Afrihost Business Uncapped Feedback - 2

[MaxST]

I believe everything has been covered from his reply.

And the follow-up questions I have asked?

 

[karnuffel]

What I dont get is why p2p traffic is still extremely slow? My steam and wow updates run at full speed but p2p is stuck below 70kB/s. Surely this should not happen on an UNSHAPED offering?

 

[cortexenslaver]

I believe everything has been covered from his reply.

Obviously not if more and more clients are making the SAME suggestion

It might be a good idea to assign a ticket to a rep/tech that has their own email address, and NOT just the generic "support@....." address. This would allow a client to reply directly to one person, and make all further interaction concise and simple WITHOUT any duplication of info, and help reduce delays until resolution of a ticket. It would actually assist AH more than one might think... not just the client.

....just a suggestion from someone who does customer support, and has a similar system in place

 

[AfriGuy]

And the follow-up questions I have asked?

He does have authority, so his reply covers everything.
Please review his reply again. I'll gladly quote if via PM if you feel anything has been left out.

 

[AfriGuy]

What I dont get is why p2p traffic is still extremely slow? My steam and wow updates run at full speed but p2p is stuck below 70kB/s. Surely this should not happen on an UNSHAPED offering?

Could still be a few more tweaks to get this all right.
What area are you in?

 

[karnuffel]

Could still be a few more tweaks to get this all right.
What area are you in?

I am in the the east of Gauteng? What tweaks? Shaping? I would still like some technical feedback on what was meant with the term optimizing.

 

[AfriGuy]

I am in the the east of Gauteng? What tweaks? Shaping? I would still like some technical feedback on what was meant with the term optimizing.

The capacity is live, but we're still running some tweaks to get the best performance out of the additional capacity.
If anything is slow it'll be best to mail our Support guys to have this looked into and maybe passed onto our network team.

 

[KoolDaffy]

Still getting fluctuating speeds. This morning till 2pm I was getting 5mbps on speed test.

Since then keeps fluctuating.

 

[AfriGuy]

Still getting fluctuating speeds. This morning till 2pm I was getting 5mbps on speed test.

Since then keeps fluctuating.

I've just seen your PM, will follow up with you there

 

[karnuffel]

The capacity is live, but we're still running some tweaks to get the best performance out of the additional capacity.
If anything is slow it'll be best to mail our Support guys to have this looked into and maybe passed onto our network team.

Ive had two chat sessions, 4 phone calls and 2 emails to AH this month alone. I am ten to one paying telkom extra this month after a unnecessary call out after your support staff told me telkom is to blame. Please can you tell me again why I should even bother?

EDIT: Also please note that all the calls to you was more than 10 minutes long. One of which was dropped 3 times. One chat session also failed after it took 27 minutes for a response.

 

[KoolDaffy]

I've just seen your PM, will follow up with you there

okay

 

[AfriGuy]

Ive had two chat sessions, 4 phone calls and 2 emails to AH this month alone. I am ten to one paying telkom extra this month after a unnecessary call out after your support staff told me telkom is to blame. Please can you tell me again why I should even bother?

EDIT: Also please note that all the calls to you was more than 10 minutes long. One of which was dropped 3 times. One chat session also failed after it took 27 minutes for a response.

Please submit any info via ticket so I can have this followed up on for you.

 

[MaxST]

Ok.. Well then I am then just clearly being brushed off. I feel that I have been nice up until now, calm, collected and reasonable, but I guess to get anything "out of the norm" from anybody one needs to throw their toys out of the cot.

So.. I'll skip PM's, mainly because the myBB PM system irritates me a little. So here goes

Opening Issue

Due to current speed issues with your network would it be possible to refund me the current month's fee's and "pause" my service until the issues are sorted out?

I am still within the 60 day signup period and would rather not claim this way as the first month was flawless and I would want to return to this service once the issues are all sorted out, Currently my 2meg line is running at 10% of its max and I feel that I could be getting that performance from a home account and should not be paying a premium for a uncapped, unshaped business account.

Thanks
Neil

First Reply

Unfortunate we cannot refund you for this month as you have already used 79.9GB this month.

However you can pause your account by the end of this month until you wish to un-pause it please let us know until when you would like us to pause your account.

The first reply ignored the performance issue. Total data used does not directly translate to speed

Second reply from me, now I'm trying to see what options I have.

ok, so then if i claim double my money back because i am within the 60 day window, will i be able to return to this service if the issues are sorted out?

Please note if you are claiming double money back your services will be canceled and you will have to resign up so that you can be able to use afrihost services again,,

Now, to me, this answer sounds like a 'yes' but I was unsure as it was not answered directly

Ok, so just to be clear...

