View Full Version : Probably the ugliest equipment and install I have ever seen
Jason1975
12-04-2011, 13:45
Hi Guys
Just had Virgin around to do their install, and wow it is ugly. Just had the missus freek out so I will definately have to do something to resolve this.
I am in the same line of work and have worked with cat5/6 and fibre for years. I feel I am well placed to comment on this.
Firstly, why on earth is the cable running up the side of my house black? I realise it is an external cable with special pvc coating, but they also do them in white. White would be a much better option. Then we have the ugly brown virgin box connecting the ugly black cables tacked all over the front of my house.
Also, I specified how I wanted the install done and where I wanted the cables laid and they were not installed how I instructed them to do it.
I have been warned by some other people that Virgin installs suck but wow, I did not think they would be that bad.
I have 2 options. 1, we rip out all the cables, and go back to SKY, or 2, get a different group of Virgin engineers to come and install it like I wanted it to be done.
Decisions , decisions.
Blackened
12-04-2011, 14:33
I'll post you a picture of how my install looks inside. I guarantee you'll feel better.
Hi Guys
Just had Virgin around to do their install, and wow it is ugly. Just had the missus freek out so I will definately have to do something to resolve this.
I am in the same line of work and have worked with cat5/6 and fibre for years. I feel I am well placed to comment on this.
Firstly, why on earth is the cable running up the side of my house black? I realise it is an external cable with special pvc coating, but they also do them in white. White would be a much better option. Then we have the ugly brown virgin box connecting the ugly black cables tacked all over the front of my house.
Also, I specified how I wanted the install done and where I wanted the cables laid and they were not installed how I instructed them to do it.
I have been warned by some other people that Virgin installs suck but wow, I did not think they would be that bad.
I have 2 options. 1, we rip out all the cables, and go back to SKY, or 2, get a different group of Virgin engineers to come and install it like I wanted it to be done.
Decisions , decisions.
If you have the Virginmedia phone line then call in on 150 or if you have a BT line ring 0845 454 1111 and choose the option thinking of leaving us and ask for them to come and tidy the installation up.
The cable from the cabinet only comes in black as it is a special siamese cable so the is no other option available.
I forgot to add that the OMNI boxes are also all brown.
Hi Guys
Just had Virgin around to do their install, and wow it is ugly. Just had the missus freek out so I will definately have to do something to resolve this.
I am in the same line of work and have worked with cat5/6 and fibre for years. I feel I am well placed to comment on this.
Firstly, why on earth is the cable running up the side of my house black? I realise it is an external cable with special pvc coating, but they also do them in white. White would be a much better option. Then we have the ugly brown virgin box connecting the ugly black cables tacked all over the front of my house.
Also, I specified how I wanted the install done and where I wanted the cables laid and they were not installed how I instructed them to do it.
I have been warned by some other people that Virgin installs suck but wow, I did not think they would be that bad.
I have 2 options. 1, we rip out all the cables, and go back to SKY, or 2, get a different group of Virgin engineers to come and install it like I wanted it to be done.
Decisions , decisions.
Aside from the way the cable is clipped to your wall because i cannot see it so i cannot comment i think complaining about the colour of the cable and the box is ridiculous ,black cable, white cable who cares ,they buy in bulk to keep cost down for the consumer and i would daresay that white cable is more expensive, are you going to clean your cable every few months to keep it white ?
Jason1975
12-04-2011, 14:41
Thanks for the advice Masque.
I have been trasfered to 6 people already today, but will try the 150 option this evening if I have not heard back fro Virgin.
Thanks again
Jason
This thread really needs some photos otherwise how do we know exactly what we're commenting on?
weesteev
12-04-2011, 15:27
This thread really needs some photos otherwise how do we know exactly what we're commenting on?
Just beat me to it...
In answer to the OP's question... an Install crew can only tidy the cable if its untidy, the Siamese cable only comes in black so they cannot change it based on the colour unfortunately. Only Internal cable is white but it is split Coax and Copper. If your looking for colour specific cable then it may be best looking into this yourself and replace what has been put in back to the omni box. If your feeling brave you could even get a customised External Termination Box?
Hope this helps.
I'd much prefer black over white cable on the outside of my house.
I've seen some satelite installs with white cable, and it looks damned ugly
Nedkelly
12-04-2011, 15:57
Over time white cable in the sun goes brittle and breaks down .We used to have brown cable for a while then it stoped when they for got to order brown clips for it :D
MovedGoalPosts
12-04-2011, 15:57
From a personal perspective, black cables will look better on most brick nbased walls tan white. But it the wall is white painted render that is the exception when it will stand out. The point being that what will please some, won't please others. The external box being brown is going to best suit most brick properties, but could stand out on painted render.
Either VM incur significant extra costs by having a lot of varieties to deal with various possible permutations, or they go for the one size fit's al approach.
