This is a somewhat convoluted edition of ABTN. We still report on 20 stories but the web site is rather bare of pictures (which these days are called images). Once again ABTN has been caught in the trap of ”It”s not our fault”. In our case it is to do with telephone lines but the problem is prevalent in all industries. With air travel one checks in at an airport and the baggage is then conducted through (usually) mechanical means to the aircraft. If it goes wrong the fault (normally) does not lie with the airline but the airport operator. But can you do anything about it. No. And of course the media make a big thing of any airline losing or delaying baggage, not the airport whose fault it often is. On the railways the train might be late and whilst it is true that they too can have breakdowns more often than not it is a signal failure or a mix up on which service has a certain part of the track. The train operator gets the blame. With software and computers it is always the other supplier”s fault.
ABTN experienced a great deal of trouble when it moved locations about half a mile and within the same telephone exchange area three years ago. We documented it in ABTN and some of what we said at the time has actually been taken on both by OFCOM (which changed its name, at great cost no doubt, from OFTEL) and the phone companies. These were just common sense suggestions that might have come about in any event.
After some deep thought ABTN has decided to reduce the number of lines into the office due to email and Internet taking over from basic telephone calls and fax. We just don”t get the same number of calls these days. One of the redundant lines also linked to our Broadband setup. Easy one would have thought just to change over the connections. Not with BT.
The number one problem is getting through to a human being and to the right department. Never mind that the calls are free on an 0800 number. You finally get there after sitting for hours on the telephone.
The story.
First of all it can”t be done, so the say.
Easy to get over that one. Just start up a new Broadband and cancel the old one when everything is up and running.
”Sorry Mr Customer but we can”t connect to the other number”.
”Why?”
”Old line!”
But it is a new property.
”Ah. Sorry our records are incorrect”.
”It”s BT again. Sales. In any event we can”t connect as your equipment is incompatible”. We”ve new equipment BT approved.
ABTN contacts Demon who agree to supply the service.
”BT here again. We can now connect you!”
Offer refused.
Changeover made and system running fine for two weeks and then nothing. No Internet and no e-mails. No warning.
Back to Demon.
”Not our fault. BT has cut you off although the service is supplied by us.”
And that is where we are today, the mere customer who in the meantime is struggling to put together ABTN with a 56 kps modem, as we did in the past. The trouble is that things have moved on with people sending large files and photographs expecting the recipient to have Broadband ” ADSL.
Please dear readers don”t send us your stories of woe regarding telecommunications. We hear them the whole time. However if senior management at BT or Demon read ABTN perhaps they can help. In the meantime the editor is going to try and locate his baggage!