A balanced look at Woosh...

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byteshertz

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#63671 1-Jul-2010 20:03

This was originally a reply to another thread here:
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=41&topicid=63367&page_no=1#347081

But I decided that this was actually worthy of it's own topic being created so people can see what I have gone through even after I attempted to give woosh a fair go.

Reply # 346831 posted on 30-JUN-2010 04:11

I am currently with woosh on ADSL2.

Here is my attempt to give an unbiased view since this company is getting slammed alot:

Pro's

Price for data (When compared to others in NZ - still expensive compared to rest of world)

General Speed: I dont know about others but i get about 10mbps usually right now its early morning and off peak and I am getting 12.58mbps/560kbps up so I definetly can not complain about speed - however it must be noted that speed is not much use if it can not effectively be used for the most common uses: Torrent's / streaming video

Con's

Customer service: Not 24/7 - most are these days, most people I have dealt with are robot's and do not actually understand anything they are doing they just follow proceedure - this is very typical of most companies and in their defence I have worked for alot of ISP's so I don't buy the usual broad answers that are given to buy more time to get educated or get rid of the customer.

Latency: In fairness I am based all the way down in Queenstown - I have noticed crazy latency even after requesting interleaving be disabled - my ping tests show national traffic ranges from 80 - 130ms, international to sydney i get anywhere from 90ms to 600ms. This is on multiple computers with clean O/S installations. VOIP IS A NO GO

Horrible shaping: Torrents get as low as 35 kbps at times which can last all day but magically jumps up dead on midnight (bit strange because from my understanding wooh's cut over time is 1am - but did notice 'my account' went unavailable due to 'maintenance' at this same time indicating this is on their end)

- When shaping occurs it often effects services such as youtube too

Current result from Glasnost test as I write this (this is when it is good speeds):

Your ISP appears to rate limit uploads on port 53527. In our tests, uploads on port 6881 achieved up to 153 Kbps while uploads on port 53527 achieved up to 332 Kbps.

Conclusion:

Would recommend for light users

Would advise caution to gamers as I am not sure if other ISP's would have same latency

Would advise anyone who downloads torrents to stay clear as I am pretty certain the shaping of ports is effecting other services such as video streaming (buffering takes forever, tested multiple PC's) but this could be caused also by the latency.

I will run another Glasnost test tomorrow once my torrent's are being heavily shaped again and report back.

TO WOOSH (I know you are watching): Your pricing is comparitively great, stop cost cutting so much corners around bandwidth purchasing - i would understand if the plans were still unlimited but now they are not STOP SHAPPING! It is unfair and very misleading to offer broadband 'as fast as your line can go' and then put limitations on - if a customer is on a big plan let them get the service they pay for.
And lastly - i leave this off my main report for your sake: Educate your CSR's that when someone wishes to have their credit card details removed from your system they have every right to.

Reply # 347007 posted on 30-JUN-2010 17:01

Ok I am capped today as I didnt realise my data does not come through until midnight tonight :( - Called customer service because this modem they have supplied me freezes every a least twice a day, which is not good enough as I need to access me computer remotely and cant be running home to reset the modem twice a day - REMOTE ACCESS IS ALSO SHOCKING because woosh shapes the upload.

My attempt to give woosh a fair view is looking to be in vain because every corner i turn they seem to be cutting costs resulting in big wastes of my time and if they had it their way would cost me too.

I have given up speaking to their uneducated and untrained CSRs caused by COST CUTTING!
Who there are obviously not enough of due to wait times caused by COST CUTTING!
I want to talk to them about my horrible packet shaping caused by COST CUTTING!
and a cheap pos modem (cost me $70!) I recieved thanks to their COST CUTTING!
that is faulty. I have sent them an email - but they never seem to answer my emails probably due to COST CUTTING! Hmm anyone else seeing a pattern here?

Yes folks I changed my view - DONT GO TO WOOSH UNLESS YOU CAN AFFORD TO PUT UP WITH HEAVY COST CUTTING AT YOUR SERVICES EXPENSE!

I am cancelling my contract as we speak - these guys also dont understand what the consumer guarantees act is and that it has more power than their flimsy company policies.

timbosan

2159 posts

Uber Geek

#347091 1-Jul-2010 20:21

Interesting enough, I have been a Woosh customer for years, and find the service (that's is the technical aspects of delivering an Internet service, not the customer service) to be OK. I have used Wireless Woosh in several different locations, and currently get it even though I am outside the official coverage area through roof mounting the antenna.

Admittedly I only use the service as a backup to my ADLS2+, and occasionally when I want to download a torrent, or even around town through the PCMCIA data base, but it seems to work OK enough when surfing as well.

BUT, I haven't used it as a day-to-day service for a while, and the customer service levels might have dropped, but I haven't needed to call them for a couple of years now....

