Comcast Upgrade

[geonuc]

A really weird experience with Comcast ...

A couple of weeks ago, a Comcast representative came by the house and said he could upgrade our service and save us money. Being wary of such things, we said send us an email with the details, rather than invite him in. Well, the details were inescapably positive: upgrade the DVR to their latest box, upgrade the internet service to 300 Mbps, upgrade the two cable boxes on our other small TVs to HD, no contract and save about $30/month. No downside at all. So we said yes and he set us up with a service appointment but then said he wanted to drop by after the service to see if everything was working properly and to explain the new equipment. Wary again, we nevertheless said sure, come on by.

So, the technician comes by, changes out the DVR and the two other boxes. He does not replace the modem with the new X3 model the field rep said we'd get. In fact, the tech said he didn't think Comcast was delivering 300 M signals yet and that we already had the best modem Comcast offers. OK, fine. I'll take that up with the field rep when he gets here. I then mention the crappy internet signal we get and he delivers the same old bullshit about bad wires and my horrible splitter (which was installed by Comcast). He replaces the splitter, declares the signal to be much better and unbelievably starts to crow about how he loves his job because he's so good at it. We go up to my computer and run a speed test. Oops, I guess it's not 'much better'. In fact it's still crappy. He left shortly afterwards, leaving us with a better (I guess) DVR and not much else. After he left, i notice he failed to leave us one of the new remotes for the smaller TV boxes.

Field rep drops by and I explain what happened. He shakes his head and says something about how he knew that might be the case which is why he wanted to follow up. Huh? You know your technician was going to fuck up?

He goes out to his car and comes back with the new X3 modem, which is clearly different than our present modem. It will deliver the 300 Mbps and will put out both 5 Ghz and 2.4 Ghz wi-fi. The old one just did 2.4. He installs it, we run the speed test and the meter pegs out above 300 Mbps. Awesome.

This guy then spends two hours with us explaining how to get the best from our service, including the two desktops, our laptops, the TV boxes, everything. He replaces the Cat 5 cable on my computer with a 5e to take advantage of the new speed capability. He explains to us how my wife's super-powerful but somewhat dated Mac can easily be upgraded to receive the 5 Mhz wi-fi using a Firewire port adaptor. He looks at one of the 'new' small TV boxes the tech just gave us and replaces it with a better one more suited to the TV and provides the remote for it. He's awesome. I want him to move in as a roommate.

So, we have much better Comcast service for less money. And we get more premium channels - we just had HBO before.

The weirdness? Maybe it's obvious, but how are those two people working for the same company? What the fuck is going on with Comcast where the field representatives have to come after the technicians to fix everything they did? How does the technician not know they offer 300 Mbps modems in this area? It's specified on the order! While I'm super-impressed with the field rep, I am even more dumbfounded as to how fucked up Comcast is as a service provider if they know their techs are incompetent.

[SciFiFisher]

Yes. Definitely weird. I am not sure what scares me more. The uber Field Rep or the Tech who didn't have a clue. Where I am at Comcast actually makes you do most of the work of the tech. Need a new box? We will mail you one and give you instructions on how to activate it yourself. You want a tech to come out? Sure. That will be an extra $50.

Being somewhat technically competent I don't necessarily mind some DIY install and set up. But, if I feel I need a technician to come out and fix something it would be nice to have him come out as part of the excessive price I pay for fast internet, telephone, and cable channels I almost never watch.

[geonuc]

Comcast does the DIY routine here too, but as the field rep explained, they had identified 'service issues' at our house, so that mandated a technician install, which was free.

[pumpkinpi]

Is there any chance that the technician is unionized, so there are constraints on what they can do?

Don't get me wrong. I am the farthest from anti-union. But I know there are strange rules. For example with my new museum, when the planetarium vendors put their projectors in, they need to have people licensed in this state to "pull the wires." Our planetarium consultant said they've seen this requirement in one or two of the hundreds of planetariums they've built. So they will have to hire specialized people to do one little part of the job their guys can do just fine, because of state law.

[geonuc]

Is there any chance that the technician is unionized, so there are constraints on what they can do?

