Road Runner = Dumbos

[kantlivelong]

Below is a logged conversation with one of Road Runners Genius Support Techs(RRGST)...

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Steven S: Thank you for choosing Road Runner Technical Chat. My name is Steven S. May we have the first and last name, and the phone number with the area code of the master account holder?
You: **************
You: **************
Steven S: Thank you, and with whom am I speaking currently?
You: Shawn
Steven S: Thank you, what technical issue may we assist you with?
You: my modem seems to say i am connected while i am not sometimes
You: happend this morning
Steven S: Please explain further.
You: it drops my ip and wont let me grab an ip untill i unplug it
You: it does this randomly
Steven S: So you are experiencing an intermittent connection?
You: yes
Steven S: Are you a Road Runner subscriber?
You: yes
You: road runner basic
Steven S: How long have you had this problem for?
You: a few days now
You: SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync19:07:12 - 09/02/200410:19:54 - 09/09/20042
You: is one of the errors on the modem
You: it seems to have alot of SYNC problems
Steven S: What time of day do you lose your connection, is there any pattern to when the connection drops or is it random?
You: totally random
Steven S: Do you have cable TV? If yes is there any reception problems like snow or ghosting? If you have a digital TV terminal is there pixelization?
You: no its perfectly clear.. rr installed a seperate line for the modem too... and its clear picture
Steven S: How often do you lose your connection?
You: like i said randomly... could be within 15 mins from the last or a day or more
Steven S: When you lose your connection do you notice if the lights change on your modem?
You: no they remain the same
You: as they should be
Steven S: How do you get your connection back?
You: unplug
Steven S: Which cable modem did we provide you with?
You: RCA DCM-305 i believe...
You: if not RCA DMC-305
Steven S: Please provide the Mac Id from the cable modem please.
You: 00 10 95 5f 44 71
Steven S: Are you running the cable modem directly to the computer?
You: router then multiple pcs... but i have tried it seperately on a few of my pcs..
You: still same issue
You: Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out
You: 127 counts of that
Steven S: Who provided you with the router?
You: rr
You: oops
You: sorry
You: i bought the router
You: linksys router
Steven S: Unfortunately, we only support the cable modem running directly to a computer. Have you tried bypassing your router and then unplug the power chord to the cable modem for 2 minutes?
You: yes but for more then 2 days...
You: its not a router issue
Steven S: As your cable modem lights are not changing at all, we would recommend that you bypass the router and then unplug the power chord to the cable modem for 2 minutes and test your connection further.
You: you should have read what i said before sending that...
You: 2 days
You: same issues
Steven S: We are not experiencing any technical issues at this time, however if you feel it is not a router issue, then you can contact 845-692-6794 or 1-800-431-8878 for further assistance.
You: have you even checked the modem?
You: or did i provice the mac for nothing?
Steven S: We see that you have reset the modem, however the problem is your cable modem is not changing. The lights are not changing in any way.
You: ok well then whats with the SYNC errors
You: and
You: Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out
You: 127 counts of that
Steven S: Where are you receiving this information?
You: cable modem
You: http://192.168.100.1
Steven S: How are you accessing this information?
You: http://192.168.100.1
Steven S: That is a router address.
You: that is the cable modem
You: router is http://192.168.1.1
You: get your facts straight
Steven S: Excuse me?
You: you dont know your facts
Steven S: Please work with me on a professional level and I'll be happy to help you. If not, I'll be forced to discontinue this session. How may we assist you?
You: i am trying to
You: but you dont seem to know what your doing
You: if you do not know the default cable modem address

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After waiting for a response for about 15 minutes i left the chat....

As it you can see i am not the nicest person when they were wrong but this is a support tech... they should know these things......

What do you think of this?

[Siliconjunkie]

Thank you for contacting Road Runner Technical Chat.
We hope that your session with Technical Support was helpful.
Below you will find the chat transcript that you requested. We recommend you keep this for future reference. If you need to contact us again, Chat and Email support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can be accessed at http://help.rr.com.


