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ANVEO - Buyer Beware!

Started by JH2011, April 07, 2014, 04:21:27 PM

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AlanB

Quote from: CLTGreg on April 09, 2014, 08:19:20 AM
I like Anveo a lot but it seems that support is a profit center for them. Shouldn't be a surprise since they are so ala carte but sometimes it makes me nervous when something may be a sales question or a problem on their end.
So far I haven't used an official support ticket yet.  Emails to customer service are a good start.

Sam_from_CircleNet

#21
nitzan,
You are correct. We do need to hand hold customers as they first come onto the service but that is an investment in what will hopefully be a long relationship. After the initial setup in most cases the level of support required drops off very quickly however a disproportionate number of cases do come from a small percentage of our customers.

I don't think this pattern is unique to VOIP. I've seen it in other IT businesses. Between 1997 and 2007 I help startup (They were running but in a basement) and grow (Regional network, MPLS, Fiber, Microwave) an ISP from 100 or so to 25,000 customers and the same customer support patterns existed there.

Between 2000 and 2007 we also did dedicated server hosting and the same pattern was true. We had customers for years that I barely knew and then others that I was sure I must have been a relative as often as we spoke.

Maintaining quality support will be one of our largest challenges. We're a family business and honestly our margins are thin but we're well funded and happen to have a LOT of engineering DNA in our family tree :-).

I love the level of competition in this market because it gives everyone a choice of providers and it's why I like the free trial concept. Different customers have different requirements for support level, reliability and price and none of us provide the proper fit for every customers needs.

CircleNet can provide a reliable outbound calling service and we'll help get it working. If a customer is looking for a full service inbound/outbound provider with lots of features and the support level that $$$ monthly provide we probably won't be that customer's best bet and we'll be the first to say it. 



CLTGreg

Quote from: 7Priest7 on April 09, 2014, 10:22:14 PM

When May 15th rolls around, I will be going with LocalPhone for outbound calls at half a penny per minute and callcentric ny did forwarded from GVoice for free inbound calls.
I decided to also get Red Pocket Mobile(4G) at $10 a month and use Zoiper for mobile calling.
To further reduce my costs I will probably try to use Google's callback feature when possible.

The thing that bugs me about Red Pocket is they don't define what "4G" is. Looks like they are an MVNO for AT&T so LTE should be available but why not just say it?

SkOrPn

Quote from: Johnny on April 08, 2014, 05:32:37 AM
I just want to know one thing about Anveo.  How in the world can anyone navigate their web site?  I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but come on.  Why not have a web site that even people like me can understand?  Or is that asking the impossible? ;D

IMO, They seriously need a redesign.

Just my thoughts.......

That is funny that you mention this. I spent about 5 minutes (if that) in their website and saw everything I needed to see, no way in the world I would sign up with them if their site is that poorly designed.

On the other hand, when going to Obivoice, it redirected to Vestalink and that was MUCH easier to work with. In fact, a child could navigate that place. Easy website, lowest yearly price I have seen so far and descent quality according to their users. Once GV is no longer working I may go with them.

ceg3

Odd that you refer to yourself as "priest." Seems kind of ironic, since you seem to enjoy giving people the devil so much.

CLTGreg

Quote from: SkOrPn on April 10, 2014, 02:28:10 PM
That is funny that you mention this. I spent about 5 minutes (if that) in their website and saw everything I needed to see, no way in the world I would sign up with them if their site is that poorly designed.

On the other hand, when going to Obivoice, it redirected to Vestalink and that was MUCH easier to work with. In fact, a child could navigate that place. Easy website, lowest yearly price I have seen so far and descent quality according to their users. Once GV is no longer working I may go with them.

I'm not defending Anveo but try Vestalink with javascript disabled. Or if you like, take a blank piece of paper and stare at it. Same result. I like Vestalink but "blank" is not a great web design either. The page should have a logo and link to non-whatever or at least a message telling you that the site cannot be used AT ALL with javascript disabled. Some of us authorize JS on a site by site basis but when you hit a blank screen it takes a moment to figure out what's not going on.

sailing

From Wikipedia

In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people,[1] by posting inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a forum, chat room, or blog), either accidentally[3][4] or with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[5] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

JH2011

If it looks like a troll,
sounds like a troll
and smells like a troll...

Guess what? It's a troll!  8)


chmedly

I signed up with Anveo back in January and I spent a considerable amount of time figuring it out.  I have 2 obi boxes and was trying to get them both configured which is not something that is spelled out on the Anveo site or the Obi site.  I sent an email to Anveo support and got no response.  A few weeks later (after I figured the config issue out on my own) I tried a support ticket (I assumed that they just don't answer support emails) about a billing oriented question and got no response to that either.  The actual phone service has been working fine so far with no service interruptions that I'm aware of and it's relatively cheap.   But it is not an easy setup path in my opinion.  Also, I've finding that I'm being charged for incoming unanswered calls.  This is apparently because they hit the routing options and so are considered an answered call.  So, it's not as cheap as I had thought it would be but so far it's a lot cheaper than the land line service that was in place before. 

c3c3

Quote from: chmedly on April 13, 2014, 12:10:57 PMAlso, I've finding that I'm being charged for incoming unanswered calls.  This is apparently because they hit the routing options and so are considered an answered call. 

Unless you are using routing options which require the call to be answered, the "start" option "do not answer the line" should be checked.

