Increasingly regular PlusNet email time outs

The reliability of my PlusNet email has given me some concern over recent weeks.
Some days it'll send and receive via Outlook fine and others it will either just send, just receive or neither.

I get the usual 'operation timed out waiting for a response from the sending (SMTP) server' error message when this happens, indicating to me that it's a problem PlusNet's end. I can handle this every now and again, but when it's day after day it gets really frustrating. If it gets any worse, I'm going to have to give up my PlusNet email altogether in favour of a web-based email account.

I raised a 'Question' on their site about the problem on Saturday.

According to PlusNet "When a customer raises a query by phone or through the Help Assistant, we raise a 'Question' on their account. We aim to close all Questions within 4 hours."

Well - it's now over 2 days later and I haven't got a response yet - is this normal nowadays ?

One other thought - I would have appreciated a response from a PlusNet rep here on this forum, but from reading back through the threads in recent weeks, it seems that the small minority of abusive/non-constructive posters (most of whom are not PlusNet customers as far as I can tell) have finally succeeded in driving the PlusNet reps away. Is this true ? If so, well done guys - you must be really chuffed with yourselves. I'm surprised you haven't moved on, now you've spoilt it for the rest of us

I guess aiming for 4 hours and achieving it aren't quite the same thing
I've got a ticket in the system and I suppose it's about 3 days typically to get a response, though it probably varies depending on the type of ticket.

Since Plusnet's Technical Director declared the "good news" on 24/7/06, that question handling was "close to business-as-usual levels", it's been evident that things have immediately gone backwards.

My latest question is now over 4 days old, without reply.

The question of "abusive posts" has been heavily debated, and whilst I accept that there had been some remarks from time-to-time that were inappropriate, I think that there's been plenty of evidence forwarded, to demonstrate that Plusnet's own forums, where only Plusnet customers have posting rights, have contained a large amount of similarly "abusive remarks", when judged by the same standards.

This hasn't caused Plusnet to withdraw from its own forums, and I think that the consistent feature of ADSL Guide and Plusnet's own forums, is that they've both contained increasing numbers of angry Plusnet customers.

Well it looks like the average response time must be coming down - at least it has for me... I got two responses last night - the first one in 4 hours 53 minutes and the second one in 43 minutes

My view on the problem with this forum is that there are just too many soapboxes, conspiracy theories, and too much argument for arguments sake I don't think anybody would dispute that the number of problems being seen (and aired) by PN customers has increased substantially, mainly related to IPStream Max and LLU...

Why should you have had to come here to get a response from Plusnet? - you pay for CS as part of your monthly payment - that's where the root of the problem is.


Michael

The problem here is that, unlike their own forums, issued raised here by customers can be kept alive, have some views expressed that contain some history of PN, and when that became intolerable to PN they could not ban the posters or chuck them out for continuing to ask the same question when no answers were forthcoming.

Basically the problem with these forums is the way PN have acted, are acting and sadly will continue to act, by the looks of it.

My view is that the "soapboxes, conspiracy theories, and too much argument for arguments sake" is a price worth paying for having an open community, as opposed to Plusnet's own forums.

The average response time has risen to 1 day, 3 hours, 8 minutes.... according to this morning's update, although the faster replies to yours does seem to suggest that there may be wide inconsistencies between teams and/or types of queries.

Mine's at 4 days, 18 hours, and the clock's still ticking.

In reply to:

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I get the usual 'operation timed out waiting for a response from the sending (SMTP) server' error message when this happens, indicating to me that it's a problem PlusNet's end. I can handle this every now and again, but when it's day after day it gets really frustrating. If it gets any worse, I'm going to have to give up my PlusNet email altogether in favour of a web-based email account.

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Out of interest, if you were to immediately re-try, does it often go through? I wonder if the problem is that Plusnet have a Load Balancing system for SMTP, and it's not taking out failing/loaded servers properly.