[Snap] My Snap! UFB ordering and installation diary

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#977185 30-Jan-2014 11:00

Snap have prevailed on Chorus to use some common sense...

"We’ve had a chat with Chorus and they can give you a call once the external work is completed, so you won’t need to stay home all day.

They’ll need internal access later in the day, likely after 3:30PM, but can liaise with you on the day regarding this."

Great, sounds like I may have UFB in the next couple of weeks :)

timmmay

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#981780 7-Feb-2014 12:49

I just got a call from the Chorus subcontractor... here's the conversation, paraphrased.

Them: "We can't do your install today, can we come tomorrow?"
Me: "I've taken time off work so you can do the work today. Why can't you come today?"
Them: "It was a public holiday yesterday"
Me: Speechless....
Them: "Can we come tomorrow"
Me: "No, I'm working tomorrow".
Them: "Ok I'll call our team leader I'll call you back" (yeah right)

So Chorus, who wanted me to stay home all day, probably aren't going to show up at all. I got up early to get to work so I can leave early, I took some time off as well, and they can't do it because they're too thick to use a calendar. So now probably I have to get up early another day (next Friday at the earliest), request more leave, etc.

This is ridiculous.

Dairusire

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#981784 7-Feb-2014 12:54

I would honestly like to say "that doesn't usually happen", but thats bullsh*t and we all know it happens quite often.

alexisj

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#981799 7-Feb-2014 13:17

Although I can say I had great Snap and Chorus service... But hat's disgraceful!!

timmmay

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#981803 7-Feb-2014 13:25

Someone from Downers contracted to Chorus just called me and asked if they could come to do the install tomorrow instead of today... again. Again I said no I've taken time off today, and I'm working tomorrow, so no you can't come tomorrow. Again they said they'd talk to someone and call me back some time.

Snap, can you get involved to help sort this out? This is disgraceful, even though it's not directly your fault it reflects very poorly on you.

timmmay

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#981820 7-Feb-2014 13:44

Hey, they've changed their minds, someone will be there in 20 minutes. Great I told them, I'll be home around 3pm as previously agreed. They seem ok with that, so maybe it will get done today :) I'm not going to hold my breath of course.

It's over four months from the date I requested UFB, and around four months since the indoor install was done.

Dairusire

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#981824 7-Feb-2014 13:49

Just remember to be reasonably nice to them. As much as I bet you would like to have a crack at them, if you make their job / life as easy they usually respond in kind.

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timmmay

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#981825 7-Feb-2014 13:53

Sure, it's not the technician's fault he works inside a dysfunctional incompetent organisation. I'll even make him a cup of coffee.

sidefx

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#981829 7-Feb-2014 14:00

timmmay:

Me: "I've taken time off work so you can do the work today. Why can't you come today?"
Them: "It was a public holiday yesterday"
Me: Speechless....

That sounds crazy, were they saying\implying that they didn't realise it was a public holiday, so are now a day behind and have other installs to catch up on?

Regardless, let us know how it goes today, I'm holding thumbs and have fingers crossed for a fellow geek :) (I think you're probably right not to hold your breath though)

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

timmmay

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#981831 7-Feb-2014 14:07

Chorus turned up, ready to install the ONT.... um that's already been done. I told them they need to connect the fiber from wherever it is on the street to the external termination point that's already there.

A guy from Chorus called last week to tell me he was going to scope the work that needs to be done today.

Right hand, meet left hand. Left hand, meet right hand.

Dairusire

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#981852 7-Feb-2014 14:39

wut....

Soooo are they installing the cable now though?

timmmay

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#981870 7-Feb-2014 14:45

I have no idea, I'm leaving work now. They didn't even call me themselves, I have painters there and he called me, then put them on the phone. The tech was going to call me back but didn't, so I'd better go find him.

timmmay

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#981907 7-Feb-2014 16:16

The guys were here when I got home. Unfortunately work was on hold due to very heavy rain, but the rain is almost gone and they're doing something now.

Nice guys, perhaps Phillipino, like the last crew who were here. If they don't manage today they'll come back tomorrow or early next week to finish any outside work, as I've given them permission to come any time. If he does the work when I'm not here he'll call past last afternoon when I am home to do the tests.

Like the last crew the on the ground guys are great, it's the management and organisation scheme that need some work.

InstallerUFB

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#982048 7-Feb-2014 18:33

I work for Downers / Im not going to make excuses / Just an explanation of what currently happens

At present all the chorus/downer to install jobs are scheduled and dispatched out of Auckland at the Downer national dispatch centre - the dispatching system has been developed for single dispatch and action of reactive faults ie one tech - one visit - job done. This system is automated with generaly only minor interverntion of dispatch staff.

As we now understand UFB installs they may and more than often do require multipule visits by multipule techs. This is a little bit tricky for the single dispatch system - It can be ok if the job is done in order ie Scope / Civils / External fibre / Internal fibre, as the job can be sent back and forth through the dispatch system in order before the due date with intervention of dispatch staff to keep the job rolling. But If anything is done out of order ie internals before external and then the job is put on hold then the job comes back into the schedule again it can get a bit lost as to which job is being done next.

I would suspect that the problem with the 6th would have been that there would have been no blocks put into the scheduling system for 6th (between Chorus & Downers) and jobs scheduled for that day being pushed into the 7th as well as those for the that day as well.

We can only get better with time with something that is being ramped up at exponential rates with everyone trying to learn what is required at the same rate.

timmmay

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#982086 7-Feb-2014 20:28

Well, it's finally sorted. The team of three guys who did the install worked in the rain and stayed here until 6pm to get the UFB connection working. The guys on the ground have been awesome, both times they were here, really nice guys who seem to have done a really good job. Snap! have been good, they talked me through resetting the Fritzbox patiently even though it was me who messed it up.

Hopefully my experience gets fed back to the powers that be so they can make things better for others. Things can only get better.

Initial impressions: it's pretty fast, I'm getting very close to the 30/10 plan I signed up for. Latency is great, 5ms to some servers. Snap's routing is MUCH smarter than TelstraClear's, going direct to Sydney.

I'll give it a week then I'll cut off my TelstraClear cable connection.

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