2011-08-04

Our favourite telco refusing to fix faults again

Well, it seems they are refusing to fix faults unless we start using their "eco plus" web based portal to progress any fault.

They have confirmed through their text chat interface, a separate phone call to an support desk operator, and (after over half an hour on this on the phone) with their supervisor. So this is clearly not just a matter of one confused operative - but a clear change of policy. Oddly we did not see the briefing on this.

They are point blank refusing to do anything with a fault, and claim that it is their official policy that we have to use eco plus and has been so for at least six months.

Sadly, this means finding windows machines, and I think even older versions of IE, in order to use it. That would be both expensive and a huge change for the company to start using Windows machines.

Seems a complete waste of months of development to get their B2B XML interface working if we now have to get windows machines and use a web portal.

12 comments:

  1. I think it might be possible to get the older versions of IE to run under wine if that helps at all.


    Otherwise slapping some sense into BT would be the better option.

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  2. Also If they're forcing you to use a webapp then they should damn well make sure it works in browsers other than an ancient version of IE.


    Wonder if you'd get anywhere arguing it's not fit for purpose...

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  3. Sounds like their automated system was generating too much work. Solution? Make it a manual process and a chunk of the work will disappear because people can't be bothered.

    So, this 'eco plus' system will only work with old versions of IE? Nice.

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  4. To run IE under wine you have to have a windows licence don't you - so not a lot of help. Also, I have a funny feeling it does not work even then.

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  5. It used to know work with IE6 once upon a time - I am not entirely sure how compatible it is now - seeing as we don't use it! Time to find out.

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  6. Good to see that other parts of BTW still aren't bothering to use any technology made after 2001.

    I just filled in WBMC CRF forms and noted to my manager with some chargrin that they still note on it that they do not support 32-bit AS numbers for the eBGP peering. You know, the ones RIPE has been handing out since 2009.

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  7. Looks like it is NOT official policy that we have to use eco plus - this was just bullshit. Once again call centre staff arguing with us in order to avoid actually fixing a faulty on a line.

    I am not sure which is worse - refusing to fix a fault due to policy - or refusing to fix a fault due to bullshit.

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  8. "To run IE under wine you have to have a windows licence don't you - so not a lot of help. "

    Did you buy your PCs prebuilt? In which case you already have a windows licence

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  9. When we buy pre-built PCs, which happens, they are bought without windows on them. Why would we pay extra for windows and then not use it!

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  10. I forgot that I was talking to the MD of an ISP for a moment there

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  11. Why not run up a couple of winxp VMs with the termsvc.dll hack, that way you could have 6 people rdp into 2 machines concurrently :) Not sure what the licensing implications of this are though :( but it would save you buying new PC's for everyone.

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  12. It is not just that - I mean with licencing and whatnot we can get it working. It may work well enough under opera or FF under linux these days, but I have no interest in training the staff in a totally different system which does not integrate with ours - it makes the B2B XML a waste of time.

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