Good bye ViaTalk you were a total waste of time

[dhamblet1]

It has been a short, bitter relationship. After being dumped on by SR we signed up online with VT, sent numerous emails, and tried to call on our cell phone twice but neing caller #103 was not encouraging. So we waited for VT to reply to our online signup and repeated emails. So far its been a week and a half with NO RESPONSE. This is no way to run a railroad. What piss poor customer service. We're bailing to voipvoip, signed up and had service within an hour and it works great, plus you pay by the month (no advance payment - less risk).

[techmate]

I checked out Voipvoip. .03 per minute can seriously add up. Between my wife and daughter on the phone a couple hours a day, that would be some serious cash for just local calls.

[bilcor]

I checked out Voipvoip. .03 per minute can seriously add up. Between my wife and daughter on the phone a couple hours a day, that would be some serious cash for just local calls.

What is the .03 per minute that you are talking about? International???

[cappuccino_kid]

What is the .03 per minute that you are talking about? International???

Their fee structure is $6.95 for a phone number (if you want one), free incoming, and $0.03 per minute domestic calls. For someone who doesn't use the phone that much that can be a better deal than $15-25 a month unlimited US/Canada etc.

As for ViaTalk...

I am a SR refugee (or do we call ourselves "survivors" :) ) I signed up for VT more than 8 days ago and after waiting for responses to my emails spent a good part of my day waiting in phone queues (sales, tech support and finally billing to cancel). I actually got transferred from the sales line to a tech queue and waited for an hour to get to the #1 slot only to get a message that said telephone support is not offered (middle of the day). Unbelievable.

What an opportunity wasted.

If VT had just set-up "how-to" pages for folks to use their SR equipment and given out SIP information upon sign-up I would have waited days, weeks even to get their equipment.

Like many others, I was able to sign-up and get a dial-tone on another service within 15-20 minutes.

I think VT would be smart to actually turn-away potential new customers until they can service the back-log within a reasonable time-frame. What's the point of having people sign-up, get really upset, cancel and say bad things about you.

[Ptrowski]

If VT had just set-up "how-to" pages for folks to use their SR equipment and given out SIP information upon sign-up I would have waited days, weeks even to get their equipment.


Actually, once your account is set up and you can access the CP, you can pull your SIP info right from there and use a softphone until the adapter arrives.

[Star*Guitar]

You guys are making it hard on yourself. All you have to do is access their web page. Sign up there. Why wait on the phone?

I did that...used my Sunrocket Innomedia Gizmo as the adapter and I am good to go three days later.




I just had to do a hard reset on the Innomedia Gizmo. I used this link to access the admin log on. 192.168.251.1/Voice_adminPage.htm

Using the log on "admin" and the password "slapshot". The unit was no longer locked...I turned off provisioning, entered the ViaTalk info and no problems.

[Star*Guitar]

I forgot to add that Viatalk emailed me the info three days after sign up.

[m1a1abrams]

I wasted over 4 hours last evening trying to cancel my service. At 11:59pm, I was #6 in line after waiting for all that time and was cut off!! Seems as if they recycle calls at 11:59 and then start from scratch at 12am! FYI, If you are going to cancel call at 8AM and keep hitting redial. They actually do not pick up until about 10 minutes past 8am. I did that today and was 4 in line. When the guy asked me why I was cancelling, I stated "poor customer service". He was shocked! I guess it must be different when you are on the other end of the horn! Another FYI guys, this company only has 60,000 customers. That is not alot and pissing off all the new ones is going to give them a bad name. I see this company folding soon just like SR and Vonage will soon as well. Check the vonage stock and current news stories.

[Ptrowski]

Another FYI guys, this company only has 60,000 customers. That is not alot....

And your point is????

[dashbb]

Viatalk has been nothing but a PURE WASTE OF TIME...STAY AWAY!!
12 days, No emails, cannot get through to anyone anytime. Calling credit card dispute line...maybe they can get through and cancel my order.

[jbrannon7]

You guys are making it hard on yourself. All you have to do is access their web page. Sign up there. Why wait on the phone?

I did that...used my Sunrocket Innomedia Gizmo as the adapter and I am good to go three days later.




I just had to do a hard reset on the Innomedia Gizmo. I used this link to access the admin log on. 192.168.251.1/Voice_adminPage.htm

Using the log on "admin" and the password "slapshot". The unit was no longer locked...I turned off provisioning, entered the ViaTalk info and no problems.


Pls tell me EXACTLY how to make my Innomedia from SR work. Pls be as detailed as possible.

Joe

[quickercad]

Like my earlier post, I think this phone service is great for techies that are loyal and almost enjoy researching and reprogramming equipment, changing servers when phone service goes bad etc. But the rest of us that just want to get reliable quick phone service, get our old number back and not spend time diagnosing problems, waiting on hold etc, Viatalk is not for us.