As for the actual running of cables I've always found the installers quite obliging if you are there to talk to them as they do it. But if nobody is there to give them direction on your specific routing ideas, they will do it the easiest way they can. Aesthetics need a bit of plannign and forethought and with any installer's time being money, it's not them being awkward or cutting corners, it's more they don't have the time to work out the optimum aesthetics verus practicality that you the householder may have thought of for many a month.
djmagnifique
12-04-2011, 17:20
Why not just paint the cable and box white?
Photo's we need photo's :)
jordyGFC
12-04-2011, 19:02
ive got a brown box (matchs my windows) with a white cable :) i had to ask them for white but...
Black cables = external
White cables = internal
they are made of different materials. The black is more durable, but gives off noxious fumes when on fire, whereas the white is less durable and doesn't give off such fumes.
Anyway white cables on a brick or stone external wall???????? Nothing looks worse.
Not installing the cables as you directed is another matter, but in regards to the colour of the cables and boxs................get over it.
Jason1975
12-04-2011, 19:33
Some good points, some not so good.
Never the less here is the picture
The brown termination box should be on the far right of the window, then the telephone cable runs above the window, then down on the right to connect the box.
Anyway, possibly I have higher standards but Virgin should carry a couple of colours to best match the house. If it were to cost a few quid extra, I would happily pay it to avoide the horrible install.
Download Failed (1)
So far as I can see, the colours are exactly what everyone gets, so no basis for a complaint there. Also, the install as completed seems to me to be reasonably tidy and typical.
However, I can see that if you did indeed ask for the box to be on the other side of the window and for the cable to be run round the frame, the finished effect would have been very much different (and I think very much better) than what they have left you with. The fact they have done something a lot different might be worth pursuing.
i would agree that the run of cable to the left of the window could be neater and if they haven't put the box where you wanted it then yes get them out to change it but the colour wouldn't be an issue for me ,if it was ,then just paint it the next time you paint your render
By the way you need to shift that aerial cable going through your window cos it will rot it unless it has been cut off outside of course ;)
ive got a brown box (matchs my windows) with a white cable :) i had to ask them for white but...
Can I be really crude with this one?
Looks like a normal install to me
So far as I can see, the colours are exactly what everyone gets, so no basis for a complaint there. Also, the install as completed seems to me to be reasonably tidy and typical.
However, I can see that if you did indeed ask for the box to be on the other side of the window and for the cable to be run round the frame, the finished effect would have been very much different (and I think very much better) than what they have left you with. The fact they have done something a lot different might be worth pursuing.
Agreed. The box could have been installed nearer the right hand side of the window, which would have enabled the cable to go around the Window Frame (which would have done a good job of hiding it).
Jason1975
12-04-2011, 20:25
Looks like a normal install to me
Like I said ... different standards.
The colour would not have been an issue at all if it had been installed next to the ivy on the right.
Anyway, will get the engineers out to sort it out.
The TV does look better than Sky and the internet is alot faster.
Customer services are not great though, as it can apparently take 5 days for the 'installation customer services' to get back to us.
Will post a pic of the new improved install :D
But then the installer would have to do all that work in a thorny bush :)
Easier to paint it the color of your wall.
Next time hopefully your there to oversee the install
I guess it would have been a little more fiddly to do though, which is probably why they didn't. Not acceptable if they agreed that they would.
Jason1975
12-04-2011, 20:29
But then the installer would have to do all that work in a thorny bush :)
Easier to paint it the color of your wall.
lol no thorns, only lovely soft leaves! Much easier just to do the install with the box on the right than missioning to B+Q to find the same colour, spend the cash on it, then the time to paint it.
doubt you are going to convince me otherwise jb66 :p:
Some good points, some not so good.
Never the less here is the picture
Download Failed (1)
Ive seen worse tbh but have had over 10yrs installing
Nedkelly
12-04-2011, 22:36
Box on other side near bush cable hidden in tiles across front then drop down to box .Where does the RG6 from the garden go into the box ? :D
Is that supposed to be a professional install? I could have done a better job blind folded! Looks like he was in a rush to finish. I'd get them back out to re-route it, that's pathetic.
haydnwalker
12-04-2011, 23:08
I forgot to add that the OMNI boxes are also all brown.
Mine must be an old one then... because its grey (with a dirty black mark on because of my old cars exhaust :()
Mine must be an old one then... because its grey (with a dirty black mark on because of my old cars exhaust :()
Virtually everyone I have seen is brown and many discolour in the sun of course yours may be different because of the original franchise.
carlwaring
13-04-2011, 08:07
Both my parents and I have brown external boxes; my install was 2007 while theirs was last year. (Ex-NTL area.) Oh yes, and white internal cabling.
Why didn't you tell them you wanted a better routing? Not as if there was no-one there when it happened..
When my cable was installed he told me what route he would like to do I suggested a few changes and he was more than happy to accommodate.. In your case I don't see why the box is so far to the left and could of been placed to the right of the window with the cable half obstructed from view coming up the side of said window and then run along the bottom of the roof line.
In other words if you (or whoever was there) don't give opinions then they'll do it the simplest way possible..
