Sun 17-Jun-2007 5:01 PM
Called Helpdesk again
Spoke to Hussain - no resolution
Requested escalation - TL busy - waited for about 45 minutes on hold
Spoke to TL (Sumit) - gave him the following options…
1. Call Local cable operator providing last mile connectivity and get switched reset
2. Send Field Engineer to reset switches
3. Escalate to his manager
Sumit said…
Cannot escalate because no one in office on Sunday
Cannot send field engineer - not working on Sunday
Cannot call cable operator - does not have outbound facility
Gave Sumit one hour to resolve the issue - will call back at 7:00 PM
Calling Local cable operator myself - requesting them to send someone to reset the switches in Vignahar and Shivparvati
Sun 17-Jun-2007 9:00 PM
Called Helpdesk again for update - switch has not been reset until this time
Asked for Sumit - he is not on the floor
Callback has not been made until now
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
SR # 2685070: Internet Connection Down - Reopen
Sun 17-Jun-2007 3:43 PM - Connection not working
Called Hekpdesk - Spoke to Aniket
Reopened SR - resolution assured in 30 minutes
No manager available for escalation
Calling Somnath - requesting him to send someone from Local Cable Operator's office to reset the switch - Phone switched off
Calling Sagar - Phone switched off
Calling Shailesh Thakkar - Phone Busy (tried after 30 minutes - phone still busy)
Called Hekpdesk - Spoke to Aniket
Reopened SR - resolution assured in 30 minutes
No manager available for escalation
Calling Somnath - requesting him to send someone from Local Cable Operator's office to reset the switch - Phone switched off
Calling Sagar - Phone switched off
Calling Shailesh Thakkar - Phone Busy (tried after 30 minutes - phone still busy)
SR # 2685070: Internet Connection Down
16-Jun-2007 8:05 AM
PING 127.0.0.1 (Loopback) responds fine
PING 59.165.15.xxx (Localmachine) responds fine
PING 59.165.15.xxx (Gateway) does not respond
PING 203.197.12.30 (DNS) does not respond
Sent SMS to…
Sagar (Territoty Operations Manager - TOM)
Shailesh Thakkar (Marketing Executive)
Somnath (Field Engineer)
CSR at the helpdesk assured rectification in 1 hour
Callback after 1 hour if no resolution
3:00 PM
Somnath came and fixed the IP Address conflict as well as reset the switch at Vignahar.
Internet works at this time. Need to check this through the weekend
PING 127.0.0.1 (Loopback) responds fine
PING 59.165.15.xxx (Localmachine) responds fine
PING 59.165.15.xxx (Gateway) does not respond
PING 203.197.12.30 (DNS) does not respond
Sent SMS to…
Sagar (Territoty Operations Manager - TOM)
Shailesh Thakkar (Marketing Executive)
Somnath (Field Engineer)
CSR at the helpdesk assured rectification in 1 hour
Callback after 1 hour if no resolution
3:00 PM
Somnath came and fixed the IP Address conflict as well as reset the switch at Vignahar.
Internet works at this time. Need to check this through the weekend
SR # 2677916: IP Address Conflict
Friday 15-Jun-2007 12:25 PM
Registered a complaint about IP Address conflict
Resolution promised in 10 working hours
No response
Saturday 16-Jun-2007 8:26 AM
Called helpdesk SR# 2677916 is open from yesterday
The ticket does not reflect any action taken by the concerned department
I was given a commitment of resolution within 10 hours
It is now 20 hours and the issue has not been resolved
Requested an escalation - CSR assured escalation, however, the escalation team starts office hours only at 10:00 AM
Requested CSR for a callback from escalation team by 10:30 AM with an update on action taken
I will call them back by 10:40 AM if I do not hear from them by 10:30 AM
No one called - I called them back by 1:30 PM and threatened to go to media and consumer court if no resolution
Somnath (field engineer) came in at 3:00 PM - found that the IP Address assigned was incorrect
Checked with NOC - correct IP address is 59.165.15.xxx
Changed IP - Issue resolved
Registered a complaint about IP Address conflict
Resolution promised in 10 working hours
No response
Saturday 16-Jun-2007 8:26 AM
Called helpdesk SR# 2677916 is open from yesterday
The ticket does not reflect any action taken by the concerned department
I was given a commitment of resolution within 10 hours
It is now 20 hours and the issue has not been resolved
Requested an escalation - CSR assured escalation, however, the escalation team starts office hours only at 10:00 AM
Requested CSR for a callback from escalation team by 10:30 AM with an update on action taken
I will call them back by 10:40 AM if I do not hear from them by 10:30 AM
No one called - I called them back by 1:30 PM and threatened to go to media and consumer court if no resolution
Somnath (field engineer) came in at 3:00 PM - found that the IP Address assigned was incorrect
Checked with NOC - correct IP address is 59.165.15.xxx
Changed IP - Issue resolved
SR # 2674482: Internet Connection Down
15-Jun-2007 8:16 AM
Resolution promised within 10 hours
PING 127.0.0.1 (Loopback) responds fine
PING 59.165.15.xxx (Localmachine) responds fine
PING 59.165.15.xxx (Gateway) responds intermittently (once in five/six times)
PING 203.197.12.30 (DNS) does not respond
Reset local cable operator's switch in B3-Shivparvati, changed ports on switch at home - issue resolved
Resolution promised within 10 hours
PING 127.0.0.1 (Loopback) responds fine
PING 59.165.15.xxx (Localmachine) responds fine
PING 59.165.15.xxx (Gateway) responds intermittently (once in five/six times)
PING 203.197.12.30 (DNS) does not respond
Reset local cable operator's switch in B3-Shivparvati, changed ports on switch at home - issue resolved
Internet Connection Down
To say that the connection went down intermittently would be anti-thesis to the truth. The connection stayed alive intermittenly. Between 15-Jun and 28-Jun I opened several tickets with customer support and the experience during some of these is worth a read...