Just wanted to say there are people out there who find the service workable (I have never used their DSL service so cannot comment on that).

byteshertz

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#347094 1-Jul-2010 20:24

Thanks for that timbosan. I admit my view is only based on their ADSL2 service not the wireless but the customer service they provide combined with their money hungry way they try to lock in a customer who has only just signed up is a joke.

jen1001

256 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#347218 2-Jul-2010 10:11

timbosan: Interesting enough, I have been a Woosh customer for years, and find the service (that's is the technical aspects of delivering an Internet service, not the customer service) to be OK. I have used Wireless Woosh in several different locations, and currently get it even though I am outside the official coverage area through roof mounting the antenna.

Admittedly I only use the service as a backup to my ADLS2+, and occasionally when I want to download a torrent, or even around town through the PCMCIA data base, but it seems to work OK enough when surfing as well.

BUT, I haven't used it as a day-to-day service for a while, and the customer service levels might have dropped, but I haven't needed to call them for a couple of years now....

Just wanted to say there are people out there who find the service workable (I have never used their DSL service so cannot comment on that).

That was pretty much my experience with Woosh, until I moved closer to the viaduct in Auckland and had to use their booster antenna which gave me negative signal half of the time unless I spent 10 minutes every time moving it on my window. Customer service on the phone trying to troubleshoot wasn't that great either. Apparently according to their website I didn't even need one at my address

. Switched to Vodafone a few months ago because usage changed and I also needed a proper landline, but I would never go back to Woosh.

Don't bother calling them after 9pm, you'll get someone who will tell you to call back in the morning. Some of their CSRs were pretty good, but most were shocking.

dolsen

1476 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#347247 2-Jul-2010 11:40

My experience,

Was with woosh when it first started in Wellington (even had my purchase price of the modem refunded due to being one of the first). Was never that good, speed wise. Annoyingly, after buying the kit, Woosh changed their terms of service, meaning, I could not roam with the device without paying more (one of the reasons I brought it).

Later, I rang their customer service about a billing enquiry. Their online system was saying they had charged or were going to charge (can't remember) an incorrect amount from my credit card. The person I spoke to was very, very rude, the worst customer service I have ever received. She basically was telling me off for worrying about what their online system was saying, and telling me I should be looking at my credit card statement, not their system. Anyway, the amount that was charged to my account was the correct amount, which was different to the amount indicated by their system.

Later on, about 6 months after I cancelled their service, there was a charge of 1 cent billed to my credit card. I regret not making them go to the hassle of refunding that 1 cent, but, they would be paid for the time following that up, whereas, I wouldn't.

I am surprised they are still in business. What's their biggest asset as of now?

nickb800

2715 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#347264 2-Jul-2010 12:30

dolsen:

I am surprised they are still in business. What's their biggest asset as of now?

Radio spectrum Id guess. Lets hope they reincarnate with decent customer service, decent backhaul and WiMax!

I feel so so sorry for the thousands of people in apartments or student hostels with no choice but woosh

s.joseph

587 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#347266 2-Jul-2010 12:45

i have woosh at the moment. its crap for gamers, light users pretty much everyone.... true story

byteshertz

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#347270 2-Jul-2010 12:56

(byteshertz@*******)

Sent:
Friday, 2 July 2010 12:54:33 a.m.

To:
support@woosh.com

My answer's are in red below, I would be happy to speak with David again for another attempt at resolution regarding this reply. Woosh has just offered me to waive a disconnection fee if I agree to have my service disconnected immediatly but agree to pay my pro-rata charges to the end of the month
- to clarify are you asking me to exchange my legal right to have the connection fee waived due to a service being sold that does not meet it's intended purpose for a service that I pay for but can not use at all?

Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2010 12:35:05 +1200
From: support@woosh.com
To: byteshertz@*******
CC: ********@woosh.co.nz
Subject: Woosh Account [InteractionID: 5bddedf7-a7d1-4953-aa0a-73810dd88***]

Dear *****,

As per our previous discussion we have investigated further into your Woosh connection and unfortunately we are not able to waive your cancellation fee.

Please refer to the following terms and conditions for more information.

While we will do our best to provide the Services to a high standard, because of the nature of telecommunications services, it is impossible for us to provide perfect, continuous or fault free Services or ensure that the coverage or speed of the Services will not vary from time to time. Very true - however this is not caused by 'the nature of telecommunications services' this is caused by your company applying restrictions to the service to save money on a service that I have paid for and was quoted to me as being "As fast as the line can handle". The quality, coverage and speed of the Services depends on your location; It sure does, I can prove that when not being shaped I get a good service at my location and that it is woosh's policies that are causing the problem to a range of services not just the torrent's you target.

the configuration of any home network you may operate; the configuration of your equipment or that of your intended recipient; your use of the internet or calling, the configuration of our network (including changes to the configuration of our network), the networks of other operators to which our network is connected; geographic factors, network congestion, maintenance or other operational or technical difficulties which may affect the Services. None of the above apply to my situation as this is a restriction you company is choosing to apply, these are just standard ways in which telecommunication's companies try to put the blame back on the customer or network - In this case it does not apply at all.

