[TriLUG] Earthlink Tech Support

Tue Feb 22 10:23:12 EST 2005

I get my DSL from CT communications, although they are based in
Concord, they got the contract to provide the phone service to
Heritage Wake Forest where I live.

For the most part the service has been great. I did have one issue
about a year ago with packets getting dropped. While it took awhile to
get through to second level service, the first level guys at least
didn't try to bluff their way through.  CT first level did send a guy
in a truck with a laptop so that he could see the problem, and he
readily admitted that I knew more than he did which helped getting
second level support.

In the case of CT, I'm pretty sure that they only provide the last
mile service. The mail and news servers are run by vnet, and I think
that vnet also provides the second level support.

On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 00:51:51 -0500, Jeff Tickle <jtickle at jtsoft.net> wrote:
> I've had to call BellSouth a few times regarding their DSL service.  It
> was only on "my end" once, and that's only because the line going up to
> my house was ridiculously old and had finally been chewed through by the
> neighborhood cats.  I do have it down to an art now; when they ask me to
> reboot my computer, I reset the smoothwall and wait about 2-3 minutes,
> making a comment about how slow Windows is, etc, etc, and then tell em
> nothing changed.  It's fun at first.
> 
> -Jeff
> 
> On Mon, 2005-02-21 at 20:45 -0600, skippy1 at hickorytech.net wrote:
> > Heh.  From the rather abrupt about-face he did at the end I suspect
> > someone with a clue to spare looked over his shoulder and gave him a clue
> > up side the head.
> >
> > Bull past first level support is something of an art form but I have to
> > admit that I've never done it in a chat session.  The trick I usually use
> > is to calmly explain things at just close enough to their level for them
> > to realise that they are out of their depth.  On the occasion that you get
> > someone who knows more than you thought, it still works out.
> >
> > Skippy
> >
> > > For anyone wondering what the quality of Earthlink's tech support is, or
> > >  anyone just looking for a joke, here's a rather hilarious exchange I
> > > had  today with Earthlink's tech support chat system.
> > >
> > > Joel Ebel
> > >
> > >
> > > 'Spenser G' says: Thank you for contacting EarthLink LiveChat, how may I
> > >  help you today?
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: The mail relay:
> > > smtpauth04.mail.atl.earthlink.net [209.86.89.64] appears to be listed
> > > in: http://dnsbl.sorbs.net/ So if my mail is routed through that relay
> > > and the recipient uses dnsbl then email from me gets rejected.
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: Here's a copy of the listing. It just got on the
> > >  list last Friday.
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: Address: 209.86.89.64 Record Created: Fri Feb 18
> > >  20:54:09 2005 GMT Record Updated: Fri Feb 18 20:54:09 2005 GMT
> > > Additional Information: Portable Display Currently active and flagged to
> > >  be published in DNS If you wish to request a delisting please do so
> > > through the Support System.
> > > Spenser G: Please hold on while I go through your issue.
> > > Spenser G: Are you not able to send / receive emails?
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: If I send mail there is a chance it won't go
> > > through. It happened to me today with several emails in a row.
> > > Spenser G: Let me know the email program and version you are using (like
> > >  Total Access, Outlook Express, Outlook etc.).
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: Let me be clear. I'm well aware of what the
> > > issue is. I'm not asking for your assistance in solving my problem. I'm
> > > informing earthlink of a problem they have on their end. From one system
> > >  administrator to another.
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: I'm using Mozilla Thunderbird. But that is
> > > irrelevant.
> > > Spenser G: Kindly hold on for a moment.
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: sure
> > > Spenser G: Thanks for being on hold.
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: no problem
> > > Spenser G: I am sorry, but I do not support technical issues with
> > > Mozilla Thunderbird.
> > > Spenser G: Please try to send the emails using any other email programs
> > > and contact us back is you have problem.
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: I repeat. This is not an issue I'm having. This
> > > is a problem with an earthlink mail server.
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: How can I get this information to someone who
> > > knows how to deal with it.
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: I could very easily reproduce this using Outlook
> > >  Express, as well as any other mail client I might chose. However, doing
> > >  so is not a good use of either of our time.
> > > Spenser G: Please send the email using WebMail for testing purpose.
> > > Spenser G: You can log into "WebMail" page from the below link using
> > > your EarthLink complete email address and password.
> > > Spenser G: https://webmail.earthlink.net/
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: Thank you. I know how to use webmail. This is
> > > not my problem. Would you like me to repeat my problem?
> > > Spenser G: Since you are able to send the email using WebMail, it
> > > clearly indicates that there is no problem with EarthLink mail server
> > > but with the email program.
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: Who can I call to speak with someone who
> > > understands how email works?
> > > Spenser G: Since the issue is with the email program, we cannot provide
> > > any assistance in this regard.
> > > Spenser G: Kindly let me know, if you are still with me.
> > > joelebel at earthlink.net: Ok. Well, just so you know, there is a problem
> > > with one of earthlink's servers. I'm smart enough to deal with it, but I
> > >  thought I would be courteous enough to let you know about the problem
> > > before it was a problem for others who couldn't deal with it so easily.
> > > But if you chose to ignore it, then it will only cause earthlink more
> > > troubles.
> > > Spenser G: Kindly hold on for a moment.
> > > Spenser G: Thanks for staying with me.
> > > Spenser G: I will escalate the issue to our engineers to resolve the
> > > issue. joelebel at earthlink.net: Thank you.
> > > Spenser G: You're welcome and thank you for using EarthLink LiveChat.
> > > Should you need further assistance, please feel free to contact us
> > > again. Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.
> > > --
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