[TriLUG] troubleshooting spotty internet connectivity with TWCBC

[David Both]

I have an account manager for my TWBC. I also have a TWBC hotline number I call 
which can be faster than the residential number. If the support folks are not 
doing the job I need them to, I contact the account manager. I usually get a 
competent person to talk to quite soon and they call me so I do not have to go 
through the VRU BS. I never ever bother with 1st level support. I always ask for 
3rd level to start. If they refuse I ask for a manager. I always ALWAYS refuse 
to reboot or connect my computer directly. I sometimes have to get nasty or trot 
out my arrogant attitude  - oh, wait I really am arrogant ;-) - and eventually 
they break down and give me what we need to resolve the problem.

If you or they do not know who their account manager is, call TWBC marketing and 
find out. There seems to be a turnover every couple years for mine, but I 
probably would not want to be my account manager longer than that either.

One example:

I run my business out of my home. I had just terminated my TWC residential 
phone, TV and Internet service. The residential guy came out to the pedestal in 
front of my house and put a filter on the cable that blocked everything 
including my Business Class Internet. I did not bother contacting anyone else, I 
went straight to my account manager and a Business Class guy was out within 15 
minutes. He removed the 1st filter and installed a different one. He also 
installed a large plastic flag on the filter that says something to the effect 
of "TWBC service. Call xxx-xxx-xxxx before making any changes."

I am not a fan of TWBC or any other Internet provider. They are all monopolies 
and they have little regulation any more. I have found it sometimes necessary to 
threaten to contact my U.S. representative and the State of NC AG and Utilities 
Commission. However with the advent of satellite they are desperate to keep 
customers. Working the system can help a lot.




On 07/23/2014 01:29 AM, Scott G. Hall wrote:
> On 07/22/2014 10:18 PM, Dewey Hylton wrote:
>> i have a customer paying for TWC Business Class service. they run a small shop (~20 computers) behind a *nix firewall,[...]
>>
>> friday, they called and said they had issues getting to several external websites that they use daily. [...]
>>
>> i called TWCBC support. the first tech tried "accessing those 2 sites via the cable modem" and failed. so, believing the problem was on their end, he escalated the ticket. but the second level tech refuses to work with me until i've connected a computer directly to the cable modem.
>>
>> does this make sense to anyone? the firewall _is_ a computer, and is much more capable of network testing and such than any of their windows desktops or servers. and it is directly connected to the cable modem already.
> I've had the same issues with both TWC customer support, and at another location
> Comcast's Xfinity customer support.
>
> What you are running into is "customer no-support" help-desk types that are only
> trained to use a troubleshooting script. They have no knowledge or expertise on
> network configuration, network troubleshooting tools, or even concepts of how
> the network works in the first place.
>
> To even get somebody remotely knowledgeable who can even listen and understand
> the basics, you'll have to force the issue and escalate to at least Tier-3. If
> they won't escalate that high, make noise with one of the consumer advocates
> (5-on-your-side, etc) and get a message to a VP or high-level manager. Otherwise
> you are just wasting your time.
>
>
> -- 
>
>
> *********************************************************
> David P. Both, RHCE
> Millennium Technology Consulting LLC
> 919-389-8678
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> dboth at millennium-technology.com
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