On 12/02/2021 15:33, David wrote:
On Friday, 12 February 2021 at 12:53:31 UTC, fred wrote:
Chat line is an option on some sites but chatting to someone in India is not going to elicit an answer to a serious question. That's me avoiding Samsung, Vodafone, Specsavers and others I couldn't be arsed listing . Feel free to add your own favourites

I'm no fan of Vodafone either, but I was recently very surprised at how well their "Chat" worked on their website. I complained to them that my broadband was cutting out about once a day. One of the things they had me do was to take the faceplate off the BT socket and plug the router splitter directly into the internal master socket instead of the faceplate.

This is the socket into which the router is plugged... I queried the request - surely that would result in the temporary disconnection of my broadband, and the disconnection of the "Chat"? "No, it should be OK" came the reply. So I did as I was told, and they were correct! After the broadband connection had re-established itself, my chat carried on as if nothing had happened!

I was impressed, anyway. And, actually, the broadband hasn't disconnected in the month or so since.

I've generally had very reasonable experience with "text chat" compared
to phone helplines. My impression is that they often have a better
quality of support. Also, it seems easier to convey one's own technical
level quickly. I find it psychologically less irritating to be waiting
for a response in a box on the screen compared to listening to Four
Seasons on a phone line.