User Name: Mark xxxxx
E-mail: xxxx@xxxxx.xxx
=======================
Mark:  Mark Lewis xxx-xxx-xxxx
Dilip:  Thank you, what technical issue may we assist you with? 
Mark:  I had some line issues, which they repaired Tuesday. But, since then my speed is very low.
Mark:  Download is fine, but upload is 2-5k, and it is choking because of it.
Dilip:  2-5k?
Mark:  yes
Dilip:  Usually it's only 300 kbs.
Mark:  well, this would be much lower than, wouldnt it?
Mark:  About 1% of that.
Mark:  From the DSL reports speed test: Your upload speed : 5717 bps, or 5 kbps
Dilip:  Please perform the following speed test and let me know the results: http://www.houston.rr.com/content/me...erServices.htm
Mark:  That only tests download speed.
Mark:  but ok...
Mark:  2666 Kbps, download, which agrees with the other speed tests, but as I said, upload is the problem.
Dilip:  Which operating system are you currently using, Windows or Macintosh? We also require the version please. 
Mark:  Windows XP
Dilip:  Home or professional?
Mark:  Pro
Dilip:  What make and model of cable modem do you have from Road Runner please? 
Mark:  Toshiba 2600
Dilip:  Have you rebooted your modem since this started happening? To reboot your modem, you unplug it from the power source for two full minutes, then plug it back into the power outlet. We recommend restarting your computer after doing so. 
Mark:  Done
Mark:  Did that first
Dilip:  Let's check your IP address. In Windows, click on Start, Run, type in "command", then click on Ok. In the DOS window type in "ipconfig" then press Enter. What is the IP Address listed? 
Mark:  24.27.xxx.xxx
Dilip:  We'll run a trace together to Yahoo. This will determine where a slow point may be. To run a traceroute, click on Start, Run, type in the word command then click OK. In the DOS window, type in "tracert www.yahoo.com" (without the quotes) then press Enter. When the trace is complete, please copy the results into the chat window. 
Dilip:  Hello, are you still with me? 
Mark:  Tracing....
Dilip:  I'm sorry; other customers are waiting with technical questions. I'll need to discontinue this session now. Please feel free to contact us again if you have any further issues or questions.  Once again, thank you for choosing Road Runner! 
Dilip:  disconnected

Par for the course.

[kantlivelong]

Originally Posted by Siliconjunkie

Par for the course.

what do you mean? your tech knew something atleast... this one just was plain hush hush and stupid..

[Siliconjunkie]

Dilip: 2-5k?
Mark: yes
Dilip: Usually it's only 300 kbs.
Mark: well, this would be much lower than, wouldnt it?

Dilip: Let's check your IP address.

Chatting with you aren't I?!

Dilip: I'm sorry; other customers are waiting with technical questions.

In help desk speak that means "I have been working this ticket for too long, I really need to get off this call and your issue really doesn't matter anyhow.[/quote]

He knew how to cut and paste from a script. Thats about it. He had no idea what he was doing or more importantly WHY.

[The Real Bingo]

Dilip: I'm sorry; other customers are waiting with technical questions.

That's the part I particularly like.

[kantlivelong]

yeah i know... but "pay for the course?" that some phrase ive never heard? or do u mean they should pay for some course? im lost on that.

Anyways rr needs to get a real tech support team.. All they use are preconfigured responses..... Sometimes their own but rare..

[kantlivelong]

Originally Posted by The Real Bingo

That's the part I particularly like.

agreed "We think other customers are more important than you is what i think they are saying..."

[Siliconjunkie]

not "pay for the course?", PAR for the course.

Meaning it is normal for them.

[Detritus]

I have never been a tech, but I always get the feel that most of them know very little, especially the first level techs. They simply work through a dichotomous key of yes and no answers and when a problem doesn't fit in that little world they are stumped. This isn't just internet techs, it goes for all techs. I had a bad experience with a Compaq tech once (actually several) and didn't get answers until I moved up to the third level of technicians, and even at that level they just kept googling for answers, which I could do.

[kantlivelong]

Originally Posted by Siliconjunkie

not "pay for the course?", PAR for the course.

Meaning it is normal for them.

doh LOL i read it to fast