How to get your ISP to pay attention...

Post by **ScottishBoy** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:06 am

This was a letter I wrote to my ISP since we started having horrible disconnects. I used to run a TS team for Internet matters, so I have already done all the good stuff. My house lines couldnt be cleaner. But we still have the problem. So I wrote this email to their TS to give them a good laugh. Thought I would share it with you all.

SB

Gentlemen and Ladies,
I have reviewed our connection stats and have taken the liberty of graphing them for you so that you may see the disconnects and the nightly pattern that we lovingly refer to as being "Borked". Each of the graphs is taken from data from a span of midnight to midnight for each of the respective days. The graphs show the "Relative Borked'ness" of our connection and can nearly be predicted by the similar patterns of each Bork graph. The higher the line, the greater our Borked'ness. The Borking starts at about 7:30 PM and can last into the wee hours of the morning. Apparently it is young and strong because it can Bork all night. I have graphed three days worth of data in a spreadsheet called "123-4567 is Borked.xls". It chronicles the nightly Borking of our connection and its subsequent recovery where we usually find it crying in the shower and we have to reboot the modem to console it.

While we are very tolerant of the occasional Bork, we need to get this under control. Too much Borking is not a good thing. One could actually diagnose this as Obsessive Compulsive Borking. That being said, we invite your most voyeuristic technician to come observe the nightly Borking between 7:00PM and 8:00 PM to see if there is a possibility of UNBorking us.

PS. We are taking this with as much humor as we can, but it's starting to get on our nerves.
Sincerely,
Borked in New England

Bork, Bork Bork!

Kentucky shinner · Post by **Kentucky shinner** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:11 am

There gonna love you SB...

Post by **ScottishBoy** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:22 am

Their reply...lackluster though it is...

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NOTE:Do not change the subject line of this e-mail when responding.
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We can see the connection drops from here, a tech did do some work on the outside plant on 8/20, however we can still see the drops. We are opening another ticket. If you have any questions, please give us a call at 888-555-5555. Thank you. -Tech Support
Thank you,

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NOTE:Do not change the subject line of this e-mail when responding.
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Post by **rad14701** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 2:51 pm

Have them send you a new DSL modem... I see this often and replacing the modem resolves the problem 95% of the time when you are experiencing unexpected drop in train... The modem will work perfectly and diagnostics will show the modem to be in perfect working condition, but will drop train constantly for no apparent reason, sometimes only during specific time frames... It's either the modem or you live in an area where the local teens are over-taxing the local DSL repeater if your feed travels through one... I keep one or two spare modems in my van at all times to resolve customers sporadic outages...

solaryellow · Post by **solaryellow** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 4:52 pm

Nerds.

C. Morrison · Post by **C. Morrison** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 6:25 pm

"The Geek shall inherit the Earth."

Or at least have computer that works!

Post by **LWTCS** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 6:43 pm

C. Morrison wrote:"The Geek shall inherit the Earth."

Or at least have computer that works!
"The Geek shall inherit the Earth."

Or at least have computer that works!
Quote solaryellow Re: How to get your ISP to pay attention...
by solaryellow » Mon Aug 23, 2010 4:52 pm
Nerds.

and,,,,,,,,likker geeks too!

Aces High · Post by **Aces High** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:40 pm

First thing i would do is upgrade the firmware on the modem. As Rad said, sometimes everything appears find but it will just drop out for no reason. Firmware often fixes those type of problems

Post by **ScottishBoy** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 3:54 am

Upgrade firmware: already done
Testing on internal lines: already done
Pre-cut certification of Cat 5e from NID to Take off jack. Already done
Modem replacement: We are on our third replacement
Repeater tests and circuit verification: already done

Trust me, I did this for a living and I know my circuits and my rigs are clean. Im either getting DOS'ed or their is something wrong with the circuit concentration inside the pad. They cant find any problems when they test during the day, so Im trying to get them to see whats going on at night.

I did get some good kudos from the Tech Team for my methodology and my letter is now on their wall of fame. Now we just have to track it down.

SB

Post by **rad14701** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 2:59 pm

Does your attenuation or SNR spike during those periods of random drops...??? I have had similar issues in sections of town where the lines are old and in dire need of replacement but not scheduled for being done any time soon... Worse yet, all pairs are in use so swapping in suspect areas is not an option... Moisture in those tired lines is also an issue so the problems increase and/or get worse whenever it rains...

This is starting to sounds like a DSLReports forum topic...

