Comcast is my local cable TV provider, and in the past few years has also been providing a high speed Internet connection, and digital phone service.
I have been using Comcast for all of these services for at least 2 years now, and I haven't had any problems with the service, although the billing statements are a little difficult to read and understand. The only other problem I have ever had is that I have a DVR (Digital Video Record) box, and it has "flaked out" a few times and had to be replaced, which caused me to lose some recordings... It replacements didn't cause any major problems, just some annoyance on my part over the lost recordings.
"Sweetie" has over the same period of time has had many problems with Comcast. A little over a year ago she switched from Verizon to Comcast for her phone line, and went from dial up Internet access to the Comcast High Speed connection. She only kept both for about a month because her phone service was unreliable and she would lose calls, or get disconnected in the middle of conversations. She switched to back to Verizon phone service, and installed Verizon DSL, but since she could not install a dish at her place, she kept Comcast cable TV.
She has had Verizon for almost a year, and the only problem she had with Verizon was the DSL was that it was a little flaky with the wireless router I had installed. So we corrected this by just unhooking the router. Her son, "Other Two," felt the DSL service was slower than Comcast, and as he is apt to do, reminded her constantly about how he wished the Internet was faster. So when she got an good offer and a promise from Comcast that her phone problems would not happen again, she decided to switch back to Comcast.
Her installation was scheduled on this past Thursday between 4PM and 8PM. Apparently they have to give a 4 hour window. I mean if the installer would have arrived at 8PM, would you still want him working on it that late at night? Anyway, the install was scheduled while I was at the bowling alley, and to be honest I didn't expect there would be any problems. Around 5:30PM, on my way to the lanes I called her to see if the installer had arrived yet, and she said "No" and was worried they were not going to show. She was also getting pressure from "Other Two" to take him to the YMCA so he could swim. Since she had to wait for the installer to arrive, she couldn't take him to the Y, and he got more frustrated the later it got.
I called her on my way home from bowling and found that the installer, Jason, arrived around 6PM, and after a little over 3 hours worth of work he wasn't able to get the phone or Internet working. "Sweetie" was at her wits end and told him that he had to go because she had to get up early for work the next day. Plus "Other Two" freaked out about getting to the Y so she arranged with her Ex to take him down and back, which didn't make her happy.
You would think that Comcast would automatically reschedule some one to finish the job the next day, especially if they are customer oriented... Well, Comcast installation/support is FAR from customer oriented, which you should be able to tell by the "4 hour windows" for arrival times. I called Comcast Friday morning (remember she doesn't have a phone now), to get someone to finish the work. They promise me a "second level" tech will be at her place after 4PM. By 8PM, there was no tech at all, first, second or third level. In the mean time I had spoken with a service representative named Tim, ever hour from 5 to 8PM. Each time I was told he was doing everything he could, which was not very effective, since no one showed up. He promised me to talk with a supervisor, which never happened. At 10PM, Tim called me back and did offer me a credit on the billing of $20.00 for our trouble, and attempted to schedule someone on Saturday by 4PM... Gee thanks!
Saturday morning, Jason, the original installer called "Sweetie" and said he would like to finish the job, but "Sweetie" was uncomfortable having him come over, as she felt he wasn't competent to do the job. I called Comcast and pleaded to get someone there sooner, but they just weren't able to get there before 4PM. Around 1:30PM, Jason called back and asked again, and at this time I was willing to try anything, so I agreed to meet Jason at "Sweetie's" house to finish the job at 2PM. At 3:40PM, Jason was still working on it, and the scheduled Comcast installers showed up. They talked briefly with Jason, and then explained to me that he was one of their best techs, and they would be doing exactly what he was doing, and taking just as long, because the problem was on the company's side, not Jason's work. 2o minutes later, Jason succeeded in getting the phone and Internet working... FINALLY!
I found out later that Jason came to "Sweetie's" house on his own time to finish the job, as he was supposed to have the day off on Saturday. So there are people who care at Comcast. Thanks Jason!
Sweetie is up and running, but a little nervous about Comcast because of the rocky start. Hopefully she won't have any other problems, because if not, I think someone at Comcast will be losing a body part. :-)
Later
Lou
Comcast is my local cable TV provider, and in the past few years has also been providing a high speed Internet connection, and digital phone service.