JH2011

#30
Quote from: chmedly on April 13, 2014, 12:10:57 PM
I signed up with Anveo back in January and I spent a considerable amount of time figuring it out.  I have 2 obi boxes and was trying to get them both configured which is not something that is spelled out on the Anveo site or the Obi site.  I sent an email to Anveo support and got no response.  A few weeks later (after I figured the config issue out on my own) I tried a support ticket (I assumed that they just don't answer support emails) about a billing oriented question and got no response to that either.  The actual phone service has been working fine so far with no service interruptions that I'm aware of and it's relatively cheap.   But it is not an easy setup path in my opinion.  Also, I've finding that I'm being charged for incoming unanswered calls.  This is apparently because they hit the routing options and so are considered an answered call.  So, it's not as cheap as I had thought it would be but so far it's a lot cheaper than the land line service that was in place before.  

I'm not surprised at the difficulties you've encountered in dealing with Anveo. Added to their non-functional install script and lack of response to emails (mine even bounced!)... they appear to have nothing but contempt for GV "refugees" who need assistance. Their attitude to refunds stinks too.

Obi should definitely consider dropping Anveo from their "recommended" list.

AlanB

The many of us with Good experiences keep getting drowned out by a bounced email.

Anveo may not be the best choice for everyone but I've found the support to be good and call quality to be great.

Usetheforceobiwan

Quote from: AlanB on April 13, 2014, 08:05:48 PM
The many of us with Good experiences keep getting drowned out by a bounced email.

Anveo may not be the best choice for everyone but I've found the support to be good and call quality to be great.

I have to agree with Alan, there is nothing wrong with Anveo other than their system is extremely complicated and intimidating to anyone new to it or to VOIP in general.  Anveo's provisioning is the most flexible of any other provider I can think of but along with this flexibility comes complication and a steep learning curve.  And Anveo's services are scalable which means you can be caught unaware of costs because of their ala carte approach to providing options.  Nobodies perfect but by no means is Anveo a fly by night provider so they are more likely to be around in the long run.

c3c3

I have signed up 3 Anveo accounts for my family members and myself, and I have already ported all 3 numbers from GV to Anveo.  Not a single problem with provisioning and re-provisioning (changing Obi devices).

JH2011

Those are very poor excuses for the Anveo issues detailed in this thread by experienced users.

Maybe you guys need some company over there in the "Anveo for ObiTalk" thread?

You're beginning to sound like broken records...  ::)

Usetheforceobiwan

#35
Quote from: JH2011 on April 13, 2014, 09:45:12 PM
You're beginning to sound like broken records...  ::)

Anveo is not that bad,,,skip,,,,Anveo is not that bad,,,skip,,,Anveo is not that bad,,,skip,,,Anveo is not that bad,,,,,,,,,

Just relax man.  It will all work out for you I am sure.

JH2011

Yeah, Got Callcentric up in 5 minutes total. No "steep learning curve" excuses.

Paypal fixed Anveo's nonsense dead in its tracks - I got 100% refunded.

Anveo's installation script was garbage and their business "ethics" are a joke.

So, yeah... I'm feeling totally relaxed bud...

But you guys? What's your excuse for being soooo jumpy?   ???

CLTGreg

Quote from: JH2011 on April 13, 2014, 09:45:12 PM
Those are very poor excuses for the Anveo issues detailed in this thread by experienced users.

Maybe you guys need some company over there in the "Anveo for ObiTalk" thread?

You're beginning to sound like broken records...  ::)

Oh trust me, people are holding back out of some level of politeness. The true problems with Anveo are already listed. Transient problems are just that. Transient.

I don't like the rudeness on this thread from either side. A smiley isn't going to immunize that.

One weird thing about Anveo is when I tried to follow-up on an LNP issue I never heard back. But when I sent a test message that said TESTING NO REPLY NEEDED I got a reply.

CLTGreg

Quote from: JH2011 on April 13, 2014, 10:37:41 PM
Yeah, Got Callcentric up in 5 minutes total. No "steep learning curve" excuses.

Sometimes rocket scientists like rocket science.

Callcentric is great but I'm not willing to pay 2X for. . . well I'm not sure why it's 2X.

Marty.ba.calif.usa

Quote from: c3c3 on April 13, 2014, 09:27:43 PM
I have signed up 3 Anveo accounts for my family members and myself, and I have already ported all 3 numbers from GV to Anveo.  Not a single problem with provisioning and re-provisioning (changing Obi devices).
I don't think it took me even 5 minutes to get my Anveo account working for their Personal Unlimited plan. I may have used Obitalk to provision it, but not the main advertised plan.  I chose the one for other provicers, then Anveo (and voip.ms for another one to evaluate).  It didn't take much longer to reprovision when I got a new ATA, either. 

I was totally new to VOIP, so it did take me  longer than that to understand what I was reading on their website, mainly because I had to understand that plans were mostly separated into incoming calls requiring a DID and outgoing calls that may not.  But as I went through the website, I just saved and documented the links that I felt applied to me, and when I was done, I had a set of links that I no longer needed because I then understood how it was organized.

I think the main problem, and also the main feature, of traditional VOIP providers is that they are not the "Phone Company", so are not geared to dumb users.  But there are too many dumb users trying to use it right now.

Personally, I assume most problems are my fault, and I ask how to solve them, and learn.  Then there are those who's name I won't mention who find problems and simply want to cry like a child and find everyone else to blame besides themselves.  They don't understand the whole concept of what a forum like this even is, thinking it's a complaint dept or something.  Or maybe psychologists who care about their problems.  Sheesh!