Fibre Connection - Part 5 - It just gets worse

05/03/2012 9am - Rang Exetel and was told it will be on by Midday the next

06/03/2012 1pm - Rang Exetel and was told it'll be done by close of business.

06/03/2012 5pm - Rang Exetel who Rang Telstra and was told by COB the next day

07/03/2012

• A Telstra Technician turned up at my place and asked me what the problem was and I told him I was waiting on it being connected.  He spoke to Activations and was told they where having problems programming the line and there was nothing he could do until they fixed it.  

• Rang Exetel who Rang Telstra and was told there is a problem but they don't know what the issue is.

08/03/2012

• Tried to ring Exetel to find I no longer have a phone number.  Appears Telstra has screwed my phone in their effort to get the internet working. I rang Telstra, they did a line test and there is a problem so a Fault will be logged.  I told the woman exactly what has been going on and she promised they would fix it and that she had noted down everything I had told them.
• Rang Exetel (from the mobile) who then rang Telstra and were told that they had to upgrade the line and now they can't finish the job until 13/03/2012, 2 months after this started. 
  I do not understand why this is needed at all considering it is a new physical connection and the phone was fixed 2 weeks ago. 
• On top of that someone else in the same complex was connected on Friday.

To add insult to injury they have now screwed my home phone.  When I got home I was back to the this service is not connected message.

Regardless of the result I am submitting a complaint to the Telecommunications Ombudsman.  It is clear that exetel does not understand the mean of Service Provider I should not have to chase them up, they should be chasing Telstra.

Update on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 6:50PM by Wilkie IT

I posted a link to this blog on the Telstra 24x7 Facebook page and to my pleasent surprise they responded very quickly as below

Telstra 24x7 Hi Phillip, 

Thanks for taking the time to post on our wall and for letting us know of the situation.

After reading your blog, I do not understand why you have been chasing the issues with us, instead of your provider?

Your chosen service provider should definitely be following up on these issues on your behalf. Have you lodged a formal complaint with your provider? 

It's important to give them a final opportunity to fix the problem before seeking assistance from a Third party. 

The responses you have received via Twitter is correct. As harsh as it may sounds, we really cannot help further as you are not a Telstra Customer.

I would love to help you further, but we cannot intervene in any affairs you have with your current ISP. 

If you have any further questions, I'll be happy to answer them. 

Regards,

Luis.
Telstra Digital Sales & Service

Update on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 8:02PM by Wilkie IT

My response was

The reason that I hold Telstra responsible is that in the very first place Telstra techos connected a brand new fibre service to an existing number not belonging to me and with another provider.

Secondly when my provider tried to get a response from Telstra wholesale they kept being told I was not in a fibre service area.

Finally.... once my number was connected and i applied for the internet they managed to kill my phone and told my service provider they can't fix anything for days

so whilst I don't think that my service provider is pushing Telstra hard enough it is actually Telstra actions that have been the primary cause of the problems

Putting all that aside I do appreciate that you have taken the time to read the posts.

Fibre Connection Part 4

On 13/02 2012, exactly one month after the saga started, I decided to bite the bullet and told Exetel to cancel all of my applications. rang Telstra and relayed the issue of the telephone number not being in my name, went through the whole connection process, faxed my lease to prove I was the resident and off they went.

8:00 am Monday, 20th Feb, I rang Telstra to find out when the line was going to be active and was told by the COB.

8:00 am on Tuesday morning Rang Telstra again to be told

There is one more issue that needs to be find and it should be done by lunch time but they like to allow a couple of hours for it to be fully operational.

4:00 pm Tuesday I test the line.... still no phone.

8:00 am  Wednesday Ring Telstra.  The codes just need to be updated. It'll be on by 10am.

1:00pm Wednesday Ring Telstra.

Telstra: A tester will have to look at this and will give you a call

Me: How long is this going to take?

Telstra: Hopefully they'll get back to you today.

Me: When I ring the number it is engaged. Did you not test the phone lines when you do the work at the exchange?

Telstra: Because this is fibre all we do is check there is a light coming down the line?

So it appears that not only does Telstra wholesale tell thrid party serivce providers that someone they connected to fibre does not have it, they don't even test that the work they have done is operating correctly.

Update on Friday, February 24, 2012 at 10:19AM by Wilkie IT

23/02/2012 - A technician turns up takes 1 listen to the phone and tells me the power is not properly wired and fixes it in 10 Minutes.... Now for the Internet

Fibre Connection - The Saga continues

Spoke to Exetel again today since their status page says the connection should have been active yesterday.

The operator goes off to check and says 

Your application has been rejected becuase you do not have fibre at the property.

