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Comment by jmcdiesel | Hacker News Reader

The problem with this kind of thing is this...

If its going out when it rains, its likely wiring on your house, not plant. Its probably past the point of demarkation (where you become liable for the line) ... 99% of the time this is the case (ex phone field tech)

You just raised enough attention to make it worthwhile to soak up the cost of replacing YOUR line for you...

Congratulations, you may have joined the ranks of entitled people who use public pressure to whine their way into getting what they want...

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> If its going out when it rains, its likely wiring on your house, not plant

Ya, it wasn't and they knew it wasn't, they had already admitted that point. The phone company can actually tell when there is an issue on their end you know.

The issue was some of there equipment was missing a lid. So when it rained, it filled up faster than it drained and shorted the circuit. The solution was put the lid on that should be there.

But please, don't let facts (that you didn't know) get in the way of you continuing to rant as a previous field tech get in the way of telling people to suck things up because for some reason you still don't feel like doing that job.

Oh and I am fully aware of the difference in responsibility at the NID.

Phone company techs are extremely defensive. (This is often the case with cable company techs, too). Source: I used to regular DSLReports. Holy crap. XD

I don't think this is really justified, given the story presented. If the problem with GP's line was on their own property and not the responsibility of the phone company, the phone company has some responsibility to say so and not do some quick non-permanent fix every time they call.

We can't all be ex phone field techs. When we call a company providing us a service for support with that service, we expect them to do what they can and inform us of what they can't and what we can do about it. That's not unreasonable or entitled.

If it is my responsibility to pay for something, then just say so. Happy to fix my own messes. But don't tell me it's fixed 12 times over the course of a year and then complain when I demand it be fixed for real.

Even though the people on the other end of that line aren't always technically savvy individuals or generally in a good mood, they are adults and should be told the truth so they have a fair shot at solving their problem and moving on with their lives.

Where do you draw the line between "public pressure" and "whining" and "working around shit customer service?"

I think it's ridiculous that you have to make a fuss on Twitter to get anything fixed these days, but that's a failing of the 'normal' customer service channels most of the time.

Not sure where it is in the US / rest if world, but in Australia the point of demarcation for residential houses is the 1st phone point, so any issues in the line are almost certainly the telco's problem.

Not even true. I have had this problem and had it traced to water ingress in a junction box some distance away.

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