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Apr 30
2009
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Why Im leaving ExetelPosted by adminsam in Untagged |
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Exetel Filter Trial
Why Im leaving Exetel
Exetel has been my ISP for home and business for about 18 months now. However this week they announced they would be trialling Internet censorship software in preparedness for a mandatory Govt filter. Australia's biggest ISP, Telstra's Bigpond, has not found it necessary to embark on a trial so why does Exetel need to? My argument to Exetel is that they are giving the Govt more fuel by this capitulation. Other ISPs such as Bigpond & iiNet that have publicly stated that it is a ridiculous notion to try to censor the Internet, Exetel has decided to capitulate.If that wasn't bad enough Steve Waddington in his Exetel blog, has referred to people who think there should be no filter as "crazies".
This 'crazy' will be spending his money elsewhere. I did leave a comment on his blog but he decided not to publish it. As an online marketing and PR exercise it is generally considered not best practice to publicly insult your customers.
Here is the email thread
Hi Steve,
I worked briefly in the Melbourne office of TPGi back in
96 selling VPNs, Frame Relay etc. We had a few conversations back then
as I helped the Melb Sysadmin with some POP issues he was having.
I
am extremely disappointed that exetel are trialling a mandatory filter.
This debate is not about porn or kids. It is about free speech and our
liberty. A secret manadatory blacklist is Orwellian. We are meant to
trust our politicians that nothing political will be blacklisted, yet
we know political material is on the current blacklist as well as MA
& R rated material.
Your trialling of a mandatory filter leaves me no choice but to
move my accounts elsewhere. We have a business account as well as a
residential. Telstra is not trialling nor is iiNet. Your trial gives
the Govt (not the ALP as you state) more ammunition to tell the
uniformed that we need this.
Whom do I speak with about cancelling our accounts DIDs etc?
Thank you
Regards
Jim Stewart
Dear Sir,
You must, of course, do whatever you consider to be in your own best interests.
Exetel must do what it considers to be in its, and its almost 100,000 customers, including you, best interests.
We are NOT Censoring the Internet and for you to describe our five day trial of a piece of technology to mitigate any subsequent actions by the Australian Labor party in such terms is ridiculous.
Neither you, nor any other customer's Internet can be "censored" by Exetel - and it never will be. It can be censored by the Australian Labor Party and if that comes about then Exetel must comply with Australian law but, and this is the point of the trial, we will comply with the Australian law in a way that technically imposes the least performance burden on our customers.
For
you to change suppliers has not changed, in any way, what will happen
to your Internet service should the Australian Labor Party proceed with
its current insane policies on "Internet filtering" - all you will do
is to disadvantage yourself by ceasing to use a service that has,
apparently, suited you very well for some time.
You can cancel your service at any time via the User Facilities area
on the Exetel web site.
(for Exetel Pty Ltd)
Your latest blog post labelling those of us who don't want any
filter as "crazies" is particularly offensive. Nice way to treat your
customers. Well you won't be getting any more of this crazies money. It
maybe only 500/month but it will be going somewhere where I get treated
with respect.
Jim Stewart
Dear Sir,
Your inability to read or comprehend what is written is regrettable, and I can clearly do nothing to influence your self assessment of your mental state.
I wish you every success with your future service provider.
Business must be booming for Exetel to be able to treat customers with such contempt. From a customer service perspective I find this whole exchange astounding.
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written by oulwan, April 30, 2009
written by Andrew McGlashan, May 02, 2009
It is very clear that John Linton is far from a Labor supporter. He makes this clear on any occasion that he can, in fact he rams this down the throat of anybody reading his blog.
It is also very clear that JL is totally against copyright piracy or anything that is beyond the law. Exetel is simply preparing for a worst case scenario of having to implement filtering should it be forced to do so by whichever party is in government -- at this time, the party in power is Labor (regardless as to how many of the Labor constitute is holding a seat).
Perhaps if the Liberals supported the filtering idea, then JL might see it differently, but I don't think so. I believe that JL is, like most other people who can about this industry, very much against filtering, but he has to work towards the best outcomes in the long term for the majority of his customers, you cannot please them all.
A short 5 day trial is a very small inconvenience overall and if this trial leads to a better outcome IF the filtering does become mandatory and enforced onto ISPs involuntarily, then that could only be considered a worthwhile exercise (participating in a trial of this sort).
Exetel has proven to be a very innovative ISP and whilst I cannot agree on a number of things that have occurred over the years, I do believe that they are trying to be the best ISP for as many people as possible -- of course that will mean that some others will be aggrieved, but that is only to be expected.... as I said already and it has been said a million times before me, you can't please all the people all the time.
It is also very clear that JL is totally against copyright piracy or anything that is beyond the law. Exetel is simply preparing for a worst case scenario of having to implement filtering should it be forced to do so by whichever party is in government -- at this time, the party in power is Labor (regardless as to how many of the Labor constitute is holding a seat).
