Posted: 9/23/2008 5:42:57 AM EDT
stupid fuckers
I waste my time last night getting a new modem for some connectivity issues they say is due to the failure of the modem. new modem received, I asked before I left if this is all I need and this is ready to get on-line with.. yes..not a problem. install new modem (it is new, btw) now the damn system wants me to install some shitty software. I found the 'technician' route and it worked ok after the first 2 attempts  then it still wants me to install some shit. WTF? since when does a modem need software on my computer to run? I bailed on windoze and booted ubuntu. more progress was made. still had to click on some boilerplate crap... things didn't seem to work right, but about 5 minutes things were working ok.. about 30 min later the system goes down again. it's been down since last night. comcast said they're not experiencing issues and neither are any of my 'neighbours' just got off the phone with them again this morning. no network issues they say they can somewhat talk to the modem but its not responding as they would like. they said they want someone to come out to my place and check things out. I told 'em no. the problem is not in my house (unless it's their modem). I'm not going out of my way to have someone tell me there is nothing wrong on my end. they set an appointment for Thursday morning. I told 'em fine, but they're not getting into my house. feel free to check the signals going into the house though. even after two modems exhibit the same problems, they want to keep trying the same things. yes, I am a bit biased about comcast and their "service". I had issues in the past and went out of my way to be there for a technician. This "technician" proceeds to tell me all the things that could be wrong. I called his bluff on every one of them. He was just going by what he was taught, he'd only been on the job a few weeks. I do RF systems engineering and work with a lot of RF and telco/pots/data, becareful who you try and BS. I've also had them tell me there are no issues only to find out a few days later that yes indeed, there was some major hardware failures in the area. (all this after they have you rebooting your computer, the modem and anything else.) I have worked/ran a help desk, I know about troubleshooting over the phone, but if it sounds like a customer knows what he's doing when you ask him questions (have you done 'this' or 'that') its usually a safe bet and proceed with more aggressive troubleshooting. don't insult the customers intelligence. you'll get things accomplished a lot faster. |
Service SUCKS.
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My entire neighborhood is having issues with Comcast, and got their attention seriously only when they threatened to take their business elsewhere en masse. Then, Comcast started finding all kinds of problems in the neighborhood infrastructure. But they wasted a lot of time and money first having people buying/switching out boxes, etc. -- the typical "It's at your end" laziness. Me, I have QWest DSL and Netflix. |
If the signals at your junction box are fine, then the problem is going to be inside your house, probably with the cable run from the junction box to your cablemodem's outlet. |
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I am a Cable technician in Denver, expect to have continued problems unless you let the technician troubleshoot starting from the modem. We have troubleshooting tools built into our meters that can help determine the problem but it is a waste of our time an yours to expect him to troubleshoot from outside only unless it is a simple issue of a cut cable to the home. You know clearly from the profession you indicated that if you are only given half the puzzle the puzzle never gets done. If you wont allow complete assess to the home wiring expect the problem to continue as you are handicapping his troubleshooting abilities. Something as simple as a loose connector anywhere within your home could cause the problem. In fact any number of a hundred different things both inside the home and out. Expect the call to be canceled no access or canceled no problem found if everything checks out outside. Helpful things to tell him. Is it time of day or temperature specific. Ho long has the problem occurred general recent history. If you socialize with your neighbors are you are if they are having similar issues. Any recent computer upgrades. etc..... I will agree the software for installation is "not the best" <---code speak there read between the lines. However when you run the software it gives you the ability to activate the modem without installing any extraneous software. But you have to run the softare to get to that point. As far as activation you can also call customer service to have them "push the modem" through on your account. This would put the modem on your account without any effort on your part with the exception of the call. Like many companies with computer equipment they take the opportunity at installation to install unnecessary programs on your machine. Tool bars, reset your home page links to services on your desktop etc.... Nothing that is required to run the modem they just want their brand name in front of you... Just call to have the new modem properly provisioned on the account. The tools they have in the office may indicate the problem is specific to the modem however a wiring issue could still in fact be the root cause. If you are unhappy with his performance ask to escalate the call to have a technical supervisor oversee the call. Like every other profession there is a wide variation of experience level amongst the personnel I have guys that I work with that I would question all their work and guys that I trust completely. Oh and don't insult the technicians intelligence you will get things accomplished a lot faster. p.s, How is the hand an arm doing? You ever have surgery? |
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I don't insult a tech's intellegence.. I let it speak for itself.. if they try and BS me, I'll be damn sure to point it out. I give everyone the benefit of the doubt when I call... you either continue or fail from that point on based on your response. the only thing changed inside my home of late is the modem, and it's worse now than with the modem I just replaced. I was there when the stuff was installed and they did a pretty good job, they seemed to know what the fuck they were doing. I talked shop with them. When things were done, I had a 0dB signal at the modem... like I said, nothing changed inside the house. it's a simple run really. If there is a problem, it's outside my home (or its the modem). I'll mention again that my bias stems from previous experince coupled with the way things are handled. Arm/Hand are doing 'ok', I didn't have the surgery...yet. things did improve, but there was a big fuckup with the admin people on AD (again, not surprised here either) thanks for asking and your insight 
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the software is used to provision your modem automatically, setup email accounts, bind the email accounts to your comcast account, etc... the provisioning is the most important... call them and tell them the software keeps crashing and you need to provision the modem manually... or tell them you use linux and the software is incompatible once you're provisioned you'll get a real IP address and be free to surf the web in peace... |
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I've already been an established customer on comcast for years.. I don't need their stupid shit on my computer. that said.. I cam home and the 'net was back... but up and down still 
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i didn't say you did... i told you how to get around it... do the speakeasy speedtest... here your speeds seem slow... i get like 28-30 down and 1.5 up |
hmmm, and I didn't do a damn thing other than bitch to comcast 
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