I may cancel my business uncapped unshaped account and get double my money back, keep my line rental and capped products with you guys and return to the business uncapped unshaped service in the future when all the issues are sorted out? Just a simple yes or no please.

And, afrihost prefers this method to my suggestion of getting a refund on the current month and pausing my service?

Once Double Money Back has been claimed on a package
you will not able to sign up for that particular package again.
Unfortunately due to the usage on the account we are not
able to pass a credit for this month.

Once again, useage to me does not translate to speed, at the end of the month, if I'm getting stuff at 50kbps or 200kbps I'll most likely have the same useage. I have not done the math on this, just an assumption.

This is where I get hopeful...

Hi Samantha

Yay, finally somebody that sounds like they know what they are talking about.

Ok... What can be done in this instance?I do not want to leave Afrihost, I understand that there are network issues and this should be rectified, but I also find it unfair that I should be charged a premium price for a service that is under performing. I am within the 60 day double your money back period, and as previously stated, I do NOT want to claim double my money back.

What I offered in my opening ticket was the current month be credited, my account paused and the 60 day refund will be waved by me. I wish to return to this service once all the issues are fixed & If the issues are fixed before the end of the billing cycle I will obviously stay with Afrihost, this will be the best option for everybody.Options that I am willing to accept:

1 Refund for the month and pause my account at your convenience, allowing me to return when the accounts are back to normal

2 Extend the 60 Day trial for another month. If things are not fixed by then all I want is a 100% refund (not 200%) and I will not come back to the service.

I do not what to be forced to pay for a premium uncapped unshaped account that I am only getting 50% of the performance (at best) during business hours. If we cannot come to a resolution I will be forced to claim double my money back and leave Afrihost as a customer and then nobody will be happy.I am also open to any other suggestions you make to show that an effort is being made.Thanks

Thank you for the feedback, apologies for the inconvenience you have experienced off late, unfortunately in regards to the Double Money Back guarantee we will not be able to give you or offer you full refund after the 60 days have been elapsed, the days may not be extended. We may pause the services if you would like ? You will not be billed for next month until services have been reactivated at date you request service be instated again.

This response took me back to step one. Speed issues being ignored, no alternate solution being offered other than, sorry for you, suck it up, take the loss.

This option has already been offered to me and dismissed by me. What is going to be done about the poor performance while I've been paying a premium?

I find it very poor service if afrihost would rather pay me double and lose a customer than refund the current month and let me come back when the service is working correctly. It really is an obvious choice.

I will not stop replying to this ticket until I get some indication that the person on the other end is actually trying to help and not just answering me from a set script.

I'm sorry if I'm coming across as being a dick, but I'm starting to get frustrated.

Please stop offering to pause my service without a refund.

To simplify...
Double my money back.... Refund R1600 and you lose a customer.
My way... Refund R397 and you keep a customer happy and I come back when the issues are fixed...

I would like an answer, in business terms, why this can't be done.

It really is a simple choice if anybody with the power to do so actually gets the choice. I am certain that my ticket it not reaching the correct people. I would like an answer to why this cannot be done and not just that it cannot be done, and saying that we do not offer this as a solution it not a reason why it cannot be done.

At this point I feel like a 5 year old...
Me: Mommy please
Mommy: NO!
Me: But why?
Mommy: Because I said so

All I am asking is for the "NO" to be validated. To me, Afrihost is unwilling to do anything for me and they would rather pay me double and ask me to leave.

Then.. I got this...

Your router appears to be of at the moment.

For this reason, I am not able to test the line properly.

I also notice a multitude of port errors, indicating that the line is still faulty.

In view of the above, I have recreated your ports and stabilized your profile.

I have reported the issue to Telkom, and you should be contacted by them within 48 hours.

WTF? Now I was totally lost.

And.. I start again...

ummmm??? This is the point I'm trying to make with "tech" support... First of all this was an accounts issue. Secondly is it clear that "support" does not even read the ticket info. Please escalate this ticket to management. It is clearly not reaching the correct people.

Please read the entire history of this support ticket.

I have no issue with someone with the authority to grant me my request, to say no to me. As long as I get a valid reason, in business terms, why it cannot be done.

It WILL benefit both parties.

I'm getting a little sick of the bottom level support giving me an answer to a question they think I'm asking, not actually asking.

6 days later

could I get an update from management please

2 days later

3 days until the billing cycle starts. IF this is a reflection on how long it takes for the relevant people to respond, I may be forced to cancel my account

5 days later

still waiting on a supervisor to respond

This is the time I contacted you guys on the forum for help with the ticket.

