Oh well, if we're ALL going to talk about BT
Back when broadband was a rare thing and most peeps where still on dialup, I decided to take the leap.

On the day the magic box arrived, I set everything up and waited for the next morning (the activation date).

Next day, I switch on and there it is in all its glory. I wanted to test the download speed, so I went to a *cough* arty type site and downloaded a wee movie. Like a well oiled machine it was on my desktop in seconds.

Joy.

About two seconds later the line goes dead.
I do all the reasonable things, reboot, check passwords, check phoneline, re-install product. Nothing.

The next 14 days were spent either on hold to BT or talking to brainless chimps.

The first day they tried to convince me that the line hadn't been activated yet. I explained that I'd been on the net and it had been working fine for the first five minutes. So they tried to convince me that all I was seeing was the contents of my cache.
Nooooo, I don't think so. I couldn't get the little creep on the phone to understand that I'd downloaded a file that I hadn't had before. He was adamant that the system said that it hadn't been activated and could I wait till tomorrow.
Next day, no broadband. I spend an hour on the phone to a different brainless chimp who informed me that there were no problems on the line and it had been working fine for 24 hours. There was no record of my previous call on their logs.
They wouldn't proceed until I'd uninstalled the product, rebooted and reinstalled - even though I'd done that yesterday. Of course they wouldn't hang on while I did it, so after doing it (like a fool) I spent an hour on hold trying to get back to them. When they eventually did, they said they'd send an engineer round the next day to check the wires leading up to my property.
So, next day I wait in all day. At 4pm, nobody has arrived so I call BT to spend an hour on hold. When I get through, the numpty on the other line informs me that nobody had been booked to come to me today and I'd have to wait till tomorrow.
Next day, nobody arrives. When I get through to the BT helpline to proceed my rant, they tell me the engineer has already been and everything is fine.
No, everything is not fine and nobody has been to my house as I've been in all day.
Oh no, I'm told, they were going to the exchange not your house.
I'm asked again to remove, reboot and reinstall. This time I only pretend to do it and (after another hour on hold) they agree that maybe there is a problem with the wires in my house and if so they should be able to replace them for free, if they're over a certain age.
Cool, thinks me - ok, book me in.
Next day, nobody comes. When I phone though I get put straight on to some management type who has a go at me for trying to con them into replacing my wiring.
i'll let you imagine the expletives exchange.
I informed them what I thought of their service, what I thought of him and where they could put their broadband package.

Next day, I tell my manager the story. He makes a call and orders me business broadband (I hadn't known I could get it for free from work, d'oh!). When it's delivered and installed, it works like a dream and I've never had a problem since.

Just goes to show where their priorities lie. They don't give a fuck about home customers.

twunts
(EvilMeister, Fri 27 Jul 2007, 19:52, Reply)