:doh:
weesteev
13-04-2011, 09:11
Is that Omni box there to cover a cable access hole? Thats the only reason I can see for locating the Omni box there.
Errr .. Kymmy:
Also, I specified how I wanted the install done and where I wanted the cables laid and they were not installed how I instructed them to do it.
;)
Chris in other words "I didn't bother making sure that they did it how I wanted it as I wasn't too bothered at the time!!"
;)
Jason1975
13-04-2011, 09:58
Chris in other words "I didn't bother making sure that they did it how I wanted it as I wasn't too bothered at the time!!"
;)
Kymmy, if you give someone instructions how you would like something done, why should I have to supervise the entire job. One would expect 'professional installers' to do it the way I wanted. If you tell your painter you want a room painted blue, and you come back and he has painted the cupboards blue instead would it be your fault for not supervising?
I had other things to do, and could not stand outside watching them do the install.
As some other guys mentioned it was a quick install. Fastest easiest way possible.
Chris in other words "I didn't bother making sure that they did it how I wanted it as I wasn't too bothered at the time!!"
;)
How do we know they didn't just do the job hurriedly and leave? NTL installers did that several times to me. In one case, the installer left so quick, I almost didn't have time to draw breath, let alone complain about his work. They are supposedly professional people. Why shouldn't he expect them to follow his instructions, or at least give a good reason why they didn't?
:clap: for making use of the numbered list function ...
/makes a mental note to use more bulleted and numbered lists in forum posts
:D
roger skillin
13-04-2011, 11:54
Some people come up with the most ridiculous complaints, come on please say "I don't believe it!" for us
I'd like my outside cable to be electric blue with a silver stripe running along it but we can't have everything. I honestly thought this was a joke when i read it and saw that photo of a perfectly neat install
Neat, until you see the two long black cables crossing the white wall.
It would have been neater if they'd actually tacked the cable around the window frame.
Jason1975
13-04-2011, 13:00
Some people come up with the most ridiculous complaints, come on please say "I don't believe it!" for us
I'd like my outside cable to be electric blue with a silver stripe running along it but we can't have everything. I honestly thought this was a joke when i read it and saw that photo of a perfectly neat install
lol you should have gone to spec savers? :)
Like I say different people have different standards...it is far from neat.
Pittcity
13-04-2011, 13:25
You lot are lucky. When mine was installed the engineer drilled through a water pipe!
roger skillin
13-04-2011, 14:07
lol you should have gone to spec savers? :)
Like I say different people have different standards...it is far from neat.
Not really, it's straight apart from one small section, i think it looks perfectly good, as for the wire coming out of the window, the paintwork on top of the porch and the dirty windowsill i'd be more inclined to sort that out if i wanted the front of my house to look better, this is why i don't think standards are coming into this
Jason1975
13-04-2011, 14:44
Not really, it's straight apart from one small section, i think it looks perfectly good, as for the wire coming out of the window, the paintwork on top of the porch and the dirty windowsill i'd be more inclined to sort that out if i wanted the front of my house to look better, this is why i don't think standards are coming into this
Fair point I will cut the cable tonight. You however can't see the dirty windowsill from across the road.
roger skillin
13-04-2011, 15:41
Fair point I will cut the cable tonight. You however can't see the dirty windowsill from across the road.
I do like the tree outside your door though :)
Must admit that does look poor, regardless of routing I would expect cables to be either horizontal or vertical !
On some local installs in my area the cable goes into the house horizontally, ie directly level with a horizontal cable run. I was under the impression that a cable should ALWAYS run vertically down from a wall penetration as this will minimise the risk of water running down the cable and into the wall.
I made a wooden box to go over the brown box. It is held on with one screw, can be painted to match the house and does not got in the way of the cables.
Neo-Tech
13-04-2011, 17:55
Virtually everyone I have seen is brown and many discolour in the sun of course yours may be different because of the original franchise.
Complete opposite here, most I've seen are grey. Seen a few brown, I'll keep the grey thanks ;)
Helps to say most people in my area use cable, but a lot are changing to ADSL because of price.
You lot are lucky. When mine was installed the engineer drilled through a water pipe!
Ouch, that must have been horrific.
Digital Fanatic
13-04-2011, 19:50
But then the installer would have to do all that work in a thorny bush :)
Easier to paint it the color of your wall.
Next time hopefully your there to oversee the install
That's the first thing I though when I saw the pics... the install looks fine otherwise.
---------- Post added at 19:50 ---------- Previous post was at 19:47 ----------
Looks like a normal install to me
Ex telewest are grey
Brown in my Ex Telewest area and in most places around the Northwest.
Brown in my Ex Telewest area and in most places around the Northwest.
Legacy telewest omni boxes are grey then.....
Legacy telewest omni boxes are grey then.....
In your area but in Liverpool who were Cablenorthwest in 1993 and eventually Telewest then Virginmedia they have been brown, possibly whatever the local stores bought from the supplier.
Some good points, some not so good.
Never the less here is the picture
The brown termination box should be on the far right of the window, then the telephone cable runs above the window, then down on the right to connect the box.
