COMPUTERS, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY

[PanBiker]

Plusnet seem to like making a meal out of it Tiz. When TalkTalk instigated the Open Reach guy for me I got one email to say they had raised the ticket, one from Open Reach to confirm the date and time, a confirmation call from the OR engineer before he called and then a courtesy call and appeal for rating of service from TalkTalk when the job was done.
Quite painless once you got through the first level response with pre-emptive information on all the test you should do before calling the cavalry. I think TalkTalk escalate you to a second line technician if they get the drift that you know what you are talking about, seemed that way to me anyway and I have talked to a lot of support lines in my time.

[Tizer]

The BT engineer who visited us was a Birkenhead man and he had the quick-talking Liverpudlian type of humour. We both were with him all the time he was in the house because he talked us through everything and also gave a running commentary on the state of BT. He'd been a self-employed electrician before joining BT and that made him very concerned to satisfy the customer rather than his bosses. He agreed with me that Plusnet had been a great ISP but they've gone astray in recent times due to taking on too many customers migrating from the other ISPs and also trying to start up other projects like going into mobile phone SIMs etc. He confirmed that BT are desperately short of engineers and are recruiting like mad - or trying to recruit like mad, while they lose their present engineers by treating them like robots.

[Stanley]

That sounds about par for the course these days Tiz. What will happen when AI is running them? Everyone seems to want to flood you with emails these days. I thing they regard it as good customer relations. Personally I could do without it, all I want is for them to do their job and get out of my life!

[Tizer]

I got another call from Plusnet today to say they are going to replace my faulty old router with a new up-to-date one and I should receive it soon. Then he said "We usually charge for them but we won't in this case as you've had a difficult time". I thanked him but I felt like saying "I damn well think you should let me have it free!" I got an email message from them later confirming the phone call and also saying that I should return the faulty router in the `returns bag' sent with the new one. I suppose they don't trust BT!

Stanley, in the The Times on Saturday Giles Coren had a rant about forever being asked "Is everything OK", "How can we do better", "How would you rate us" etc. He's a restaurant critic and finds that his meals are now punctuated by waiters asking him these questions.

[Pluggy]

It will be bad news if Plusnet don;t trust BT since they have been owned by them for the past 10 years..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plusnet

[Stanley]

I hate it Tiz. I remember a friend of mine responding 'It is no part of my remit to monitor your incompetence'. I always refuse to fill in those 'surveys' to 'help us serve you better' because we all know they are just data hunting!

[chinatyke]

'It is no part of my remit to monitor your incompetence'.

I like that one, must try and remember it!

[Stanley]

Daniel Meadows, circa 1970.......

[Tizer]

It will be bad news if Plusnet don;t trust BT since they have been owned by them for the past 10 years..

When that started it had been agreed that Plusnet would operate `at arm's length' from BT and it worked OK for some years but it obviously wasn't going to last. The people that Plusnet don't get along with are BT OpenReach...but I imagine BT Retail may not get long well with OpenReach either!

[Stanley]

I have a question that is slightly off piste but I think the right people will see it here.... Does anyone know about a technology that allows you to retrofit fluorescent light fittings by removing the tubes and ballast and fitting LED 'tubes' as replacements?

[chinatyke]

Yes. Look at this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-T8-Tube-L ... 0506.m3226

We have concealed lighting in our apartment in Nanning. There were at least 20 fluorescent fittings which I replaced with T8 LED strip lights. These are about 3 quid each in China so I replaced the whole fitting rather than mess about putting new parts in old fittings. I replaced the wiring at the same time and did away with Chinese "twisted" connections, making a safer, more economical system with better ambiance.

Hre is another link suggesting it isn't as easy as the above:
http://www.premierltg.com/should-you-re ... d-tubes-2/

I think you can expect about 50% saving in electric useage between fluor and LED tubes, so not a tremendous amount if you are replacing only one tube and it may take a long time to recover the cost of replacement. Why not ask at Garlick's next time you are passing?

