The tech is NOT always right.

[draggar]

Last night I activated the digital converter boxes for cable TV. Just as they went active I lost all internet connectivity. Each time I opened up FF or IE I got the "Welcome to (company) internet! If you are a consumer, click here. If you are a technician, click here".

Anyone who works with cablemodems knows that this means that my modem is not in their system.

I call them up and I tell them the issue - I even mention that it's acting like the modem isn't on my account anymore and if they could check the account and the MAC address of the modem I have listed.

Nope, can't do that. I have to unplug the router, unplug the modem, turn off the PC (all that times four or five times). They can see the modem but the system isn't recognizing it. (Hmm). She tells me she thinks my modem is bad.

I told her (a few times) that the router is pulling an IP address from the modem so it is connected. Nope, she insists that I am only seeing the IP address that the router is assigning my PC (192.168.1.xxx). I tell her it is an IP address from the modem since it is NOT the 192... address and it was pulling up the company's domain.

Nope! My modem is bad - they can either dispatch a tech (since it's not a leased modem there would be a charge) or I can buy a new one.

After several times I finally got her to read me the MAC address on my account. Guess what? It didn't match the one I have!

She then accuses me of not telling her I just got the modem. Um, I've been using it for over a year now, it's not new. She finally agrees to change the mac address and starts to tell me that she'll have to add the lease onto the account. Um, didn't you just acknowledge that it is NOT a leased modem? This is a modem I paid for, I shouldn't have to pay for the lease.

She finally agrees that it is my modem (I'm glad I didn't need to show her a receipt!) and activates the modem - guess what? It's working!

I'm so glad this ordeal that could have been solved in a couple of minutes took over an hour and a half of not being listened to.

[wraiths_crono]

Hmm I know that feel all to well, I just got cable internet, brand new outa the box modem, same deal 'they can see it but it wont activate' so they pull the bad modem card. after 10 min of me playing along, ive had enough, state what I do for a living (fix the internet for an ISP that uses modems like this) and that my account is not provisioned, they look into and the tech says 'I don't think thats the problem....uh... hmmm looks like you were right let me fix that' and BING im online..

[Eric the Grey]

See, Draggar, the problem here is you were not talking to a tech. You were talking to an individual who answers the incoming calls, and follows a script and more than likely has been around long enough to see all these simple solutions to problems work just often enough that she is now convinced that this is always right, and refuses to think outside the box.

(Real) Tech's are still right.



Eric the Grey

[Arm]

Gah, so-called tech support like this is why I think we need to reinstate roman-style decimation for cable companies.

I had a similar problem, when I moved recently.

I came to my new place, set up everything and plugged in. The apartment had been vacant for some time, but I had full service (apparently they don't actually shut it off here). Called up office A, said 'I moved to this address', they said okay, we'll send out a tech.

My response is, No, I don't need a tech, all is working, don't TOUCH ANYTHING, just change the ADDRESS and nothing more.

They say, Okay, we've scheduled a tech to come out.

Again I explain... Don't do that, the only thing you need to know is that this modem is now at this address. Put the numbers in the computer and all will be good.

But no, a tech must be dispatched.

Fine then, don't touch anything. Fuck you and goodnight. Not that I said that.

Next day, my modem phones home to renew its IP address, and gets told to fuck off.

I spend hours on the phone being bounced from one rep and one office to another. My modem has been administratively disabled. They have my address right. But they turned off my modem for the fuck of it.

They made me wait 'til the tech came out, just for shits and giggles. I could NOT convince anyone on the phone that I was actually PHYSICALLY IN POSSESSION of equipment. They INSISTED that a technician HAD to be present to install the modem. It did not matter that service WAS turned on, it did not matter that I had everything hooked up, no, of COURSE I didn't have service OR equipment.

The tech, when he arrived, said, yeah, everything's hooked up just fine. Called his office, had them turn on the modem, and left. He was in my apartment for less than five minutes.

Actually, now that I think about it, decimation is too kind. Tricimation?

