[TriLUG] Earthlink Tech Support

[H. Crissman]

Joel Ebel wrote:

> 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.

Great post. Very funny!

H. Crissman