I emailed Viatalk asking exactly how to do this, or a link to instructions to make my SR gizmo work temporarily. I got a ticket number back on the 20th and that's all I've heard since.

[m1a1abrams]

And your point is????

My point is that if you stick with this company, YOUR AN IDIOT! Think about it. $199 per year times 60,000 is just short of 12 mill. How long do you think that is going to last? Sunrocket was number 2 with over 200,000 and could not make it. What make you so sure that this company will with only about a quarter of the amount of customers? They are pissing off new customers by the thousands!! READ ALL THE POST MY FRIEND!!! Do you think all of us are crazy? You would be hard pressed to find a decent post anywhere here!:eek:

[jokeworm]

My point is that if you stick with this company, YOUR AN IDIOT!

This post makes it quite clear who the idiot is on this thread.
You honestly have no clue how this works do you ?

SR went under because they gave away too much and spent the rest .. The number of customers a company has has nothing at all to do with its profitability of stability. As long as your overall costs are less than your overall income. Your business is viable.

VT seems to have certain things in place that plug the holes that caused SR to go under. They limit users to 5100 mins per month .. SR didn't, they don't give away the free extra number, they don't give away the $3 international credit, they do charge shipping fee, they do charge connection fee, they do charge e911 and tax fee. They have a cancellation fee for those who back out early. etc etc etc

Your math is worse than your attitude, and your post has no merit.

:p

[m1a1abrams]

This post makes it quite clear who the idiot is on this thread.
You honestly have no clue how this works do you ?

SR went under because they gave away too much and spent the rest .. The number of customers a company has has nothing at all to do with its profitability of stability. As long as your overall costs are less than your overall income. Your business is viable.

VT seems to have certain things in place that plug the holes that caused SR to go under. They limit users to 5100 mins per month .. SR didn't, they don't give away the free extra number, they don't give away the $3 international credit, they do charge shipping fee, they do charge connection fee, they do charge e911 and tax fee. They have a cancellation fee for those who back out early. etc etc etc

Your math is worse than your attitude, and your post has no merit.

:p

So what you are saying is that they are not the better VOIP? What they have is a lot of fine print. Take a look at Vonage, they have 2.4 million customers and are sinking like a rock! Take a look at their stock dude. Folks are bailing, investors are bailing. Mr. Brader admits on his own website that he saw the demise of SR months ago coming. Why did he not prepare? Why are folks having to deal with being 110th in line and waiting 4+ hours for customer service? Obviously you are not previous SR subscriber. Put your money where your mouth is. Anyone with me that VT will sneak out the back door just like SR did within the next 12 months? Vonage is within a few months of crashing itself! READ THE NEWS!!!!!!!!

[m1a1abrams]

Just to add the things that they do give: FREE 3 months to former SR customers, YES they do give you two lines for the price of one (put on your glasses and READ),SR DID charge a shipping fee ,the e911 fee IS included in the $199. Next time before you post, open your eyes and read!! Orrrrrr perhaps you are an insider and have selective vision?
P.S. Vonage lost 73 MILLION in this years first quarter. They are number one!!!

By the way JokeWorm, do a quick google search with the word "viatalk". WOW talk about freebees!!! They are now offering 1 year free service!!!! On Some sites they are even advertising 2 years for $199. Seems as if your therory of giving too much away is shot to Sh#@!

[jokeworm]

The more you talk the more you make a fool of yourself.

1. Yes i was a former SR customer - strike one.

2. Giving away 3 free months is not quite the same as giving away a second year AND free phones AND free equipment AND International credit - Strike two

3. They give you two lines but only one phone number - its different please understand how it works before saying its no good - strike three.

I don't remember disputing the fact that Vonage was in trouble - thats something you seem to want to get off your chest though - however you seem to not understand the reasoning behind it ... so let me explain.

Vonage has a pending lawsuit over the technology they are using .. this is one of the reasons for the stock slump - on top of this they spend millions advertising and trying desperately to grab new customers.

VT does not have those expenses .. or that lawsuit hanging over them -

SR did not charge me any shipping fee when i signed up .. they also included those extra fees in the price i paid ... you totally missed my point - you don't seem to be able to grasp the difference between giving away everything - and giving away just enough to make your offer attractive enough to entice new customers ..

Next time you post - please understand what someone is trying to say instead of posting something you seem to have picked up in some AOL chat-room from your "buddies"

By the way - I assume since you are so anti-voip that you are paying ma-bell $70 per month for your service. Or do you have "the answer" to telepathic communication that does away with the need for a phone service of any kind ?

[Avatar]

I spent almost 3 hours on the support queue, but that doesn't stop me from accepting what great value viatalk is. I loved SR but that was a bit too good to be true. Viatalk is still too good to be true, but when a company adds a huge influx of customers, what do you expect?

I wouldn't go back to Packet 8 (recommended by SR), which stole back my 212 number from SR due to some SR incompetence. And even when that happened, I had stuck to SR.

