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Frustrated by inept technical support staff

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Foreign call centres do my head in!  I'm sure it's cheaper to operate them but the people you end up talking to rarely know the subject you are calling about well enough to support it.

For example, Windows Vista screwed up on me recently.  It totally refused to boot either in normal or safe mode.  I ended up having to delete my partition and re-installing Windows, I decided to move back to Windows XP.

I have 54.2GB of personal data backed up using Mozy Home.  These files are mainly photos and videos of my children growing up and are obviously irreplaceable.

Imagine my shock when after re-installation I encountered the following scenario:

* MozyHome showed that I have no backup history.
* MozyHome had no Restore button - it wasn't disabled, there just wasn't one.
* The web restore showed me as having 141GB of data to restore instead of 54.2GB

When *I* worked out what caused #3 - the support engineer simply said "I guess".

The web restore then said I only had 16GB of data, then later it said I had 42.8GB of data.  MozyHome showed 0.6GB too little in my backup history, the file that was missing was nothing important - just an ultrasound scan of our unborn child!!  But luckily, restarting my computer brought it back.

Data backup When the engineers I talk to say things like "I guess", and "Ooops" it doesn't fill me with a sense of security that my data is safe.  Needless to say I shall be finding a new provider.

The last time I lost my hard-disk and I had to restore I ended up chatting to a guy in the USA.  He explained to me that because it was a new Windows installation Mozy saw it as a new computer.  He associated my backup history with my new account and the problem was solved in minutes. 

This time around, however, it was a completely different matter.  I tried to explain what had happened previously but it still took 4 hours to solve my problem.  Surely restoring files from a backup/restore service can't be THAT rare an occurrence that the staff don't know how to deal with it?

For anyone who is interested, here is a log of my support chat.  At first I had a guy named "Vincent" who thought it was okay to guess answers rather than checking them, so I didn't want to talk to him again.... (these aren't their real names)

Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with 'Charles '

Petter Morris: **DO NOT** TRANSFER ME TO Vincent!!!
Charles: Welcome to Mozy Live Support. May I have your account email address please?
Petter Morris: Please reassure me you wont transfer me
Petter Morris: I do not want to talk to Vincent
Petter Morris: (My email address)
Charles: Peter, how may I assist you today?
Petter Morris: I have just re-installed Windows and want to restore
Petter Morris: The "Restore" context menu is not on "My computer" in Explorer after installing MozyHome
Petter Morris: And the "History" tab in MozyHome shows no history
Charles: Which version of Windows did you install?
Petter Morris: I was on vista, now I am on XP
Charles: OK
Charles: I understand that you wish to restore you data. Is that correct?
Petter Morris: Last time this happened to me someone had to associate my backups from my previous machine to my new machine
Petter Morris: Yes I do
Petter Morris: It's 54GB
Petter Morris: Which is larger than recommended for web-restore
Charles: Please wait till I check your records.
Petter Morris: and I am concerned by my History tab having no history
Petter Morris: thanks
Charles: Peter, I have checked your account and have found out that you have opted for a web restore that is now building. You will receive a email once the restore is built. Is there any concern you are having currently?
Petter Morris: The website says to use web restore for up to 20GB
Petter Morris: Mine is 54GB
Charles: yes
Petter Morris: So I think it would be more efficient to restore through the mozyhome application
Charles: How much data did you select?
Charles: no.
Petter Morris: *and* I am concerned that it is not showing my backup history
Petter Morris: I selected all 54GB
Charles: You have to choose DVD restore above 20 GB

NOTE: DVD restore would cost me £60, and is only available to USA addresses.