[Big Kev]

I have a question that is slightly off piste but I think the right people will see it here.... Does anyone know about a technology that allows you to retrofit fluorescent light fittings by removing the tubes and ballast and fitting LED 'tubes' as replacements?

https://www.lampshoponline.com/led/t8-l ... utput.html

[Tizer]

Thanks, guys, for that information and those links - you've solved a problem for me (oh, the joy of OGFB!). This house has two fluorescent tube lights in the garage. They give plenty of light but they're slow to come on and that's a problem because the garage has no windows and has steps down from the kitchen into it. When you open the door from the kitchen and walk down the steps you're in a small recessed area where you turn left into the garage. You switch on the lights as you walk in have to go down the steps in the dark before the lights come on. It would be a messy job to put a switch and wiring in the kitchen but if I get LED strips in the garage then there wouldn't be the delay. Problem solved. Also more efficient lighting, less flicker and longer life. The sparks is coming sometime to fit extra power sockets so I'll get him to put in the LED strips then.

[Pluggy]

If you have 'old school' fluorescent fittings with a ballast coil and a separate starter. You can just buy an LED tube and starter unit to 'retrofit' to the existing housing. Its no more difficult than changing it for another fluorescent. Its instant on and uses about a third of the power. I did it in my kitchen recently.

Example :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-T8-Light- ... A8M0pUnt5w

If you have a recent fitting with new fangled electronic ballast, it can still be done but you need to hack the wiring around in the fitting.

[Stanley]

Thanks Lads! I have ordered one 5ft unit for the shed and will see how I get on with that.
You're right Tiz..... talk about 'trusted trader'!!

[Pluggy]

A couple of weeks back I was a happy bunny because EE/Openreach appeared to have resolved the slow internet, crackling phone line and they'd changed to UK call centres......

Today, the internet is back to slow and intermittent, the phone crackles and the EE customer services number is engaged all the time. I think I'll top myself.

[Tripps]

Restrain yourself. It may not be just you. EE problems

In any case - it's not that important - go for a nice walk instead of looking at a screen; Ian will show you where to go. - good advice for me too really.

[Pluggy]

Thats bleating about their mobile phone network, and this is fixed line and broadband. Its difficult to get away from mobile in EE land. Their fixed line and broadband is most definitely in the 'also ran' category. Nice to know everyone is suffering.......

I'll shut up for a day or two.

[Stanley]

Have you seen David's quote for the day?
Hard luck Pluggy..... I know the feeling of 'deep joy' you are experiencing.

[Stanley]

Pluggy was quite right (again....). My 5ft LED tube arrived yesterday and once I had realised I had to take the starter out (no instructions with it) it's fine and much brighter. At £20 it's a bit pricey so I shall hold off doing more until I have to. But there's no doubt this is a big improvement on the old technology.

[Pluggy]

They sent a new 'starter' with mine which was supplied with the new tube replacing the old starter. It just worked. Maybe newer ones don't need anything at all in the starter hole. I won'r be going back to fluorescent tubes (or CFL bulbs).
.

[Big Kev]

I am in a slow but steady replacement programme, all the spotlights and under cabinet are led in the kitchen. The main room light has 5 x 30 watt equivalent led candle bulbs, the rest of the house has the 'low energy' bulbs but they seem a bit dull now

[Stanley]

That's the main drawback with the early energy saving bulbs, you have to get used to living in half light! Trouble is that in the shed and the kitchen I need maximum light!
As I mentioned in shed matters yesterday, the quality of the light they give is somehow different as well. I can definitely read scales better now that the LED tube is over my head.

[PanBiker]

What colour temperature did you order Stanley, is it Warm (Natural) White or Cool White. If it's the latter it's what I would call dentist surgery light very clinical, a good light but not what you would use in a living room for instance. I have replaced 95% of my lamps with LED technology (Warm White). I do have one "emergency" lamp that I have had to deploy on the landing as I didn't have a replacement LED to hand when it failed. It has an energy saving fluorescent coil jobby in at the moment and it is like lighting a gas lamp or candle in comparison. It will get a nice 10W Led in the next time I order from CPC.

[Pluggy]

Mine is warm white, it replaced a daylight tube. For a workshop I think I'd go for a cool white as I think its a better light to work in. The kitchen is the wife's domain (she likes warm white) and I know much my miserable life is worth.....

The old school CFLs were alright once they warmed up but they could be lethargic when cold especially the older ones. We have a decades old CFL in the bedroom, its right up there with an enthusiastic glowworm when its first turned on, but its not bad when its been on 5 minutes. Its not used much so we live with it.