Comcast does it again

So yesterday, as I was leaving the house to pick up our 8th grader from school, I noticed two Comcast trucks parked out in front of my house. They had been there for ten minutes already by the time I left. I didn’t think much of it, honestly. First, there is a partially down cable line across the street from us, which had been that way for over a month. Second, I am not behind on my bill. Third, Comcast is actually suppose to come out to my house next Monday to upgrade both my TV and Internet service.

When I returned a half-hour later, I saw the same two Comcast trucks further down the street. As I pulled into my driveway, I saw a Comcast door hanger on my front door. Thinking that perhaps they had come a week earlier than expected to upgrade my service, I took the hanger from the door and saw it was a disconnect notice! They had turned me off!

Since the people who had actually done the dirty deed were still on my street, I walked down to ask what was going on. They could see I was pissed off from twenty-five feet away.

“We are just the auditors, we don’t decide who gets their cable turned off” I was told. I had them verify that they had a disconnect notice for my address. They did. Then they rechecked it, and sure enough, my address. But a different customer name. So somewhere along the way, a mistake was made. Still, the “cut off crew” could not turn it back on, sorry, we can only turn them off. (yeah, right.) You have to call the number provided on the door hanger. (Translation: lazy and not very bright.)

To say I was unhappy would be an understatement. No internet, no television. (To be honest, I can do without the later much easier than the former.)

The first time I called, I only had to wait five minutes. But I got hung up on. The second time, ten minutes, but no hang up!

After giving my account information to the Comcaster on the phone, he told me “I don’t see any disconnect order for you. My records show it is still on.”

“It’s not,” I replied. “They turned it off about a half-hour ago.”

I then go on to explain that the order they had, the ever-so-helpful road-crew who actually did the dirty deed, showed a different customer name than mine on the turn-off notice.

Is it just me, or do you think that, I don’t know, if you had a turn-off notice at the same address where a customer has just placed an order a week ago to EXPAND his service, something might have said “Hold on a minute…”? But no. A computer somewhere (a PC no doubt) spit out some arbitrary list which sends the Comcast Road Drone ‘Tards out to cut lines and spend another twenty minutes sipping coffee and yucking up at fart jokes afterwards. And me? I get to spend a half-hour on the phone with mister “We really appreciate your patience, Mr. Robertson. I apologize for the delay.”

Finally, I am told there was a mistake somewhere. (Duh.) My service should not have been turned off. (No! Really? Are you sure? You’re quick, you must be a supervisor) And that they would get out to turn it back on “As soon as we are able.” Which, for Comcast (and from what I see, hear, and watch, all cable companies) means a few days.

Uhhh…. no.

“Look… what was your name again?… Right. Look, unless my service is on by the time I go to bed tonight, I will be driving up to AT&T to sign up for U-Verse service for my TV and Internet. No if, and, or buts about it. I am not kidding, and this is not a threat. I won’t be inconvenienced by your companies incompetence any longer than that. Just three months ago your company did not apply my full monthly payment that I sent in, and you turned me off. It took me hours to prove to you that YOU had made a mistake and rectify that situation. So this is it. Get it done, now, or you can kiss my monthly check goodbye.”

Right after I hung up the telephone, which was right after I said the above (I did not give him the chance to respond, as no response was warranted) I had to leave to pick up our kindergardener from school. So a half-hour or so later, as I am pulling back in the driveway, there is another Comcast employee reconnecting my service. I talked to him, and he told me that he hates the “audit teams” because this happens every time they go out and cut people off. “I reconnect at least half the people they turn off by mistake.” he told me.

So I still have Comcast. But this is, honestly, the last straw. One more stupid mistake from this company, and they are history. We *finally* have high-speed Internet and HD quality television choice where I live, rather than the monopoly Comcast has enjoyed for the past decade or more. (Much longer if you include the countless cable companies that were bought out over and over until Comcast finally ended up here. Yea us!) I have been hearing good things about the AT&T service, and while I usually don’t have too many problem with either my television or internet connectivity from Comcast, I really am sick of dealing with mistakes that they make, and I have to pay for. Enough is enough, and this is their last chance. They better not blow it.

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