Petter Morris: I have to pay to get my data back?
Petter Morris: I didn't have to before
Charles: If you have to select few files then client restore is efficient else web restore below 20 gb and DVD restore above 20 GB
Petter Morris: Last time this happened I spoke to someone on here and they linked my new installation with my old history
Petter Morris: then I did a restore through the Windows application Charles: Perer, You have to associate you computer with your old data
Charles: I will assist you in doing so
Petter Morris: When given the option
Petter Morris: "Add new computer"
Petter Morris: "Replace PMORRIS-PC" (old computer)
Petter Morris: Vincent told me to choose replace
Petter Morris: is that incorrect?
Charles: no, that is correct if you replace with your old machine, you will be associated with your old data
Charles: If you add, then another comp will be added to your account
Petter Morris: Good. So please do associate my backup history with my new installation
Petter Morris: So I can restore through Windows, and keep my history too
Charles: Did you perform a backup after associating your computer?
Petter Morris: no
Petter Morris: My last was yesterday morning
Charles: one moment please...
Petter Morris: and I have installed MozyHome today
Charles: Please wait a moment....
Charles: Peter, I am sorry to inform you that your old backup history will not be available to see since you have migrated your operating system from Vista to XP.
Petter Morris: I only need APPS and DATA
Petter Morris: the rest is irrelevant
Charles: You have associated your computer but since there
Petter Morris: but since there?
Charles: I am unable to trace your requirement since I am unable to understand your requirement of History of backups.
Petter Morris: The windows application
Petter Morris: 1: Double click in the tray to bring it up
Charles:ok
Petter Morris: 2: Click the "History" button
Charles: ok
Petter Morris: Expected: All backup history for my account so that I can restore
Petter Morris: Actual: It is empty
Charles: ok
Charles: For restoring your data You have to go into Restore tab. History tab is just for your backup reference
Petter Morris: There is no Restore tab
Petter Morris: I suspect because Mozy thinks there is no history
Petter Morris: My history is missing
Charles: oops....

NOTE: "Oops" is not a word I like to see when discussing how to restore my lost files!

Charles: Peter, I suspect your installation is corrupt since it is not possible that you don't have a restore tab. Please cross check once again and if not available we have to perform a repair install of the client.
Petter Morris: This has happened before
Petter Morris: It is because there is no backup history associated with my account
Charles: That's quite strange
Petter Morris: that is what it was last time at least
Petter Morris: you want me to uninstall the software?
Charles: no
Petter Morris: Ealier you said "Perer, You have to associate you computer with your old data"
Petter Morris: That is what I need you to do
Charles: Login to your account and download the latest client. Install over the existing and when it asks for repair install click OK
Petter Morris: just Apps and Data will do
Charles: Peter, I think you have already associated you computer, I can find one comp by the name IMAC. is that the new comp?
Petter Morris: yes it is
Petter Morris: PMORRIS-PC was the name I used previously
Petter Morris: IMAC is this installation
Charles: That means you have associated your comp.
Petter Morris: but there is no history
Petter Morris: I have done a repair, still no Restore button
Charles: History is not at all a basic requirement, all you need is to backup and to restore your data
Petter Morris: History is important if like me you sometimes need an old file which was not present in your last backup
Petter Morris: but anyway, at this point I would be happy with a restore
Charles: Peter, just try running a backup.
Petter Morris: starting now
Charles: good
Petter Morris: with a new folder called "DeleteMe"
Charles: ok
Petter Morris: (Communicating with Mozy servers)
Charles: It will take some time.
Charles: Please wait and check what happens.
Petter Morris: Still waiting, I will tell you when it changes
Charles: ok. please wait and see for some more time. If it is not connecting, then I would suggest you to send me the log file that is located in the following location: C:Program FilesMozyHomeDatamozy.log

Approximately 10-15 minutes later.