Anyway, possibly I have higher standards but Virgin should carry a couple of colours to best match the house. If it were to cost a few quid extra, I would happily pay it to avoide the horrible install.
Download Failed (1)
has anyone mentioned yet that you didnt seem that bothered when whoever installed whatever it is coming down from your roof into your window frame was installed ?? lol
Also you windows are a mess they need repair /replacing is that putty falling out of the bottom??
ccarmock
13-04-2011, 22:13
ex Telewest franchise area here and got a grey omnibox - installed about 18 months ago - complete with Virgin logo molded into the plastic. Not sure if it's relevent but it's a Virgin Media business install. They seemed to take a lot of care with the install, even covering the siamese cable where it come up from being buried with a metal U shaped cover etc.
Neighbour recently had VM (residential) installed - brown onmibox except there is no cover so the splitter and wires are all exposed. He's been calling CS for weeks to try to get them to come back and put a cover on it.
Anyone installer here got a brown omibox cover they could send so I could let him have to put on himself? Postage refunded :-)
Jason1975
13-04-2011, 23:40
has anyone mentioned yet that you didnt seem that bothered when whoever installed whatever it is coming down from your roof into your window frame was installed ?? lol
Also you windows are a mess they need repair /replacing is that putty falling out of the bottom??
Firstly the house is a renovation project and we fix it up as and when we have cash. The front window is one of 3 we have not been able to replace as we have a young daughter and child minding costs a bomb so it has to wait a little longer. Also it is not putty on the windowsill, but paint chips dislodged from the work yesterday.
Secondly the cable has been cut back (although it is not as obtrusive as a black cable and brown box on yellow background and never bothered me as much)
Thirdly the cable was in place when we bought the house.
See, even though your post had a condescending tone to it there are reasons why things are like they are.
Perhaps you should give your next post a little more thought next time?
Just honest advice.
See, you post a photo of your house and suddenly it's open season on Jason's pad ... :D
I still think that the install as done is reasonably neat, but if they stood and listened to your request for where the cables should go, and then totally ignored you, you have grounds for complaint.
Have you pursued it further as yet?
Jason1975
14-04-2011, 06:07
See, you post a photo of your house and suddenly it's open season on Jason's pad ... :D
I still think that the install as done is reasonably neat, but if they stood and listened to your request for where the cables should go, and then totally ignored you, you have grounds for complaint.
Have you pursued it further as yet?
Hi Chris
Yes I left a complaint, however they said it can take up to 5 days for the 'install support team' to get back to me.
Maybe I am a little bit cynical, but it would seem the only reason that a 5 day time frame would be given is because of the volume of complaints they have to deal with.
Hopefully I am wrong!
Also no one at Virgin seems to know who deals with what problem. I was on the phone for 45 min and was transferred to 6 or 7 different people in that time.
I have heard that Virgin customer services is pretty poor and my experiance is confiming it, but to be fair I have heard the same about Sky.
Seems like it is a general UK thing where large companies don't really care about their customers. Maybe we need more competition so that they are forced to tidy up their act, to maintain our business.
I personally would love more of a option than Sky/Virgin for a decent TV service. (I realise there are a couple other options available but not with the same channel variety)
carlwaring
14-04-2011, 09:04
Maybe I am a little bit cynical, but it would seem the only reason that a 5 day time frame would be given is because of the volume of complaints they have to deal with.
Seriously? :rolleyes: You don't think it's because they might have other things to do as well? Every company I have ever dealt with has had a "turn-around" time for dealing with any correspondence. One train company I recently had to deal with had a "within 20 days" response time!
VM certainly aren't perfect, but I cannot believe the stupidity of some of the "complaints" levelled at them. (That was a general comment and not aimed specifically at you Jason!)
Jason1975
14-04-2011, 09:35
Seriously? :rolleyes: You don't think it's because they might have other things to do as well? Every company I have ever dealt with has had a "turn-around" time for dealing with any correspondence. One train company I recently had to deal with had a "within 20 days" response time!
VM certainly aren't perfect, but I cannot believe the stupidity of some of the "complaints" levelled at them. (That was a general comment and not aimed specifically at you Jason!)
Wow, 20 days is crazy. I can see yout point if it were a general enquiry helpline. The number I called though was specifically for installation problems, so I assume this is all they take care of.
Regardless, I will wait the 5 days and see what happens and be gratefull it is not 20 days :)
In your area but in Liverpool who were Cablenorthwest in 1993 and eventually Telewest then Virginmedia they have been brown, possibly whatever the local stores bought from the supplier.
My Omni box is grey as installed by Comtel taken by NTL and now Virgin, Virgin tacked a brown cover over the cable while I was out on the wall which looks horrible. :(
weesteev
14-04-2011, 10:17
Wow, 20 days is crazy. I can see yout point if it were a general enquiry helpline. The number I called though was specifically for installation problems, so I assume this is all they take care of.
Regardless, I will wait the 5 days and see what happens and be gratefull it is not 20 days :)
Be greatful you dont have to complain to Fly BE... 16 weeks turnaround time!