Perhaps if the Liberals supported the filtering idea, then JL might see it differently, but I don't think so. I believe that JL is, like most other people who can about this industry, very much against filtering, but he has to work towards the best outcomes in the long term for the majority of his customers, you cannot please them all.
A short 5 day trial is a very small inconvenience overall and if this trial leads to a better outcome IF the filtering does become mandatory and enforced onto ISPs involuntarily, then that could only be considered a worthwhile exercise (participating in a trial of this sort).
Exetel has proven to be a very innovative ISP and whilst I cannot agree on a number of things that have occurred over the years, I do believe that they are trying to be the best ISP for as many people as possible -- of course that will mean that some others will be aggrieved, but that is only to be expected.... as I said already and it has been said a million times before me, you can't please all the people all the time.
written by Jim, May 03, 2009
It's their company they can do what they like. By embarking on a trial they send a message that the filter is inevitable. I strongly disagree with that position. What surprised me, from a marketing perspective, is the utter contempt the directors of this company display towards their customers. They also state on their website that they are trying to get on the Fed Govt vendor list. I wouldn't want to upset the Govt if I was trying to get on this list but I wouldn't be embracing an inane policy either. It's actually a good thing that I found out the Exetel Directors position on handling customer complaints is to treat them with contempt. I can now go and find an ISP that appreciates our business.
written by Dave, May 04, 2009
Mate I am staggered by the email that you received from Exetel. I cannot believe how unprofessional and rude the email was from an ISP. If they are going to be like this to customers I don't even know why they bother running an ISP. Their behavior is nothing but disgusting. Plus I agree with your reasons about the Filter as well. Good luck with your next ISP because Exetel does not deserve anyones business by the way they treat their customers..
written by Mark, May 04, 2009
Exetel have always been incredibly arrogant. Your post above is no surprise at all, in fact it was relatively mild to some of the arrogance I've seen from them.
written by Danny Yee, May 04, 2009
There's a news story claiming three people publicly announced they were leaving Exetel over this - I'm one of the others.
It's not just that they did this, but the way they did it and the way they treated customers who complained.
It's not just that they did this, but the way they did it and the way they treated customers who complained.
written by Eddie, May 04, 2009
Jim, out of curiosity, have you looked into wether Exetel violated their contract with you by forcing you to use a service/mechanism (filter) you didn't sign up for?
Is it even possible Exetel broke the law by filtering customers without their consent?
Is it even possible Exetel broke the law by filtering customers without their consent?
written by Cain, May 04, 2009
As someone who has always kept a watchful eye on broadband developments, with a particular interest in new emerging ISPs, I can't say any of this surprises me AT ALL.
Since the very beginning Exetel has conducted itself in a profoundly unprofressional manner. Some of the shamelessly disgraceful exchanges that have taken place between staff and customers in the Exetel forums on Whirlpool over the years have been truly, and I really do mean truly, unbelievable. And the arrogance...
Unequalled.
It is interesting to note that John Linton can't seem to open his mouth without pointing out how "arrogant", "egotistic" and "pig ignorant" everyone else is. He is a walking, talking (unfortunately) advertisement for Freudian Projection. There can be absolutely no doubt that this has factored into the kind of environment he has fostered at Exetel, if it wasn't also present in others to begin with.
Honestly, these people just can't seem to develop the emotional intelligence that is neccessary to consciously elevate themselves to a more socially mature and professional level. This should have been obvious to anyone who had even briefly perused any medium within which Exetel staff actively communicated.
Since the very beginning Exetel has conducted itself in a profoundly unprofressional manner. Some of the shamelessly disgraceful exchanges that have taken place between staff and customers in the Exetel forums on Whirlpool over the years have been truly, and I really do mean truly, unbelievable. And the arrogance...
Unequalled.
It is interesting to note that John Linton can't seem to open his mouth without pointing out how "arrogant", "egotistic" and "pig ignorant" everyone else is. He is a walking, talking (unfortunately) advertisement for Freudian Projection. There can be absolutely no doubt that this has factored into the kind of environment he has fostered at Exetel, if it wasn't also present in others to begin with.