I'm a techie and I know my way around. And the great thing is, I signed up for viatalk while I'm traveling in some foreign country while making phone calls to the US for free via a softphone!

A few hours of frustration may not be worth it to you, but you aren't seeing things from the other side of the fence. It's worth it to me and probably many others.

[Avatar]

Vonage's downfall is merely the fact that it doesn't have positive net revenue. That's too bad because it is a great service although a bit pricey compared to Viatalk.

[jokeworm]

Vonage's downfall is merely the fact that it doesn't have positive net revenue. That's too bad because it is a great service although a bit pricey compared to Viatalk.

agreed - i only left them because i was paying pretty much $30 per month for something that i could get with SR for 8.30 per month ...

I paid $199 for two years and ended up with just one year .. however - that same 12 months with Vonage would have cost me around $360.

I'm still $160 ahead and i only got to see out 1/2 of my contract.

Vonage does indeed work great .. but they priced themselves out of the market for me I'm afraid.

[m1a1abrams]

The more you talk the more you make a fool of yourself.

1. Yes i was a former SR customer - strike one.

2. Giving away 3 free months is not quite the same as giving away a second year AND free phones AND free equipment AND International credit - Strike two

3. They give you two lines but only one phone number - its different please understand how it works before saying its no good - strike three.

I don't remember disputing the fact that Vonage was in trouble - thats something you seem to want to get off your chest though - however you seem to not understand the reasoning behind it ... so let me explain.

Vonage has a pending lawsuit over the technology they are using .. this is one of the reasons for the stock slump - on top of this they spend millions advertising and trying desperately to grab new customers.

VT does not have those expenses .. or that lawsuit hanging over them -

SR did not charge me any shipping fee when i signed up .. they also included those extra fees in the price i paid ... you totally missed my point - you don't seem to be able to grasp the difference between giving away everything - and giving away just enough to make your offer attractive enough to entice new customers ..

Next time you post - please understand what someone is trying to say instead of posting something you seem to have picked up in some AOL chat-room from your "buddies"

By the way - I assume since you are so anti-voip that you are paying ma-bell $70 per month for your service. Or do you have "the answer" to telepathic communication that does away with the need for a phone service of any kind ?

No comment on the 2 years for $199 that they are now offering or the FREE year that they are offering on NUMEROUS wesites?? I didn't think so. You will be burned by via talk. If sunrocket had 200,000 customers and those customers are now well on their way to a) signing up with another voip b) lost trust in the whole voip market, how many can a local tech valley company like VT pick up? Even if they picked up all 200,000 folks that got dropped by SR (which is impossible) but lets entertain you. That is 260,000 customers. Any ideas on how much advertising costs? Any idea on how much payroll costs? Any idea of attorney costs? Any idea of insurance and benefit costs to employees? Without customers, you can not turn profits! Why is Mr. Brader living in a 1,500 square foot home in a fair section of Albany if his company is turning such high profits? Seems to me as if a CEO of such a large profit turning company would have a decent home in a decent location like Saratoga or even Clifton Park where his rinky dinky operation operates out of very small, understaffed rented office. How do I know this? I LIVE WITHIN 10 minutes of his office! Truth is piss poor planning when he was well aware the SR was going under and well aware that Vonage is going under. He is understaffed,unprepared and unprofessional. For the record, I am a proud voipvoip customer. A+++ service, communication and I have never been in line higher then #12 on the phone with them. That tells me that they have their stuff together.

[BurnsIsland]

I signed up for ViaTalk on July 18th. Even paid the extra $9.95 to have the equipment shipped quicker. Waited for 3 hours one day on the phone to talk with someone to get an update just to be disconnected when I was next in line. Opened a few tickets online trying to get answers and nothing. After 9 days without any answers and nothing charged to my credit card nor shipped to me, I signed up with Voip and had immediate answers. I cannot stay with a company that does not respond to me. I paid $199 and nothing more for a year's service. Am still waiting for the refund from my credit card company for the year I just paid with SunRocket. Has been a rocky experience but Voip is rated 5 star and so far the response has been better. Good luck everyone.:(

[jokeworm]

For the record, I am a proud voipvoip customer. A+++ service, communication and I have never been in line higher then #12 on the phone with them. That tells me that they have their stuff together.


Your argument that the more customers a company has, the less profitable it is, is absurd ... your post does not even merit any kind of reply. You have made it very clear to anyone reading this thread how much weight your opinion on anything to do with VOIP holds.

:)

I'm happy your happy. However the "pay as you go" service that you are happy with - unfortunately - does not work for the vast majority of people who want a phone service.

===================

With $95 for adapter and shipping, $7 per month for using your incoming phone number then 3 cents per min for all calls made and a feature set that does not even come close to those on offer elsewhere .. the service that you are more than happy with wouldn't even get a second look from most people.

If i signed up with your provider and used 2000 mins per month .. it would cost me ... 2000*0.03 = $60.00 + $7 per month for incoming.