Our Double Money Back Guarantee is designed for specific purpose which is not in line with your request. Essentially should a client be completely unhappy with a product (or with our company) we give that client the opportunity to get back what they've paid us, and more, and we can part ways with no hard feelings (hopefully). This is generally in a case where no future business is possible. In terms of receiving a credit for slow speeds, this is determined exclusively by our accounts team, based on their own criteria, who have already confirmed that a credit is not due in this specific instance.

I do appreciate your intention to remain a client, and I promise that our intention is to do everything in our power to improve your internet experience by improving our network wherever possible. Should our management team decide on further compensation to clients (in the form of promotions like Mystery Bonuses or price cuts) then you would most certainly benefit.

I hope this explains the situation better. I do sincerely hope that you remain with us and I am confident that you will be enjoying the excellent performance you saw in your initial month with us very soon.

Regards

S*****
Social Media Manager

Hopeful again, but in order to have my answers directly answered, all of them, I feel that I need to get a dialogue going, and not just a fire and forget response.

 

[MaxST]

Thanks for taking the time to speak with me. However there is still one issue that it left unresolved. If i decide to continue with the service past the 60 day evaluation period, what type of guarantee do I get that the performance of the line will improve?

I do understand that I have high useage on my line, but the amount of data that I consumed should not be an indication on how well the line was performing. If the line ran at a max of 100 kbps download the entire month or 200 kbps, I would of used the same amount. Its the speed that it was delivered at that I have an issue with.

I was VERY happy the first 30 days, and pretty unhappy the next 20 days. If the service runs like it did for the first 30 days, I am willing to forget about the poor performance over the following 20 days. But, if the service continues like is has been for the last 20 days I would like to cancel. With your reps response on the forum it is obvious that AH was having issues, I was trying to say, "OK, Ill wait for the issues to be sorted and then evaluate the product" I don't want to get to day 61 and find out that the poor performance is the "normal" performance and the good performance was "lucky" All I want is some more time to make my choice without having to throw money at it and take the risk.

If I were to make up my mind based purely on the performance over the past 2(ish) months I would just cancel, but I'm trying to give AH the benefit of the doubt without having to risk another month of fees.

As I have previously stated in this ticket, I do not want compensation for the past poor performance, but I do want a guarantee that it will not happen again or I would like extra time to evaluate the service. If you do decide to give me 1 month or even 1/2 a month I will waive my right to the 60 day double money back.

All I am looking for is something from AH to say, "yes I want to do business with you and we are willing to help you out where we can" At the moment all I am hearing is "sorry, we can't help, just deal with it. If you are unhappy cancel and we will pay you to leave"

Anything will be preferable to just canceling. Even a promise that if in the next month if the service is poor that you will not charge me for that month. No refund necessary, no double money back claim. I'm looking for something

New points in bold, although a response to my entire argument would be preferable.

a follow up question.... as the social media manager do you have the ability to grant me my request if you see fit?

I still have not got a definitive answer from anyone as to WHY an alternate arrangement cannot be made. It is no secret that performance has been bad for the past month or so, all I'm asking for is time to better evaluate the service, but, the only option I have now is to gamble, hope for the best, it should improve or just cancel my line, get double my money back and give your money to another ISP.

Honestly what would you do?
Take a chance with an ISP that are having issues or
Try another ISP

 

[MaxST]

So.. summary... Dealing with 6 different people, different answers, and not one reply from the same person. The same major questions are being ignored..

WHY can this not be done?

Would Afrihost prefer to pay me double, than come to a solution that suits both parties?

 

[AfriGuy]

WHY can this not be done?

I think this has been answered already, I posted the answer yesterday.
A once off credit cannot be done at this stage - if any form of compensation is going to be done it'll be done via Management who will process this in a batch.

I quote,

...this is determined exclusively by our accounts team, based on their own criteria, who have already confirmed that a credit is not due in this specific instance.

If you wish to discuss this further you can PM me.

 

[MaxST]

...A once off credit cannot be done at this stage - if any form of compensation is going to be done it'll be done via Management who will process this in a batch....

This is not "why", it's "because I said so"

this is determined exclusively by our accounts team, based on their own criteria, who have already confirmed that a credit is not due in this specific instance.

Not "Why" either.... but... maybe the criteria is... and that is what I am asking for

 

[AfriGuy]

This is not "why", it's "because I said so"



Not "Why" either.... but... maybe the criteria is... and that is what I am asking for

I'm afraid this is our only answer on the matter.

 

[MaxST]

I'm afraid this is our only answer on the matter.

Ok... so.. because I said so

 

[AfriGuy]

Ok... so.. because I said so

I think debating between the two is down to semantics, sorry - what we've mentioned here and via the ticket is our reasoning.