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Ask Slashdot: Dealing With Service Providers When You're an IT Pro?
New submitter username440 writes: So, a lot of us will have been here: You have a problem with your ISP, cable TV, cellphone whatever technology and you need to call the provider. Ugh. Foreign call centers, inane fault-finding flowcharts (yes, I have turned it off and on again) and all the other cruft that you have to wade through to get to someone with the knowledge to determine that YOU in fact also have a degree of knowledge and have a real problem.
Recently I had a problem with my ISP, where the ISP-provided "modem" — it's a router — would lock up at least 3 times per day. I had router logs, many hundreds of Google results for that model and release of hardware showing this as a common problem, and simply wanted the ISP to provide a new router (it's a managed device). I replaced the router with a spare Airport Extreme and the problems disappeared, to be replaced with a warning from the ISP that they could't access my managed device" and the connection is provided contingent to using THIER router. However my point was to prove that their router is at fault.
How do you fare when trying to get through to a service provider that they actually DO know something in the field? How do you cut through the frontline support bull*hit and talk to someone who knows what they are doing? Should there be a codeword for this scenario?
Recently I had a problem with my ISP, where the ISP-provided "modem" — it's a router — would lock up at least 3 times per day. I had router logs, many hundreds of Google results for that model and release of hardware showing this as a common problem, and simply wanted the ISP to provide a new router (it's a managed device). I replaced the router with a spare Airport Extreme and the problems disappeared, to be replaced with a warning from the ISP that they could't access my managed device" and the connection is provided contingent to using THIER router. However my point was to prove that their router is at fault.
How do you fare when trying to get through to a service provider that they actually DO know something in the field? How do you cut through the frontline support bull*hit and talk to someone who knows what they are doing? Should there be a codeword for this scenario?
Shibboleet
That error message is no where near as dumb as most think it is.
It exists for a very specific purpose
http://alphahole.net/?p=1011
Enjoy the story!
Not necessarily. What's the cost of your own router vs the rental fee spread out over the months that equal the cost of full upfront. I've found that it's a wash. But when you rent the modem, it's fully supported, they push out firmware updates, and when it fails, not replaced free. When you purchase your own modem, it's all on you.
Mr. Anonymous Coward, I am confident in positing you either work for Comcast or Time Warner.
My Arris-Motorola 6121 cost roughly $65 on Amazon at the time I purchased it. Comcast wants to charge me $8/month for use of their own modem. Even if my modem had died a day out of its one year warranty, I'd have saved $31. As it is, I've had it significantly longer than that and it's still going strong.
#DeleteChrome