Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


pennells

30 posts

Geek


#130650 23-Sep-2013 10:58
Send private message

Hi all, 

I'm a long-time reader, first time poster.  I've been motivated to post because of my horror of a swap to Snap that I thought other potential customers should know about.

My decision to move to Snap came after reading loads of good reports on this forum about both their service and plans.  I've had years of trouble-free service with fyx but I wanted to move to a data plan and VDSL, so after a lot of research I decided on Snap.  In my experience so far, their good reputation is thoroughly undeserved.

My connection was due to swap over on Saturday.  No time indication was given, which was concerning as I was expecting a tech to visit my house, but I figured I would hear from them when they were ready.  So I clear my Saturday to make sure I'm available.  Come 5pm, I've had no contact at all from Snap or Chorus, but then my internet dies a few minutes later so I figure things are finally happening.  

I swap my router over to the Snap one.  Problem 1 - no ADSL cable.  I call the Snap call centre and wait on hold for 25mins.  The CSR looks at my order and advises that the Chorus job has been put on hold.  I then realise that of course there has been no Chorus technician visit yet.  The CSR can't find out why it's on hold, and is "not allowed" to escalate to Chorus to find out unless it's a medical emergency (?!).  I'm pretty annoyed that no-one from Chorus or Snap bothered to tell me there was a problem, and I'm more than pretty annoyed that they would disconnect my old ISP before they were ready to supply me. 

I now have no internet for at least the rest of the weekend; possibly even longer.  I was meant to be working from home on the Sunday, so I ad to travel in to the office to do this instead.  And ASSUMING they can get this working during the week, I will need to take time off work to meet the Chorus tech - not that I even know when this will be!  So the cost to me in my time, money, and time off work is adding up.  And so is my frustration.

Now why on earth would you arrange a connection on a weekend, if your service agreement with your wholesaler is only during standard business hours?   And why would you not check that you were ready to supply before disconnecting a customer's previous supply?  Snap is feeling like a real mickey-mouse outfit to me so far.

I think the worst part was that the two people I spoke to from Snap offered no empathy (or apology until I specifically asked for one).  The general attitude was "this is the situation, you'll just have to wait.  There's nothing we can do".  There was no responsibility and no ownership of the problem.  I'm afraid Snap that if YOU employ a third-party it is still YOUR responsibility when they don't deliver.  It's not good enough to just blame them and make no effort to fix the problem.  When I mentioned how unimpressed I was and that I would be reconsidering whether to proceed with Snap, I was threatened with breach of contract.  Seriously?!  For a contract that Snap has failed to actually deliver to themselves?  Unbelievable.

The tech did at least keep his promise and update me this morning, but there is still no resolution. Apparently the issue is in the exchange, but they have no ETA for the next update let alone the resolution.  They also haven't yet arranged the Chorus tech to visit my home - and it wasn't until I pointed this out that I got a "hmm good point" response.  I work full time so am not in a position to just drop everything and head home when it's convenient for them, and it astounds me that it is me that has to point out things like this.

All in all, this has been extremely frustrating and mammothly inconvenient.  I haven't completely written you off yet Snap, but you had better be planning to put this right, or at the very least pay for my reconnection to my previous provider.

View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2
PeterReader
6019 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

  #901058 23-Sep-2013 10:58
Send private message

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

 



 

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

 



 

- you have reset your modem and router

 


 

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

 

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

 


 

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

 


 

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

 



 

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

 



 

- Your ISP and plan

 


 

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

 


 

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

 


 

- Your general location (or street)

 


 

- If you are rural or urban

 


 

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

 


 

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

 


 

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

 



 

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

 



 

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

 



 

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

 



 

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

 


 

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?




I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

 

Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSyncBackblaze backup




ubergeeknz
3344 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Vocus

  #901089 23-Sep-2013 11:11
Send private message

Why would a tech visit your house?  In the case of changing from one provider without LLU to another, there's no physical change at all, in fact Chorus just remap your connection from one provider to another.  In the case of a change from LLU to LLU or LLU to Chorus Wholesale, you are re-patched at the exchange.  There's no reason for a tech to visit your house.

Modem cables (I assume this is what you refer to?) are standard.  So you could have simply used the cable you already had if the modem was missing a cable.

I suggest you call them today and follow up.  This sort of thing happens all the time unfortunately but there really isn't much you can do, and also not much Snap can do beyond following up with Chorus.

surfisup1000
5288 posts

Uber Geek


  #901090 23-Sep-2013 11:12
Send private message

Bare with it -- new connections are often troublesome -- in my case, snap sent a faulty modem, surmised the line was probably faulty -  chorus 'fixed' the line, then we realised the modem was faulty. Snap would not send me a new modem right away ---- I had to return the faulty modem before Snap would sent out a new modem.    And, because the weekend was in the way, it meant i was without a phone over the entire weekend too.   Personally, I think this was very shoddy service from Snap but no ISP is perfect right?  It was frustrating at the time though. 