Note: I have placed here raw notes that I maintained while interacting with various people include customer service representatives at Tata Indicom, some of these notes may appear incomplete.
Note: I have placed here raw notes that I maintained while interacting with various people include customer service representatives at Tata Indicom, some of these notes may appear incomplete.
Fixed Unique IP Address - Yeah!
For a coupe of hours after my connection was configured - I enjoyed the relativel better speed this connection offered. 256 kbps was good for most browsing, but quite powerless for online gaming. Videoconferencing was jittery, and voice calls would break-up at times. The bigger concern that loomed great over me was that the switch where I was connected from had a couple of other connections which meant that the 256 kbps bandwidth was being distributed amongst multiple users. I woud tackle that with the TOM when I got to speak with him. This was ethically incorrect and I would demand a remedy - but this was later.
Suddenly, my thoughts were abruptly disturbed by a sly little yellow window that emerged out of my network icon on the System Tray. It read "IP Address Conflict"! I was jolted. I thought this was the most difficult part of the contract to breach. I called up the Field Engineer first, he was surprised too. So he came over and contacted the Network Operations Center (NOC). He discovered that they had provided an incorrect IP address. Phew! I was thinking they had started slicing IP addresses just like they were slicing bandwidth among multipe users. So we got me a new IP address from the NOC - this time unique and fixed! I was back in business by Friday June 15, 2007.
Suddenly, my thoughts were abruptly disturbed by a sly little yellow window that emerged out of my network icon on the System Tray. It read "IP Address Conflict"! I was jolted. I thought this was the most difficult part of the contract to breach. I called up the Field Engineer first, he was surprised too. So he came over and contacted the Network Operations Center (NOC). He discovered that they had provided an incorrect IP address. Phew! I was thinking they had started slicing IP addresses just like they were slicing bandwidth among multipe users. So we got me a new IP address from the NOC - this time unique and fixed! I was back in business by Friday June 15, 2007.
Installation
The first setback in my relationship with Tata Indicom came when I did not hear from them after they got my cheque in the next 72 hours. suspecting foul play and an unwarranted delay in installation, I stopped payment on the cheque that I had issued to them. Now, I knew they would come! Surprisingly, no one at Tata discovered I had stopped payment on the cheque and they never called!
I finally called them on Thursday June 14, 2007 and impressed upon them the fact that they were yet to install the cables from their router to my place. Ah! They recall me applying for a connection and the customer service guys commit the organization to resolve my issue in 10 working hours. Well, it was my expectation that their company, being an ISP, worked 24X7. No, I was naive, for in the matter of providing customer service the company worked a convinient 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. My fault was that I called them at 4:00 PM and they now had to themselves under the constitution of their organization until 6:00 PM on Friday to provide me connetivity. I was furious at the non-chalant manner in which I was brushed off by the Customer Support representative - but since I had held my cheque back, I wasn't worried they'd be able to charge me for it unless I was willing to pay.
So on Friday June 15, 2007, the friendly local Field Engineer walked into my place to bestow upon me the grace of connectivity. After convincing the management of my residential complex, I decided to accompany the Field Engineer to ascertain where they would connect me from. My second surprise came when I discovered that the field engineer was laying a resh wire from the switch that was precariously placed in the adjoining building. The larger part of the surprise was that this was the very switch from where I already had a wire laid right into my place - for this was the same switch that my Local Cable Operator was using to provide connectivity (however intermittent it was) throug another ISP. I chose to obtain connectivity from Tata/VSN purely because my previous ISP could not provide sufficient up-time.