:(
carlwaring
14-04-2011, 10:44
Wow, 20 days is crazy. I can see yout point if it were a general enquiry helpline. The number I called though was specifically for installation problems, so I assume this is all they take care of.
Yes, the point is that they're not dealing with so many that they can't send out initial responses in less than five days; more that they're doing other stuff, like working on other complaints, as well!
So five days for an initial response is fine.
Neo-Tech
14-04-2011, 17:58
Ex telewest are grey
Mine's ex-ntl. Says Cabletel iirc.
As far as i am concerned the colour of the boxes/cable is not an issue as they will get painted the next time the house is regardless of what colour they are ,my issue with that install would be the routing .If the box had to go in that position then it would have been neater to run the cable along the roof line and then down the left side of the window tight against the concrete jamb ,2" below the box and then looped up into the box ,not straight down the middle of a wall ,and a straight or horizontal run should be straight or horizontal ,not a little bit wiggly .As a window fitter i re-rout cables all the time and if i can be tad professional about a not very hard job ,then someone who does it for a living should be able to do it
craigj2k12
16-04-2011, 17:12
Some good points, some not so good.
Never the less here is the picture
The brown termination box should be on the far right of the window, then the telephone cable runs above the window, then down on the right to connect the box.
Anyway, possibly I have higher standards but Virgin should carry a couple of colours to best match the house. If it were to cost a few quid extra, I would happily pay it to avoide the horrible install.
http://www.reefculture.co.uk/virgin.JPG
theres nothing wrong with that, just use the same paint you did the walls with, to paint the cables, if you get the brown box moved your going to have a nice big hole in the wall.
Oh, and by the way, the virgin cabling looks neater than the coax going through the window (sky?)
To be honest all i see is a question . " How much can i get out of them if i complain" :rolleyes:
It would have been more professional looking if the installer had fitted the box to the right of the house and also routed the cable from the right, over the window frame and below the tiles across the door.
Jason1975
16-04-2011, 23:10
Having reread the posts it seems Brits have been desensitised to bad service and bad workmanship.
To the people that say just paint the cable and box: Why should I have to go to B+Q, go search for the same colour paint, pay for the paint, drive home then spend a few hours painting if I have told the guys where to install it?
To the people that think 5 days in not a long time to wait, I say you have become used to poor service, and don’t even realise it anymore. I think tomorrow will be day 5, and still no call from Virgin. Can’t say I am surprised in the very least.
I would have bet money that they will not phone, and where some guys might say consider yourself lucky you don’t have to wait 3 weeks or whatever, I say to you stop being content with mediocre service and grow a pair.
Unless consumers do something about these problems, these fat cat companies will continue to gladly take our money and laugh all the way to the bank.
Why? Because your fussy, nothing wring with that but if your like that you should have been there for the install
Jason, get on the phone to them first thing tomorrow, or Monday, and demand they send a qualified installer out to tidy that mess up.
There was a time when a worker took pride in making sure they did a good job.
Shoddy workmanship like this, is done by lazy, unprofessional Virgin Media employees.
carlwaring
17-04-2011, 00:00
To the people that think 5 days in not a long time to wait....
Not so long ago I had cause to contact the Cust. Serv. Dept. of East Midlands Trains. Their turnaround time for responses was TWENTY DAYS. Yes FOUR TIMES that of VM!!
There was a time folk got paid by the hour not the job
There was a time folk got paid by the hour not the job
That's no excuse for a botched job like this.
I would do jobs worse than that if i was paid by job
That's no excuse for a botched job like this.
I think that's bit over the top ,it's not the best but by no means the worst .As has been mentioned if the OP is that fussy he should have been there .Did he tell the installers where to put the cables and the box ?or did he just leave vague instructions when it was booked .The other issue i can see is, there is another cable that has been run from the box along the damp course ,what is that ? where does it go ?
@any installers ,when a customer tells you to put a box on the left/right of a window do you look from the external or interior of the property ?
Having been keeping an eye on this thread I thought I ought to throw in my opinion. To all those blaming the installers being lazy and so on they have no idea what they are talking about. It's not the techs fault it's the companys. If you seen the workload put on these guys on a daily basis and pressure they face you might think different. It's a neat enough install, albeit not wired how you wanted. If you were an installer I guarentee you would make life easier for yourself. as pointed out previously if you feel strongly about how you want it done at least make a point of actually being there. The installer will do it as quick and easily as he can due to his busy workload. But will be more than willing to consider alternative cable routes if instructed.
carlwaring
17-04-2011, 11:24
I have to agree that being there is the only way to get it done right. Both mine (in 2007) and my parent's (last year) installs were supervised and completed to our exact requirments. Even when, in my parent's case, this involved running the cable through a "pipe" that had already been placed in-situ underneath the floorboards!
Jason1975
17-04-2011, 12:39
I would do jobs worse than that if i was paid by job
And this is the problem right here. Zero pride in your work.