There are certain periods during the day that you could access your broadband service at faster speeds than other periods. When the network is most likely to be congested (Peak) comparing to when the network is most likely to have less traffic (Off Peak):

Off peak: approx. between 1am to 7am. While my data flow is better, You still shape during offpeak times.

Peak: approx. between 4pm and 1am. You shape during onpeak times.

We may use traffic prioritisation policies for the broadband plans at any time to improve the overall performance amongst our customers.
Yes you may but as outlined in my previous email your policies are so heavy that you are effecting all my traffic rendering the broadband service you provide me unable to meet any of it's intended purchases which under the consumer guarantee's act 1993 renders our contract invalid.

Woosh prioritises certain types of traffic such as web and email. Other types of traffic such as peer to peer (P2P) are de-prioritised.
Your deprioritising of p2p traffic whilst unethical in my point of view is acceptable, However it is latency effecting gaming, video streaming, audio streaming and remote access that is also being effected rendering my service unusable.
You can find these terms and conditions and more from the following website.

www.woosh.com/tc

Please note you are not on a 18 month contract; you are on a 12 month contract. I appologise for the confusion your CSR yesterday was telling me because I have a modem I am on a 18month contract

Thank you for your enquiry. If you need any further information or there is anything else we can help with, please don't hesitate to get in contact on 0800 4WOOSH (0800 496 674 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0800 496 674 end_of_the_skype_highlighting).
Your reference number for this enquiry is #1017775.

Regards,

Customer Service Team

Woosh Wireless
Tel: +64 (9) 522 3699 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +64 (9) 522 3699 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: +64 (9) 520 3447
0800 4 WOOSH

The information in this electronic mail and its attachments is legally privileged and confidential. If the reader of this electronic mail and attachments is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination or reproduction of this electronic mail its contents and attachments is prohibited.

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Charles000

78 posts

Master Geek

#350052 11-Jul-2010 22:56

In my experience they are either suffering from horrible congestion and a lack of bandwidth, or they are shaping aggressively. Sometimes I do get full speed transfers (i.e. FS/FS for my line), but typically they are slow and things like video streaming are impossible to use.

1080p

1332 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#350144 12-Jul-2010 10:38

My single experience with Woosh was one I never want to experience again. Back in 2004 I signed up in a university hostel as there was no other option for broadband. We (several hundred university students) were told that we'd be exempt from early termination fees on our accounts as we were signing up en masse which impressed me.

Come the end of the university year and I attempted to end my Woosh service I was told I was paying a termination fee and needed to return my equipment by a certain date or be liable for that cost as well. I was informed that they were sending out courier bags to me to facilitate the return which was fair. Their help desk explained there were _no_ exceptions to the 12 month contract (though it was physically written and signed so by the Woosh salesman on my contract and I had explained this to them multiple times).

The bags did not arrive until a day after the date the modem was supposed to be returned (I tracked the package and saw it was sent on the day I had to have the modems returned by) but I packaged them up and sent them on their way.

Later that week, I still hadn't paid them a cent and had now headed home for the summer, I was called and informed I would receive a bill for the modem and also needed to pay my disconnection fee.

To say the least I was very unimpressed by this point; I didn't care much for the apparent rudeness with which I was being treated and the blatant lies either the salesman or the CSRs were telling. I decided I'd had enough so I quite literally switched my phone off for the summer.

In hindsight this wasn't the wisest move on my part but it was my first bad experience with any company anywhere.

Lo and behold my first day back as a student next year I received a call from a lovely lady from Baycorp asking to confirm my address and contact details and informing me that Woosh were pursuing me in regards to non-return of modem equipment and non-payment of a disconnection fee from their services. I would be liable for these costs as well as any incurred by Baycorp employees recovering them blah, blah, blah...

Needless to say that I panicked and ended up having some very terse words with several CSRs and sending an incredibly patronising e-mail to them including my track and trace of their parcel and mine; and a scan of my copy of their contract.

The matter was apparently dropped as I didn't hear back from them them and after requesting copies of my credit report from both D&B and Veda Advantage there was no enquiry made by Baycorp in the end so I was happy as one could be.

In regards to the quality of their service I noticed it was slow and unreliable almost all of the time. I was across the road from one of their cell towers and had perfect line of sight. I even tried a booster antenna which didn't do a thing. I ended up putting it down to the fact that there were so many people using Woosh in the same location but that entire year my broadband performance was unacceptable.

I now tell everyone who asks my advice to steer well clear of Woosh.