I have been using Comcast for all of these services for at least 2 years now, and I haven't had any problems with the service, although the billing statements are a little difficult to read and understand. The only other problem I have ever had is that I have a DVR (Digital Video Record) box, and it has "flaked out" a few times and had to be replaced, which caused me to lose some recordings... It replacements didn't cause any major problems, just some annoyance on my part over the lost recordings.
"Sweetie" has over the same period of time has had many problems with Comcast. A little over a year ago she switched from Verizon to Comcast for her phone line, and went from dial up Internet access to the Comcast High Speed connection. She only kept both for about a month because her phone service was unreliable and she would lose calls, or get disconnected in the middle of conversations. She switched to back to Verizon phone service, and installed Verizon DSL, but since she could not install a dish at her place, she kept Comcast cable TV.
She has had Verizon for almost a year, and the only problem she had with Verizon was the DSL was that it was a little flaky with the wireless router I had installed. So we corrected this by just unhooking the router. Her son, "Other Two," felt the DSL service was slower than Comcast, and as he is apt to do, reminded her constantly about how he wished the Internet was faster. So when she got an good offer and a promise from Comcast that her phone problems would not happen again, she decided to switch back to Comcast.
Her installation was scheduled on this past Thursday between 4PM and 8PM. Apparently they have to give a 4 hour window. I mean if the installer would have arrived at 8PM, would you still want him working on it that late at night? Anyway, the install was scheduled while I was at the bowling alley, and to be honest I didn't expect there would be any problems. Around 5:30PM, on my way to the lanes I called her to see if the installer had arrived yet, and she said "No" and was worried they were not going to show. She was also getting pressure from "Other Two" to take him to the YMCA so he could swim. Since she had to wait for the installer to arrive, she couldn't take him to the Y, and he got more frustrated the later it got.
I called her on my way home from bowling and found that the installer, Jason, arrived around 6PM, and after a little over 3 hours worth of work he wasn't able to get the phone or Internet working. "Sweetie" was at her wits end and told him that he had to go because she had to get up early for work the next day. Plus "Other Two" freaked out about getting to the Y so she arranged with her Ex to take him down and back, which didn't make her happy.
You would think that Comcast would automatically reschedule some one to finish the job the next day, especially if they are customer oriented... Well, Comcast installation/support is FAR from customer oriented, which you should be able to tell by the "4 hour windows" for arrival times. I called Comcast Friday morning (remember she doesn't have a phone now), to get someone to finish the work. They promise me a "second level" tech will be at her place after 4PM. By 8PM, there was no tech at all, first, second or third level. In the mean time I had spoken with a service representative named Tim, ever hour from 5 to 8PM. Each time I was told he was doing everything he could, which was not very effective, since no one showed up. He promised me to talk with a supervisor, which never happened. At 10PM, Tim called me back and did offer me a credit on the billing of $20.00 for our trouble, and attempted to schedule someone on Saturday by 4PM... Gee thanks!
Saturday morning, Jason, the original installer called "Sweetie" and said he would like to finish the job, but "Sweetie" was uncomfortable having him come over, as she felt he wasn't competent to do the job. I called Comcast and pleaded to get someone there sooner, but they just weren't able to get there before 4PM. Around 1:30PM, Jason called back and asked again, and at this time I was willing to try anything, so I agreed to meet Jason at "Sweetie's" house to finish the job at 2PM. At 3:40PM, Jason was still working on it, and the scheduled Comcast installers showed up. They talked briefly with Jason, and then explained to me that he was one of their best techs, and they would be doing exactly what he was doing, and taking just as long, because the problem was on the company's side, not Jason's work. 2o minutes later, Jason succeeded in getting the phone and Internet working... FINALLY!
I found out later that Jason came to "Sweetie's" house on his own time to finish the job, as he was supposed to have the day off on Saturday. So there are people who care at Comcast. Thanks Jason!
Sweetie is up and running, but a little nervous about Comcast because of the rocky start. Hopefully she won't have any other problems, because if not, I think someone at Comcast will be losing a body part. :-)
Later
Lou
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