Community Discussions

This little saga started a week ago Friday...
I usually get up in the morning and check out what's new on Abby's Guide while I'm waking up.  So I plop myself down in front of the computer and go to turn the cable a few lights flash, and that's it.  NOTHING!  So I think okay, maybe after work the thing will be all rested out and want to work.  Didn't hear the thunder through the night, Chris figures it was zapped by some lightening.  Anyway so he called the service department after fiddling with it on his own and getting no where.  They told him to check the same things that he had just done and set up an appointment for the Friday just past.  Told the guy on the phone to have the tech call before he went there so 1 of us could leave work to let the guy in the house.  Get home on Friday, little hangy thing on the door which basically said, "We were here, you were not".  No phone call at work to let us know a time, Chris is getting increasingly miffed at this point.  He calls back to the customer service and wants to know why he didn't get a call, and when they were coming to fix the internet.  The guy that answers gets all the info - again - and says that he will get in touch with someone and if he could hold for a moment...well after 15 minutes the steam was pouring from Chris' ears and he hung up.  Another weekend without the computer.  Now by this time all my housework is getting done.  I have hand sewn 3 sets of curtains, attempted twice to get the soap scum off the shower curtain (I think it would have be cheaper to buy a new one), cleaned a couple of closets, done the wash and so on, all the house work that one puts off - well it's done now.  Chris has been working on the outside of the house, he's redoing the storm windows, removing, scraping, caulking, priming and rehanging.  (He's only broken 1 pane of glass so far)  Hopefully the rain and cold breezes will stay on the outside of the windows from now on.  He's also redoing the trim around the windows and doors, very nice upgrades to the house that needed to be done sooner or later.  Okay back to the internet...I called this morning and related the story to the guy I got on the phone, he couldn't believe what we've been going through and when he said could you hold for a moment I said, "If it's 15 minutes like the other guy did to Chris - I'm going to pull you through the phone line."  He assured me it wouldn't be that long and he was right, he was back within 3 minutes.  He was printing up a work order to put on his bosses desk to get the repair guy to the house a soon as possible.  But there will be no phone call to let us know when he was going to be there to do the repairs.  GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR... I have a 4 hour window in which we have to have somebody at the house or take a loss in work to be there.  The guy I was speaking to this morning gave me a date of Thursday with the hope that the work order will get bumped up and I'll have a call today to tell me when.  He also assured me that that there will be a credit for the time the internet was down.  I'm not holding my breath, I would be dead by now if everybody did as they were supposed to do.  So now I'll wait and see what comes of this little saga.  Hopefully my morning ritual will soon be back to rights, sitting in front of the computer when there's nothing there is pretty pathetic.
Sherri

Sherri, what company do you have and what model modem?  Let us know how it works out.  Comcast has been very good to us and promptly taken care of our problems.  Currectly, my Norton Firewall is not allowing me to connect to the Comcast server.  The probelm I believe is that I downloaded an update that is causing this.  Hopefully they'll release another update or I got the figure something out. 

AJace wrote:
Our local highspeed net provider is Eastlink.  Sympatico has some areas that have highspeed, but naturally they are working at getting it too the people that are so far in the boonies - well they come out to hunt.  I can't remember what the gadget is at home, other then it's a piece of crap right now along with their customer service.  Still haven't heard from them and it's been almost 24 hours since the last call.  Must be time for the next call.
Sherri

After calling today and bypassing the technical service and going to customer service department I actually got some decent information.  The nice woman I talked to put me on hold for a maximum of 3 minutes and when she came back told me that she had the window narrowed down to 4.5 hours tomorrow afternoon instead of Thursday.  I asked her why they had not called to let me know and she said the story they gave her was that the guy called Chris' work.  Well we all know here that Chris and I work together and I'm the one that answers the phone 98% of the time.  Awful weak story, but I know this woman was just relaying the info fed to her.  So we will see what happens tomorrow afternoon.  Don't know who's going to be at the house - Chris, myself or my mother.  We will see.  I will keep y'all posted.
Sherri

With your luck , the day I come back from vacation will be the same day the cable guy shows up.

mrmom wrote:
Your leaving Saturday right?  If we don't have the net at our house by then, the blue smoke created by yet another phone call will make your vacation at Disney terrible.  The whole solar system will experience this smoke.
Sherri

Every once in a while I'll look towards the north to watch out for that mushroom cloud you'll probably be setting off.

Comcast people around here have cell phones and they call before they arrive to make sure someone is home.  Fedex also I believe provides them to their employees, but I'm not 100% sure on that one.

Well hopefully this will be the ending of the saga.
The repair man was there and said that on Monday there was repairs done outside at a neighbours house.  So I turn on the computer and lo and behold - the internet is working.  So he says that they have some other wonky readings at the house and proceeds to check out the other connections (tv and phone).  He ended up replacing connections in the bedroom and attic.  Funny thing about the attic - due to regulations they aren't allowed in attics here - but he made sure that the attic had the proper connections.
Without internet for 13 days - I get a credit of $22.  I guess it's better then nothing.  Not to know the neighbours line was the problem that the internet was out and that they could not tell us that - well I think that was a bunch of crap - but who knows?  They have a monopoly around here - it's them or dial up.
Sherri

That's fair.  Comcast might not do that cause they have fast service, but I bet they would if they couldn't get it right.  Comcast has been very good to us.