Comment Switched my parents over to vonage... (Score 0) 221
Now almost all of my family is switched over to Vonage and have broadband too for about the same price they were paying for dialup and carrier service.
The only problem with them using Vonage has been when the cablemodem goes out and they've got to use their cellphone. The other issue is that they are used to calling Bellsouth and yelling at them and them politely saying they will have a tech look into it. Now their experience calling techsupport with Vonage has been far more technical and complicated for their comfort level. Now when they call techsupport (likely in India, not always polite to older frustrated americans), they don't have the patience to go through the remote diagnostics steps. Bellsouth has give them the expectation that any phone company can see and trace all of the problems remotely or that a service tech will be out on site in a few hours.
I ask them to call me now when their service is not working (which has only been a three times over the last 18 months) but they keep calling vonage and get frustrated with tech support. My expectation is that both the cablemodem service and vonage over cablemodem will be more reliable and dependable overtime. Until then I believe these issues can be managed like any other service; whether it's your cellphone dropping a call or power going out because of a storm.
Sometimes parents, technology, and change don't mix well. :)
Jonathan
The only problem with them using Vonage has been when the cablemodem goes out and they've got to use their cellphone. The other issue is that they are used to calling Bellsouth and yelling at them and them politely saying they will have a tech look into it. Now their experience calling techsupport with Vonage has been far more technical and complicated for their comfort level. Now when they call techsupport (likely in India, not always polite to older frustrated americans), they don't have the patience to go through the remote diagnostics steps. Bellsouth has give them the expectation that any phone company can see and trace all of the problems remotely or that a service tech will be out on site in a few hours.
I ask them to call me now when their service is not working (which has only been a three times over the last 18 months) but they keep calling vonage and get frustrated with tech support. My expectation is that both the cablemodem service and vonage over cablemodem will be more reliable and dependable overtime. Until then I believe these issues can be managed like any other service; whether it's your cellphone dropping a call or power going out because of a storm.
Sometimes parents, technology, and change don't mix well.
Jonathan
