When I leave a contact number..

[draggar]

Comcast,

When I leave a specific contact number generally that is the number that you're supposed to contact me on, not a number you have on file that I tell you does not work.

Thank you for not noting that number. Thank you for not calling me on that number the seven times your technician tried to call me.

Thank you, now I have to wait until Tuesday for my issue to be resolved. You've admitted the issue is on your end.m Now, I'll have two more evenings of my internet service going out for no reason for any amount of time from 30 minutes to 4 hours.

Nah, I don't need it, I just have websites that need to be uploaded and transaction to conduct online.

And I've only had your service for two weeks, it's making me consider looking into other options. But, you already know there are no other options. These legalized monopolies have allowd companies like you to work with the other companies so you do not have to worry about competition.

[draggar]

ALso, thank you for disabling my account online so I cannot change my information. I use the email address and password I've been using for months and they don't work.

I click forgot password and it tells me I have to recreate the account.

I try to recreate the account and it tells me I can't since the account number is already in use. Now, I have to call you again and wait on hold for another 45 minutes.

[marasbaras]

Oh, I loathe those legalized monopolies. It's so sad when countries like South Korea have such better Internet service than us.

Reminds me of the old Lily Tomlin skits as an operator. "Ma Bell ... We Don't Care ... We Don't Have To".

[myswtghst]

I hate Comcast. As of late, my On Demand on cable, which I pay a dastardly sum for each month, randomly stops working. It freezes, gives me error messages, decides to ignore the remote and any buttons I might push, etc.

And that's nothing compared to the last time I tried to cancel an account. I had one in MI, moved to IL, but left the MI account active for my roomie, who was staying for three months after I left and didn't want to be without. When she moved out, I called to cancel it, and got continually bounced around, from division to division, each time having to explain that I was cancelling the account because I no longer live at that address, don't feel like paying for someone else's cable, and already have a new, even more damn expensive account open at a new address. Took 2+ weeks and several calls from my desk on lunch at work before they finally axed it.

[blas]

Comcast and Charter are definetly in cahoots.......

[Pedersen]

Grrr. My feelings towards Comcast get worse every time I have to speak to one of them.

Right now, they're better than they were, mainly because I expect my interactions with Comcast for the next many months to consist of "receive bill, pay bill".

The most recent one... I have had a PVR in the past. MythTV. Very nice setup. Was working right until two things happened, virtually simultaneously: Zap2It stopped provided tv listing services, and then Comcast dropped the analog cable I had to require all digital.

I just shut things off and didn't even try for 9 months. Then finally, a week ago, decided it was time to make it work. Found out that the easy way was to get an upgraded digital set top box, which requires getting an HD set top box.

But I can't install that myself, nonononono. You see, hooking up those wires is entirely too technical for a person like me. No, we have to send a technician out to help me out with this. And the technician wanted to drill new holes in the side of my house to run a new wire which we later found was completely unnecessary. Thank god I didn't let him drill his new hole. The bit he was going to use was going to put a 3/4" hole for a 1/4" cable.

Then, when he left, I signed the paperwork, and said "wait, I just remembered I need to check my internet". The fucker said the internet should have been unaffected, and left.

And guess what didn't work? I had to go outside and fix his fuckup. Fortunately, it was just a matter of connecting the proper cable at the splitter, but what if it had been more? I would have had to wait again, probably over the weekend.

I despise Comcast. The number of people I have heard of that like them I can count on one hand. And they're all on this board.

Sorry for the threadjack. Had to vent a bit.

[Tee]

I had my comcast internet go down, it was down for 3 days. We called daily, took our router off, then tried it computer by computer to try and get it fixed. None of the computers worked, wireless or without. On the third day we called, and before we got to the troubleshooting (Again), the Rep checked if we had service. Guess what, we didn't, we had a localized outage, that took them 3 days to mention... -_-

(Kudos on that one rep for doing her job, and doing it well )

I never had this problem with AT&T (Instead they'd bill me twice every once in a while), we're looking into switching too Surewest fiber-optics in a month.

[Difdi]

You know, a deep hatred of Comcast seems to be one of the few things this forum shares with the Consumerist...

[Pedersen]

I have to moderate my own replies a bit. The individual people I have dealt with on the phone have all been very nice. Seemingly intelligent, as well.

The technicians have made me want to commit violence, but these have not been Comcast technicians. They have been some outside company contracting for Comcast, according to the signs on their trucks.

The policies put in place by the management of that company have made me want to commit violence. Seriously, it's been that bad.

