Telecom's Helpdesk.

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Telecom's Helpdesk.

mattk

255 posts

Ultimate Geek

#58691 17-Mar-2010 11:03

Has anyone had any success with the Telecom helpdesk?

I'm on the line to them right now, I told he girl I was playing a PC game using steam, and she asked "is that on xbox or PS3?" then said "I will be put you on hold and doing all the check needed."

The thing is that this situation is not unique! This is the 3rd time i've called in as many days regarding a poor ping and everytime its the same drawn out saga with no resolution.

Does anyone have a number I can call to talk to a local!? I have the distinct feeling she has no idea what I am saying.

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BDFL - Memuneh
79289 posts

Uber Geek

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Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#308197 17-Mar-2010 11:11

What makes you think a local would know what a "PC game on Steam" is?

ronindanbo

180 posts

Master Geek

#308218 17-Mar-2010 11:52

The problem stemming with the Phillipines callcentre is they have a script that must be strictly adhered to, having said this there are several Phillipino opps in telecom I have talked to who were really good and also dealing with the XBox 360 helpdesk in the phillipines is so good its not funny.

I think its more to do with the corporates processes rather than the people, I do know from bitter experience that Telecom are not good when it comes to training thier CSR's

mattk

255 posts

Ultimate Geek

#308220 17-Mar-2010 11:57

freitasm: What makes you think a local would know what a "PC game on Steam" is?

Well I was kinda hoping she would after saying "yes" to the question "Can you help me with online gaming?"

I'm sorry but this is a terrible (56 minutes and counting) experience, I'm now having her ask me if I have consulted google with my problem. Neither of us can understand each other. I'm not sure Google can tell me why ports are open during the day and closed at night, guessing the answer isn't in her list of responses either. My next ISP will definately have their helpdesk in NZ.

/rant

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#308237 17-Mar-2010 12:22

what is her accent like?

If it is anything but American then you probably are talking to a local.

Also, I'm pretty sure only the tier 1 helpdesk is in manilla - they deal with the most basic problems like resetting modems and making sure your PC is plugged in, checking your filters work, that sort of thing.

They would probably have no idea what 'open ports' even means.

as for your problem with poor ping, are you
a) on Big Time

and/or

b) connecting to servers other than in NZ or Australia.

ronindanbo

180 posts

Master Geek

#308246 17-Mar-2010 12:40

also with internet response or bandwidth issues you should actually make sure the line is OK, call telecom faults and ask them to do a line test first, this is what I did after manilla told me to replace my ADSL router which I am glad I did otherwise I would have been out of pocket for a simple dirty phone line.

Detruire

1771 posts

Uber Geek

#308258 17-Mar-2010 13:13

freitasm: What makes you think a local would know what a "PC game on Steam" is?

Regardless of if someone knows what Steam is, shouldn't a "PC game" imply that it's on a computer, not Xbox or Playstation?

rm *

uktuatara

149 posts

Master Geek

#308268 17-Mar-2010 13:29

Is a broadband helpdesk, Telecom or not, responsible for;
a. the broadband connection
b. the services you run across the connection
c. all of the above?

I'm not stating an answer, just wondering what the expectation is, what does a broadband helpdesk ACTUALLY support and therefore have to know about?

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mattk

255 posts

Ultimate Geek

#308289 17-Mar-2010 14:03

The problem has been happening over the last 3 nights, Steam is reporting ~600-700 ping (NZ server), games are unplayable. The game is hosted by an xnet user on the north shore.

If I tracert his ip it's around 9 hops, if he tracert's my ip it's 15 hops then times out. I've forwarded all the appropriate ports and during the day they are all open, looks good - in the evening however it's reporting it as blocked (using the portforward.com tool)

I've tried other servers, and every other tweak steam has to offer but looking at those tracert results i'm pretty sure it's not steam. More than likely bigtime

I've tried explaining all this to the helpdesk girl but to be honest I don't think she understands a word of it... She just starts reading off the instructions for port forwarding off the Thompson quick start guide.

If anyone has any ideas i'd be more than greatful for them!

ronindanbo

180 posts

Master Geek

#308291 17-Mar-2010 14:07

Is it only online gaming whats yur general surfing like, streamed vids etc?

mattk

255 posts

Ultimate Geek

#308294 17-Mar-2010 14:11

ronindanbo: Is it only online gaming whats yur general surfing like, streamed vids etc?

Surfing is a little laggy but I can still max out my connection on an international download, only seems to affect my ping. Interstingly enough xbox live is still <50ms so whatever is going on isn't affecting that!

Cheers,

Matt.

ronindanbo

180 posts

Master Geek

#308295 17-Mar-2010 14:14

uhuh thats interesting, I wonder if it is port selection, I know some ports are secured by default in Telecom (port 25 for instance). it is also important to note there seems to have been some service issues recently in Telecom (and maybe other ISP's) as other threads on this forum seem to indicate this week.

mattk

255 posts

Ultimate Geek

#308300 17-Mar-2010 14:23

ronindanbo: uhuh thats interesting, I wonder if it is port selection, I know some ports are secured by default in Telecom (port 25 for instance). it is also important to note there seems to have been some service issues recently in Telecom (and maybe other ISP's) as other threads on this forum seem to indicate this week.

There's definately been some noise recently about lag, also on gpforums, here's the ports used:

UDP 27000 to 27015 inclusive (Game client traffic)

UDP 27015 to 27030 inclusive (Typically Matchmaking and HLTV)

TCP 27014 to 27050 inclusive (Steam downloads)

UDP 4380

I was asking if these ports would be blocked by telecom, but the more than helpful young lady said Telecom didn't block any ports, but they may be blocked depending on the kind of traffic was on those ports.

In the same breath?

Since it is the same set of ports for all Steam games one would think it'd be the allow list.

ronindanbo

180 posts

Master Geek

#308304 17-Mar-2010 14:28

I certainly havent noticed an issue with Steam, tho I am on a pro plan but was playing Star Trek Online last night and noticed I was getting lag after 6pm which I havent got before.

Telecom do block ports (I know for a fact one of the e-mail ports is now blocked for incoming due to spam prob 25?) so I dont think she is very up to the play however like I said before they can only tell you what Telecom tells them and from experience that isnt a hell of alot.

mattk

255 posts

Ultimate Geek

#308310 17-Mar-2010 14:45

Telecom do block ports (I know for a fact one of the e-mail ports is now blocked for incoming due to spam prob 25?) so I dont think she is very up to the play however like I said before they can only tell you what Telecom tells them and from experience that isnt a hell of alot.

Bingo. Last ISP I had was xnet and there was a gamer on their helpdesk who was nothing short of awesome. Straight black and white answers, 5 minutes and you were back in the game. I'd rather sit on hold 20 minutes and get someone good than spend an hour listening to a script reading - I may as well have been listening to my mother reading the modem instructions to me

ronindanbo

180 posts

Master Geek

#308316 17-Mar-2010 14:52

interesting thread here http://pressf1.pcworld.co.nz/showthread.php?p=861091

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