It seems like this guy could move just about anything, using very simple engineering principles. It’s definitely worth watching.
I also wish that American network news were as upbeat and as quirky as it is in Canada.
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It was touch and go there for a little while, but the project manager who specializes in customer retention (which is where my account ended up when I called Comcast’s corporate offices) was a very solid ally. We had a team of Comcast folks out here for two days straight upgrading the cable infrastructure outside of the building, and finally this afternoon signal levels (while not perfect by a long shot) were finally in tolerable range.
Oh, and I found out what happened to the contractor who supposedly came out here last week but never called or knocked on the door. Apparently Comcast has been having some problems with their contracted installers simply running away from job sites. What likely happened is that he saw this house from the comfort of his truck, saw “new installation” on the work order (because this apartment has never had cable before), and hit the gas pedal without looking back.
So as of a few hours ago my 3-week period of having no internet access has come to an end. To make up for it, Comcast also refunded the $100+ of install fees, and are giving me at least one month of free service. The real bonus here is that I finally have access to the internet again and can get caught up on everything in my own backlog.
For those of you following the saga with Comcast (yes, sadly it’s starting to feel like a saga, and not too far from an epic), they did call me today in response to my call to their corporate offices in Philadelphia. Getting a call-back certainly is progress, and what’s more, it was not from “Bob” but someone who was a bit more convincing when he said “we’ll get this all fixed up for you”.
Interestingly, Comcast has contracted out about 90% of their installation work so they can keep their own in-house techs for the tougher stuff (like service calls). That makes sense to me, but this guy admitted they are completely overbooked all the time and always end up bumping customers as they did to me yesterday. I explained that with my history of bad experiences with Comcast, I was probably a poor choice for a person to stick it to! I also told him it sounds like if there is so much customer demand, they need more install technicians to make sure customers get started off on the right foot with a warm and fuzzy feeling about Comcast. I figured I’d offer some free advice, at least it made me feel better to give it.
They were unable to come out today, but the goal is to shoot for tomorrow. I am to hear from this guy at 10 AM tomorrow with either an arrival time or a date/time for early next week. Of course I’m hoping for the former, but wouldn’t be surprised if I got stuck with the latter.
As I wrote last week, it seems that for now I’m stuck with Comcast. Last week I also scheduled an installation for my new apartment, which was supposed to have happened yesterday (one week after making the appointment). I sucked it up and arranged to be home during the assigned 1-4 PM window, looking forward to having my own internet connection back and some quality TV to watch.
I received a call at 2:12 PM from the Comcast dispatcher saying that the technician had come to my apartment and that nobody answered when he knocked. They ended the call with something like “Better luck next time.” Who says that to a customer?
Of course I was mad, steaming to be exact. I immediately called the Comcast sales folks only to hear that the Comcast technicians are very overbooked with installations in DC, and they may no longer actually visit the apartment. Instead the dispatcher calls just before the tech is to arrive, and if you don’t answer the phone in the first few rings they assume you are not at home and reassign the tech to the next job. So in fact the technician never even came to my apartment, they were looking for any excuse they could find to reschedule me, and I was once again written off by Comcast as an insignificant customer… a peon whose money doesn’t really matter to them because there is nowhere else to go for cable service in my neighborhood. And for the record, the only call I got from the dispatcher was when they let me know that I “missed the appointment”.
At first they promised to have the tech come back out same day, perhaps later in the evening. They were unable to reach the tech on the “radio” because he was in a “bad area”, so they weren’t able to give me a specific time. I assume by radio they meant Nextel’s iDen service, and by “bad area” they were describing the huge dead spots in Nextel’s coverage throughout the entire region. I was told to wait for a call, and after an hour had passed I called them back instead. In my mind Comcast is like a bad girlfriend/boyfriend, and you should never wait by the phone for a call that may never come!
After a few further calls, I learned more about the scheduling process (they assign each job a series of “points”, and apparently my job has the max number meaning that I get bumped pretty low on the priority list and far back in the scheduling pool). I also learned that they never had any intention of coming back yesterday, that they were trying to “manage the situation amicably”. Sounds like a blow off to me!
After cutting through the rest of the crap, I learned the best they can do is to reschedule my appointment for the next available slot, which is next Thursday. I’ve decided that instead of waiting another week, I’ll call Comcast’s corporate headquarters again and talk with “Bob”. He didn’t provide much assistance on the last round with Comcast, but hopefully he can stir things up a bit.
EDIT: I called the Comcast Corporate offices at 215-665-1700 (asked for Customer Problem Resolution), and after I discussed the situation I was assured that Comcast could have someone come out today or tomorrow, and now I’m waiting for someone “high up” to contact me to make it official. I hate to sound cynical, but I’m not holding my breath.
After a lot of packing, carrying boxes marked “Books and Blankets”, blood, sweat and tears, Erin, Minnie and I are finally settling into our new apartment. The neighborhood is awesome, and the apartment is very comfortable and spacious. There are still a few bugs we are working out with the landlord, but there always are.
Minnie has been busy exploring the new place, and feeling bad that I didn’t get to take any pictures of myself navigating DC’s narrow streets with a 26′ moving truck, I decided to take one of her getting herself stuck in a window in the kitchen.
A special thanks to our friends who made the move possible (and we’ll admit it, a heck of a lot cheaper). So (in alphabetical order) Aaron, Chris, and Rusty, thanks!