| Proof ViaTalk support = FAIL. ViaTalk is part of Hostrocket and I have watched this company since it's very beginning.
I have waited over a month for an issue to be resolved and an additional 9 days for a ticket to be answered and now I resort to getting their attention through this channel because last time it worked. On December 31st I opened ticket #SDZ-49084. Noone has responded since then. I have left messages at ViaTalk and Hostrocket but they continue to go unanswered. Tickets left months ago have been closed but not resolved.
This is the typical type of support I have come to be used to. I'm sure if any account rep has the guts to answer the ticket publicly, there will be some lame excuse as to why other tickets get answered quickly but this one takes weeks.
AVOID VIATALK AND HOSTROCKET. I'm sure some people have had good experiences but they are definitely the minority. And if anyone is considering utilizing their affiliate system to make cash! BEWARE! Don't rely on any cash from a company that takes weeks or months to answer tickets, then doesn't pay up when it's time to do so. I'd love to report you to the BBB but it seems enough people has already done that to get you booted! »search.buffalo.bbb.org/codbrep.h···66008074
Come on guys! Learn to use your own ticketing system instead of relying on dslreports. |
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 VTBrendanViatalkPremium,VIP
join:2005-06-27
Clifton Park, NY
kudos:1 | Jeremy,
I'm shooting you a PM regarding this.
-Brendan |
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| reply to crazyjeremy
Nice.
Their documentation tells me to send an email for tickets to a specific address, I do so and it gets ignored. He says something along the lines of "Oh, that's the problem, you're ticket is in the wrong place..." I DID WHAT YOUR SYSTEM TOLD ME TO.
I've been telling them that stuff was wanky for over a year. How the heck does this crap go on and tickets go unanswered for months in the wrong queue? Why the heck do I have to resort to a 3rd party website to get attention? How freaking jacked up must it be over there that they don't answer a voice message but the president of the freaking company answers a pm in 2 minutes?
I know I risk shooting myself in the foot right now because he's trying to make it good as we speak, but this is the 4th or 5th time this has happened! How can you run a business like this? |
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| reply to crazyjeremy
In exactly 1 hour of using an external support system, my issue is acknowledged and resolved. With over a month and a half of emails, tickets and voicemails at ViaTalk & Hostrocket using the system they set up and requested, NO DICE. There's your proof folks. 2 minute response time from the prez on a 3rd party forum. 1 hour resolution time. |
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 jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL | reply to crazyjeremy
Re: Proof ViaTalk support = FAIL. BBR's forums are Viatalk P.R. central, at least for initial contact. Follow up is often lacking, glad you got your issue resolved. |
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VTBrendanViatalkPremium,VIP
join:2005-06-27
Clifton Park, NY
kudos:1 | Hi,
We (me specifically) use this forum as a method of getting concentrated feedback from our customers on an ongoing basis. That information is very valuable to us, and that's why you see us here so much, to keep information flowing.
Today was a perfect example of that very thing in action. I was contacted regarding a service (braincast) specifically related to it's affiliate program, and in the process alerted to a misconfiguration in the affiliate software resulting in related tickets going into the wrong ticket system. This, along with the OP's issue, has been resolved and will not reoccur going forward.
To hold in a negative light my willingness to help bring to resolution individual problems that I encounter while viewing the most concentrated source of customer feedback of a varied sampling that I can get my hands on seems a bit off base, but to each their own.
This issue was very specific, and related to a product and its associated affiliate program that has been on hold for approaching two years. That said, the root issue (incorrect email address) has been resolved, and it will not reoccur.
-Brendan |
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| Wow, you just don't know how to apologize, do you? You have the guts to spin this like I did something bad? I've been waiting for months for you to resolve ongoing support issues and this is what you have to say???
To hold in a negative light my willingness to help bring to resolution individual problems that I encounter while viewing the most concentrated source of customer feedback of a varied sampling that I can get my hands on seems a bit off base, but to each their own.
Dude, are you a politician? What kind of talk is that? I don't hold your willingness to help in a negative light. I see YOU in a negative light with everything relating to customer service. I hold you responsible for the staff that you have hired and the systems that you have in place that would allow tickets to be open for months on end. I hold YOU responsible for not fixing the "misconfiguration" over a year ago when I first alerted you to it. I hold you responsible for your unwillingness to admit that as a CEO your choices are what cause this forum to light up with negative feedback. You consistantly give shoddy support, lean on weak excuses and have an infinite number of employees that are not empowered or capable of fixing what you have done wrong.
If you had the guts to hire someone with real customer service experience and actually trust them enough to *gasp* give them a bit of control of your enterprise, you would realize your technical genius and their customer support could be wonderful. Instead you still micromanage everything. You micromanage yourself into answering tickets on a 3rd party forum all day.
Your company grew... I thought you might grow with it, instead you treat people like you treat machines. No matter how intelligent you are with technology the proof is in the pudding that when it comes to your customers you just don't have a clue.
So far I have tried EVERY service of yours that I could possibly try. You have let me down on EVERY single one. Double billing, overages, incorrect billing, LOSING ALL OF MY EMAIL BECAUSE YOUR BACKUPS DIDN'T WORK, failing to answer tickets, failing to pay according to affiliate agreements, trying to make me look bad when you screw up, etc...