$70 per month ... I may as well just sign over my first born and call it good, For that kind of money i'd be VERY pissed if i was even 12th on the list when i called in. I'd want a personal account manager available to me 24*7 for those kind of fee's.

As I said .. i think people here understand exactly how much weight your opinion should hold ... and the more you talk - the more you confirm my first impressions.

It may tell you that they have their stuff together - it tells me that they are overcharging anyone that is dumb enough to sign up with them.

:)

[degauss]

Sunrocket had very high costs ACQUIRING customers vs VT. Their affiliate program is what was mostly to blame for their demise. Vonage is in the same position with acquisition cost plus they have the patent suite and potentially a lot of royalties to pay. IIRC, SR's cost to acquire a new customer was something like $250 so they were losing money with every customer. Yes, the had 200,000 customers but they ran out of cash and that was that. I've read up on VT's affiliate program and it does not appear it's going to break the bank for them.

[m1a1abrams]

Still no reply from you Jokework regarding the now MULTIPLE advertisements that VT is advertising for two years for $199?? Why do you jibber jabber about how much phone time you use instead of answering the question? You stated that the reason for SR demise was that thewy were giving away too much for too little. NOW, answer my question and only this question straight out. If VT is offering $199 for two years or 1 year free depending on which ad you are reading from which advertisement, Is that or is that not too much for the money?? Just answer that question. We don't want to hear about what 900 numbers you call that are running up your bill. If you are on the phone that long you have serious issues!

[Brian188]

Still no reply from you Jokework regarding the now MULTIPLE advertisements that VT is advertising for two years for $199?? Why do you jibber jabber about how much phone time you use instead of answering the question? You stated that the reason for SR demise was that thewy were giving away too much for too little. NOW, answer my question and only this question straight out. If VT is offering $199 for two years or 1 year free depending on which ad you are reading from which advertisement, Is that or is that not too much for the money?? Just answer that question. We don't want to hear about what 900 numbers you call that are running up your bill. If you are on the phone that long you have serious issues!

Ok no answer from Jokeworm but I'll throw my 2 cents in. VT is not offering the 199/2 year deal at present. You may see advertisements on some sites for it but YOU CAN NOT GET IT. Clicking on the banner or advertisement you see takes you here: www.viatalk.com while giving referral credit to the owner of the site you click from. As you'll there is no way to book the 199/2yr deal. As a wiseman once said "Don't beileve everything you read."

Having said that, VT has in the past (and possibly in the future) offered 199./2 years but not now.

[m1a1abrams]

Ok no answer from Jokeworm but I'll throw my 2 cents in. VT is not offering the 199/2 year deal at present. You may see advertisements on some sites for it but YOU CAN NOT GET IT. Clicking on the banner or advertisement you see takes you here: www.viatalk.com while giving referral credit to the owner of the site you click from. As you'll there is no way to book the 199/2yr deal. As a wiseman once said "Don't beileve everything you read."

Having said that, VT has in the past (and possibly in the future) offered 199./2 years but not now.

Finally a normal answer from a normal person! I think jokework is upset because he spends too much time on the phone at night ordering all of those bun and thigh master products and runs his phone bill amuck

[argueman]

Finally a normal answer from a normal person! I think jokework is upset because he spends too much time on the phone at night ordering all of those bun and thigh master products and runs his phone bill amuck

You are a lost cause....

[jokeworm]

Still no reply from you Jokework regarding the now MULTIPLE advertisements that VT is advertising for two years for $199?? Why do you jibber jabber about how much phone time you use instead of answering the question? You stated that the reason for SR demise was that thewy were giving away too much for too little. NOW, answer my question and only this question straight out. If VT is offering $199 for two years or 1 year free depending on which ad you are reading from which advertisement, Is that or is that not too much for the money?? Just answer that question. We don't want to hear about what 900 numbers you call that are running up your bill. If you are on the phone that long you have serious issues!


You are obviously not reading what i have said many many times already ... ok - I'll say this slowly because you obviously have some kind of disability when it comes to actually taking in what someone has said to you.

1. As was stated above ... this offer IS NOT AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW.
2. Even if it ws available .. VT are not ALSO offering a free phone - a second phone number, free shipping, free cancellation and free international credits ..

the problem is not that Sunrocket gave 2 years for $199 .. it is that they also gave away around $300-$350 worth of other things AS WELL as offering the $199/2yrs.

Now please understand - this is the last time i will explain this to you .. I understand you are finding it difficult to follow this conversation .. but I'm getting board of having to explain the same thing to you over and over again.

IT IS POSSIBLE for a company to offer $199 for two years and still make a profit ... it is not possible for a company to offer $199 for two years .. and also for that company to give away $300-$350 worth of "extras" and still hope to make a profit out of it.

[jbrannon7]

Viatalk has been nothing but a PURE WASTE OF TIME...STAY AWAY!!
12 days, No emails, cannot get through to anyone anytime. Calling credit card dispute line...maybe they can get through and cancel my order.