I am in this same field of work and I have companies and schools ask me to come sort out their cabling and rack boxes.
I do the work very well, and word of mouth spreads and this is how I get more work.
I take pride in my work, and have even told some guys I employed to pull trunking off the wall and redo it because it is not straight.
The point is this. Do the job correctly, and you get repeat business, do it badly and you get 10 times the 'bad press'
I will never recommend Virgin to anybody.
*It takes little more time to do things well than to do things badly*
Or, as one of my first team leaders (in programming) put it -
"strange how we never have time to do it right, but we always find time to fix it".
And this is the problem right here. Zero pride in your work.
I am in this same field of work and I have companies and schools ask me to come sort out their cabling and rack boxes.
I do the work very well, and word of mouth spreads and this is how I get more work.
I take pride in my work, and have even told some guys I emplyed to pull trunking off the wall and redo it because it is not straight.
The point is this. Do the job correctly, and you get repeat business, do it badly and you get 10 times the 'bad press'
I will never recommend Virgin to anybody.
*It takes little more time to do things well than to do things badly*
I really think your missing the point completely .VM installers have a massive workload to be completed in one day ,i think i am right in saying that they are payed by the job so the more jobs the more money (the same pay structure as me)If they don't do all the jobs because they take too long over a job then they lose money and may not earn enough to pay bills ect .You on the other hand have the liberty to quote for jobs and therefore the luxury of taking your time and getting it right first time ,the same as me when i quote for jobs .You need to take a step back and think about things ,you are ,as you say capable of doing the job to a much higher standard ,then quit whining and do it yourself with a cable and box in the colour of your choice where you want them .
You have been told that VM only carry one colour cable and one colour box ,you must appreciate that it is impractical to purchase all available colours in case someone wants a specific match to brick work ,that would be a specialist job ,one that you sound as if you undertake ,VM do not do such jobs ,it would greatly increase the price of your install and service (if you were charged for it at all)
judging by some of the horror stories on this forum i would say you had a pretty good install
Jason1975
17-04-2011, 13:22
I really think your missing the point completely .VM installers have a massive workload to be completed in one day ,i think i am right in saying that they are payed by the job so the more jobs the more money (the same pay structure as me)If they don't do all the jobs because they take too long over a job then they lose money and may not earn enough to pay bills ect .You on the other hand have the liberty to quote for jobs and therefore the luxury of taking your time and getting it right first time ,the same as me when i quote for jobs .You need to take a step back and think about things ,you are ,as you say capable of doing the job to a much higher standard ,then quit whining and do it yourself with a cable and box in the colour of your choice where you want them .
You have been told that VM only carry one colour cable and one colour box ,you must appreciate that it is impractical to purchase all available colours in case someone wants a specific match to brick work ,that would be a specialist job ,one that you sound as if you undertake ,VM do not do such jobs ,it would greatly increase the price of your install and service (if you were charged for it at all)
judging by some of the horror stories on this forum i would say you had a pretty good install
I understand that there are only set colours and the engineers are not at fault for this. I understand cost implications of carying different colours, but think most consumers would not mind paying an extra couple of pounds for a housing that better matches their exterior. (this point is useless arguing about as it is how it is -- good old brown)
I am going to see if I can get the cable and do it myself, this way if the job sucks there is only me to blame!
I understand that there are only set colours and the engineers are not at fault for this. I understand cost implications of carying different colours, but think most consumers would not mind paying an extra couple of pounds for a housing that better matches their exterior. (this point is useless arguing about as it is how it is -- good old brown)
I am going to see if I can get the cable and do it myself, this way if the job sucks there is only me to blame!
You cannot change the external cabling as the bigger of the 2 the siamese cable will be the drop cable that goes back to the cabinet, and if you chop it you will be liable for its replacement and you could even cause your neighbours to lose their connections as well.
Jason1975
17-04-2011, 16:04
You cannot change the external cabling as the bigger of the 2 the siamese cable will be the drop cable that goes back to the cabinet, and if you chop it you will be liable for its replacement and you could even cause your neighbours to lose their connections as well.
I have had a look and I can't see this happening.
Logically it would seem that the long cable tacked along our wall can be cut back to fit in the corner on the right. The telephone cable tacked down our wall will need to be replaced and extended under the eaves and around the window on the right to re connect to the virgin box that has been replaced.
Cutting this back will obviously kill our signal, but just while I re crimp everything.
The cable comes onto the property from the right (incidently the engineers did not even bother to bury it--although I am sure some guys will post and say it is well within acceptable installations to leave a cable drapped through plants and not burried)
The only cables that need replacing will be the telephone cable, and also the internal co ax. (I was suprised to find the fibre does not run to the actual house)
I would need the cable from Virgin anyway, so this is not really practical. I would however tackle it and do it correctly if the droped some cable off for me :D
It is absolutely not within acceptable standards to leave the drop cable on the surface in your garden.
This is a key piece of information you neglected to mention earlier. The install is a total bodge if they have not buried the cable. You really need to pursue this with them as a complaint about a substandard installation before you do anything drastic like cutting the cables yourself.
