Hi Angeli,
Here is my response to your post on 14-07-2021 04:30 PM:
First, I'm impressed by your large blocks of heavy black text ... no, not really. Adding weight to your fonts does not really add weight to your arguments.
"If the order is for remote activation, like in your case, SMS and email notifications will be sent instructing to connect both the NCD and the modem to progress the order". This, like much of what TPG has said to me, is ambiguous or unclear. If you mean merely connecting the boxes together and powering them up, that makes perfect sense. If you mean also connecting the NBN box to the telephone wall socket while the phone still has dial tone, that makes no sense at all. I have tried to get TPG to be a bit clearer about what TPG actually mean in their communications to me, and in their information guides, and that is pretty much the basis of this entire thread, not any difficulties with the actual process of connection itself.
"However, since the attempt to remotely activate your service did not work due to unforeseen circumstance, TPG had to request a tech visit from NBN to complete the service activation." Am I mistaken in believing that for a new FTTC connection, telephone wires that previously went from the premises all the way to the telephone exchange, have to be physically cut in a nearby pit and reterminated in an NBN data port in the pit, and that has to be done by an NBN technician who comes out for that purpose? How can that possibly happen "remotely"? Anyone who thinks that "unforeseen circumstances" have prevented "remote activation of the service" seems to me to be simply displaying a total lack of understanding as to how an FTTC connection works.
"Based on my understanding during the tech visit, the NBN connection box was not connected to the right phone wall socket." Who or what gave you that impression? There is only one telephone wall socket in our place. Up till the time the NBN technician came, the phone was still plugged in there, because as I've said before, why would I disconnect a working phone in order to connect an NBN box that has no hope of working until the NBN technician does the wiring changeover?
"When you plug the NBN connection box on the right wall socket, the existing telephone service and alarm services if any will no longer work." Yes, but if you do that before the wiring changeover, the NBN FTTC connection, as well as the existing telephone service, will not work, so why would any one do that? And why would TPG give anyone the impression that they should do that?
"Installation of NBN FTTC, like all other NBN technologies..." Yes, I'm sure that there are a lot of complications behind the scenes that must be dealt with to make a new NBN connection work. Having that expertise is part of being a good ISP. But I wonder whether that expertise is a bit thinner on the ground than your customers would hope for. The bloke who rang me a day after the modems were delivered, to ask me if I "had connected yet", didn't change his tune when I said I still had dial tone. The lady who rang me a few days later, (I suspect when you arranged the NBN technician's visit), also wanted to know if I had connected. I was was the one who raised with her the fact that I still had dial tone. She did not seem to expect that, and I suspect she adjusted her spiel to suit. She certainly did not give me any specific relevant information such as "There is no need to disconnect your existing phone while you still have dial tone".
To skip ahead: "Please let us know if you would need further assistance." I hope you are not trying to give the impression that I have needed any special assistance to get my connection going. I did the self-installation in the house, and the NBN technician did the changeover outside. The fact that he came inside the house to connect his circuit tracer to the phone socket, and he did give the modems a quick once-over, hardly counts as "assistance".
"we thank you for your inputs which we have raised with our provisioning team". If your provisioning team are the people who perform the paperwork of setting up an account, arrange for the delivery of the modems, and the attendance of an NBN technician if required, then you are sending my inputs to the wrong place. Who is it that arranges the wording of the SMS's and emails you send, and the online guides you provide?
"TPG is constantly working on improving customer experience..." I am pleased to hear it. That would mean that you would be quite willing to modify wording in your communications that gives your customers a wrong impression as to how a new FTTC connection will proceed. The things that I would have liked to see more clearly explained are:
* When you receive your modems, hook them up and power them up as per the Guide, but do not disconnect your existing phone while you still have dial tone.
* For a new FTTC connection, an NBN technician will be required to make a wiring changeover in a pit near your premises, and your existing phone will keep working (dial tone) until that happens.
I am pleased to have had this opportunity to help you clarify the information you supply to your new FTTC customers. If you need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