+1

Do you like headaches? Do you like high blood pressure? Do you like sticking pencils in your eyes? If so Viatalk is for you.

[m1a1abrams]

You are obviously not reading what i have said many many times already ... ok - I'll say this slowly because you obviously have some kind of disability when it comes to actually taking in what someone has said to you.

1. As was stated above ... this offer IS NOT AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW.
2. Even if it ws available .. VT are not ALSO offering a free phone - a second phone number, free shipping, free cancellation and free international credits ..

the problem is not that Sunrocket gave 2 years for $199 .. it is that they also gave away around $300-$350 worth of other things AS WELL as offering the $199/2yrs.

Now please understand - this is the last time i will explain this to you .. I understand you are finding it difficult to follow this conversation .. but I'm getting board of having to explain the same thing to you over and over again.

IT IS POSSIBLE for a company to offer $199 for two years and still make a profit ... it is not possible for a company to offer $199 for two years .. and also for that company to give away $300-$350 worth of "extras" and still hope to make a profit out of it.

Your an idiot! You know what, if you are so happy with viatalk, why are you on this board? I will tell you why I am here...to stop people from wasting their time with viatalk! You talk in circles!! Did you ride the short bus to school and drool as well? The kids like you always got out a half hour earlier. You know why? TO KEEP YOU WEIRDOS AWAY FROM NORMAL PEOPLE LIKE THE THOUSANDS ON THIS SITE LOOKING FOR HELP TO GET OUT OF THE VIATALK MESS!!

CUSTOMERS SHOULD NOT:

1)Be treated the way Brendan Brader is treating them.

2)Should not have to wait hours in a que to talk to some moron who bearly has a hear beat.

3) Have to deal with not receiving their equipment in a timely fashion.

4)Have to deal with endless emails that are not returned.

If this is your idea of a company that is taking advantage of a (what could be) a very profitable time for them, YOUR NUTS!

Count the number of unsatisfied folks on here that are leaving negative posts -vs- positive ones.

I still think you are an inside man jokeworm???

[m1a1abrams]

+1

Do you like headaches? Do you like high blood pressure? Do you like sticking pencils in your eyes? If so Viatalk is for you.

Tell that to jokeworm! I think either he is an inside man or likes self mutilation!:D

[jokeworm]

if you are so happy with viatalk, why are you on this board?

To help people who have questions and stop people like you from talking them in to going with a service that could end up costing them $70 per month or more.

I have never disputed many of your statements .. just the ones where you are talking out of your arse.

You obviously have a personal vendetta against the CEO and company. But your spiteful sensationalistic posts have done nothing at all to help people who are looking for answers .. this is a customer to customer support forum .. I am a current customer .. and I am here to help other customers .. YOU on the other hand are here to troll and throw around childish insults. Anyone that has taken the time to read ANY of your threads can see exactly what you game is and how much weight to give your arguments .. I'm just here to annoy the heck out of you and ensure that people get both sides of the story (Like your $70 per month recommendation for a phone service)

You are as laughable as the VOIP provider you have chosen to use.

The more you talk - the more you reveal to the impartial user what your game here really is :)

If i was an "inside man" I'd reveal myself as a VT customer support person to show a presence on the boards ... you didn't think that one through very well either did you .. why would a VT support person hide his identity on a VT forum when people are crying out for help and answers from VT ... ? Again you talk through your lower orifice ..

Have a nice day .. i know I will.

p.s. if I'm not able to reply to one of your posts within a few hours of you making it over the next few days - please do bear with me - I'm on vacation right now .. however i will ensure that i continue to follow you around the forums posting the opposing view of your poisoned opinions so that people are able to make up their own mind - instead of having to reply upon advice from someone who is only here to cause trouble and stir up discontent.

:)

p.p.s. please take the person insults to Private message - I'm sure others are bored with your fascination with me by now :)

[26charlie]

Jokeworm:
"SR went under because they gave away too much and spent the rest .. The number of customers a company has has nothing at all to do with its profitability of stability. As long as your overall costs are less than your overall income. Your business is viable."
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

I just made a suggestion that Viatalk not advertise their cash donation of $60,000 to the founder's former high school because its not considerate to the customers, whose paid-up Viatalk service isn't working and they cant get any tech support help for relief, after waiting patiently for over a week.

I'm doing this while hearing my customer waiting position in the phone support line floating in the 30's after three hours and wondering if i should remain patient after reading several inputs saying they got to number one and then cut off? (That is customer abuse)

I've been using Viatek for over six months with only minor (if not annoying) problems that i've been able to resolve over the phone with waits from one to three hours each on around twenty occasions, when including having to help my dad and sis with their unique problems too. We're been resolved to living with the small problems remaining, if it saved money. But i've been surprised by the lack of support i've gotten later and from the number of complaints i've read on the forums, it looks like this company cant fix a serious problem. If they continue to anger and turn away new customers, while not helping old ones, they might not be in business much longer.

