Worlds worst Chorus install goes viral.

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Worlds worst Chorus install goes viral.

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#1289366 22-Apr-2015 14:21

In the old days you waited an eternity to get things connected, and it was done their way or no way, and only by the staff from the post office.

In the current days, you have a choice of how wiring is installed in your house, and in most cases who does it. While the fiber run in is still something chorus want to do themselves to the ONT, you can still get your choice of data cabling technicians or electricians to run conduit etc for them to use, and have that put in any way you like that meets chorus specs.

Or you can rely on the taxpayer funded installation which will be the quickest easiest one to get you on the network.

Richard rich.ms

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#1289436 22-Apr-2015 15:26

I sort of (a little bit) feel sorry for the tech in a way. I was installing a cavity slider door at my place a couple of weeks ago with the help of a builder mate, and he was joking about the number of tradies he has seen accidentally screwing or nailing straight through the gib and into the door concealed in the wall. So it would seem to be a reasonably easy mistake to make.

However the biggest mistake with this technician is that he did not advise the person onsite at the time of what he had done - and because she is 'with child' she wasn't exactly standing there watching him the whole time. The tech just told her the install was done on his way out the door and it was another person in the household who discovered the damage when he inspected the install later.

On another note - the person who posted the video online is not the actual Spark bill payer, and is not authorised on the bill payer's account, so even if he had waited long enough to speak to someone in the Spark call centre it is unlikely that they would have discussed the connection with him due to privacy laws. So I do think he jumped the gun a bit with the posting of the video IMHO.

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

mdooher

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#1289559 22-Apr-2015 16:42

richms: In the old days you waited an eternity to get things connected, and it was done their way or no way, and only by the staff from the post office.

In the current days, you have a choice of how wiring is installed in your house, and in most cases who does it. While the fiber run in is still something chorus want to do themselves to the ONT, you can still get your choice of data cabling technicians or electricians to run conduit etc for them to use, and have that put in any way you like that meets chorus specs.

Or you can rely on the taxpayer funded installation which will be the quickest easiest one to get you on the network.

I mean 15-20 years ago not 40

The only time I ran visible cable on the surface was on commercial or industrial installs. Even then most of it was in capping. (oh and we used a mitre box to cut it, not those awful corner pieces available now.)

Matthew

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#1289560 22-Apr-2015 16:44

One thing is for sure, Chorus has lost control of Visionstream.

Many friends have had similar horror stories of UFB installs and the Chorus decision to use and incent only lower cost (read lower quality) installs is a terrible look for UFB. Surface mounted installs externally and internally are standard even if they can trench, dig, go under floor or in roof space. God help UFB uptake in Auckland

richms

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#1289851 22-Apr-2015 23:24

15-20 years ago the standard telecom install was a roll of white cable, a staple gun and going around doors just like that ufb install. Saw dozens of installs like that when looking at houses in the late 90s. Only thing is then you had choice to get someone else to do it. Just like you do now with your cabling.

Richard rich.ms

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#1289953 23-Apr-2015 09:16

Anyone got a copy of this ?

Appears deleted and I want to show an ex chorus tech

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#1290011 23-Apr-2015 10:31

I have been actively involved with this situation, having had several conversations with the person who posted the video online.

The video has been removed from Facebook willingly by the original poster due to an incident that occured yesterday. I am not prepared to go into details so as to protect the privacy of those involved, but suffice it to say the video going viral the way it did caused a certain amount of distress for the technician involved.

While speaking to the customer, he expressed his regret for this distress, as he did not intend it to be a personal attack. He did not expect the video to get as much attention as it did, he just wanted bring about a fix as quickly as possible.

Representatives from Chorus and Visionstream visited the site yesterday along with a builder. The damage caused will be rectified in full, which includes the patching and repainting of several walls as well as the cavity slide door. The fibre installation will also be modified to reduce the amount of visible surface wiring.

The customer now considers the original matter to be resolved and we'll be following up with him once the work is done to ensure he is happy.

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

Lias

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#1290052 23-Apr-2015 11:30

Personally I think it's a shame the video has been removed and the matter now swept under the carpet.

At the end of the day it's not just about the guy who posted this video and his particular install, its about the shoddy workmanship and cost cutting practises now becoming rampant in Chorus related installs (and by some accounts VisionStream in particular). We need more videos like this, and more publicity around them to ensure that Chorus do a pristine job, every time, not merely remediate bad installs when they are shamed into doing so.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup. Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

mdooher

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#1290056 23-Apr-2015 11:36

Lias: Personally I think it's a shame the video has been removed and the matter now swept under the carpet.

At the end of the day it's not just about the guy who posted this video and his particular install, its about the shoddy workmanship and cost cutting practises now becoming rampant in Chorus related installs (and by some accounts VisionStream in particular). We need more videos like this, and more publicity around them to ensure that Chorus do a pristine job, every time, not merely remediate bad installs when they are shamed into doing so.

Who drills a hole through a wall without looking at the other side?, (apart from sky installers) I can almost forgive the cavity slider but not the fact that he didn't notice the different skirting heights on each side of the wall.

Matthew

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#1290059 23-Apr-2015 11:39

We need more videos like this, and more publicity around them to ensure that Chorus do a pristine job, every time, not merely remediate bad installs when they are shamed into doing so.