But, after the intial hassles , Snap have been superb -- their product structure is better than telecom (in my circumstances) and great performance 99% of the time.  I've had one or 2 short instances of slow downs -whether it was snap I don't know.    




pennells

30 posts

Geek


  #901094 23-Sep-2013 11:16
Send private message

Re: tech, I dunno, Snap said they would have to visit for a swap from ADSL to VDSL. 
Re: cable.  The one from my old modem doesn't fit the snap box, the snap box needs Ethernet at one end, phone jack at the other.  It wasn't supplied with anything that goes into a phone jack at all, only Ethernet cables.

Oblivian
7304 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

  #901124 23-Sep-2013 11:34
Send private message

The Fritzbox?, has 2/4 ethernet outlets. Of which 1 becomes 'in' if you have an external device (UFB/ISDN), but the adsl/vdsl socket is still a multi-port - fits RJ45, RJ11 or RJ14 (the small end of the phone cords) just fine to allow fallback to cables already in use.

The visit is when chorus, who have finished one of their many indetermined length jobs they are on (this is spoken about elsewhere recently) will install Cat-5 to the wall outlet from the new xdsl splitter that is required

Kraven
729 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #901125 23-Sep-2013 11:35
Send private message

pennells: Re: cable.  The one from my old modem doesn't fit the snap box, the snap box needs Ethernet at one end, phone jack at the other.  It wasn't supplied with anything that goes into a phone jack at all, only Ethernet cables.


You plug the RJ11 connector into the RJ45 socket on the Fritzbox. I can't recall if I read that on here or on the Snap instructions that shipped with the Fritz as I don't have them handy.

GoneTomorrow
31 posts

Geek
Inactive user


  #901190 23-Sep-2013 13:09
Send private message

 Re: cable.  The one from my old modem doesn't fit the snap box, the snap box needs Ethernet at one end, phone jack at the other.  It wasn't supplied with anything that goes into a phone jack at all, only Ethernet cables.


As above, your existing cable definitely works, I am using one. I am surprised you didn't just try it as it clearly looks like it fits.

I believe Snap supplies an ethernet cable for modem-to-wall because when Chorus does the install, the intended method is a dedicated new RJ45 wall jack for the VDSL. I didn't have this done because my wall jack was dual purpose with coax, so I just used my existing ADSL one.

 
 
 

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).
SamF
1581 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #901219 23-Sep-2013 13:41
Send private message

I think the real issue here is chorus, not snap...

Vladmax
39 posts

Geek
Inactive user


  #901497 23-Sep-2013 21:17
Send private message

I can't agree with the poster at all. I had my connection done about a month ago and it was a perfect roll.... Snap advised that connection would be ready by XX date and it was ready to roll on exactly that day. Plugged in FRITZBOX and off it goes. There were couple of issues down the track but only minor.... and they were fixed in timely manner and tech support guys on the phone were great help.

First one was when no one could phone my number but I could phone out. Quick call to snap fixed the problem on the following day. Second - was exactly the same but it was about a week later and it so happened it was Saturday, no one could call my number again, I called SNAP they said tech will not be available untill Monday so I chilled all weekend with no one bothering me :) and was happy as. It wasn't sorted Monday, but I could care less, it was sorted on Tuesday without me having to follow up and was to do with something on SNAP's side...

But who cares if it takes a day or two or even a week longer. You gotta learn to chill out and be calm, I think people are overreacting when they have no internet connection for a day or two. Even a week, so what??? your facebook friends will disappear if you're not online for a week? You gotta learn to be cool when something like this happens, it's not the end of the world.. go out, go somewhere nice, spend some time with real people, with family... People get anxious if they have forgotten their smartphone or if they have no internet access for a little bit... they don't know what to do with themselves... some even have suicidal thought, that's just getting crazy...

For exactly same reason there's no need to be angry with the tech support, if they can't help you straight away they will not be able to help you if you start abusing them, at the end of the day the guys on the other side of the phone got nothing to do with your problem, they can only try their best and route it through the right channel to get it solved. But if they have no ability to solve it right away and offer to solve it later there's nothing you can do and there's nothing they can do either. It's like with day and night, no mater how hard you want for the next day to come, you can even fart to death, but it will not come any earlier then it is supposed to.

