Photo Credits: Executive Magazine

Two weeks ago, my home internet stopped working, the internet button on the Ogero DSL modem turned red, I tried restarting the modem, turning it off and on, I checked all the cables, everything was fine, the phone line was still working but the damn button wasn’t turning green anymore.

I called Ogero the second day to submit a complaint and they sent a technician two days later to check what the problem was. Needless to say, you have to on standby all day waiting for the technician because they don’t specify a date and time for their visit, they just call you anytime they want from a number all Ogero technicians use (you can’t call back it’s almost always busy) and tell you they are on their way.

First Visit:
The Ogero technician called me around 10 AM on a Wednesday if I’m not mistaken, I wasn’t home so I asked him to wait for a second to see if my brother can meet him. I tried calling back for 15-20 minutes the line was busy and by the time I reached him he had left so I asked him to come back the next day.

Second Visit:
I made sure there’s someone at home the second day and the guy showed up around the same time. He went up checked the Ogero modem then went down to check the cables, the one coming from the pole to the phone cabinet inside the building and from that cabinet to the house. He told me that the box is fine and that the problem was with the cable from the building’s phone cabinet to the house and that I need to call “Ogero Cables” to come fix it.

Third Visit:
I called Ogero again and asked for the Ogero Cables unit. They sent another team to check the problem and again I had to keep someone on standby all day. After checking the cable, they told me that they can’t fix it and that I need an electrician. I answered back that I was told you guys can fix it, they said no get an electrician to replace the cable.

Weird Call from Ogero Jounieh:
The day after, I got a weird call from Ogero Jounieh asking me about what’s happening but the line was bad and the guy hung up. I tried calling back but I got a fax number instead.

I fixed the cable and the modem still wouldn’t work:
A week after Ogero’s failed attempts to fix the problem, I called an electrician and replaced the cable from inside the building to my house with a thicker and better one. Surprise Surprise the modem still didn’t work.

At this point I thought the problem was with the modem, so I got a new one and it worked briefly but then it stopped again. That’s where I called my electrician again and we tested the modem on the line coming from the electric pole directly to the building but it didn’t work as well. It was clear at this point that the issue with the external cable not the one inside the building.

What am I supposed to do now?

I’ve been using my 4G at home for two weeks ago, I am almost sure that the problem is with the Ogero box and the external cable and that they got it all wrong. What I will do is replace the external cable, the one from the Ogero box to the building and ask them to come plug it since I am not allowed to.

What is pissing me off the most is that their support is pretty much useless. You call the guy and he submits a complaint and tells you to wait for them, and then you have to waste half your day waiting for that technician to come and do a wrong diagnosis. They are supposed to be replacing the cables and fixing them not us and they should be more flexible with their appointments and understand that there are other people who work during the day.

If getting a new external cable doesn’t work tomorrow, then the problem is even worse. Let’s hope for the best. I will keep you posted and if anyone has a better idea, please do share.

PS: Ogero is not the only one with a lousy home service. Most businesses in Lebanon don’t set a proper date and time and require that you are home before noon for example.