I don't accept this - the video was posted before any contact was made with either the ISP or Chorus, so there was no opportunity to remediate before the video surfaced. Unfortunately we don't know what we don't know.

No-one has been shamed into fixing it - it would have been fixed in the same manner and at the same speed if the customer had merely called to advise there was a problem.

And to make myself very clear - the person who posted the video was not asked or told to remove it, he did so of his own accord once certain facts came to light, so nothing has been 'swept under the carpet'.

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

richms

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#1290082 23-Apr-2015 12:15

Would they have had the same resolution had they not posted the video? I doubt it.

Richard rich.ms

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#1290087 23-Apr-2015 12:20

video never worked for me ... any youtube links?

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#1290104 23-Apr-2015 12:31

richms: Would they have had the same resolution had they not posted the video? I doubt it.

Well I haven't done anything for this customer that I wouldn't do for anyone else. Liaising with Chorus (and other LFC's) to sort out fibre installation issues is my team's primary role, and in this case we escalated to the correct department at Chorus as soon as we became aware of the problem, which would have been sooner had the customer made contact with Spark directly via the call centre. As far as I am concerned this case has not been treated different to any other installation problem, apart from the way we were alerted to it.

My team deals with literally dozens of installation issues every week, the majority of which are sorted out just as quickly as this example.

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

Lias

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#1290117 23-Apr-2015 12:50

Wheelbarrow01:

I don't accept this - the video was posted before any contact was made with either the ISP or Chorus, so there was no opportunity to remediate before the video surfaced. Unfortunately we don't know what we don't know.

No-one has been shamed into fixing it - it would have been fixed in the same manner and at the same speed if the customer had merely called to advise there was a problem.

And to make myself very clear - the person who posted the video was not asked or told to remove it, he did so of his own accord once certain facts came to light, so nothing has been 'swept under the carpet'.

I think your missing the point here, Chorus does crap installs, most customers don't know any better so they live with it. The quality of Chorus installs has gotten noticeably worse since they implemented their cost cutting measures because their shareholders were having a cry. There is anecdotal evidence that some installers have been explicitly told to stop doing high quality installs. This video has probably done more to raise awareness of bad UFB installs than any of the many threads on GeekZone documenting shoddy UFB installs in the past. If Chorus/Visionstream didn't ask him to take it down, and truly have nothing to hide they should tell him to reinstate it, but they won't because they do have something to hide.

I can't help but feel you're being defensive because the video was posted to Spark's Facebook rather than Chorus and you've been caught in the crossfire. I'm sure you and your team do a good job, but if dealing with issues like this is your job then surely you have a vested interest in preventing pressure being brought to bear on Chorus to ensure they actually do a good job for everyone in the first place and stop trying to cut corners and save money?

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#1290202 23-Apr-2015 14:59

Lias:
Wheelbarrow01:

I don't accept this - the video was posted before any contact was made with either the ISP or Chorus, so there was no opportunity to remediate before the video surfaced. Unfortunately we don't know what we don't know.

No-one has been shamed into fixing it - it would have been fixed in the same manner and at the same speed if the customer had merely called to advise there was a problem.

And to make myself very clear - the person who posted the video was not asked or told to remove it, he did so of his own accord once certain facts came to light, so nothing has been 'swept under the carpet'.

I think your missing the point here, Chorus does crap installs, most customers don't know any better so they live with it. The quality of Chorus installs has gotten noticeably worse since they implemented their cost cutting measures because their shareholders were having a cry. There is anecdotal evidence that some installers have been explicitly told to stop doing high quality installs. This video has probably done more to raise awareness of bad UFB installs than any of the many threads on GeekZone documenting shoddy UFB installs in the past. If Chorus/Visionstream didn't ask him to take it down, and truly have nothing to hide they should tell him to reinstate it, but they won't because they do have something to hide.

I can't help but feel you're being defensive because the video was posted to Spark's Facebook rather than Chorus and you've been caught in the crossfire. I'm sure you and your team do a good job, but if dealing with issues like this is your job then surely you have a vested interest in preventing pressure being brought to bear on Chorus to ensure they actually do a good job for everyone in the first place and stop trying to cut corners and save money?

No I get it, and I am fully aware that there is room for improvement with some installs. As previously stated I cannot go into the reasons why the poster chose to voluntarily remove the video, other than to say that in some respects the video caused a bigger problem than it solved, and to publish it again now would only exacerbate that, but I can assure you there is no conspiracy theory or ulterior motive behind the reason for its deletion.

I'm not at all defensive - on the contrary I am happy the video ended up on the Spark Facebook page because in the absence of the customer reporting the issue to Spark via the call centre, it enabled us to become aware of an issue that we previously had no knowledge of.

Chorus have worked with us to bring about a satisfactory resolution quickly which is all we can ask after the fact. Lessons will be learned from this and hopefully installs will improve as a result, and situations like this may be prevented in the first place.

My team have plenty of ongoing and frustrating issues with a number of fibre orders, and we continue to work daily with Chorus towards positive outcomes, so I agree that I do have a vested interest in pressure being brought to bear on Chorus - less issues means less work for me (which I think is a good thing?)

This particular issue has been dealt with using the standard tools available to us, and was not treated as a special case, despite the widespread distribution of the video. My team jmps on every issue with the same voracity as all our customers are important to us.

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

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