Karoo ignoring users (part 3)

The day is almost upon us. What date? I hear you ask. Well, the date they set for the next tele-meeting. It will not happen now as they have cut off all contact with us and even if they do ring either or both of us we will not be talking to them.

The fact they have ignored many emails speaks volumes for the company as a whole. They have no idea at all how to handle their users and home users in particular. They routinely fleece their customers, be they home based or business base. They routinely slow down Internet traffic etc and worse of all they lie.

They are lying right now about their Traffic Shaping practices. They are claiming that Traffic Shaping will not kick in unless there is "severe" congestion on their network. This excludes such protocols as P2P and Usenet but overall they are still using Traffic Shaping measures to slow heavy users, of bandwidth, down.

Writing about Karoo ignoring users leads me to...

Last week I had the opportunity to talk with 3 separate individuals on 3 separate occasions who work on the Karoo Help Desk (also known as Customer Services). These conversations where revealing especially with regard to routine practices that the management insists, no, demand, they offer up in their capacity as Customer Service representatives.

Each one told me that some customers are routinely ignored (no surprise there then). 21% of all emails to them end up in the Trash folder never to be read. They get several sheets of paper every morning with excuses that they should tell customers when they ring up asking about problems. If a customer mentions any problems beyond their own machine and router then the answer is looked up on the sheets and depending on the time of day that predefined excuse is served to the user. Now, for your every day user this may suffice and some users may even be happy with what they are offered as an excuse but as with most things in life there are those of us who are not stupid.


One thing they, Karoo, never bargained for is the fact that once we are upset about what they have done or are doing we will dig ever deeper until they realise that we simply will not go away. The aim is not to force them back to the talking table but to show them that they do not and never can have, absolute power over the people who work for them nor the people they purport to serve.

Extinction.

Is surely just a by word for Mother Natures liking for Natural Selection.

Many old time sayings such as the fit get fitter are based around the Natural Selection process and by extension extinction.

So, while the loss of any creature has to be deplored does it follow that the loss is a bad thing? I think not. Hardly a day goes by without some conservation group saying this or that creature it becoming extinct. What we do not hear so much about is the number of new to us, 'us' being humans, creatures found, and cataloged, almost daily. It is reckoned that we only know about, 'know' as in have a record of in some cataloge, approximately 27% or so of Earths creatures. From sea to land, from England's countryside to the deserts of the Sahara, there are potentially millions of creatures not yet 'found'. Quite how they quantify the unknown is open to debate itself but in an effort to prick your conscience quantify it they do in the hope that you do not realise that quantifying the unknown is akin to taking holidays on the Sun itself.

There are records of creatures long since regarded as being extinct. There are records of creatures long thought to be extinct but have popped up again on the conservationists radar.

The Earth, and all who live on it, are such a diverse bunch that the cataloging of all creatures on land and sea will probably never be completed. Plus, and this seems a obvious thing to me, how do we know for sure what is a totally new creature and what has just popped up on the radar is not something that Mother Nature removed for a few years only to bring it back to life centuries later? You know, that process called Natural Selection.

There is little doubt that as Mankind has spread itself ever thinly, or as some might say ever thickly, across this Earth that it has left in its wake a trail of destruction the like of which has never been seen before in the time Man has existed. But even that leaves open many questions some of which defend Mankind and others that show Mankind as the killers of all creatures great and small everywhere they have ventured. But, are they really killers in the true sense of the word or are they simply following the 'only the fit survive' mantra?

I am not a biologist nor consavationist nor indeed am I the type to stamp on spiders but this whole extinct this and extinct that mantra are to me just empty words from another section of our society vying for your money to help them survive. There are thousands of those organisations and I for one will not fall for it. What you do is as always entirely up to you.

Karoo ignoring users (part 2)

Karoo have one of the worst Customer Service operations one will ever have the misfortune to encounter. The information given out by the Karoo Customer Service desk via telephone or email hits the lowest common denominator in that the information given out is aimed squarely at those customers with little knowledge of how their computers work and even less knowledge of how their ADSL works. This is compounded by the addition into the equation of routers which to the customers, who sit in the above category, IS the Internet. So when their Internet does not work they automatically assume their router is to blame. This idea is backed up by Karoo Customer Services as their script gets the caller to 1) check their settings. 2) reboot the router 3) reset the router to defaults which leads to 4) setting up the router. Anything beyond this point is alien terroritory for both that level of customer and Customer Services themselves.

