Double Burnout

JustADude · #1 09-01-2006, 10:39 AM

I mentioned the start of this stuff in someone else's thread, but let me take it from the top here.

I moved into a new place just over a month ago, and decided to drop the extra $15/mo to go for the 10mbps connection with the cable modem. Nifty, much CTF goodness is had, and there is rejoycing. Then the connection gets twitchy, and eventually burns out. Not good. What's worse is that the tech I talked to treated me below and beyond the usual realm of double-checking, and refused to believe the gateway was fried even though I could smell the Magic Smoke Pixies as they escaped. Tech comes out, gives me a new one, mentions that the model is brand new and likely still having 'launch issues', and I'm back up in 5m flat.

That is not the end, though. Now, just a few days later, the gateway is blown out again, same symptoms and everything. There's nothing environmental that I can see causing the problem, and the tech guy I got on the line this time was more helpful, and I'll be able to stop pirating my upstairs neighbor's wireless connection again in a couple days.

I'm pretty annoyed, and wondering if I should complain about being without a connection so long because of them providing defective equipment. I don't want to give the people in the call center grief though, since I'm likely not the only one having these problems, and the SCs are going to be banging on the doors.

BravoOrig · #2 09-01-2006, 11:44 AM

Knowing your service provider, and this can apply to most companies setup the same, giving grief to those who answer the phone, does no good. "They" just come up with some fabulous new product, and make us support it, no matter how good or bad it turns out to be. Thus, we have no control, and can make no changes. The suits make the great decisions of the day, and we reap the "benefits". Often people in the callcenter's are nowhere near you, and rely on the local technicians to do their job and fix your issue. Getting two defective devices in a row can happen, as all electronics are fickle, either they last for years, or days. All customers should remember to flip the questions they are asking, before asking it. I can't really explain it this early in the morning, but for example. "Do you guys always provide defective equipment?" Flipped: "Yes, we always strive to provide the crappiest item available so that you have to call up all the time and make appts for techs to repeatedly swap it out for you. This saves us all time and money in the end."
I'm not pointing this post at JustADude, it's true for all customers, to all call centers. Whom you are speaking to, probably didn't cause the problem, and is there to help if they can.

As for your actual post and questions there of. Goto the mediacomcc.com website, contact us, and write a letter there, it goes to corporate.
Call in and ask for credit, they can usually provide that beginning the day you called.

JustADude · #3 09-01-2006, 12:02 PM

That's what I was thinking. Thanks for the confirmation, though. I'll get a call in after I've crashed for a while and gotten some seriously needed Zs.

JustADude · #4 09-12-2006, 02:50 AM

Okay, here's an update. After a couple scheduling errors (nobody's fault, really, wires just got crossed), the guy came out to deal with the problem. Turns out the entire model was being recalled due to these issues. I've got a regular modem for now, and I'll be getting a new gateway as soon as they get replacements in. I also got the outages credited with no problem. Hopefully it'll work now.

BravoOrig · #5 09-13-2006, 11:59 AM

It'd be nice if they would tell those in tech support of this issue. I have no reason to not believe what he said, but techs sometimes say weird stuff. They're also the ones with hands on experience with these devices. This idea came to me the other day with lady who couldn't host an online game using the same device, if you hook up your own modem, and go through the registration site, you'll still get the same speed, as the codes are in place on your account for that speed. Thus, your account says you have online max, that tells the provisioning system to send your modem that config file, and your modem is registered under the provisioning system. Well that same system doesn't care if you hook up another modem, you'll go through it's site, tell it you want to register the modem, and reset the mdm. Then you still have the higher high speed.