Petter Morris: 10May2009 20:05:11 mozybackup.exe: Setting encryption type on servers... 10May2009 20:05:49 mozybackup.exe: Retrieving manifest from servers...
Charles: ok
Petter Morris: It's a large backup set, so might take a while
Charles: ok
Petter Morris: oh no, the original backup set was large
Petter Morris: this is 1 folder and 1 file
Petter Morris: should have finished
Petter Morris: shall I cancel then retry?
Charles: sure.. go ahead
Petter Morris: okay, says "Communicating with MozyHome servers"
Charles: ok
Petter Morris: 10May2009 20:13:22 mozybackup.exe: Retrieving manifest from servers...
Charles: ok
Charles: I would suggest you to wait and check if the backup happens. If not, send me the log file that is located in the following location: C:Program FilesMozyHomeDatamozy.log
Charles: Apart from that, I would request you to send me the screenshot of your backup console that is without a restore tab. It's quite weird...
Petter Morris: where shall I send them to?
Charles: We will create a case ticket and send it across to you. Please reply to the mail with the attachments. We will precisely look into the issue and will resolve the same at the earliest.
Petter Morris: email (a temporary email address)
Petter Morris: that's easier for me at the moment
Charles: Peter, we cannot use the email address other than your Mozy account email address.
Petter Morris: okay, use that one then
Charles: Thanks.
Petter Morris: How long should this web-restore take?
Petter Morris: It hasn't finished generating yet
Charles: It will take some time since you have almost 54 GB to download.
Charles: You will receive a mail once the building of your restore is complete.
Charles: The restore will have a number of parts that you will have to download one after the other.
Petter Morris: I am clicking Refresh in my browser
Petter Morris: requested 1 hour and 15 minutes ago
Petter Morris: Status = In_Progress
Charles: Well, that will only refresh your browser.
Charles: You will have to be patient since you have almost 54 GB to download that might have taken weeks to upload.
Petter Morris: I am not downloading it yet
Petter Morris: it is "preparing" it for me so I can download it when it has finished
Petter Morris: It has taken 75 minutes and there isn't anything for me to download yet
Petter Morris: I know it will take days to download
Charles: Mozy is preparing your download and will subsequently make a number of parts that you can download easily.
Petter Morris: but 75 minutes to prepare the files for me to download?
Charles: Peter... It does take that much time.

NOTE: With hind-sight, yes, it is probably zipping up my files or something so 54GB should take a long time.

Petter Morris: Still no email from you, has it been sent?
Charles: Email is being drafted. You will be receiving it soon.
Charles: By the way, what time is it now there?
Petter Morris: 20:36
Charles: ok
Charles: AM ?

Okay, NOW I am getting worried!

Petter Morris: 20 = 8pm
Charles: Sorry about that. am not quite good in timings.
Charles: Peter, mail has been sent. Please check and reply with the attachments.
Petter Morris: Why is the email from Vincent and not you?
Charles: Peter, That won't make any difference, I will put my transcripts and will work accordingly.
Charles: Peter, are you with me ?
Petter Morris: yes
Petter Morris: just sent your email
Charles: thanks, let me check your mail.
Charles: Peter, did you use the same subject line while replying?
Petter Morris: yes
Petter Morris: I just clicked reply, attached files....send
Charles: ok, I haven't received yet. need to check...
Petter Morris: got it?
Charles: It has not yet come. Please check if you have received any undeliverable message..
Petter Morris: no bounce
Petter Morris: would you like me to put the files on the web?
Charles: If you don't mind let's wait for some more time.
Petter Morris: (Pasted 2 urls)
Charles: I have checked the log and there seems to be a database issue along with the manifest.
Charles: Go to C:Program FilesMozyHomeData using Windows Explorer.
Charles: 2. Remove / delete the file named "cache.dat" and restart the computer.
Charles: 3. Now try to perform a manual backup.
Petter Morris: If I reconnect to support will I get you or someone else?
Petter Morris: I don't want Vincent back
Charles: You can connect back to me.

Computer is rebooted.

Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with 'Charles '
Petter Morris: hi
Charles: Hi Peter.
Charles: What is the status now ?
Petter Morris: Now I see a restore button
Petter Morris: but I am VERY concerned
Charles: Great !!
Petter Morris: I have logged into the web
Petter Morris: and it now says I am using 16GB
Charles: ok
Petter Morris: and not 54GB
Charles: ok wait a moment..
Charles: I am looking into your account...
Charles: Peter, I would suggest you to perform a web restore and while doing so you will find an option to select the date of restore. Please browse through the dates and you should find your data.
Petter Morris: when I log in
Petter Morris: to the website
Charles: Yes
Petter Morris: before I did this 1 file backup it said "In use, 54GB"
Petter Morris: then I did this 1 file backup
Petter Morris: and now it says "In use, 16GB"
Petter Morris: that's 38GB of data missing!
Charles: ok just login and click on web restore and browse through the dates.
Petter Morris: I have already done so, I am just waiting for it Charles: ok
Petter Morris: 53.82GB that says
Charles: ok
Petter Morris: So I have 16GB on the main site, 53.82GB on the restore page, and neither are right
Petter Morris: it should be 54.2GB if I recall
Petter Morris: or 52.4
Charles: Anyway, we will look into it later, I would suggest you to start restoring your data. I may have to escalate the data mismatch happening.
Petter Morris: ok
Petter Morris: thanks
Charles: Is there anything else I can assist you with?
Petter Morris: I don't think so no
Charles: Thank you for choosing Mozy, Have a nice day !
Petter Morris: yes
Petter Morris: there is
Petter Morris: I can see a missing file
Charles: ok
Petter Morris: 2009-01-15 Baby Scan 2.wmv
Petter Morris: Slightly important, just a video scan of my baby
Petter Morris: I want this escalated immediately
Petter Morris: and I want someone to phone me
Charles: Peter, my recommendation would be to start restoring your data right away, I will put across this issue and get it resolved.
Petter Morris: There is a problem with that
Petter Morris: if the data is incorrect
Petter Morris: I may end up with old or corrupted data
Petter Morris: and not realise a file was wrong/corrupt until 12 months from now
Charles: yes.
Petter Morris: and by then it will be too late
Petter Morris: It needs to be fixed BEFORE I can trust the data that is sent to me
Petter Morris: I have wasted enough time on this now
Charles: I will right away escalate this issue and they will get back to you.
Petter Morris: I want a phone call
Petter Morris: (My telephone number)
Charles: Peter, MozyHome customers do not have the telephone facility. The escalation team will do whatever possible from their end to resolve your issue.
Petter Morris: tough
Petter Morris: Mozy has messed up
Petter Morris: my baby scan video is missing
Petter Morris: do you realise how important that is to me?
Charles: I will put across your request and they will take it to a conclusion.
Petter Morris: These are exceptional circumstances, make an exception
Petter Morris: Please talk to them now before I disconnect
Petter Morris: then tell me what they say
Charles: We don't have direct interaction with them, all we can do is to forward your ticket with all our transcripts and they will come back to you at the earliest.
Petter Morris: There is a number that mozy-pro users can phone right?
Charles: yes, but MozyHome customers will be re-directed to chat support and will land back to us.
Petter Morris: then you please phone that number, explain who you are, explain that mozy has messed up and lost some of my very important data
Petter Morris: and tell them that to resolve the issue you would like them to treat me as a pro user
Petter Morris: to fix the error that has taken place
Petter Morris: When a company does something wrong, it should do its best to put it right
Petter Morris: I am not after pro support because I do not understand something. I understand how to use your application fully
Petter Morris: Your company has lost some vital data
Petter Morris: which was there only minutes ago
Petter Morris: so now it needs to take exceptional steps to rectify this mistake
Charles: I would suggest you to wait until the escalation team responds back to you. I have put your issue on high priority and they will get your issue fixed without any concerns.
Petter Morris: and how will they contact me?
Petter Morris: by phone?
Petter Morris: and how long will I wait?
Charles: No, by mail and it will be done soon
Petter Morris: So I have to sit here refreshing my email until I get a reply
Petter Morris: How long is "soon"?
Charles: Peter, you have to allow me to escalate the issue. They are our next level of support. They will get back to you at the earliest on priority basis. You can rely on these statements.
Petter Morris: please escalate it
Petter Morris: I am on the phone to mozy-pro support now

I explained the story to the guy on the phone, he agreed to give me telephone support (first positive action of the night). We restarted my machine, tried doing a restore again and the missing file was there!