I took the field engineer to my place and explained this to him. He was very understanding and explained that they had no other option since my connection came under what they liked to call a Cat-A network, where the last mile connectivity was provided by the local cable operator. I protested vehemently, but as was evident I would get nothing more than some empathy from the very understanding but powerless field engineer. I called his "Territory Operations Manager" (TOM). He did not take my calls. I called customer service, they would help only after I had a valid username and a fixed IP address, for installation I should call the TOM. I was furious - but that was all I could do at the time. So the field engineer, ever so scared of my wrath configured my connection and got going.
I finally called them on Thursday June 14, 2007 and impressed upon them the fact that they were yet to install the cables from their router to my place. Ah! They recall me applying for a connection and the customer service guys commit the organization to resolve my issue in 10 working hours. Well, it was my expectation that their company, being an ISP, worked 24X7. No, I was naive, for in the matter of providing customer service the company worked a convinient 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. My fault was that I called them at 4:00 PM and they now had to themselves under the constitution of their organization until 6:00 PM on Friday to provide me connetivity. I was furious at the non-chalant manner in which I was brushed off by the Customer Support representative - but since I had held my cheque back, I wasn't worried they'd be able to charge me for it unless I was willing to pay.
So on Friday June 15, 2007, the friendly local Field Engineer walked into my place to bestow upon me the grace of connectivity. After convincing the management of my residential complex, I decided to accompany the Field Engineer to ascertain where they would connect me from. My second surprise came when I discovered that the field engineer was laying a resh wire from the switch that was precariously placed in the adjoining building. The larger part of the surprise was that this was the very switch from where I already had a wire laid right into my place - for this was the same switch that my Local Cable Operator was using to provide connectivity (however intermittent it was) throug another ISP. I chose to obtain connectivity from Tata/VSN purely because my previous ISP could not provide sufficient up-time.
I took the field engineer to my place and explained this to him. He was very understanding and explained that they had no other option since my connection came under what they liked to call a Cat-A network, where the last mile connectivity was provided by the local cable operator. I protested vehemently, but as was evident I would get nothing more than some empathy from the very understanding but powerless field engineer. I called his "Territory Operations Manager" (TOM). He did not take my calls. I called customer service, they would help only after I had a valid username and a fixed IP address, for installation I should call the TOM. I was furious - but that was all I could do at the time. So the field engineer, ever so scared of my wrath configured my connection and got going.
The Beginning
So I applied for obtaining a broadband internet connection (256 kbps) on Monday June 11,2007.
The marketing executive came to my place exhibiting the epitome of courteousness and I was very pleased with the offer I would get a fixed public IP address and unlimited download/upload. This was better than some offers which provided higher bandwidth but a cap on how much you could download with more downloads charged by the MB. they were even willing to waive off the installation charge if I paid them an advance for four months - which I did.
I was happy to know that Tata Indicom and VSNL would manage thelast mile connectivity as they would maintain the world-class servers that provide most of the country with dedicated and dial-up connectivity now and for over the last 15 years. I was even happier when the marketing executive said that my connection would be up and running in 48 hours. Now that is what I call customer service.
Friday, July 13, 2007
How it all began
In 1991-92, the internet was shaping up to what we know today as the world wide web and the vast array of systems across the world - known collectively as the Internet. VSNL was one of the very first organizations (along with Sprint and a few others) who took upon themselves the task of introducing the Internet to the parched Indian technological landscape. Back then VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited) was a fully government owned telecom services provider with monopolistic lincense for international communication originating from or terminating at any location in the world outside the Indian territtory.
My first brush with VSNL began when I got myself a dial-up internet account in 1994. Back then life was simple - you used a modem (remember the AT commands), and dialed into a preset number. Since the world was text based at the time, one could exhaust almost all of the content on the www using just HyperTerminal!
As things hanged in the ensuing years, the Internet and the www became more closely integrated into business models until E-Commerce, web presence, and the boom and finally the bust happened at the turn of the century.
The era between 2001 and 2004 was a time for consolidation for the Indian telecom industry. Mobile phones and wireless connectivity became the norm and products were being released almost simultaneously in India as across the rest of the largest economies of the world.
I switched over to broadband connectivity pretty late - mostly because most of my connectivity needs were met at the office where we maintained multiple levels of redundancy on dedicated pipes to the Internet - at home I preferred to stay connected by choice via dial-up. We implemented VOIP and VPN at multiple offices and VSNL continued to remain at the top of the list when it came to dedicated bandwidth in the wake of very little competition and government controlled market conditions. Private ISPs made their presence felt since the late nineties and grew to offer some strong competition to the mammoths around 1997-98.
Tata (the largest industrial house in India) took VSNL under its umbrella due to VSNL's massive weight and spread. Along with internet connectivity, Tata invested a lot of moolah into CDMA telephony networks across India. They rechristened the the complete gamut of services under the common brand - Tata Indicom.
