This is perhaps the worse service I've ever received from any organization, ever. I realize this makes my life pretty good, but it's been super frustrating.
Let's start with Comcast: they have a monopoly in my neighborhood. Hubby's grandpa, who lives 2 blocks away, can get Uverse, but we cannot yet. If we don't go with Comcast for internet, we're stuck with the dish or DSL. This explains why we have been so patient.
The timeline:
June 20: We look online to see how soon we have to call to change our internet/cable. The website says to give "three to five days notice" when you're going to move. We're moving July 3, so we call Comcast on June 25, assuming that 8 or so days is enough. At this point we are informed that the soonest they can come is July 18th. That's right, 23 days does not equal 3-5 days. This is also the day I have to leave for an out-of-town wedding, for which I am doing the flowers. We ask for their next available date, which is August 1. Sigh. So we set up an appointment for 8-10am, so that I can leave to set up flowers for this wedding.
I am also working on my dissertation at this point, so I become closely aquainted with the only coffee shop in the town we just moved to. Big pain in the butt to do all my research on the interwebs (I live 1.5 hours from my school).
July 20th: At 10:30, there has been no Comcast guy. I call, and am informed that our appointment is between 2 and 4. I read them the e-mail (which I had smartly printed out) which states 8-10. I am told that they overscheduled, and they appreciate my patients. I tell them to reschedule my appointment. They do, for August 5.
August 5 comes, and the TV and internet are "installed". When the installer calls his supervisor to activate our modem, he is put on hold for 45 minutes. That's right, we get to sit around for 45 minutes while Comcast puts its own employee on hold. Whatever, at least it's installed, right?
Wrong. Between that day and today, the internet has periodically shut down for 5 minutes to 2 days for no reason whatsoever. 4 different technicians have come out to the house, every cable in the house has been replaced (we have an old house so nothing is in the walls), we have been given 3 separate modems, and the wires from the lines in back of the house to our house have been replaced twice. It still happens. During this time, it has also been discovered that our modem is not registered properly (Comcast's fault), our address was only changed for billing, not service (Comcast's fault), and that several other people in our area have similar problem (HMMMMMM). We were even given a "supervisor" technician at one point, who did nothing but make fun of our paint job in the living room.
I do the reasonable thing: I continue to call every time it goes out, hoping that it will someday work. I also research other options. Every time I call, I ask, repeatedly (since Comcast reps talk over you and ask you to unplug your modem repeatedly) for a technician to please com out and look at the actual lines that go through the alleys by our house. Every time, I am told that the next technician will do that. Every time, I ask the technician, and he tells me that he didn't know that was necessary, and he doesn't have the proper equipment to do so.
Today, I got fed up. I capitalized on my research, and set up an appointment to switch to (gulp) DSL. Just typing the word makes me sad. Whatever, it won't be fast, but it will be consistent, and it's cheaper than what we've got.
So I call Comcast to cancel. Just the internet, and on December 3. Repeat after me, everyone. JUST the INTERNET and on DECEMBER THIRD. I said it at the start of the call, and every time I got a chance.
The person I speak to asks, reasonably, why I am cancelling. I have her look at my account, and how many techs we've had, and how many calls I've made. "Well, I can see that as frustrating, but can we please send out another technician to resolve this problem?". No, you can't. It's too late. You've had FOUR FREAKING MONTHS. Then she drops the bomb, "We can send out a supervisor tech to come look at it". I respond that they did that in September. Guess what? NO THEY DIDN'T. They lied, repeatedly. Then she offers something even more amusing: They can send out a special techs to look at the lines in the alleyway, and from the node to our local junction. You know, the kind of tech I've been asking for during the last four months. I point this out. She says "well, we usually don't send those out unless it's a retention call". WUT. So if I had threatened to cancel 4 months ago the problem would have been fixed? Or at least looked at? I kindly declined, pointing out that they had four months to do so.
"Well, since there is nothing we can do to make you happy, I'll put a cancel on your account for tomorrow."
What was that mantra we were repeating? Just the internet and on December 3. So I repeat it.
"So you want to cancel on December 3?"
"Yes, but just the internet, the TV works fine."
"Oh, you want to keep the TV"
"Yes"
"So cancel the internet tomorrow?"
"No, December 3"
So we finally get it cancelled. Sigh.
I'm contemplating writing a letter to a local politician or something...someone who would get a lot of attention for taking down a monopoly. My hubby and I would make a great human interest story...a pair of graduate students, scraping by on one income, given the run around by a faceless corporation which won't update its infastructure.
But after we're cancelled (because I hear Comcast has been vindictive against complainers in the past), there will definintely be letters sent to the president, CEO, etc.
And now I use the internet when it's on, and wait expectantly for my slow (but hopefully more dependable) DSL. Sob.
