Don`t do anything unless he calls in.
Thursday, August 17, 2006 13:32 | 109 viewsFor the past two days, I've been experiencing some very slow loading web pages from fellow bloggers and other porn fun sites.
I did all the usual things, since I used to do Tech support for this sorta thing before.
I power cycled the modem, cleared out my cache, cleaned out any spy-ware, and shut down any P2P programs that may be slowing the system down. I already defragged the HD a couple of weeks ago, but I checked that too, but it was still fine.
After doing all this, I was still experiencing some slooooowwwww surfing.
Seems like what ever site I went to, the images on the sites were slow loading up. Almost as bad as, *irk*, dial-up.
So it was down to calling into the dreaded Tech Support line. I start off telling him that I'm experiencing some painfully slow service, and the latency is completely unacceptable.
I must have said a big word…. I had to rephrase it to, "Web pages are loading very slow. The pictures take forever to show."
He then instructed me to turn off the firewall, open Internet Exploder, I made the comment like everybody does, "Ungh, IE? Ohh Kaaay then", go to http://speedcheck.rogers.com and we both discovered that I'm getting the proper speeds.
{I like my results too}
But why were the website loading so slowly? He proclaimed that it's probably because I'm having issues with Firefox.
I tested a few pages that I found were loading slowly with Firefox and tried them with Internet Exploder, and to my surprise, the pages opened right up!
I didn't want to admit to it, but I said he may be right, then ended the call.
I still couldn't accept that it was because of Firefox, I just couldn't. I opened up Firefox and tried these pages out again, and guess what? They opened right up. No latency!
So what just happened? The excuse that it was the Browser Firefox that was causing my problem with the slow speed was null and void. So he was either wrong or lying.
Did he do something on his end? Did he have a note that showed up on my account when he opened it up that read, "Do not do anything unless the customer calls in complaining about slow speed." So when I called in he clicked the, "Remove Download Speed Cap" button?
Hmmm… I wonder…
EDIT Oh and guess what happened while using IE while on call with the tech guy?
Internet Exploder crashed! LOL 
![:)]](http://www.macbrosplace.com/smilies/yahoo_onphone.gif ":)]"){kind=small}
October 1st, 2007 at 4:41 am
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August 17th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
I don’t know how “corporate” help desks are, but I know we don’t let our help desk personnel do much of anything beyond unlocking accounts and resetting passwords. So, on that note, I just can’t see a Tier 1 guy having access to a real fix. Then again, maybe the corporate world actually hires help desk personnel with a clue. Oh, wait, just remembered Diane’s issue.
August 17th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
Oh this guy was a Tier 1 fella. I threw him off when I said latency.
But you’re right, I don’t think they have anything but a troubleshooting guide to go by. He started off by saying, unplug the modem and I stopped him there and told him I already did that and all the other monkey work.
I just thought it was strange that just right after the call, everything started working perfectly again. I never did anything??
August 17th, 2006 at 5:42 pm
Remember that your ISP had some of its tech support with the company that you work for, as did another big cable ISP (someone mentioned it on Diane’s post at her blog). So, you know that they have a manual to follow and you also know that if they don’t follow the steps, they’ll get coached. They’re not allowed to think, remember – just follow the steps.
Aside from that, I’ve noticed that Firefox 1.5 has been a bit slow lately. However, the 2.0 beta (which is rock solid, BTW – even with plugins that aren’t “ready” for it) is like a rocket in comparison, as is the nightly (I don’t expect anyone to use that). So, he might have had a point.
I’m wondering if he refreshed your IP address. A lot of us have been assigned to the 74.x.x.x range just lately and its been a bit slower because of it (as in 1/2 the rated speed – but their speed test is the law). Remember, too, that there’s seriously heavy traffic shaping going on recently, thanks to the nice invention by Ellacoya networks (bought by Cisco) in the shape of the P-Cube. Who knows, eh?
Its a shame that your ISP is the merely lesser of the two evils in the area.
August 17th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
Oh, and your page timed out on my first attempt to post a comment. Maybe its not fixed. Sucks on the same ISP, about 20 minutes drive away. Sucks!
August 17th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
Actually everything’s working fine now. Liek I said, in the post. As soon as I Hung Up, it was all good.
As far as the timeing out goes. I had to reboot a couple of times.
I’m playing Sims 2 and with this crappy Onboard Video card, it keeps crashing.
Got $200 so I can get a good one?
August 17th, 2006 at 8:21 pm
Good point about the latency cluelessness. Yep, Tier 1 is Tier 1. I would love to be able to drop $200 for a video card so I can play KOTR when I’m not in school. Alas, though, I have to drop $250-300 for a lawyer for that damn speeding ticket.
Got my court date in the mail today. 
August 17th, 2006 at 8:29 pm
Sorry to hear about your luck.
I just wasted an entire day playing it. I stoped because I’m hungry. LOL
Sims 2 is very addictive.
August 17th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
Canned responses. The only thing worse than spouting them is writing them. Management hell.
August 17th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
[...] Macbros is having a hard time with page loads. Loading his site, especially, has been slow or incomplete, and the tech support that Rogers provides is abysmal. The CSR’s role is to receive a call and dispatch it on a low minute average. The last time I did tech support, we were supposed to average 400 seconds per call. Most customers were (and still are) newbies to the internet. They get 6-1/2 minutes. [...]