One of the things that was attempted to sort out was Customer Services. Indeed those who fend off, one cannot call it answering, Karoo customers while eating their sandwiches, drinking coffee ("to keep their minds active") and simultaneously answer the telephone, are supposedly currently going through retraining in an effort to create a 3 or 4 tier service so that if tier 1 cannot sort a problem they pass the problem to tier 2 and so on ntil tier 4 passes it to a Technical Adviser and with the most stubborn of technical issues a real technician that actually works on the technical side of the operation. There is also supposedly going to be a direct line that by-pases the tier 1 through 4 phase and goes direct to a technician for those with more idea of how things really work.

Now, while this sounds good in written form there are grave doubts that in practice is will work. It really should not be difficult to provide such a system but Karoo's track record with Customer Services is not good. Not good in presentation and not good in providing either. While they say they are going to provide such a service it is highly unlikely we shall ever see such a service. Why? Well, they are known to cut corners in Customer Service and any revamp of it will cost money and that is something Karoo and especially its mothership, KCom, are not known to like.

I said earlier that the staff are currently under retraining, since they stopped talking to us, that is as much as we now know. Before communicaions where stopped we know they actually started working on this but what that training actually is, compared to what we suggested it should be and what they said they was going to do, can be and probably is totally different. Us lot who have more than a modicum of knowledge can but hope they achieve their stated aims, for once.

Karoo ignoring users.

In other places on this blog you can find my comments on my ISP Karoo filed under ISP.

Karoo's parent company is Kingston Communications, now called KCom which was a name shift they hoped would give them a maturity they apparenetly lacked before the name change, who were a small time company with a small time ISP. They have approximately 80,000 ADSL users, which if you look at the U.K. market is not large. They were at one time a local only company. They have spent millions expanding into the wider U.K. market and here and there abroad. This expanding has meant that this once local company which served only the Kingston-upon-Hull and surrounding areas is no longer a local company.

At one time they where the champions of telecommunications with a large fan base comprised of, not surprisingly, local people. As they have expanded this company has lost all the respect they once garnered from local people. Now, they are but another money grabbing company within the city. Along the way to being a multi-country company dabbling in all sorts of communication business they also lost the ability to talk to local people.

Over the last 2-3 years KCom have routinely upped their prices for the Hull telephone network. They clamied their TalkTalk packages where better for users when in actual fact everyone from pensioners, who where the worse affected, to businesses lost out. I.E. they all paid more for the priviledge of being on the KCom network. As an example: A pensioner rings once a month her or his daughter or son. That makes 4 calls in every quarter. Previously these calls cost 6.4pence. Now the lowest plan offered under the TalkTalk brand is £10. There have been cases where they have allowed a few people to take a TalkTalk plan of £5 but even at £5 that is a hell of a lot more than 4x6.4p (25.6pence). But did they listen? Nope. They just carried on regardless.

Now to Karoo. The Internet arm of KCom. They offer the most expensive ADSL packages in the U.K. which is made even worse by the total lack of features added (sometimes call Value Added Features). Over the years since Karoo's inception there have been several user groups who have attempted to foster better relations with Karoo. I, myself, was part of one such user group. In all honestly this sort of contact with Karoo management is, and probably always will be, a total waste of time and effort on the user groups part as Karoo/KCom have no intentions of listenng to user concerns.

In last ditch effort to get them to change course slightly and offer bang for buck packages I, and one other, emailed the KCom M.D., but I have serious doubts that he will listen to the concerns that I raised and much less faith he will answer the questions in a true and open manner. The company is now too big for the boots it once wore and because of this the arrogance coming out of their offices forces me to think they do not give a fig for their local user base and much less for what their user base wants from their monthly fees.

BBC V ISP's

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7336940.stm

In that article on the bbc web site it is quite plain the BBC have no intention of paying ISP any money. I have to say I agree with the BBC.

Why should the BBC pay for ISP negligence? The ISP's should have and should now do upgrade their networks to cope with demand. They surely saw the rise in on-line videos. Youtube is one such that delivers video's to users but I never heard the ISP's asking them for money so why now ask the BBC for money so the ISP's can upgrade their networks?

The rise of on-line video entertainment has been with us since before youtube existed. Youtube came along and that started a slight strain on ISP networks. Did they, the ISP's upgrade their pipes to cope? No. They let that one slide. Then the BBC opens its IPlayer service and people started using it. Apparently it is, unsurprisingly, popular. Suddenly the ISP's are faced with network overload. Is it the ISP's or the BBC who should pay for the network upgrades? Think about this for a minute.

You pay for network access.
The BBC pay for providing you with all their web sites.

Focus on that last one. As a content provider the BBC pay for Internet access just like or you and I do. Except the BBC pays millions a year for the privilege of serving you with the content which includes the IPlayer service.

Now focus on that first one. You pay for Internet access. Just like the BBC.