This whole episode took over 4 hours, that's 4 hours JUST TO START doing my restore.  Shocking!  I have lost all confidence in Mozy after this experience.  They write software which hides user interface elements instead of disabling them.  The application won't show you restore history unless you do a backup first (which is pointless after a fresh installation as there is nothing to restore), and then they let staff lose on their support system who obviously do not understand the product fully.

To top it all off it's now going to take 4 weeks to restore my data.  The DVD restore option is only available to USA residents.  Utter rubbish!


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Mike Price

Mike Price

Orange Customer service ?I am being charged about 30pence per day on pay as you for connecting to the internet on my mobile,Even when the phone is switched off and when I am asleep .How do you explain this to Orange .25pence to call them they say the GPS has been discomnnected to my phone and still the charges continue .Ask them to put you in contact with their manager and the phone goes dead .My advise is dont bother with Orange .Any Help would be greatly received?
03/03/11 Mike Price
7
Colin S

Colin S

Asolutely right, I happened to click on the mozyhome icon and was horrified to see no back up for 8 days. Tried to email using the email they gave received a automatic reply that was useless. They are not good, look somewhee else.
Colin S
16/12/10 Colin S
-5
RAYMOND CHILCOTT

RAYMOND CHILCOTT

I have been a customer of talk talk for about 2 years, I have not got one good word to say about it.I have been on the phone trying to sort out my internet problems so many times I am seriously thinking of going elsewhere.Onthe 11th of august I was promised a new router would be sent to me within 4 to 8 days, I have now been waiting 12 days.This evening 23rd of august some helpfull person called me to ask if the service I have received was up to standard, when my wife explained that we were still waiting for the router,he said I will find out for you what has happened to it... then he hung up on us,What a way to run a company.My family and friends are all deciding to end their association with talk talk over this shoddy behaviour. thanks and good bye.
23/08/10 RAYMOND CHILCOTT
0
common sense

common sense

"I lost my internet connection on 24/01/10 and it was not restored until 6/02/10 despite numerous phone callls to their help line that merely asked me whether the settings on the router were correct. I had technical help sittiing at the computer for two hours + on threee occasions without talktalk telephoning back as promised. I threatened to tell everybody I knew at the cancellation point and this seemed to have the desired effect. The support people seem to follow a script and nothing will change that, they do not deviate from it!!"

First of all the support people DO NOT follow a script most of them are certified by some of the biggest names in IT such as cisco and microsoft so dont belittle thier skills they probbly out qualify YOU 2 times over!! seeing as your not a broadband technician and dont understand how the network is constructed, if a problem has occured at the switch of the network you dont just hit a button and taa daa its fixed! a network enginner must be booked to go to the physical location of the switch which means theres a human element involved!, PS threatening people doesnt make you smart! if you had got me on the phone and threatend to "tell everyone" about the bad service I would have simply told you go ahead and then and dont call back! I used to hate dealing with people like you! impatient, rude, arrogant, full of self involvment!
16/07/10 common sense
-2
Waxy

Waxy

I have never had a problem with them. I think you are impatient because they are "foreign". You will get worse service from the UK. Believe me, I have been there!
15/07/10 Waxy
2
Slomoblank