It is absolutely not within acceptable standards to leave the drop cable on the surface in your garden.
This is a key piece of information you neglected to mention earlier. The install is a total bodge if they have not buried the cable. You really need to pursue this with them as a complaint about a substandard installation before you do anything drastic like cutting the cables yourself.
Chris i was under the impression that cables were not buried by the installer as this would mean digging up lawns/flower beds and drives ,i know mine isn't buried it is fed through the hedge that divides our property .I know people have pre dug trenches or put pipes under drives prior to instalation because they are aware that the cable will not be buried
It's usually burried about a spades depth
joglynne
17-04-2011, 16:55
Sorry to butt in but I have only just caught up on this thread and must say as a customer I would also be upset to find the install was done the way it was.
OK from a technical point of view I accept that it is probably faultless but who ever did this install didn't bother to consider how it would look, and it looks a mess.
Surely installers have a duty to consider how a finished job will look? If they have to lay through grass I assume they are expected to leave the grass as near to how they found it as possible? Why should Jason be expected to have to repaint the front of his house to get rid of the resulting eyesore he has been left with. It's not up to the VM employee to decide that as other cabling and paint work isn't pristine he has no need to bother about the route of the cables he is installing.
Just how much harder would it have been to put the box under the right hand corner of the window and run the cable up the right hand side of the window frame then over the top, under the line of the tiles across to the front door area. If he was capable of doing the job as well as he did then I assume that having to climb his ladder a couple of times extra would hardly have cost the installer more than a few more minutes.
Even without Jason requesting it be done this way I would have expected the installer to use a bit of common sense and, looking at the job as he walked up to the house, consider the options of how it would look before starting work
It's usually burried about a spades depth
Absolutely - it should be buried a spade's depth across the lawn. There is no reason why a lawn should suffer any more than very temporary damage as a result of having a cable properly buried in it.
Absolutely - it should be buried a spade's depth across the lawn. There is no reason why a lawn should suffer any more than very temporary damage as a result of having a cable properly buried in it.
If that is the case i think that is a very bad idea ,i would have thought that burying a cable that shallow is risky for the home owner not to mention future owners who don't know it's there
If that is the case i think that is a very bad idea ,i would have thought that burying a cable that shallow is risky for the home owner not to mention future owners who don't know it's there
It should be buried within a green protective tube to try and prevent spade damage.
If that is the case i think that is a very bad idea ,i would have thought that burying a cable that shallow is risky for the home owner not to mention future owners who don't know it's there
What do you think should happen and how would virgin do it?
What do you think should happen and how would virgin do it?
well if it's going to be buried bury it deeper where a spade or fork is unlikely to drag it up and cut it ,it's not rocket science :rolleyes:
what do VM do for a paved or tarmac drive ?
The Installer
17-04-2011, 20:01
Sorry but i must say that Jason is right here, after all he is the customer and if the install has not been done the way he wanted and told the installers to do it then he has every right to complain about it. It has nothing to do with whether other people think its ok or not, and why should he paint the omni box???
The other point about the installers having too much work etc, yes this is true however that is not the customers fault is it! As someone pointed out this is the fault of the contract company.
Jason is also very correct in what he says about doing the job right and taking pride in your work. I'm sorry but the "oh i have too many jobs so i can't do your job right" excuse is, well bo*****. I have done this job, with too much work, but have taken pride in what i do and don't and have never had complaints. Simple really. There is no excuse for not doing the job correctly, it is just being lazy simple. After all if i could do it, as others can, there is no excusewhy these installers couldn't either!!!
The omni box shouldn't have been put where it is, it should have been put to the right of the window as the OP said, and the cabling could quite easily have been run above the windows, i think you'll find it is wood just under the bottom of those tiles, nice and easy to clip a cable up there, and guess what, you won't see it afterwards, then just have one vertical drop where the cable enters the property (where the omni box is at present).
Jason, i will point out that you may well find they have blown the face off your render behind the omni box, so this may require patching up too!!!
I agree with what Jason has said, he gave the installers instructions, if they didn't understand then why didn't they ask? Why should he stand there in the garden watching them?
There is no excuse for this type of work, sorry.
well if it's going to be buried bury it deeper where a spade or fork is unlikely to drag it up and cut it ,it's not rocket science :rolleyes:
what do VM do for a paved or tarmac drive ?
It is rocket science, how do they get it deeper, do they get a digger out to lay a cable then landscape your garden after? And all that expense will be free of charge?
They dont go under concrete, they cable tie to a fence or ask you to make your own arrangments
It is rocket science, how do they get it deeper, do they get a digger out to lay a cable then landscape your garden after? And all that expense will be free of charge?