Google has many applications that make them a content provider. YouTube is a content provider. There are many such content providers out there but the greedy ISP's have never asked any single one for money to prop up their failing networks. Suddenly the BBC, a public content portal paid for with the TV license money overs a streaming service and suddenly they ISP networks are creaking so they automatically assume that because the BBC gets millions every year from the TV license that the BBC should pay, again, the ISP for allowing such services on their failing pipes.

In short. The BBC pay for the privilege of serving up their content which includes the BBC IPlayer. You, the user, pay your ISP for Internet access which includes the BBC web site which includes the BBC IPlayer. The ISP's want the BBC to pay them again for you, who have already paid for Internet access to access the BBC web site which includes the BBC IPlayer service who already pay for access which allows them to serve up content. So, the BBC end up paying twice and you, the user, once. Clear?

Quite how the ISP's expect even more money from the BBC is beyond comprehension.

For those using Karoo you may be pleased to know that while not unexpected they are at the forefront of the shouting at the BBC for more money. Not unexpected because Karoo are a greedy company who have some of the highest prices for ADSL in the U.K.

Calling all Microsoft users.

And all Microsoft based businesses (Especially those in the U.K.).

Why not? There is a golden opportunity available today for those tied to, or those coming to the end of, contractual obligations. Even those willing to throw money away, money tied into long standing contracts, knowing their future operating system usage will come with no strings attached for years onwards, will come with no forced upgrade migration path mandated in contracts, towards the operating systems in use. To get ahead of the curve. Perhaps to even get ahead of your competitors and certainly to pass cost savings onto their customers. It is not just businesses that can get ahead either. There is much the home user can gain too.

What am I talking about? First, an explanation of why this is possible. I live in a world of Microsoft using friends. My work life is not much different except there I get to put out the word about the Linux platform (LP) and now and again, more often than you may think, get a job transferring systems from a Microsoft platform (MSP) one to a LP one. Here I am going to try and explain how I go about saving single user and multiuser setups a not inconsiderable mount of money.

The LP is not all shiny lights nor the Holy Grail some LP fans would like you to believe. Is it ready for the everyday desktop? Yes, but with some caveats. Is the LP a drop in replacement for an MS one? Yes, with some caveats. Can a MSP fan with 10 or more years make the switch to an LP one and find it easy to use? Yes, but with some caveats. Etc, etc, etc. And so it goes on. One thing that is certain is this: You will save money. There is not the learning curve some would like you to believe.

As someone who installs LP systems as part of my working life I can say with all honesty that the users best suited to it are first time users of a computer. With an LP installation they will fair much better than someone with 6 months or more, of MSP usage under their belt. I say this because while the MSP and LP operating systems offer much the same by way of applications that that is just about as far as it goes. The application names are different, the look and feel of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) is different, though not wildly. Scratch away the surface (GUI) and the two platforms start to differ dramatically. Unless configured otherwise a standard installation of an MSP allows the user to arbitrarily see almost all of the underlaying system and to delete, rename and replace some system files vital to the running of the system. MS Vista goes someway to limiting this sort of thing with it UAC sub-system. The LP allows users to see system files but the user cannot delete, rename or replace any of them without elevated privileges. In fact, one could say in this regard the two platforms are opposites of each other. However, it should not be difficult to see, even with that short and curt description, which of the two methods is the more secure.

Yes, I am aware the Vista MSP negates that scenerio as does a properly locked down XP MSP. But here the differences become more apparent because while using a default Vista MSP or a locked down XP MSP increases the inconvenience to the user, via the MS Vista UAC sub-system, under a LP there is no inconvenience. On an LP system the all powerful 'root' user can do anything it wants to, any file, though even this user can be limited and on a properly configured LP it should be. A user on the otherhand while limited in what he or she can delete, edit or rename will never feels inconvenienced as programs simply run and any work saved lives in the users home directory. A home directory over which the user has complete control.

In the cold light of day the two plaforms are like chalk and cheese, but are similar at the same time. While some users find using the LP after several years of MSP usage quite easy, your average everyday user with the same or similar usage time under his/her belt does not. Office type workers who do little more than email handling or document reading, editing and writing would not notice any difference between the two platforms as they never have the need to go deeper than surface level to do their work. They may notice the GUI looks different and the application used looks different, but with the menu system setup so the names of applications are more intuative, by that I mean more MSP-like, it would be work as normal.

So, that said. What about license costs? There is no comparable license type. One never buys an MSP, one buys a license to use it then if you need support they charge you more for it. An LP system can cost as much as nothing. Yes, really. One can download an LP, install it, use it forever and never pay anybody a single penny for using it. Where they often make money is in support of their operating system but even this can be negligible when compared to an MSP license. LP's like Redhat or SuSE make their monies in this fashion. But, by using someone like me these support costs can be minimal.

