What's your occupation?

[SuB]

I am a Access Planner for Virgin Media, planning Business Installs for Business Broadband of up to 10Gbp/s, also sometimes new residential builds.

Basically I plan the civils routes, cable routes, cabinet locations based on distance from Hubsites, residential houses and then what kit will be installed at the customers site for Business installs.

It wasn't a bad job, Monday to Friday 8am till 4pm and overtime is available but the wages are abit poor and so are, the performance reviews each year but then they took the key part of our role away from us and passed it off to Contractors, which has made the job really boring and a challenge to want to do each day.

New starters in my job earn £25,300, and thanks to the pathetic performance reviews over the last 4 years of me working there, up until this year I was always below the minimum but this year I got bumped up to the minimum, and now I earn the same amount each year as those who have no experience and who have just started the job, and then I have to help to train them up.

Needless to say I am looking at going to night college to get some qualifications and then I will be looking for a new job, where you get treated better as Virgin Media is not a company I would recommend people to work for.

Couple questions
1) any secrets I (as a VM customer) should know to get better/any decent service?

2) I got offered the 152MB upgrade.. but i have to 'request' it.. every other speed upgrade I know of was automatic, does that 'request' put me at the start of another contract for 12 months?

3) If I go for the upgrade, and, as happened when they bumped speeds to 120MB for free, the line quality goes completely to shit, and my ping is fucked again, can I go back to what I am on now and it not be fucked? lol

Sorry if none of that is at your level of whatever you're at, but I'm sick of waiting in queues on their phone/online chat service to find out...

 

[Innocent159]

I am a Matric student and writing Nationals in the coming months hopefully I get accepted to Cape Peninsula University of Technology and complete a National diploma in Information Technology. Hoping to get a intern at a IT company while studying and after completing my studies, i'll do my degrees part-time while working and hopefully help out on the forums or some other computer forum

 

[Highlander89]

I seem to be among the few that combine computers with gardening. That's right, a gardener. I usually work full days in the sun, so I'm so tan I get surprised everytime I see myself in the mirrror Mostly paving and making lawns, and a lot of heavy lifting is involved. Once when we made this wall. I carried in one day 8 tonnes of these cement wallbricks. They were 25 kg per brick and then these dogbone-shaped bricks in between. Man that was just a crazy day.

Also studied computers and electronics, no gigs there though.

I like to play the guitar and bass and also enjoy the occasional whisky.
So lifting rocks and stuff at daytime and drinking whisky and gaming/playing/building pc's in the evening. Isn't that just a marvellous thing going on?

Hmm what whisky would you recommend me?

My personal favourites are Talisker, from the Isle of Skye, And Bunnahabhain (pronounced bunahavin) From Isle of Islay. Scotland is awesome.

 

[Damien c]

Couple questions
1) any secrets I (as a VM customer) should know to get better/any decent service?

2) I got offered the 152MB upgrade.. but i have to 'request' it.. every other speed upgrade I know of was automatic, does that 'request' put me at the start of another contract for 12 months?

3) If I go for the upgrade, and, as happened when they bumped speeds to 120MB for free, the line quality goes completely to shit, and my ping is fucked again, can I go back to what I am on now and it not be fucked? lol

Sorry if none of that is at your level of whatever you're at, but I'm sick of waiting in queues on their phone/online chat service to find out...

1) Not that I am aware off other than the well known get through to Retentions, but be prepared for them to accept your request to cancel as they are getting a grip of it.

2) I don't think it starts a new contract however I cannot be sure as I don't deal with that aspect of the company, I think it's more of a request it and find out if your area is ready for it.

3) If you area is ready for the 152Mb upgrade then they should have completed all the Reseg work, in terms of taking the amount of homes on a Amp and splitting it so that only 50% are on that node, so it should improve the quality dramatically but I cannot guarentee that will be the case in your, area as it depends on how bad it is on whether your area has been done yet.

Don't worry about asking, as I get asked questions like that all the time and sometimes I get asked for dodgy boxes and I just laugh at them and walk off.

I will always try and help people but sometimes it's difficult because of the areas they live in and, not knowing what work has taken place or is planned to take place, it's also annoying knowing about anything that may or may not be coming and not being able to tell, people so that they either stay or leave.

It's abit like NDA's with reviews, like Tom I know some stuff is coming but cannot mention it otherwise I get in some trouble, and that is rather annoying.

 

[Tripp]

We're quite small, so we only have Jack Daniel's and Jameson. I'd recommend you Jameson though. Without ice.

On the beer-side, we have delicious blonde beer!

Oh, and don't tell my parents I know how those whisky's taste, please. :lol:

Jameson's ones is lovely stuff, an beer wise I suggest everyone try the brewdog ales they're lovely

 

[SuB]

1) Not that I am aware off other than the well known get through to Retentions, but be prepared for them to accept your request to cancel as they are getting a grip of it.

2) I don't think it starts a new contract however I cannot be sure as I don't deal with that aspect of the company, I think it's more of a request it and find out if your area is ready for it.