Slomoblank

TalkTalk do not honour contractual offers. On May 5th 2010 I had an unsolicited call from them offering TWO months at half price if I made a new contract with them for 18 months. I am an existing customer originally with Tiscali for a phone and broadband package. I haggled and they offered THREE months at half price which I accepted. They also offered free 0845 calls (and other similar numbers free) and free antispam software. Since then NOTHING has happened. They continue charging the same rate. My emails requesting explanation are answered by people who don't understand English and treat my email as if I am talking about a broadband contact issue. A promise to contact me by phone in 72hrs has been reneged on. They are just cynically swindling me and ignoring my protests. I get emails now saying that since they have not heard from me in the last few days they are considering my complaint to be resolved unless I contact them to the contrary. I am sure the policy is deliberate and I feel that, because they are such swindlers, I should quit them for another package elsewhere even if I end up paying more. I hate being trampled on by such dreadful customer relations. TalkTalk is in general a good deal until you have a problem or an issue. Then they rank highly if not top amongst the WORST of ISPs.
15/06/10 Slomoblank
-5
bob

bob

Talktalk took over tiscali and the price increase by 30% so I phone them to cancel and yes no problem don't cancel you direct debit so we can get the last bill. 2 Months later I am still getting charged. I called up to cancel again and the operator had not processed my cancelation. Second time lucky hopefully.
15/04/10 bob
7
bob

bob

Talktalk took over tiscali and the price increase by 30% so I phone them to cancel and yes no problem don't cancel you direct debit so we can get the last bill. 2 Months later I am still getting charged. I called up to cancel again and the operator had not processed my cancelation. Second time lucky hopefully.
15/04/10 bob
1
billsaver

billsaver

your with the wrong company.If you want info on the right company that I have had expert customer service and that talk to you like a human being without being rude and in London then look no further.A major plc company too
You won't find one better...ANYWHERE!
If you want me to steer you in the right direction email me at david@bestbillsaver.co.uk
05/04/10 billsaver
9
Tony P.

Tony P.

The Queen must be dealing with a different Talk Talk to me. They make Ryan Air look like the good fairies. Rotten service.Useless help with problems. Leaving them has brightened my life.
31/03/10 Tony P.
-4
vinny

vinny

A talk talk agent phone me on 25/02/10 and offer me talk talk pro and I ask for a brochure and he said I will receive it in 2 days time , when it didnt turn up on the 4th day I phone talk talk and then an agent advise me that it is not active yet 27/02/10, so I ask her to cancel and put me back on my original package and she confrim it was cancel, and on the 6/03/10 receive letter stating service is active since 25/02/10, so I phone talk talk and the agent said if I want to cancel talk talk pro I have to pay £70 and he said talk international anytime does not exist anymore, so they decided to change it to talk talk essentials and then I have to pay an extra £4 to get my anytime calls which they promise it is for life when I sign up with talk talk, I'm really disappointed with the advisers that I spoke to on 3 occassions because it was all misleading !!!!!!!!!!!
06/03/10 vinny
-4
Annie

Annie

I continual frustrated with the continual loss of my email. Wilthin two years I lose the connection every 4 weeks sometimes less.
I dont always understand the computer jardon. Can someone give me some tips.
23/02/10 Annie
-1
SOROYA

SOROYA

I have tried to get orange on many occasions as I purchaseda sim nearly 2 weeks ago for my son and top up with 10 poundsMy son has not been able to use phone as we were told sim was faulty? we have tried on several occasions to contact orange and promises for NEW sim to be sent out is all that is happening....but still no sim received. Shop where we purchsed sim cannot help as this problem is due to the sim and not the phone.....please help. 07905480057. soroya
18/02/10 SOROYA
5
Edith

Edith

Why is it taking a month to put me on the Pro plan package. Despite sevear phone calls I still do not know.
18/02/10 Edith
9
peter

peter

I lost my internet connection on 24/01/10 and it was not restored until 6/02/10 despite numerous phone callls to their help line that merely asked me whether the settings on the router were correct. I had technical help sittiing at the computer for two hours + on threee occasions without talktalk telephoning back as promised. I threatened to tell everybody I knew at the cancellation point and this seemed to have the desired effect. The support people seem to follow a script and nothing will change that, they do not deviate from it!!
10/02/10 peter
-8

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