Thats why the 60,000 customer base is a useful bit of info to know. AOL could afford to anger customers with poor business practices because they still had over ten million subscriptions for a cash buffer. But they eventually had to succumb to the pressure they earned from the bad publicity from angry customers. How much longer can a company survive with these problems when they only have a 60k subscriber list that might go to 50k in a very short time?

Its funny that i've talked my sis out of bailing from Viatalk on more than a few occasions ever since her second problem (soon after subscribing in 2006). I'm going to tell her to start shopping so we can switch her to a new one as soon as her VT service degrades again.

(It did look fishy when they offered a pay for priority service. Why would anyone need something like that from their phone company?)

[jokeworm]

26charlie .. I agree with most of what you say - the way VT have handles this whole situation is laughable ... my point is not that VT and the way they have handled this whole farce is right .. my point is that m1a1 is only here to stir up trouble and anger. I personally suspect he is from a rival company trying to deflect a few unhappy customers to his own overpriced underused VOIP company.

I could be wrong .. but he or she has done little else here but bad-mouth the company - the ceo and anything else he or she can think of. I don't see one post that helps those that are here looking for answers .. that i itself speaks volumes ... who would frequent a forum and only post negative things ... who has the time to do something like that - unless of course they have something to gain from all of this ...

things to ponder ..

On a side note - it would appear that dslreports.com users seem to finally be getting answers from Brendan .. shame he can't do the same for the users that have found their way here too.

[26charlie]

the problem is not that Sunrocket gave 2 years for $199 .. it is that they also gave away around $300-$350 worth of other things AS WELL as offering the $199/2yrs.

IT IS POSSIBLE for a company to offer $199 for two years and still make a profit ... it is not possible for a company to offer $199 for two years .. and also for that company to give away $300-$350 worth of "extras" and still hope to make a profit out of it.[/QUOTE]"
""""""""""""""""""""""""

I agree with you jokeworm - $199 for two years makes good business sense because a bigger customer base has many advantages, especially if the publicity is about happy customers.

Post number 34 of this thread was meant to go to you (the 2nd post for this learner). It mentioned my post to the suggestion thread advising VT Not advertise their cash givaways to the high school of VT's founders because it might annoy customers who are stiffed because VT doesn't retain the kind of tech support for a customer base of 60k to prevent the kind of negative feedback i've been hearing lately - or it looks like they are giving away money instead of fixing problems that burden their customers.

AOL could survive with their lack of supporting paid customers too, because they had a large enough subscriber base to buffer them from ruin (as well as other underhanded business practices to scam money from customers) . 60k customers and falling (from many of these inputs from new subscribers) is not much of a financial cushion to be secure with.

Not taking care of even their newly paid customers to get their service to work, makes bad business sense - not to mention making old customers wait a week (so far) to get an on-line reply for help when their phone no longer works and no VT phone support like there once was.

There are clear signs this company has problems they cant adequately resolve and that is both turning new customers away as well as old ones. Rumors of unsatisfactory service from customer feedback can be the stake in the heart for any company. How long can a company with a 60k customer base last with this kind of trend?

I was just disconnected by them a min ago, after waiting for over three hours on the phone support line. I had a feeling that might happen after reading the same happened to others too. Something serious must be going on in their main office.

Anyone: Is there a way to contact employees of Viatalk - or former employees that may have some insight?
Thanks

[26charlie]

26charlie .

things to ponder ..

On a side note - it would appear that dslreports.com users seem to finally be getting answers from Brendan .. shame he can't do the same for the users that have found their way here too.

===============

[on edit: are you saying we can see feedback about VT there, or does the same guy run that site too, with similar problems?]

I'm new to these forums - never was a need to read till now. (and didn't see your prior response till now)

I cant blame people for needing a place to vent frustrations, in the hope it might be heard by VT, when it appears there is no other way to communicate with them than this forum. I had that in mind when registering to post, but see its been done enough already for them to get the message, if they cared to read here. The angry ones speak for me too and i just hope they take some time to scan them, out of care for their customers, instead of offering an outlet to direct it away from their attention.

I trust others are also having the same problem i have with them not replying to the two help request tickets after a week so far. My phone has been out longer than my firt request for help and since around the date of many of these complaints. So i wonder if they had some kind of a crash?

I'd also like to find a thread here where the customers are helping each other with our problems by supplying useful info for known fixes. That can help to at least bump a few people off the waiting lists and possibly even help the company from caving in, forcing us to find another service.

Is there a VT tech thread with customers contributing questions and answers to it voluntarily, like there is with the @#$%!!! windows Vista forums? (due to their similar lack of support)

My problem is my phone goes to my voicemail after only one ring and the setting on the online control panel is set (and reset) to go to voicemail after 5 rings (my home recorder kicks in after 4 rings, so i never use VT's voicemail). The result is i miss alot of calls and have to check voicemail online to see if there is anything there. I like the control to make my home number simutaneously ring my cell phone too, but my cell starts ringing only after the first ring - so nothing goes to the cell.

