skj
Welcome to the far side of reality
Premium,Mod
join:2002-04-04
Atlanta, GA
Host:
Charter HSI/CATV
Earthlink DSL
Embarq
ISP b2b etc
Cisco
| reply to dbldbl
Re: Earthlink is outsourcing the last of it's US techs
We currently do not have any remaining offical EL techs helping/posting here. It is also unknown whether we will ever have any again in the future. We are fortunate, however, to have a number of members here who are very knowledgeable about Earthlink and have been able to help others with their Earthlink issues.
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The foundations of character are built not by lecture, but by bricks of good example, laid day by day. |
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bmaasjr320
join:2006-03-14
Vancouver, WA | reply to Jim Bob Jr
I just notice the other day. That the Earthlink signup kiosk at my local Fry's store is now gone. |
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Archivis
Your Daddy
Premium
join:2001-11-26
Earth
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to Jim Bob Jr
I almost never read this place anymore, but I thought I'd pop in on this thread. I worked for Earthlink for four years. I was one of the first Earthlink techs to ever post here and was assisting people on the forums for years. Some of the assistance I did had to be done in PM's to get people hooked up, because I would bypass the ticketing system (and before there was a ticketing system or TRON, it was direct access to a few members of the Help Desk who had NOC access to take care of people's line) and do it in PM's as to not get discovered for circumventing the "efficient" ticketing process.
I was the first to put a bug in the ear of the Electronic Support manager in Atlanta, back when he used to ask us what we thought. I told him that other techs make an appearance on other forums and that we should do the same. That's when you started seeing ELNK techs from e-mail support pop on here and offer official solutions.
I was laid off in March of 04. At that time, the stock price was around $10. Everyone was told that the company would feel the costs from outsourcing, severence packages, etc for the next two years, and after that, the stock price would go back up. Where is it at today? Look at Earthlink continuing to lay people off.
I remember in 2003, sitting in the "Tiki room" listening to the manager tell us that the out-sourcers weren't going to take our jobs... that they were simply handling our overflow in E-Support and Livechat. During the late hours of the day (I worked 4pm to 3am), I was the one who oversaw the outsourcing group when the managers went home.
To say I am terribly surprised would only be half accurate. It's only terrible as to what happened. Earthlink will not come back. They will not rebound and it's only a matter of time until they bankrupt themselves.
For those of you about to be laid off, look for a job now. Don't enjoy your time off with the unemployment... you'll get more time off than you wanted. Jump ship now, do what's best for you. Earthlink cares not one cent about its employees and I mean this with the utmost sincerity. You are very much disposable and you will be kicked to the curb.
To those of you purchasing your services through Earthlink, best of luck to you all. To you, it's just the Internet. For some of us, it is and was our way of life and our means of providing for our families.
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I melt faces. |
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Kindguy98
Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate
join:2000-12-01
Brooklyn, NY
 ·EarthLink
| said by Archivis  :To those of you purchasing your services through Earthlink, best of luck to you all. Not everyone is eligible for FiOS  |
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
 ·T-Mobile US
| reply to Archivis
said by Archivis : For some of us, it is and was our way of life and our means of providing for our families. For some of us telephony is a multi-generational thing. 
BTW what are you doing now?
Wayne
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If you cannot fix it with a buttset and some beanies you ain't a technician. |
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fatness
subtle
Janitor
join:2000-11-17
fishing
·EarthLink
Host:
Earthlink DSL
TekSavvy
Forum Feature Requ..
Need Site Help?
Rants, Raves, and ..
| reply to Archivis
You were helping people in this forum long before I started modding it. I certainly remember that. That was back when mballard was the mod here, I think. And if I remember correctly we talked one time about location; I grew up maybe 20 miles south of where you were living or working at the time.
It's sad to see what has happened to EL tech support. They used to be the best, no stones unturned in helping people. I hope you, and all the other good people they've let go, have been able to use your talents to make a good living elsewhere.
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Sure, that'll work.. |
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Archivis
Your Daddy
Premium
join:2001-11-26
Earth
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to Splitpair
Thanks for the kind words fatness, but to answer Splitpair's question, after they laid off a ton of us, our markets got flooded with qualified IT guys. It didn't help that a local healthcare provider laid off their IT guys off as well at the same time.
I dabbled into some small business stuff for a while but I eventually decided that job stability is what I needed. I'm just now finally making what I used to make at Earthlink (and it's really nothing fantastic), but I work for law enforcement now doing something completely unrelated.
I may get into the IT field in the state. If there's job security anywhere, it's there.
(P.S. Fatness, I live in Harrisburg, PA) |
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fatness
subtle
Janitor
join:2000-11-17
fishing | That's what I remembered --- Steelton came to mind. I grew up in York. |
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Archivis
Your Daddy
Premium
join:2001-11-26
Earth | At the time, I did live in Steelton.