BTW. When I was swapping to Snap's VDSL they did have a deal where Splitter & Wiring was installed Free of Charge. They would arrange for the Chorus tech to come over and do it, it took Chorus about 2 weeks before someone actually turned up (no one was home), then Chorus tech called and left message, then SNAP followed up with phone call saying I need to arrange time with Chorus tech to finish connection. Well, I had my wiring sorted long before then (CAT6 from demarcation point all the way through the house, no VDSL filter as it is SNAP+ VoIP), so didn't need a tech to do any wiring. But they kept insisting, and I kept ignoring., what this done though is Chorus had my connection hogged and marked as NOT COMPLETE for a few weeks (not sure what it is now), but it had no effect on performance at all. The only downside is that when I called snap to check my line stats they couldn't log into the exchange due to that reason. Got a call from Chorus yesterday (that's month and a half from date I was connected, so you see it's not SNAP, it's chorus got no sense of time) asking if everything was done and I'm happy with the connection LOL, I said yes all is good, told em to chill as I don't want them to mess around with my connection or wiring.

I am very happy with my new connection. Internet is a blaze, SNAP+ VoIP service is working perfect, FritzBox is an awesome design... I had mine blocking all calls after 8PM :) just don't like to be bothered at that time of the day.... it has got other handy features.

I'm very happy with SNAP support, even though I only called them a couple of times they were really helpful, always polite and always trying to offer best solution. Always trying to apologize if the solution they offered was not "right away" solution. I said, dude relax, it's not a life threatening situation, no one's gonna die if I have no internet or phone for some time, I can wait a few days.. in case of the emergency there are other means available. I think that made them happy as well.

I think people are too dependent on all the gadgets nowadays and that's where the problem is.

I recommend everyone with a "rush-rush" attitude take a chill pill... :) Soб if you experience a delay in your ISP swap or have some issues let the guys work their pace and get your problem sorted while you do an experiment on yourself at the same time - find out if you can handle a few days technology free or see if you have severe addiction symptoms like nausea, anxiety, feeling stressed and unhappy, feeling lack of social factor, having trouble completing tasks at work or home, feeling defensive about your Internet use... if that's the case you might need to visit a doctor as you've been screwed by tech companies already.

Oh, and when your problems are sorted see if you're feeling a sense of euphoria while involved in Internet activities, that's the last drop... you're definitely screwed, even the best doctor will struggle here.... :)

Have fun.

pennells

30 posts

Geek


  #901741 24-Sep-2013 10:34
Send private message

So it was sorted this morning, hooray.  The Chorus tech was booked for 2pm today, and showed up as I was leaving for work at 8:30 this morning.  Not ideal but fortunately I was able to shuffle some meetings and now it's working.

I stand by my complaint - Snap shouldn't book connections for times when there is no support available from their wholesalers, and they should show some basic empathy if they (or their contractors) mess something up and cause inconvenience their customers. 

Now hopefully their product lives up to its reputation.

(Oh and LOL at the above post!).

universenz
19 posts

Geek


  #907912 4-Oct-2013 14:54
Send private message

 (Oh and LOL at the above post!).


Agreed. You can instantly tell the difference between an recreational internet user, and one who leverages their internet to get their job done. 

Internet is like Electricity, in some cases it helps us perform our jobs - and without it, it's more than just frustrating, it can be a loss of income.

Snap: You're only as good as your last install..

NZCrusader
646 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #907920 4-Oct-2013 15:06
Send private message

Vladmax: I can't agree with the poster at all. I had my connection done about a month ago and it was a perfect roll.... Snap advised that connection would be ready by XX date and it was ready to roll on exactly that day. Plugged in FRITZBOX and off it goes. There were couple of issues down the track but only minor.... and they were fixed in timely manner and tech support guys on the phone were great help.

First one was when no one could phone my number but I could phone out. Quick call to snap fixed the problem on the following day. Second - was exactly the same but it was about a week later and it so happened it was Saturday, no one could call my number again, I called SNAP they said tech will not be available untill Monday so I chilled all weekend with no one bothering me :) and was happy as. It wasn't sorted Monday, but I could care less, it was sorted on Tuesday without me having to follow up and was to do with something on SNAP's side...

But who cares if it takes a day or two or even a week longer. You gotta learn to chill out and be calm, I think people are overreacting when they have no internet connection for a day or two. Even a week, so what??? your facebook friends will disappear if you're not online for a week? You gotta learn to be cool when something like this happens, it's not the end of the world.. go out, go somewhere nice, spend some time with real people, with family... People get anxious if they have forgotten their smartphone or if they have no internet access for a little bit... they don't know what to do with themselves... some even have suicidal thought, that's just getting crazy...