Anyone else have this problem too, or know an easy fix for it?
Thanks

[jokeworm]

as i sid in the other thread ... they have already doubled staff in the past two weeks .. the problem is .. once the initial rush is over .. what do they do with the extra staff they just brought on board ... and as Brendan said .. its no good just having warm bodies to listen to people .. we need them to be able to know what they are talking about too ..

the one thing Viatalk does do .. VERY WELL is have staff that can offer a one-call solution to your problems. There is no tier two or tier three .. the person you get through to should be able to handle your problem and fix it there and then .. unfortunately - it takes time to get new staff up to a level where they will be able to do that with any degree of success.

they really are over a barrel with this one ... hire "warm bodies" and they get bad-mouthed for having support staff that don't know what they are doing. Hire and train new techs .. what happens next week when the call rush goes down ... ? they are left with staff who are contracted to do nothing all day .. and the expenses the company now has puts them in a more delicate financial situation.

[jokeworm]

My problem is my phone goes to my voicemail after only one ring and the setting on the online control panel is set (and reset) to go to voicemail after 5 rings (my home recorder kicks in after 4 rings, so i never use VT's voicemail). The result is i miss alot of calls and have to check voicemail online to see if there is anything there. I like the control to make my home number simutaneously ring my cell phone too, but my cell starts ringing only after the first ring - so nothing goes to the cell.

Anyone else have this problem too, or know an easy fix for it?
Thanks


have you set the "set ring seconds" (near the bottom of the control panel under advanced features) to something more usable .. i had to try a few different combinations .. but eventually settled on 35 seconds .. as this seems to make my home phone ring around 5 times before it hits the VT mailbox .. if i want to use my home phone - i set it for four rings .. and it picks up the call before VT voicemail has a chance to kick in.

Took a few trial and error calls .. but i finally have it about right i think.

[26charlie]

have you set the "set ring seconds" (near the bottom of the control panel under advanced features) to something more usable



No, i misread that to mean how many rings and 5 was one more than 4, which is when my home recorder kicks in.

THANKS VERY MUCH, JOKEWORM - THAT FIXED MY PROBLEM!

I knew it had to be something easy! I should have been reviewing the threads
for an answer more and being less redundant about my feelings with the unexpected silence from viatalk.

I just read about sunrocket this am (never heard of them till now) so now see what the problem is. I still think its a mistake though for viatalk to maintain their silence durng this time of high frustrations when issuing a statement asking for patience wont cost them anything, doesn't commit them to a timeline and tells the customers they are valued (true or not). I'd bet it would do alot to cut the frustration levels in half - thats important for the sake of their future customer satisfaction reputation.

I like viatalk's control panel options and can live with some minor problems, so i'd like to see them survive instead of falling over something unnecessarily.

Thanks again. I opened a Q&A tech thread and forgot to check it - maybe ya'll can keep it going and knock more people out of the phone queue. I wont be in it today and hopefully wont for the rest of the year! :D

[ I get lost too easy in these forums and now cant find where i started that Q&A cust to cust thread - It was under "tech talk" or something like that, but that folder escapes me now - i'll search again later when i get time ]

[jokeworm]

THANKS VERY MUCH, JOKEWORM - THAT FIXED MY PROBLEM!

I knew it had to be something easy!

confused the heck out of me at first too :) Glad I could help.

[sysjes]

I can't say whether or not the phone service is good or bad, but getting setup is really BAD. When you first signup you get this very generic email saying hey you've signed up. Well no duh! In the email it says "Typically all orders are processed within 3-5 days, sometimes sooner." First off, what was it I ordered again? Where is my invoice and how can I look at it again? YOU CAN'T! Hmmm, let me go take a look at my order status... Okay, well the order has been placed... Ok, so when will I get setup? 3-5 days, maybe sooner... Right? WRONG!@ Even BYOD orders were seeing turnup times exceeding 12 days. Whats up with that? Okay let me open a ticket and see if I can get a status. Auto-reply may be a good sign, ticket's been opened and I can check status of the ticket, but hmmm, no responses... Okay let me try their tech support. What time are they open? Oh, it looks like all day all night... Hmmm 86, 85, 80, oh 84, 83 81... 5, 6, 2, 1... Sorry one can take your call at this time... Umm, I just waited 2 and a half hours for that message!

Okay, let me try another voip provider... Hmmm, autoreply saying I placed the order and hey whats this? It tells me exactly what I ordered and what my charges are? Wow, what an improvement... A day later... Wow, they shipped the part and I have a fedex tracking number... SWEET! It will be here in 2 days, OMG! 2 days later... Okay plug it in, temp number, okay... Check status in LNP... 6 days later, wow... I have my number again... Well how about them apples...

Sorry viatalk... Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Yes I tried to switch to viatalk 5 months ago and got the same type of service. No invoice, no responses to tickets and no adapter. Don't blame it on the massive influx of customers when the process is broke in the first place.