My response 

You've got to be kidding.  Your operator told me thay could see two lines going into the property 1 active and one inactive and on 13th January Telstra came and connected the OTN.  You can see all of that on your notes.

The operator went away for a minute and asked me to select 3 days after 29th Feb.  

My response

Your telling me that it going to be another 2 weeks that makes it two months trying to get this service on. What's your complaints department details? 

He gave me their email details and promised that Telstra would contact me between 29/02 and 02/03.

My problem is that I don't think it is really Exetels issue.  From what I keep getting told by them is that they send the application to Telstra and they keep responing with there is no fibre at the address. 

If Exetels response is true, and I have no reason not to believe them,  then either

1. Telsra's system is not up to date and the application is being falsely rejected
2. Exetel have internal issues and are trying to hide it, or
3. Telstra is deliberately trying to make it hard for third part suppliers to provide a service.

No matter what the reason the two compaines combined have left me no option but to contact the TIO.

Update on Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 11:00AM by Wilkie IT

Testra has tweeted

@wilkieit (1of2) I can definitely see how frustrating this can be for you but your provider should have advised you to contact

@wilkieit (2of2) Telstra Wholesale. You've contact Telstra FOH who are unable to assist with another providers orders -Matt

@wilkieit (1of3) I understand that but you aren't a Telstra customer either. We can only assist customers connecting directly with Telstra.

@wilkieit (2of3) Unfortunately there isn't anywhere for you to check the status of the Fibre to your building though. Your best bet

@wilkieit (3of3) Your best bet would be to ask your building manager -Matt

My response 

@Telstra What I was looking for was a way to prove to the service provider that the fibre is connected short of opening the services

and taking photo's i don't know what else to do. I am in the middle of filling out the TIO complaint becuase i don't see any other solution

Telsrta won't help and Exetel reply on information from Telstra. Catch 22

Telstra and Exetel... How stupid is the Australian Telco system.

I went onto the Exetel web page and ordered their fiber service since I am moving into the fiber only area of Brisbane.

On Friday 13th Jan the Telstra techo turned up and they spent about 3 hours getting the phone connected and told me to call my internet service provider, which happens to be Exetel.

Today, Tuesday 17/01/2010, I ran Exetel to be told that Telstra has not informed them that the South Brisbane fibre upgrade has been completed and hence they could not do anything.

I asked how the techos got the job issues and I got fed the same line for every question I asked.

So I rang Telstra and got an overseas call center, in the middle of the day, the extended delay made talking to the operator almost impossible. 

Firstly they automated system put me through to business even though I rang the residential number listed on the Telstra Web Page.

Secondly I was told they could not do anything becuase I was with another service provider. I asked for the job number to put the service on so I would take it to Exetel and prove that something has been done but the operator wouldn't give it to me.

So I have Exetel telling my they can't do anything till Telstra tell them the change over has been complete and I have Telstra telling they can't tell me anything because it is with another service provider and I have technicians putting in a service that could not be requested since Exetel haven't been notified that orders can be placed.

At this point I can userstand why people go Postal.

Gold Class & The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Movie

Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world

Visually, the film is simply outstanding. Such is the richness of the effects that it makes me wonder how on earth can the film be made on a budget of "just" $140 million. I mean, the amount of visual effects present in the film and the quality of each shot is simply brilliant - from the dragon to the serpent to the wide shots of The Dawn Treader to the Islands to the waves to Reepicheep the mouse and finally, the great Aslan. Lighting, it seems has improved to the point that it is difficult to tell what is CGI and what is real. The main musical themes have been recycled from the past films which is a great thing since those themes were simply heart touching, especially Aslan's. The set design is also good although as mentioned, it is hard to distinguish between real and digital sets.

Verdict:  Worth seeing 4/5

The Cinema: Event Cinema Indooroopilly Megaplex Gold Class

The cinema was as comforatable as ever.  Unfortunately the service was no where near the normal quality. Upon arrival we were greeted with a friendly smile, we placed our order and relaxed with a black russian while waiting to be shown in.  Shortly after the movie started where were brought our entree which where fantasic.  I had Salt and Pepper Squid, my friend had Prawns 2 ways.

The movie was going that fast we didn't notice th time and the next thing we know my friends dessert was being served, unfortunately our mains had not been delivered.  My friend took his dessert back and asked about our mains.  Apparently thay had made them but forgotten to bring them in.

5 minutes after they where delivered a person turned up with the dessert and coffee, since we where still eating our mains they had to be sent back. Obviously there was a major miscommunication in the kitchen that night.

 Verdict: Comfort 4/5 Service 2/5