3) If you area is ready for the 152Mb upgrade then they should have completed all the Reseg work, in terms of taking the amount of homes on a Amp and splitting it so that only 50% are on that node, so it should improve the quality dramatically but I cannot guarentee that will be the case in your, area as it depends on how bad it is on whether your area has been done yet.

Don't worry about asking, as I get asked questions like that all the time and sometimes I get asked for dodgy boxes and I just laugh at them and walk off.

I will always try and help people but sometimes it's difficult because of the areas they live in and, not knowing what work has taken place or is planned to take place, it's also annoying knowing about anything that may or may not be coming and not being able to tell, people so that they either stay or leave.

It's abit like NDA's with reviews, like Tom I know some stuff is coming but cannot mention it otherwise I get in some trouble, and that is rather annoying.

such a cock tease.. are we getting 1GBps line soon?

 

[Damien c]

such a cock tease.. are we getting 1GBps line soon?

I cannot say anything about that as I am not "fully " aware of what speeds are being looked at next for after the 152Mb roll out.

IF BT was to increase the max speeds they offer then VM would do something about it, but as from what I have seen of BT Infinity I cannot see them offering anything more than 150Mb on the current infrastructer, and with what rumours I have heard 150Mb wouldn't worry VM.

Don't quote me on any of that though as I don't work on the Residential aspect of the network for, what speeds will be offered.

Just for a little bit of information though given the cost of a business install at 1Gb, not many residential customers would be willing to pay for the instal or monthly cost

 

[Zooport]

Investment development and research analyst

 

[Dario_92]

I am a Student and I only study 2 and a half days per week so i have a lot of free time :lol:

 

[Agost]

An university stu(pi)dent who is late. Really late.

 

[CookieM]

I'm an IT Support Analyst. Basically, I work on the helpdesk supporting about 500 people.

 

[Dicehunter]

I'm a self employed personal trainer also working towards my physiotherapy qualification.

I cannot say anything about that as I am not "fully " aware of what speeds are being looked at next for after the 152Mb roll out.

IF BT was to increase the max speeds they offer then VM would do something about it, but as from what I have seen of BT Infinity I cannot see them offering anything more than 150Mb on the current infrastructer, and with what rumours I have heard 150Mb wouldn't worry VM.

Don't quote me on any of that though as I don't work on the Residential aspect of the network for, what speeds will be offered.

Just for a little bit of information though given the cost of a business install at 1Gb, not many residential customers would be willing to pay for the instal or monthly cost

My dad is currently on a 60MB line with VM and has been over a year and he said he keeps on seeing this speed doubling on TV, On the site it says "You can supercharge your speed from up to 60Mb broadband to up to 100Mb between October 2014 and December 2014" does that mean it will only be sped up for those 2 months and then return to what it was before those dates or is it permanent ?

 

[Spiderz]

Update on this for me:

Pre-registration pharmacist about to take the exam to be a fully qualified pharmacist. Lots of driving miles in my future it seems Need better wheels

 

[crowarth]

Infrastructure technician for a software company.

 

[SPS]

My personal favourites are Talisker, from the Isle of Skye, And Bunnahabhain (pronounced bunahavin) From Isle of Islay. Scotland is awesome.

Oooh, I might just have to try

 

[Kei]

Junior broadcast engineer. Sadly stuck as freelance until i can get more than a foot in the door.

 

[shambles1980]

i am a full time carer (just a recent thing, but is what i will be for the foreseeable future)

 

[Damien c]

I'm a self employed personal trainer also working towards my physiotherapy qualification.





My dad is currently on a 60MB line with VM and has been over a year and he said he keeps on seeing this speed doubling on TV, On the site it says "You can supercharge your speed from up to 60Mb broadband to up to 100Mb between October 2014 and December 2014" does that mean it will only be sped up for those 2 months and then return to what it was before those dates or is it permanent ?

It means that is the dates, when he will be able to call up and request the upgrade from 60Mb to 100Mb but, it won't be only for the 2 months it will be for the remainder of the time he is with them.

 

[barnsley]

Can't remember if I've said but basically Trainee Computer Officer at a Cambridge college and occasional PC repairman/system builder.

 

[SuB]

It means that is the dates, when he will be able to call up and request the upgrade from 60Mb to 100Mb but, it won't be only for the 2 months it will be for the remainder of the time he is with them.

lol this really makes me laugh, spoke to one of their people btw got this about the upgrade:

Perfect, thank you ****. I can arrange for the broadband to be upgraded for you with no change to the contract. Currently you are paying £28.50 a month for the 120mb connection, the free upgrade will keep this at £28.50 until the 1st of October where this will change to £30.00 a month. If you decide to remain on the 120mb connection this will remain at £28.50 cost

So, it's NOT a free upgrade is it? It's free until october, then it'l cost me £1.50 extra a month.. do I look stupid?!
Yes, apply the upgrade, £1.50 for an extra 30mb is alright I guess lol. better not fuck up my ping again though