[Paul_D]

Actually, once your account is set up and you can access the CP, you can pull your SIP info right from there and use a softphone until the adapter arrives.

Many of us who got to the softphone config page, myself included, are missing the password. Since VT seems to have abandoned all support weather by web ticket or 3 hour wait times only to be dropped, there is no viable solution to this issue.

[Ptrowski]

Many of us who got to the softphone config page, myself included, are missing the password. Since VT seems to have abandoned all support weather by web ticket or 3 hour wait times only to be dropped, there is no viable solution to this issue.


So when you put in any softphone it doesn't show you the password below it?

[26charlie]

Many of us who got to the softphone config page, myself included, are missing the password. Since VT seems to have abandoned all support weather by web ticket or 3 hour wait times only to be dropped, there is no viable solution to this issue.



I dont know if its the same situation, but have you tried guessing some generic default passwords you might see when setting up a router? I remember being surprised it was "admin" or another initial password from them i'd used earlier

Thats sucks, otherwise - one work away, but cant use it until who knows when (and they're not even indicating anyone's home, as they empty the last equipment into the moving vans, ...)
Nah - there has Got to be a sensible reason for them to Not updating their site to say they are still there and still committed to their (non priority) customers, when it doesn't appear so.

[kieranmullen]

Can everyone post their experiences good or bad in the broadbandreports website ?

http://www.dslreports.com/reviews/2557

[m1a1abrams]

VOIP.COM $199 per year. Great customer service,great quality.FAST SHIPPING!!!

Sunrockets death will end up being the death of Viatalk. Taking on more then they can handle in one shot.

[vt_dw]

I'm a SR refugee as many are that are caught up in this mess of no service.
All I can say is that I tried to sign up with VOIP.COM and it was a waste of my time. Queues that where over an hour long, dropped calls, no voicemail, no communications with customers, echos on the calls that managed to get out, call logs that where over 2 days behind. It was horrible and BTW this story is repeated over and over by many. I signed up with ViaTalk and got everything in 2 days and converted my AC-211SR GIZMO to use their service. Excellent sound quality and the website is great so easy to use. If you could get service with VOIP.COM their website was horrible. Anyway when I called ViaTalk on 8/21 I had my phone answered by sales NO QUEUE at all. I know there have been long queues at ViaTalk as well but not now. I called VOIP.COM last night just to see if they've got their SH!T together yet and I got into their queue and was dropped. I know I made the right choice.

[kieranmullen]

That seems expensive. You can get a call in number as little as $35 a year and call out at .01 a minute

What is the .03 per minute that you are talking about? International???

[kieranmullen]

Its because they are doing something else no other voip company is doing. Marketing! It costs money to make money.

Vonage's downfall is merely the fact that it doesn't have positive net revenue. That's too bad because it is a great service although a bit pricey compared to Viatalk.

[1stlink]

Can everyone post their experiences good or bad in the broadbandreports website ?

http://www.dslreports.com/reviews/2557

I finally did, here is my post:

OK, SunRocket dumped me and many others!
I shopped a little and came across "ViaTalk", big mistake... I don't want to address their Customer Service because I don't have the time. Let me just say that it is non-existent until you pay for "Priority Service" and that's just the beginning!

Lets take a look at ViaTalk Price & Sales Promotion:
Now, ViaTalk says, Hey former SR customers, Come here for same flat fee that you paid SunRocket "$199.00 year" and we will give you "2" Lines and "3" months FREE service!
Well, $199 is really $228.95 according to my invoice! OK, so I paid for shipping and for a "RUSH" service because I was desperate. It turned out to be a good decision to pay the Ransom for what everyone most people consider normal service, a little over a week to receive service. I checked in the Forum and fond others waited much much longer...
Other Monthly Fees: $2.50 for 911 etc. fee (SR FREE), $3.95 for Virtual number (SR Free), $1.95 to talk to service rep(SR FREE)
Let's see $228.95 / 12 = $19.07 + $3.95 + $2.50 + $1.95 = 27.47 mo.

OK, That is better than a lot of other services, Verizon, etc. but I feel that they are very misleading at best and dishonest is another word that comes to mind. I'm well into my senior years and I can't comprehend someone "Giving" TWO lines but only including One phone number! Very deceptive I think!

I paid the $228.95 ($199++) as an annual fee...Now I'm done paying for a year, right?? Wrong, I get monthly invoices for $2.50, $3.95, & $1.95...Why aren't all these extra charges explained UP-Front on their web page with the $199 promotion? I'm sure that if you dig enough and read the misleading text that they have there butts covered somewhere, somehow, but I for one am not amused by there methods and procedures.

It has taken a little over a month to see the whole billing procedure and VT only has a 15 day trial so I guess I'm stuck for a year. Hopefully this will prevent at least a few of you from falling into the same trap.
Thanks and Good luck to all...