Honestly, these people just can't seem to develop the emotional intelligence that is neccessary to consciously elevate themselves to a more socially mature and professional level. This should have been obvious to anyone who had even briefly perused any medium within which Exetel staff actively communicated.
written by Phil, May 05, 2009
Your comments echo my own views, Mark. I was with Exetel for a while a few years ago and could not believe the insulting way they dealt with customers in their own support forums and in the Whirlpool Exetel forum. I think John Linton may have been booted out of Whirlpool some time ago, then he allegedly came back as a woman!
written by tman, May 05, 2009
Looks like nothing has changed. I had one of my customers a 72yr old lady, be told to f#%* off by a higher up after obtaining their internal numbers from the TIO and a multitude of others that were treated rudely via the phone and email. It's best you take your money elsewhere, they obviously don't want your business.
written by Jim, May 05, 2009
I hadn't had cause to really use their customer service so I had no idea the directors could be that rude. Although when they had a two hour outage several weeks ago and there was no communication with customers I should have known they really didn't give rat's about us.
written by Jonathan, May 05, 2009
Wow I'm surprised they would treat a customer like that, I'll remember the name and be sure to tell my friends about them. Sad to see another ISP giving fuel to the cause. What ISP have you changed to now?
written by untitled document, May 05, 2009
When I was previously an ADSL1 exetel customer, I used to get a few emails PER WEEK from them spamming their ADSL2 services. I sent an email to support about this, their reply as follows..
Dear Sir,
It seem you have three options.
1. Feel free to add @exetel.com.au to your spam filter,
2. Hit the delete button, taking a few seconds of your day.
3. Change to another provider.
Regards,
James Linton
Dear Sir,
It seem you have three options.
1. Feel free to add @exetel.com.au to your spam filter,
2. Hit the delete button, taking a few seconds of your day.
3. Change to another provider.
Regards,
James Linton
written by Simon Shaw, May 05, 2009
They've always acted like this. When they bought in P2P shaping they acted much the same and have always displayed a "Don't like? Then rack off!" attitude.
You're better off with a more professional ISP that listens to it's customers concerns instead of dismissing them as "crazy".
You're better off with a more professional ISP that listens to it's customers concerns instead of dismissing them as "crazy".
written by Holly, May 06, 2009
I can't believe what i'm seeing...from an ISP? That person is way out of line, great business tactic, insult your customers. At least respond with an automated message, or perhaps that was one? 
written by Holly, May 06, 2009
Oh and if I may be so bold as to make a suggestion, try internode, i've spoken to customer service a few times, their extremely nice, they really do try their best to come threw to the customer. Just a suggestion. 
written by Thomas, May 06, 2009
What a disgraceful reply from an ISP. In an industry where company reputation is everything, what is the logic in alienating your own client base? It's the customer base that adds value to an ISP. Seven years ago I worked for an ISP and this kind of rudeness would have involved dismissal. Exetel should take a leaf out of the Internode book on how to do customer service. When customers complain, it's because of a deficiency in the product or service they have been provided. That should be a helpful cue to a business where to start lifting its game. If a business can't grasp the basics of providing customer service in a service based industry, they should probably consider leaving the game altogether.
written by Glenn, May 06, 2009
What a disgusting way to treat the customers. This blog was interesting to read, as well as the comments that were posted before mine.
I am with iPrimus, not exetel, but I am already considering switching providers, partly because they raised their hand and agreed to be part of the filtering trial.
I am with iPrimus, not exetel, but I am already considering switching providers, partly because they raised their hand and agreed to be part of the filtering trial.
written by Google Guru, May 06, 2009
At the moment I'm looking at Internode and iiNet. iiNet allows me to ring them but it doesn't seem like Internode does. So iiNet is winning at this stage.
written by mm, August 12, 2009
I too, have just received an abusive email from an Exetel "Snr" employee. We have been waiting for 1 month to have our home service connected and due to some address matching problems, have had to call in and re-submit 3 times to have this service implmented. When I complained and requested the head office see if they could make our service "happen", I received a really nasty and unprofessional repsonse (from the Sydney office). WOW and now I learn "they are testing censorship software". A company with that sort of philosophy shoudn't be operating in the online world. Oh goodness, I just received another message from Paul P (Snr Provisioning) that uses a level of language that is totally inappropriate.Go the customer service factor!
written by Abused by Exetel, November 26, 2009
"Business practices for toddlers 101" advises there is no point in spending money on marketing if you can't keep existing customers. Here's the response I got to being billed a sum that was not agreed to at sign up, or in the terms and conditions,
"....stop using the service outright, call the ACMA and belittle them about the impositions by Federal legislation they place onto ISP's, and locate an alternate ISP who can far better meet your needs and expectations.
Regards,
Larry Kaeto, Manager - Compliance"
"....stop using the service outright, call the ACMA and belittle them about the impositions by Federal legislation they place onto ISP's, and locate an alternate ISP who can far better meet your needs and expectations.
Regards,
Larry Kaeto, Manager - Compliance"
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Also, he's talking rubbish when he says, "It can be censored by the Australian Labor Party". He clearly can't distinguish between a political party and a Government. All members of the Australian Labor party are not in the Government, just as all members of British Nu-Labour are not in the Government, and many of the party members disagree with what Blair followed by Gordon Brown&Co have been doing. (And some have left the party in protest.)
Excuse my French but he sounds like a rude ignorant bastard. Makes you wonder about his self assessment of his own mental state.