For exactly same reason there's no need to be angry with the tech support, if they can't help you straight away they will not be able to help you if you start abusing them, at the end of the day the guys on the other side of the phone got nothing to do with your problem, they can only try their best and route it through the right channel to get it solved. But if they have no ability to solve it right away and offer to solve it later there's nothing you can do and there's nothing they can do either. It's like with day and night, no mater how hard you want for the next day to come, you can even fart to death, but it will not come any earlier then it is supposed to.

BTW. When I was swapping to Snap's VDSL they did have a deal where Splitter & Wiring was installed Free of Charge. They would arrange for the Chorus tech to come over and do it, it took Chorus about 2 weeks before someone actually turned up (no one was home), then Chorus tech called and left message, then SNAP followed up with phone call saying I need to arrange time with Chorus tech to finish connection. Well, I had my wiring sorted long before then (CAT6 from demarcation point all the way through the house, no VDSL filter as it is SNAP+ VoIP), so didn't need a tech to do any wiring. But they kept insisting, and I kept ignoring., what this done though is Chorus had my connection hogged and marked as NOT COMPLETE for a few weeks (not sure what it is now), but it had no effect on performance at all. The only downside is that when I called snap to check my line stats they couldn't log into the exchange due to that reason. Got a call from Chorus yesterday (that's month and a half from date I was connected, so you see it's not SNAP, it's chorus got no sense of time) asking if everything was done and I'm happy with the connection LOL, I said yes all is good, told em to chill as I don't want them to mess around with my connection or wiring.

I am very happy with my new connection. Internet is a blaze, SNAP+ VoIP service is working perfect, FritzBox is an awesome design... I had mine blocking all calls after 8PM :) just don't like to be bothered at that time of the day.... it has got other handy features.

I'm very happy with SNAP support, even though I only called them a couple of times they were really helpful, always polite and always trying to offer best solution. Always trying to apologize if the solution they offered was not "right away" solution. I said, dude relax, it's not a life threatening situation, no one's gonna die if I have no internet or phone for some time, I can wait a few days.. in case of the emergency there are other means available. I think that made them happy as well.

I think people are too dependent on all the gadgets nowadays and that's where the problem is.

I recommend everyone with a "rush-rush" attitude take a chill pill... :) Soб if you experience a delay in your ISP swap or have some issues let the guys work their pace and get your problem sorted while you do an experiment on yourself at the same time - find out if you can handle a few days technology free or see if you have severe addiction symptoms like nausea, anxiety, feeling stressed and unhappy, feeling lack of social factor, having trouble completing tasks at work or home, feeling defensive about your Internet use... if that's the case you might need to visit a doctor as you've been screwed by tech companies already.

Oh, and when your problems are sorted see if you're feeling a sense of euphoria while involved in Internet activities, that's the last drop... you're definitely screwed, even the best doctor will struggle here.... :)

Have fun.



A few more posts this long and you might as well write a novel.




NZ / AU Battlefield 4 Gaming Community
http://www.sonsofvalour.net/forums/forum.php

RunningMan
8961 posts

Uber Geek


  #907976 4-Oct-2013 16:07
Send private message

universenz: [snip]

Internet is like Electricity, in some cases it helps us perform our jobs - and without it, it's more than just frustrating, it can be a loss of income.


If that's the case, then you should ensure you are on a business plan that has a SLA that is appropriate for your requirements, as well as having a backup service through another provider if you can't afford to be out as long as the maximum time in the SLA.

If having an internet connection is that critical, then you simply don't value your work if you only pay for a residential connection with no SLA.

khull
1245 posts

Uber Geek


  #907998 4-Oct-2013 16:53
Send private message

Not Snap related but we were 3 days out without internet and this excluded the weekend, Telecom could not do anything other than apologise.

Quite frankly Chorus and their contract technicians are a joke. They should be lined up and fired literally and figuratively. When the contractors do turn up they grumble about how bad their jobs are and they get paid flat fee per connection and would not spend any more time than they have to.

timmmay
20591 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #908014 4-Oct-2013 17:13
Send private message

khull: Not Snap related but we were 3 days out without internet and this excluded the weekend, Telecom could not do anything other than apologise.

Quite frankly Chorus and their contract technicians are a joke. They should be lined up and fired literally and figuratively. When the contractors do turn up they grumble about how bad their jobs are and they get paid flat fee per connection and would not spend any more time than they have to.


Generalizations are always false.

I had contract tech's at my place today. They were competent, friendly, and cheerful. They couldn't finish the job, because no-one thought to look at the connection type before they arrived, so they had no permission to climb the power poles to install fiber, but I expected it to take a month and I'm only at day 6.

 1 | 2
View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.