could see to access the page you linked to from the quicksilver site, all links lead back to Woosh who it seems bought them a few years back.

Woosh it seems also fail to list any dialup configuration info on their page.And zero information or reference to quicksilver.

So I rang them

And sat on the line for 45 minutes listening to hate music.

Never did get answered.

So I tried pop3.woosh.co.nz. and smtp.woosh.co.nz and what the hell all his 126 emails started to flood in.



Maybe its just me but imo its just treating customers like ****.

And do you think the old bugger with the old pos PC wanted to pay me to sit on the phone? Somehow I don't think he did.

Which he didn't but thats beside the point.

Well, that was the point..


I think. 		Metla (12)
773967 2009-05-15 04:09:00 Cheers for raining on my parade :lol:


Sorry :) - I found that page in about 1 minute, but it took some "creative" searching techniques as their actual website is hopeless.

A little while ago I spent about 20 mins on hold with TelstraClear before giving up - hence I was pleasantly surprised with the quick service I received this time around.

I have a theory that these companies prioritise calls made from mobile phones (since a call to an 0800 number costs them money) - I have no proof that this is the case, but it doesn't cost me either way to try. 		somebody (208)
773968 2009-05-15 04:40:00 Sorry :) - I found that page in about 1 minute, but it took some "creative" searching techniques as their actual website is hopeless.

A little while ago I spent about 20 mins on hold with TelstraClear before giving up - hence I was pleasantly surprised with the quick service I received this time around.

I have a theory that these companies prioritise calls made from mobile phones (since a call to an 0800 number costs them money) - I have no proof that this is the case, but it doesn't cost me either way to try.

Some will block mobile calls, so you have to phone from a landline. 		robbyp (2751)
773969 2009-05-15 05:01:00 I worked for Orcon briefly back before they became huge.

Calls came in and you could see how many were waiting, and (as Orcon had bought some smaller ISPs) who they thought they were ringing. Thats so you could answer with the appropriate ISP name, if you said Orcon it confused them.
Apparently.

If there was any kind of outage it would go beserk and people would be on hold for ages and you sat there frantically answering and repeating the same message - that there was an outage. You'd miss tea break, you'd miss lunch.

Admittedly that was usually a weekend when then, there were only 2 of us on.

There was some departmentalisation - web hosting people, Unix specialists - who was a young guy still at Uni - and he was smart alright. And so on.
Now its split up more - dialup, broadband faults, broadband provisioning, and so on.

I found it quite frustrating. Sometimes you'd get faults and you'd know it was an issue with their PC and have to tell them to get a tech (Arrgggh...I am a tech). Thats why that was frustrating.

And it can be hard to troubleshoot over the phone.

Me: Click on XX

Them: I don't have that on my screen

Me: Yes, in the top left (or whereever)

Them: Oh yeah

Me: Now click on xxx

Them: No, nothing happens...

and so on and so on.........

I used to use Zen Virtual Apps quite a bit, can be helpful for O/Ss you haven't used in a hundred years....

So think about it from their end a bit too.

And of course there were the new people. While you did get training first with Orcon, there's a limit what they can teach you in that time, now it gets forwsrded to a more snior staff member, but then sometimes you have to ask them to do that if you're getting nowhere.

Probably the newbie at the other end is frantically rummaging through docs on his screen and scanning the room to see who isn't busy that can help - I saw that a few times there...... 		pctek (84)
773970 2009-05-15 07:54:00 I must say, I had some absolutely exceptional service from TelstraClear's technical support line recently. The call was answered quickly (I think I was on hold for about 15-20 seconds), the person was very knowledgeable and helpful, and seemed to be trying to help me solve my problem rather than just follow a script.

I rang Telstra Clear to tell them they had a network fault and they told me they would send a technician around. I told them I was confident that would be a pointless exercise but they insisted. Sure enought my connection was restored a few minutes later and I rang back (on a thirty minute queue wait) to tell them not to bother sending anyone.

They never passed the message on (they never do) and the tech rang up the next day to say he was ten minutes away. Told him I'd cancelled and he said his whole afternoon had been cancellations for the same reason.

Wonderfully efficient, about the seventh time this has happened and last time they tried to charge me $50 for the call out I had cancelled. Ain't the private sector wonderful. 		Twelvevolts (5457)
773971 2009-05-15 08:17:00 They never passed the message on (they never do) and the tech rang up the next day to say he was ten minutes away. Told him I'd cancelled and he said his whole afternoon had been cancellations for the same reason.

Poor guy.

I'd be gutted if it was me. 		davidmmac (4619)
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