Setting the dial tone after ADSL

This is pure curiosity.
I have just had ADSL installed (conversion from ISDN line). After
setting everything up at my end the engineer went back to the exchange
to install the dial tone, which he said would be between 10 and 40
minutes. After 40 minutes he phoned on my mobile to say he was having
problems with it. About 20 minutes later I got a call to check and say
it was ok.

I would like to know why he would have had difficulty. Obviously he was
expecting problems by giving that time frame.

--
Regards


David G
(remove r u n)

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
David G <notreallyhere@sure> wrote:

> This is pure curiosity.
> I have just had ADSL installed (conversion from ISDN line). After
> setting everything up at my end the engineer went back to the exchange
> to install the dial tone, which he said would be between 10 and 40
> minutes. After 40 minutes he phoned on my mobile to say he was having
> problems with it. About 20 minutes later I got a call to check and say
> it was ok.
>
> I would like to know why he would have had difficulty. Obviously he
> was expecting problems by giving that time frame.

My understanding is that he has to submit a job request to an automated
system which gets round to restoring your dial tone when it's good and
ready - depending on how many jobs there are in the queue. He may have had a
problem getting a response from this automated system. I don't think he has
to do anything *physical*.
--
Cheers,
Tim
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.

Tiscali Tim wrote:
> In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
> David G <notreallyhere@sure> wrote:
>
>> This is pure curiosity.
>> I have just had ADSL installed (conversion from ISDN line). After
>> setting everything up at my end the engineer went back to the
>> exchange to install the dial tone, which he said would be between 10
>> and 40 minutes. After 40 minutes he phoned on my mobile to say he
>> was having problems with it. About 20 minutes later I got a call to
>> check and say it was ok.
>>
>> I would like to know why he would have had difficulty. Obviously he
>> was expecting problems by giving that time frame.
>
> My understanding is that he has to submit a job request to an
> automated system which gets round to restoring your dial tone when
> it's good and ready - depending on how many jobs there are in the
> queue. He may have had a problem getting a response from this
> automated system. I don't think he has to do anything *physical*.

The only thing the engineers do is monitor the progression of the orders
through the system & make sure it goes thru ok, if it doesn't then they have
to contact the appropiate department, normally the OMC, to get things done.

The one thing which does concern/worry me is that this monitoring is
supposedly/officially supposed to be done from site (using the GSM link
built into the engineers laptop) & this is the second (if not third) account
in the last 7 days where the engineers have apparently cut & run before the
job is completed..

kraftee wrote:

> The one thing which does concern/worry me is that this monitoring is
> supposedly/officially supposed to be done from site (using the GSM link
> built into the engineers laptop) & this is the second (if not third) account
> in the last 7 days where the engineers have apparently cut & run before the
> job is completed..

Ah but the laptop isn't equipped with a kettle is it? ;-)

Andy Burns wrote:
> kraftee wrote:
>
>> The one thing which does concern/worry me is that this monitoring is
>> supposedly/officially supposed to be done from site (using the GSM
>> link built into the engineers laptop) & this is the second (if not
>> third) account in the last 7 days where the engineers have
>> apparently cut & run before the job is completed..
>
> Ah but the laptop isn't equipped with a kettle is it? ;-)

But most customers have & they also supply biscuits or cake & even more
importantly most customers premises are warmer & have proper toilets. Yes
believe it, or believe it not, most if not all the local exchanges have
extremely limited heating (if any) & they've started taking out some of the
toilet facilities.

So personally on the balance of things I'd rather sit in the warm with a cup
of tea & some biscuits, with a working toilet (if needed) than sit in a
draughty cold, normally damp exchange with a possibly working kettle (if
it's not broken or been nicked).....

kraftee wrote:
> Andy Burns wrote:
>
>>kraftee wrote:

>
> But most customers have & they also supply biscuits or cake & even more
> importantly most customers premises are warmer & have proper toilets. Yes
> believe it, or believe it not, most if not all the local exchanges have
> extremely limited heating (if any) & they've started taking out some of the
> toilet facilities.
>
> So personally on the balance of things I'd rather sit in the warm with a cup
> of tea & some biscuits, with a working toilet (if needed) than sit in a
> draughty cold, normally damp exchange with a possibly working kettle (if
> it's not broken or been nicked).....
>
>
Thanks for the replies. I was expecting it to be more complex than
waiting for a bit of software to perform.

Incidentally he was given a cup of coffee, but it seems it had to be
done from the exchange. He did say that he might have to come back if it
did not work.



--
Regards


David G
(remove r u n)

David G wrote:
> kraftee wrote:
>> Andy Burns wrote:
>>
>>> kraftee wrote:
>
>>
>> But most customers have & they also supply biscuits or cake & even
>> more importantly most customers premises are warmer & have proper
>> toilets. Yes believe it, or believe it not, most if not all the
>> local exchanges have extremely limited heating (if any) & they've
>> started taking out some of the toilet facilities.
>>
>> So personally on the balance of things I'd rather sit in the warm
>> with a cup of tea & some biscuits, with a working toilet (if needed)
>> than sit in a draughty cold, normally damp exchange with a possibly
>> working kettle (if it's not broken or been nicked).....
>>
>>
> Thanks for the replies. I was expecting it to be more complex than
> waiting for a bit of software to perform.
>
> Incidentally he was given a cup of coffee, but it seems it had to be
> done from the exchange. He did say that he might have to come back if
> it did not work.

I smell something & it's not roses.....

It can be done anywhere, as long as the GSM link on the laptop is active &
has a signal...

This would explain why my policy of offering tea and biscuits as soon as the
engineer arrives always results in exceptional service!

Peter Crosland

In uk.telecom.broadband, Peter Crosland wrote:

>This would explain why my policy of offering tea and biscuits as soon as the
>engineer arrives always results in exceptional service!

Strange that some people don't even consider this. I used to regularly
employ a builder, after a few visits we were cooking them bacon and
eggs! My wife also make cakes especially for them. As a result, we had
happy and contented men, and a great job.

Same builder reported that some people didn't offer any form of
refreshment, even on a month long job. I'm sure he did a good job there
as well, but I know where I'd rather work.


--
Nigel M

> Same builder reported that some people didn't offer any form of
> refreshment, even on a month long job. I'm sure he did a good job there
> as well, but I know where I'd rather work.

It always seems to me that if you have people working for you then treating
them like fellow human beings and not like feudal serfs helps get the job
done in a better way. I am astonished at the tales workmen have told me
about the maltreatment by householders. The other thing is making life
easier by making sure they can get the work done in a more efficient manner.