Post by **ScottishBoy** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 6:15 am

Well, Yesterday I caled them for a status and they were all very much in tune with the problem. So tonight one of the techs and a field op are coming by the hosue for an after hours visit to see it in action. They are all very curious about this one and they want to leave some equipment in the house overnight to record and diagnose.
Man I love my phone Company/ISP.
You just would never get service like this from a Bell Co.

SB

Post by **Usge** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 9:50 am

I had DSL for a short while before moving to cable. Had a somewhat similar issue. Every weekend...like clockwork..it would start blinking. Ticket after ticket. Hours on the phone. Everytime I called they'd make me go through the whole thing from the beginning, re-install, etc., etc., etc before they would send me up the line. Magically, it would clear up on Monday..only to start again the following weekend. I gave up, got cable. Haven't had a problem like that since. Go figure.

They are still operating on ancient Bell telecom procedures and union rules. Even if it was just a matter of pushing a button or moving a cable..it would take a week, multiple rounds of paper, and 3 or 4 union guys/girls to finally get it done.

Post by **rad14701** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 10:22 am

The biggest problem I run into is that the local Telco/ISP no longer has any management in the local central office... Everything is handled from multiple locations throughout the US by automated systems and support centers... At least all of their support center has move back state-side rather than being outsourced overseas... If I'm lucky I can get one of the local guys via cell phone and get things done quicker, but not always... Heck, I just went through a nightmare where it took three weeks to get an additional line properly routed to the D-Mark of a customers building... And I had to go wait there to make sure they got it right after two failed attempts... If I can talk to the guys they send out I can get things done a whole lot quicker and completely than through automated dispatch...

I hope they get you squared away, ScottishBoy...

Post by **ScottishBoy** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 11:30 am

This particular ISP is also a sub business of the local Phone Company. They interface very well with each other and the reason I chose them is because of their steadfast defiance of the larger Bell companies. They also follow the idea that speed caps are not worth the time to maintain and high quality phone service is a must.

I really like the honest and personable way these guys work. One time I had a problem and there was someone on my front lawn in less than an hour. They take a lot of pride in their area and it shows.
Im looking forward to seeing what they find out. So far Im with Rad that there is some type of saturation taking place. It seems to fit the pattern of a evening gamer...odd that I dont see it on Saturdays or Sundays during the day.

solaryellow · Post by **solaryellow** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 12:01 pm

ScottishBoy wrote:
Im looking forward to seeing what they find out. So far Im with Rad that there is some type of saturation taking place. It seems to fit the pattern of a evening gamer...odd that I dont see it on Saturdays or Sundays during the day.

They shouldn't need to come out to your house for that though. You would think that they would have a spanning port configured so they can log and monitor traffic.

Post by **Usge** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 12:40 pm

If you have DSL, how could saturation from another user be an issue if your bandwith/line is dedicated? — or at least supposed to be.

Post by **ScottishBoy** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 4:46 am

DSL, although "Dedicated", still has to route through a junction or repeater every so often. I think its this or the traffic is overwhelming the bus that the modem bank is in. Its a common misconception that DSL gets you a single line directly to the modem bank. You still share resources.

Had the guys over last night and they quizzed me up and down and then cut my connect speed in half to see if they could break down the interruptions. We usually have anywhere between 65-80 disconnects. Last night we had three. I told them this wasnt really acceptable, but was assured it was part of the diagnostic process. Somehow I cant shake the feeling that it is my NID box.

Gonna see if I can weasal some fibre out of this little experience. They just got a 5 million dollar grant to for it.

Post by **Usge** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 6:56 am

SB, people I know who got fiber really like it...at least in regards to speed/reliability, etc. They sell it the same way though...that it's a dedicated line that doesn't share resources with other users. Maybe they mean they really, really, mean it this time

Or perhaps there are just fewer/managed users on it thus far.

solaryellow · Post by **solaryellow** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 7:18 am

ScottishBoy wrote:
Gonna see if I can weasal some fibre out of this little experience. They just got a 5 million dollar grant to for it.

Fiber is the new hotness. My local podunk telco brought it to my house a few years ago and we love it. 15mbps down and 7mbps up and very reliable as long as they keep their boneheads in the NOC out of the network gear. We also converted to their IP TV service at the same time and really like it better than cable or satellite.

Post by **rad14701** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 5:08 pm

ScottishBoy, I was also wondering about your NID... Is it located where the late afternoon/evening sun hits it...??? I had one customer whose NID was full of spider nesting that ended up holding excessive condensation which caused intermittent problems...