So... I switched over to broadband connectivity around 2004. By this time, there were a plethora of service providers, but given the lack of vision and planning of those at the helm of affairs, most geographies remained monopolies and the absence of competition led most service providers to become complacent and most customers to resign to their state. Connectivity was intermittent and pathetic. Misrepresentations were easy to get by with (kbps was conviniently represented at 1000 bytes per second... aaargh).
So in 2004 I shopped around and settled for what was probably the only viable choice for broadband (so-called) connectivity in the area where I reside. For a good two years I experience good connectivity and excellent speed until the ISP decided to withdraw from my geography for lack of subscriptions in 2006 due to wider competition and entry of bigger player (like Tata Indicom) into the market.
And here on 14-Jun-2007 began my experiments with Tata Indicom...
P.S. Until I come back to share more - feast yourselves on this - http://www.vsnl.in/aboutvsnl/biz-excell.php.
My first brush with VSNL began when I got myself a dial-up internet account in 1994. Back then life was simple - you used a modem (remember the AT commands), and dialed into a preset number. Since the world was text based at the time, one could exhaust almost all of the content on the www using just HyperTerminal!
As things hanged in the ensuing years, the Internet and the www became more closely integrated into business models until E-Commerce, web presence, and the boom and finally the bust happened at the turn of the century.
The era between 2001 and 2004 was a time for consolidation for the Indian telecom industry. Mobile phones and wireless connectivity became the norm and products were being released almost simultaneously in India as across the rest of the largest economies of the world.
I switched over to broadband connectivity pretty late - mostly because most of my connectivity needs were met at the office where we maintained multiple levels of redundancy on dedicated pipes to the Internet - at home I preferred to stay connected by choice via dial-up. We implemented VOIP and VPN at multiple offices and VSNL continued to remain at the top of the list when it came to dedicated bandwidth in the wake of very little competition and government controlled market conditions. Private ISPs made their presence felt since the late nineties and grew to offer some strong competition to the mammoths around 1997-98.
Tata (the largest industrial house in India) took VSNL under its umbrella due to VSNL's massive weight and spread. Along with internet connectivity, Tata invested a lot of moolah into CDMA telephony networks across India. They rechristened the the complete gamut of services under the common brand - Tata Indicom.
So... I switched over to broadband connectivity around 2004. By this time, there were a plethora of service providers, but given the lack of vision and planning of those at the helm of affairs, most geographies remained monopolies and the absence of competition led most service providers to become complacent and most customers to resign to their state. Connectivity was intermittent and pathetic. Misrepresentations were easy to get by with (kbps was conviniently represented at 1000 bytes per second... aaargh).
So in 2004 I shopped around and settled for what was probably the only viable choice for broadband (so-called) connectivity in the area where I reside. For a good two years I experience good connectivity and excellent speed until the ISP decided to withdraw from my geography for lack of subscriptions in 2006 due to wider competition and entry of bigger player (like Tata Indicom) into the market.
And here on 14-Jun-2007 began my experiments with Tata Indicom...
P.S. Until I come back to share more - feast yourselves on this - http://www.vsnl.in/aboutvsnl/biz-excell.php.
Tata Indicom
Tata Indicom is India's leading telecom service provider across CDMA mobiles, internet, broadband, wireless, landlines and wireless data cards. It is part of the INR 76,929 Crore (US$17.8 billion) Tata Group, that has over 90 companies, over 220,000 employees and more than 2.8 million shareholders. With a committed investment of INR 36,000 Crore (US$ 7.5 billion) in Telecom (FY 2006), the Group has a formidable presence across the telecom value chain. (source: http://www.tataindicom.com/t-aboutus.aspx)
My experiements... began when I decided to subscribe for broadband internet connectivity from VSNL. Now VSNL is India's leading international telecommunications service provider. It is today part of the Tata Group. It started as a successor to the erstwhile Overseas Communication Services, and then went on to become the premier provider of international voice and data services.
Purpose of this blog
I would like to chronicle my experience with Tata Indicom from the day I called their marketing executive onwards for the benefit of anyone who wishes to get a taste of their connectivity and support services before committing themselves to the trauma associated with a service providers failure to meet their own claims, lest the expectations of their customers.
My experiements... began when I decided to subscribe for broadband internet connectivity from VSNL. Now VSNL is India's leading international telecommunications service provider. It is today part of the Tata Group. It started as a successor to the erstwhile Overseas Communication Services, and then went on to become the premier provider of international voice and data services.
Purpose of this blog
I would like to chronicle my experience with Tata Indicom from the day I called their marketing executive onwards for the benefit of anyone who wishes to get a taste of their connectivity and support services before committing themselves to the trauma associated with a service providers failure to meet their own claims, lest the expectations of their customers.
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