They dont go under concrete, they cable tie to a fence or ask you to make your own arrangments
and that's why i don't think they will dig up your garden to put a cable in ,they will do as they did with me feed it through the hedge or as you say clip it to a fence or tell the customer to make their own arrangement
now if an installer comes on and tells me they do dig up gardens then ok i will accept that but i still don't think it's a good idea
I think that's bit over the top ,it's not the best but by no means the worst .As has been mentioned if the OP is that fussy he should have been there .Did he tell the installers where to put the cables and the box ?or did he just leave vague instructions when it was booked .The other issue i can see is, there is another cable that has been run from the box along the damp course ,what is that ? where does it go ?
It has nothing to do with being fussy, the so-called "qualified installer" should know where to run cable so that it doesn't leave any unsightly mess.
If a customer isn't totally satisfied with the installation of a product, then the customer has every right to complain to the company responsible for his dissatisfaction.
carlwaring
17-04-2011, 22:00
now if an installer comes on and tells me they do dig up gardens then ok i will accept that but i still don't think it's a good idea
I live in a small rented place that is to the rear of the main house. For my install ISTR that they did, actually, have to dig a small trench through the sall back lawn of the main property.
If that is the case i think that is a very bad idea ,i would have thought that burying a cable that shallow is risky for the home owner not to mention future owners who don't know it's there
At the very least you should have tape or conduit to protect it. I would not want to be liable for any costs if I damaged a cable that was that shallow with no protection.
carlwaring
19-04-2011, 10:34
Not had a problem here in the five years since it was done.
craigj2k12
19-04-2011, 16:03
mine comes through the grass, at spades depth, in the green hosing and is tacked along the wall, no problem, the grass was back to normal within a couple of days, and everything works fine!
by the way my omni box is brown (installed by virgin media a couple of months ago)
They dont go under concrete, they cable tie to a fence or ask you to make your own arrangments
I know a couple of cases where an installer has just pinned it to the floor, in one install they concreted over the cable afterwards too.
Jason1975
23-04-2011, 10:36
Update:
Well after spending hours on the phone trying to resolve our install issue we finally got an engineer booked for yesterday between 10am and 2pm. I cancelled plans and stayed home waiting patiently for the engineer.
Only problem was, he did not arrive. No phone call no appology , nothing.
Good skills Virgin. One step closer to cancellation. If their services were not 1/2 the price of SKY I would be gone (along with 1/2 Virgins customer base I think)
Update:
Well after spending hours on the phone trying to resolve our install issue we finally got an engineer booked for yesterday between 10am and 2pm. I cancelled plans and stayed home waiting patiently for the engineer.
Only problem was, he did not arrive. No phone call no appology , nothing.
Good skills Virgin. One step closer to cancellation. If their services were not 1/2 the price of SKY I would be gone (along with 1/2 Virgins customer base I think)
That's bad ,sounds to me like the person who booked it failed to realise it good friday
That's bad ,sounds to me like the person who booked it failed to realise it good friday
Not really as we had slots available all over the bank holiday weekend including Easter Sunday, if none were available the system would show that as we can only book live slots.
Jason1975
23-04-2011, 18:05
lol now Virgin service has gone down over a large part of Surrey
Not really as we had slots available all over the bank holiday weekend including Easter Sunday, if none were available the system would show that as we can only book live slots.
Yuo I can confirm that I was offered a Bank Holiday slot, much to my surpirse, however I am takign a later midweek slot to keep the holiday free :D:D
Virginonleavin
02-05-2011, 02:18
Jesus! After reading this lot I'm thinking about cancelling my install before it's begun - somehow Virgin have to supply my place which has a 20 foot sealed block pavior driveway!... that's before they start tacking the cable to the house! They know it's a 'virgin' property for cable but no-one's even asked any details about the property or told me how they plan to feed the property! :confused:
FairyFairy
02-05-2011, 08:43
Just make sure you are there for the install, chat about what you want, where you want it and see exactly what's going on
Ask for a pre install visit
Just make sure you are there for the install, chat about what you want, where you want it and see exactly what's going on
and plenty of tea and biscuits :D
FairyFairy
02-05-2011, 10:02
:):)
Tea and biscuits are standard practise for anyone
nick2xuk
07-05-2011, 18:09
I haven't read all this thread but my install was pretty shoddy.
Our house has a paved driveway and the "installation team" didn't want to pull up any of the blocks so ran the cabling above the drive, it now runs the length of the drive in the green tubing, which connects to the box on the wall. The Tubing was pinned down to anything so just sits on the drive, and as the length wasn't cut quite correctly it doesn't even go in a straight line down the drive, its in sort of an S shape...
I'll see if I can get a picture up when I'm back from work, as it looks really crap.
Sounds reasonable, will give you extra length when you bury it
nick2xuk
07-05-2011, 21:35
I won't be burying it, I'm renting the house so not my call.
Was just interesting that they didn't ask how we would have preferred it, and it really does look unprofessional.
Anyway, it doesn't bother me too much so that's that I guess.
Edit: Also, in my above post I meant to put that they hadn't pinned it to anything, therefore it's just sprawled across the drive.
Edit 2: They also put the cabling through an existing hole in the wall where the sky dish's cabling ran through, just chopped the sky cable out!
digitalspace
01-06-2011, 19:31
Any update to this, Jason?
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