Best of the ISP-Lists

Those Troublesome Winmodems

Members of the ISP-Tech list discuss a common problem. How do you avoid getting blamed when a customer's modem is so cheap that it cannot sustain a full-speed connection?

[May 16, 2001]

On the ISP-Tech list in April, RW voiced a common complaint in tech support:

"There is one thing that I have more problems with than any other part of a PC: the Winmodems that ship with many retail PCs. Winmodems do not contain controllers on the board, so they rely on Windows to provide the intelligence; the modem itself simply performs the physical communications in most cases. Winmodems are one of the most problematic pieces of junk ever invented by the computing industry."

A number of respondents noted that it's usually the ISP that gets blamed for the modem's weaknesses:

[RR complained] "Good luck convincing your customers that their stuff is the problem and your network is just fine: customers don't like to hear that kind of thing. Think about it: if you called your RBOC to say that you keep getting static, and they said it's because your phone stinks, would you believe them?

[JL countered] "Telling the truth works for us. Sometimes the truth hurts, but the truth is always the best policy. If a subscriber doesn't want to accept our experienced evaluation of his problem and rational solutions to it, I'll be more than happy to send him to you!"

Others offered their favorite methods for dealing with these complaints:

[RS observed] "I usually explain that line quality is the real culprit and a better modem may help. If they don't believe it, I suggest they bring their computer to our office and then I show them it works fine here (it almost always does). If they still have trouble, I sometimes visit their site with my laptop and show them that my modem works fine. This actually has lead to some great referrals for our small local ISP."

[CS agreed] "I find that the best way of explaining your point is to invite them to your offices for free troubleshooting: while they're there, hook up an external modem and test the connections between the two pieces of hardware. Or ask them to borrow a friend's modem. Over the years, I've only had one customer leave us because he got lousy connections with his Winmodem. The rest have purchased new modems on our recommendation, or have even gotten their PC reseller to swap the modem out."

[RR recalled] "The best solution to this that I've seen is to get the user to lower the speed to 28.8 or 14.4. If the user has a Winmodem, then 28.8 or 14.4 should be fine for what they will be doing and it won't tax the system. Let someone else tell them the modem sucks and suggest an alternative. Sometimes it's not about being 'right'—it's about solving the problem."

[JM explained] "We simply buy the modem for them. When it works, all we ask is that they pay for the modem and a modest install fee for our time and trouble. Works every time."

[BS offered] "Check out this link: http://www.webusers.warwick.net/~u1001562/ —This site gives you all the essential init strings you need to get them to work correctly, links to updated drivers, and information on modem recalls from manufacturers. It's saved our techs quite a few headaches on the phone."

— End

 

Related articles:
	[Apr. 24, 2001]	7th Biannual ISPCON ISP-CEO Roundtable Insights
	[Dec. 18, 2000]	Troubleshooting PM3 Disconnects