When asked to do so, and the number of those asking is growing all the time, I find out what the customer expects from an LP system, then what they want to do, then what programs they currently use to determine if a like for like, insomuch as they provide the same functions, alternative exists and if not a similar one exists, if neither are available then a suitable alternative that while not being an exact match the functions offered are the similar. This many involve several smaller programs that are bound together via scripts to function as one, is found. Once these areas are defined then I explain what I think is the best course of action for a given customer is. These processes can take several meetings, sit down and face to face or via telephone or even email, to be decided but the last one is when I offer my choice of solutions and if possible a live demonstration is performed during which a hands-on experience is offered. This, however, is not always possible. If it is not possible to offer this hands-on demonstration then I talk them through it. Sometimes with slides sometimes not. Each and every discussion is different and each tailored to that user or business.

The basic way I install an LP system is as follows.

I use a couple of setup CD's that I use for installation. Why CD's? Well, there are many systems out there that do not have a DVD drive. By using CD's I can install to systems with either a DVD or CD. But, if I had setup DVD's then I would be limiting myself to those systems with a DVD drive only. One auto installs the base system to the first hard drive it finds. Be it an IDE one or a SATA one with the IDE one having presedence. Once that is installed and working, and the customer has indicated exactly what he or she wants to allow his or her system to function within their environment then the other CD's are brought into play. Once this process is complete a period of familiarisations follows.

And in this short space that is about as much as can be said. A mere scratching of the surface. I will be filing this under several labels but if your interest has been peeked then the one to watch out for is Linux. Any further posts with the same intent will also be filed under Linux. My aim is to provide a series of loosely knitted posts with the same underlaying theme. I.E. Getting you to see an LP for what it is and how by replacing the current MSP you can save lots of money without removing your productiveness.

Oh and these posts will be trumpeting my own business :-) Why not eh?

I hold my hand up.

I am a smoker. If that smoke be a Condor Original filled pipe all the better. I tend to smoke mainly a pipe full of the afore mentioned tobacco, but on occasion I smoke an Old Holborn fuelled roll-up.

I started smoking aged 13 and have never looked back. I simple enjoy smoking. I progressed from tipped to none tipped cigarettes to a pipe aged around 18. Since I was 18 my preference is for a pipe. I have smoked many aromatic and none aromatic tobaccos in my pipe puffing life but I always come back to Condor Original. It's fuller taste never ceases to be be enjoyed. I do still try an aromatic now and again. The latest one being Black Mallory but even with that being an enjoyable smoking experience I still fall back on my favoured Condor. I maintain 7 pipes. One of each day of the week for my Condor Original smoking and 4 more for those aromatic tobaccos I like to try now and again. There is 1 more pipe in my collection which I keep for, and only bring out on, those special occasions that only crop up now and again. So, I maintain a total of 12 pipes.

I never smoke in our house due to having children. I have never smoked in a restaurant. I have never smoked on a public or private transport bus. I don't smoke in my wifes car even though she does. I have never lit up in a confined space when a none smoker has been present. I will only light up my pipe in wide open spaces where the air flows free.

Sometimes when time be short I roll up a handrolled cigarette. Namely Old Holborn. It is only when smoking the rollup's that I inhale the smoke. This handrolled smoking is in the region of 5-6 a week. A count of my pipe smoking however remains largely uncountable, due to the fact the number smoked in any given week differs so wildly. If I had to put a number on it then I would have to day 5-6 a day times 7 equals 35-42 a week. I rarely inhale pipe tobacco. I cannot honestly say I never have because I have and do. It is so rarely done however my inner health checks show no traces of smoke related damage to my lungs.

I enjoy my pipe smoking. I will continue to enjoy my pipe smoking until such a time as the goverment commits financial suicide by simply banning all forms of tobacco from being sold in the U.K. Exactly, it will not be happening any time soon and even if such legislation is passed, and I am still live, there will be a black market where tobacco will be sold and people such as myself will find places to enjoy our beloved weed. But, I digress...

I have always cared and been aware about the impact of my pipe smoking habit on, not only my family, but the general public who may be around me at any given time in any given situation. But once out in the fields walking with my children or walking our dogs or simply walking down the street, but never in town where crowds can grow quite large and private space becomes a premium, I light up my pipe. Hence why I have never, even long before the recent bans came in, smoked in an indoor place such as a pub, unless in an old fashioned smoking room, or at a football or rugby league match etc etc etc.

The recent ban on smoking never hit me at all even though I retain what few rights a private citizen has these days to be against such a ban.


I like to think I am a responsible smoker, if such a thing can exist in a modern society hell bent on demonising all smokers.