Don't get me wrong. I am the farthest from anti-union. But I know there are strange rules. For example with my new museum, when the planetarium vendors put their projectors in, they need to have people licensed in this state to "pull the wires." Our planetarium consultant said they've seen this requirement in one or two of the hundreds of planetariums they've built. So they will have to hire specialized people to do one little part of the job their guys can do just fine, because of state law.

I know what you mean having been a member of the IBEW. But no, he just didn't know what he was doing.

[Swift]

The weirdness? Maybe it's obvious, but how are those two people working for the same company?

Maybe they don't. Let me explain.

We don't have Comcast, we have Time Warner. Around here, a lot of the Time Warner install work is sub-contracted out to other small local companies. That's what we had when we had the install at our new house. The guy who came out was mediocre, he didn't screw much up, but he dicked around a lot and took a very long time (at like 9 o'clock at night - just finish and leave already).

Maybe this was something similar.

[geonuc]

That may be true but I suspect not. The tech wore a Comcast/Infinity uniform and drove a Comcast/Infinity truck. He also spoke about meetings at work where they discussed (or more likely, were informed of) current issues regarding installation and upgrades.

[SciFiFisher]

The weirdness? Maybe it's obvious, but how are those two people working for the same company?

Maybe they don't. Let me explain.

We don't have Comcast, we have Time Warner. Around here, a lot of the Time Warner install work is sub-contracted out to other small local companies. That's what we had when we had the install at our new house. The guy who came out was mediocre, he didn't screw much up, but he dicked around a lot and took a very long time (at like 9 o'clock at night - just finish and leave already).

Maybe this was something similar.

Fair point. It seems to vary depending on where you are. In some areas the techs who do installs and upgrades are contractors. In others they seem to be bona fide employees of the cable company. I suspect it depends on arcane factors such as what the regional manager feels like doing.

[Thumper]

Yeah, alot of sub contracting here. And we had an experience where one tech (company) seemed to know that another tech (contract) didn't know his @ss from a hole in the ground. He called the contractor while he was working to check on him. Then called Mrs. T to ask if things were right. When I got home and things were messed up (he spliced in to the wrong phone line when installing the cable phone), the company tech came out and fixed it and was like, "yeah, I kind of knew that was going to happen." Seems like a crappy way to have to do business.

[geonuc]

Yeah, alot of sub contracting here. And we had an experience where one tech (company) seemed to know that another tech (contract) didn't know his @ss from a hole in the ground. He called the contractor while he was working to check on him. Then called Mrs. T to ask if things were right. When I got home and things were messed up (he spliced in to the wrong phone line when installing the cable phone), the company tech came out and fixed it and was like, "yeah, I kind of knew that was going to happen." Seems like a crappy way to have to do business.

I don't think my tech was a contractor but other than that, sounds a bit like my experience.

[Swift]

You'd think geonuc would love sub-contractors.....

[pumpkinpi]

swift's
"he knew that might be the case which is why he wanted to follow up"

and Thumper's
"yeah, I kind of knew that was going to happen"

Are unacceptable!

[SciFi Chick]

This sounds a lot like what my cousin has to put up with - except in his case, the problems are
the customers. He works for AT&T, and he often gets sent out for the problem jobs. As an example, he went to diagnose one wifi problem, and literally found the wifi router full of roaches. *shudder*

But he very often has to go behind other techs who don't know wtf they're doing.

[geonuc]

swift's
"he knew that might be the case which is why he wanted to follow up"

and Thumper's
"yeah, I kind of knew that was going to happen"

Are unacceptable!

The first one was me, and I agree. Unacceptable.

[Sigma_Orionis]

You want unacceptable? I've been without cable since Sunday Morning

[SciFiFisher]

You want unacceptable? I've been without cable since Sunday Morning

On Purpose?

[Sigma_Orionis]

You want unacceptable? I've been without cable since Sunday Morning

On Purpose?

Not really, Cabling company claims there's a massive failure. Thing is, all I get are pre-recorded messages, no way to talk to someone directly.

[SciFiFisher]

You want unacceptable? I've been without cable since Sunday Morning

On Purpose?

Not really, Cabling company claims there's a massive failure. Thing is, all I get are pre-recorded messages, no way to talk to someone directly.

Ah yes. The polite ignore routine. I have noticed that cable companies have that down to a fine art. Usually when they have a massive FUBAR SNAFU situation going on.

[Sigma_Orionis]

Figures