The people on the phones often find themselves unable to help me due to the policies put in place by the management. My ire is directed squarely at them. And what I would do to them if I had a time machine is pretty unspeakable.

The CSR's, though, I wouldn't do a thing to. They're doing their level best to deal with a customer base that actively hates the very management they work for.

I can't believe it, I'm sticking up for people at Comcast. I'm pretty sure that's one of the 7 signs of the Apocalypse.

[Spiffy McMoron]

If you have a problem with Comcast, please vent about them here.

But before you guys go too far, please remember that there are members here who work for Comcast. They may feel the same about their company, but maybe not. They might not like it if they get a hundred callers each day that start off my saying, "Goddamn you Comcast! You guys suck!" and then they come here and hear the same thing. I'd appreciate it if you guys would continue to stick to problems with policies/managerial decisions, etc.

Thanks.

[Sliceanddice]

Oh, I loathe those legalized monopolies. It's so sad when countries like South Korea have such better Internet service than us.

Reminds me of the old Lily Tomlin skits as an operator. "Ma Bell ... We Don't Care ... We Don't Have To".

or from crazy people
You may think phone service stinks since deregulation, but don't mess with us, because we're all you've got. In fact, if we fold, you'll have no damn phones. AT&T - we're tired of taking your crap!

[Kogarashi]

Our Comcast woes back during University days actually started as AT&T woes.

It really only started sometime around February of that year, when the internet started flaking. It would frequently disconect and stay disconnected for anywhere from a minute to four hours. We called AT&T once, and got a general non-answer that worked (at the time) by sheer chance. They had us reset our modem and that managed to coincide with the internet coming back on for a good five hours that we thought nothing of it and ended the call.

Not long after, Comcast bought AT&T in the area. The flake-outs continued for six months. We kept calling, and every time we got someone who tried to lay the blame on us (our computers, our cabling, our modem, you name it), despite other Comcast customers in the immediate area having the same exact problem. One roommate's father was a techie type, and helped her set up a data tracking something-or-other (I don't really remember the details, so if you're reading this Anki, you should pipe up with the info). This helped the two of them figure out that there was a local node that kept going down. But Comcast kept sending technicians to our apartment to check our setup to try to blame us (and get us to pay for it). Luckily, we were renting the modem, so even if the tech found something wrong with it, we wouldn't have to pay. The most memorable phone call to the company involved the technician (who I don't think was well informed) trying to tell us that "Comcast doesn't support networks." This is apparently despite Comcast's own website displaying detailed instructions on how to set up a network with their internet service. That particular rep expected us to pay for individual connections to Comcast's cable internet.

Finally, six months later, they fixed whatever was wrong, because our internet started working fine again until we all moved out and cancelled the account.

And animosity or not, Hubby and I still signed up for Comcast in our local area, since they seem to be the best (or at least the most prolific) provider of cable TV and internet around here. Though having grown up with a TV antenna that could pick up local channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, etc.), I thought it a bit of highway robbery that they would charge us $30 a month just to get two copies of each local channel, plus a shopping channel or two. We cancelled that when we realized I was watching maybe one show a week and Hubs was watching none. Then we finally cancelled the internet, despite it behaving itself nicely, because our apartment complex was finally being added to the University's wireless network. One flat payment for a wireless adapter sure beats $20 a month for cable internet.

I figure most of my animosity is a nebulous thing, like other people's animosity for Wal-Mart or McDonald's or what have you. A general dislike for the company and its management and policies, or poor phone rep scripting, as opposed to a specific hatred for the front-line techs. I feel for phone reps the way I feel for cashiers.


Oh, for anyone who likes a bit of humorous reading (a la Rinkworks and the like), this "Confessions" site is entertaining. It's the site of a friend of a friend (maybe of a friend) who works for a cable company (from the cable TV side of things). I find it entertaining reading.

[ShadrachAnki]

One roommate's father was a techie type, and helped her set up a data tracking something-or-other (I don't really remember the details, so if you're reading this Anki, you should pipe up with the info). This helped the two of them figure out that there was a local node that kept going down. But Comcast kept sending technicians to our apartment to check our setup to try to blame us (and get us to pay for it).

Dad had me set up a ping test and (iirc) a trace route. That way I could track exactly where the connection was dropping out. Not that it did a whole darn lot of good, since I couldn't figure out a way to explain it to the techs so they'd get it. *sigh*

It doesn't help when management structures things so that it can be harder for the CSRs to help customers. I have friends who work at Comcast who bemoan the lack of certain tools that would make things easier and more productive.

~Shadrach Anki