Re: User connect at 4800 baud

J. Eric Calvert (eric@leviticus.caveland.net)
Fri, 15 Aug 1997 13:52:17 -0500

J. Eric Calvert wrote:
>
> Christopher Ostmo wrote:
> >
> > On 14 Aug 97 at 9:22, J. Eric Calvert put down his coffee cup long
> > enough to type:
> >
> > >
> > > The user has not yet complained. This is his first time on the
> > > internet, and doesn't know what to expect, so he doesn't know that
> > > he should be complaining. I suspect that he's rarely if ever used
> > > his modem for anything. I'm scheduled to go to his house tomorrow,
> > > and I would like to be able to PROACTIVELY fix this problem ("Hey,
> > > did you know that you could browse the web a lot faster if...").
> > > This is one of the hallmarks of good support, recognize the problem
> > > and fix it BEFORE people complain. I'm not always good at it, but I
> > > saw an opportunity here. I thought I would try to gather as much
> > > information as possible before I went so that I could fix it while I
> > > am there. I want to be able to take init strings, etc. along with
> > > me.
> > >
> > > On top of everything else, he doesn't know what type (brand) of
> > > modem it is (it is internal). All he knows is that it is supposed
> > > to be a 28.8 modem.
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Understood...
> >
> > That is a good philosophy to keep, but if you make uneducated
> > assumptions about a customer's hardware, you will inevitably make a
> > fool out of yourself.
> >
> > You should never make assumptions, you should gather facts.
> > Especially when you are dealing with an uneducated consumer. You
> > will look much better and have more of the customer's confidence
> > and respect if you ask the right questions, get the FACTS, then act
> > towards an educated solution. Guess work will get you nowhere.
> >
>
> Point being that I was making an educated guess based on posts I
> _vaguely_ remember about winmodems having problems connecting at
> full speed to PM-3's. At any rate, I'm trying to cover all my
> bases, and be prepared for all (ok, most) contingencies. Winmodems
> are just one of the contingencies I know the least about (I'd
> always heard enough horror stories to know to steer clear of them).
>
> Eric
>

Just thought I'd update everybody on what I actually found. When
I got there, I found that he had only one modem, but had two in
his modem list (Standard Modem & USR 28.8 Non-winmodem). At
some point in time he owned a different modem and had it replaced.
When he setup the dialup connection he simply picked the wrong
modem. I changed it to the USR 28.8, and he now gets a 28.8
connection.

Thanks for all the help and sugestions,
Eric

-- 
Eric Calvert                              Caveland Connection
mailto:eric@caveland.net              Provides Internet Access To
http://www.caveland.net           Barren & Hart Counties In Kentucky