And today, instead of actually apologizing publicly for screwing this up you have the gall to actually point the finger back at me? Get a clue. You are what's wrong with your company. In fact, do all the techy stuff that you do but stop talking to customers. You're not good at it. |
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VTBrendanViatalkPremium,VIP
join:2005-06-27
Clifton Park, NY
kudos:1 | Jeremy,
I wasn't referring to your post when I said that. Perhaps I should have made that more clear, as it seems to have upset you. If I was replying to you, I wouldn't have referred to 'you' as 'the OP' etc., however thank you for the kind words.
-Brendan |
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| I wasn't referring to your post when I said that. Perhaps I should have made that more clear, as it seems to have upset you. Uhh... Ok. ?
I think I've given you and your company way to many chances. You only "upset me" because you still miss the point. I guess if you haven't learned the lesson after growing a business this large you may never actually get it.
You're a technical guy that releases products prematurely, then tests your customers patience at your pocket book's expense. It's amazing you are still in business. |
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| reply to VTBrendan
Re: Proof ViaTalk support = FAIL. Bendan,
Why don't you try to use your customer support anonymously some time? See if you would remain a ViaTalk customer. Your service is good when it works, but that is becoming increasingly less frequently. Your "support" is a sham at best. The holds are inexcusable, the call backs nonexistent, the reply messages a fantasy, and the opened tickets that never get resolved the norm. When "support" does provide answers, they almost always are irrelevant or incorrect! Try it! Then fix it or quit the business. |
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VTBrendanViatalkPremium,VIP
join:2005-06-27
Clifton Park, NY
kudos:1 | Hi,
I do that on a fairly regular basis, along with taking calls to see things from their perspective as well. While I am fully aware of the hold time issues of the past, we have made some pretty significant strides in improving that aspect of our business. Our average hold time / wait for a callback was under 8 minutes this last week.
-Brendan |
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| reply to VTBrendan
Re: Proof ViaTalk support = FAIL. said by VTBrendan:Hi, I do that on a fairly regular basis, along with taking calls to see things from their perspective as well. While I am fully aware of the hold time issues of the past, we have made some pretty significant strides in improving that aspect of our business. Our average hold time / wait for a callback was under 8 minutes this last week. -Brendan Would you mind sharing with us what has been put into place to prevent future CS hold times and service outages. Also when was the new system put into place? I called in about a month ago and it took 3 hours for a callback. With the new system what is the average wait time within a 24 hour period. Please be honest  Lastly, why has it taken so long for all the bugs, outages, etc. to be worked out. Was their a problem with the current system, lack of qualified help, sever problems, etc.?
I think it is great that you are helping people out in the forums but I feel the forums are not where all these problems should be resolved. Nor should the be resolved by the BBB, threats, slander back and forth by angry customers, etc. So what is being done internally so that histor does not repeat itself etc. Thanks |
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| reply to crazyjeremy
As a sometime critic of VT, even I am saddened by this string and several others close by it.
The silence that is the lack of fanboy defense is deafening.
Brendan, we have clashed a few times here but honestly, I would take no joy in seeing you ultimately fail.
Seriously, it may well be time to bring in outside consultants to sort out the CS problems.
I work for a Fortune 100 company who uses this tactic all the time as needed.
There is no shame in it.
Sometimes a business just gets turned around trying to solve too many issues and needs a fresh set of eyes to reset things. |
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| reply to crazyjeremy
Brendan, if your internet providers put you on hold for 8, 10 or 20 minutes when your network was down, or waited hours or never called back when you left a message for support, or raised their prices over 50% yet still advertised and sold their product as if the price was $200, would you continue to use them? Even if you did do business with them would you rely on them and trust them with the majority of your business traffic?
I know some things have gotten better, but do you not see that your attitude about all of this is what ticks us off? It's not any one of these, it's all of them. And the fact that you still are defensive about it. |
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 brian188Keep your Liberalism off my paycheckPremium
join:2006-03-23
Loveland, CO
 ·Comcast
| said by crazyjeremy:Brendan, if your internet providers put you on hold for 8, 10 or 20 minutes when your network was down, or waited hours or never called back when you left a message for support, or raised their prices over 50% yet still advertised and sold their product as if the price was $200, would you continue to use them? Even if you did do business with them would you rely on them and trust them with the majority of your business traffic? I know some things have gotten better, but do you not see that your attitude about all of this is what ticks us off? It's not any one of these, it's all of them. And the fact that you still are defensive about it. That is the attitude of their entire support team. I left them over a year ago, and the reasons are documented here and their ticket system. Bottom line this is the most arrogant company I have ever had the displeasure of doing business with. Obviously it comes from the top down. That is the culture at this company... we are right and we will defend it to the end all the while saying we are getting better.
I'm just happy I was quick enough to cut ties with them and never signed up for the BOGO bullshit they were pushing. This is NOT a company that can be trusted. |
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Reviews:
·ProLog
 ·Verizon Online DSL
 ·voip.ms
| reply to crazyjeremy
I guess I am very fortunate. Any time I have sent in a e-mail ticket, I usually have had a response back and the problem resolved in less than 4 hours. These were minor issues, however and did not make my service unusable.
I guess I am further fortunate in that I have had only 1 major issues in 3 years that required a an immediate call.
Compare that to my POTs line with supposed 5x9s reliability: I have had to call repair 4 or 5 times in the same time frame.
 Here's hoping this post won't put the evil eye on my service
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The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. |
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| reply to VTBrendan
My service has been intermitantly flaky since around Thanksgiving. However, I will say this, both times I've called VT for service, my wait was less than 10 minutes, One around 4 and the other about 9. In comparison, on my recent call to TW about my cable service, my wait time was around 25 minutes.
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