York's a crapper. I don't work for PennDoT, but I work in the same building in Harrisburg. |
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skj
Welcome to the far side of reality
Premium,Mod
join:2002-04-04
Atlanta, GA
Host:
Charter HSI/CATV
Earthlink DSL
Embarq
ISP b2b etc
Cisco
| reply to Archivis
Hey, I remember you. I appreciate all the help you gave the Earthlink forum members, including myself. Glad you have been able to start making a living again.
Sadly, we are pretty much on our own in terms of any tech support here. Thankfully, we still have some knowledgeable and helpful people who post here that can help us avoid the dreaded call to Earthlink "tech support".
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The foundations of character are built not by lecture, but by bricks of good example, laid day by day. |
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fatmanskinny
Premium
join:2004-01-04
Wandering
 ·Comcast Digital Vo..
 ·Comcast
|  reply to Jim Bob Jr
Per inside source, some high level execs (including an Executive Vice President down to a Vice President) left the company this past week.
Also, EarthLink is letting go of the following services: VOIP and Muni-Wifi. In addition to all of the support employees being let go, marketing will be completely gone and Operations will take a significant hit.
The above firings layoffs were not apart of the original 900+ ELNK laid off a few months back. This is a whole new batch of victims.
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The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary. |
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skj
Welcome to the far side of reality
Premium,Mod
join:2002-04-04
Atlanta, GA
Host:
Charter HSI/CATV
Earthlink DSL
Embarq
ISP b2b etc
Cisco
| The Executive Vice President who is leaving is Mike Lunsford.
Mike Lunsford is leaving EarthLink Inc. at the end of the year due to a company restructuring that has eliminated his position, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lunsford became Atlanta-based EarthLink's interim CEO in November 2006, when former President and CEO Garry Betty took a leave of absence to battle cancer. Betty died in January 2007.
»www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stor···ly2.html
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The foundations of character are built not by lecture, but by bricks of good example, laid day by day. |
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fatmanskinny
Premium
join:2004-01-04
Wandering | Jon Kerner, CTO, is gone as is Eric Alfaro, VP. |
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questionable
join:2005-10-18
Phoenix, AZ | reply to Jim Bob Jr
Glad to see this company continue die after what they did to Mindspring |
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hrobins
Premium
join:2000-10-15
Regina, SK
clubs:
1 edit | reply to Jim Bob Jr
Man, lot of old names coming up in here when I was a tech at Earthlink. I am really glad I got out when I did. I remember when we had a meeting in the Tiki room as Archivis did, and when we started to talk about how the outsourcing was not as good as it was in-house, I was told in a very nasty tone by the VP to never bad mouth the outsourcers. We were also told that our jobs were not going to be taken away. Mindspring was a great place to work for, till Earthlink ate it and totally destroyed what Charles put together.
Archivis, I use to talk to you all the time when you were in TRON. Hope you remember me.
Howard Robinson
*This post is just my two cents worth and in no way reflects my current employers viewpoints. Please forgive the bad grammer, as I am at work and will fix this later when I am at home.* |
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Archivis
Your Daddy
Premium
join:2001-11-26
Earth
·Verizon FIOS
| That meeting in the tiki room was the beginning of the end of Earthlink. From that time onward, our time was limited.
I do miss my 25 cent sodas. I remember when they used to hand awards out. They actually managed to make a community out of that company and its employees before this outsourcing mess.
There was no other ISP in the country that could provide the level of support that Mindspring/Earthlink did. Everyone knew their shit.
I'm sure I have my old awards sitting around somewhere. I had six or seven myself. |
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hrobins
Premium
join:2000-10-15
Regina, SK
clubs:
1 edit | reply to Jim Bob Jr
I miss the kegs of beer they use to give out and bagel Tuesdays! I have two of those awards laying around somewhere. |
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Archivis
Your Daddy
Premium
join:2001-11-26
Earth | mmm bagels
We used to smuggle in "other" alcohol when they brought in the kegs. |
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
·T-Mobile US
| reply to hrobins
said by hrobins :Archivis, I use to talk to you all the time when you were in TRON. TRON. What was that?
Wayne
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If you cannot fix it with a buttset and some beanies you ain't a technician. |
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
·T-Mobile US
1 edit | reply to questionable
said by questionable :Glad to see this company continue die after what they did to Mindspring It’s a shame you feel that way as the only result of EL failing will be options and severance for the few responsible while those who made it work and gave a crap get their asses kicked upon the streets with nothing.
Wayne
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If you cannot fix it with a buttset and some beanies you ain't a technician. |
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