Either way, horrible, horrible things need to be done to them.

[Hyndis]

Speaking of which, does anyone have a recommendation for an ISP that DOESNT suck horribly?

I use Verizon. The voice non-recognition system basically does the exact opposite of what I say. It performs about as well as the actual people there, too.

I wanted them to change the name on the account for billing. Nothing else. Same address, same equipment, same everything. Just change the name.

They disconnected me and it took them 2 MONTHS to hook me up again.

That was a few years ago, so I figure, maybe they've improved since then? Well, because Comcast was ripping us off, I canceled Comcast for TV. Went to purely Verizon.

Also, while I was at it, I switched my phone to them. Its just a simple landline.

They installed a voicemail system that I cannot access and that intercepts about 15% of all incoming calls for no good reason before it even reaches my phone. People leave a message to the dead box, and the message is never heard from again. Oh, and they charge me for it too.

They also drop internet connectivity on an almost hourly basis. For example, every day at 6:10pm, I lose connection. It happens semi-frequently but predictable enough that I actually time my downloads and WoW boss pulls around it. Lose connection, just get back online...great, I've got at least an hour before they cut the connection again!

I'm also paying for 300mb/s DSL, but I get maybe 140ish, if I'm lucky. I finally convinced a guy to come out here and fix the goddamn connection. For a few minutes he had it turned up to 300mb/s, which was fucking awesome. Then, he broke it. Completely. No internet at all.

After 5 hours he finally got things up and running. Sort of.

Now my router also resets about every other hour. Combine that with the still persistent Verizon connection resets, and my internet connection dies about once an hour.

I'd call back to complain again, but they'd just make it worse.

[prb]

Wow, I'm starting to love cybersurf:

CSR: Thank you for calling 3WEB CIA.com how may I help you?
Me: Hello, my name is _ my phone number is _, I'll wait a second so that you can pull up the account
CSR: Alright, what can I do for you today?
Me: Our service needs to be re-provisioned, my modem's MAC ID is _.
CSR: Alright, that was _ (reads it back)
Me: yup
CSR: I've sent a ticket out to Rogers, it should be done within 24 hours.

Usually it works fine, twice though Rogers put in the wrong MAC ID on their end :/ and usually Cybersurf already has the correct one, in my opinion Rogers just doesn't like resellers and their customers...

[Eric the Grey]

Speaking of which, does anyone have a recommendation for an ISP that DOESNT suck horribly?

I use Peak to Peak internet. They are local (Northern Colorado) but they have nationwide dial-up accounts available, so they might work with you in CA.

The only problem I've had with them is occasional disconnect (usually when I have a large torrent going... ), which I cannot really blame on them, it may be Qwest (I have DSL though Qwest, with them as my ISP).



Eric the Grey

[Andara Bledin]

Speaking of which, does anyone have a recommendation for an ISP that DOESNT suck horribly?

I just switched over to DSL Extreme and I'm in love.

I used Broadband Reports to find a decently-rated ISP that served my area (near Los Angeles), and they were highly rated with most of the worst complaints actually being caused by the phone company and not DSL Extreme.

They have real techs to answer questions instead of script-monkeys, they're based in California, and their pricing is pretty damn good. Also, their speed is what was advertised, too.

If they provide service in your area (and I believe they do), send me a note and I'll send you a referral. If you sign up, we both get $20 credits.

One note, however, is that Verizon seems to be a little crappy to outside DSL ISPs as regards connections, but a tech support call can get that straightened out. AT&T, however, doesn't seem to do that.

^-.-^

[draggar]

It just gets better and better. I asked them for ONE cable box - how many do you think they've sent me so far??

I wonder if they track these serial numbers?

[prb]

It just gets better and better. I asked them for ONE cable box - how many do you think they've sent me so far??

I wonder if they track these serial numbers?

Wonder how easy they're to re-flash with a different provider's firmware? Save some poor Rogers customers souls perhaps?

[Andara Bledin]

We got two modems when we moved and had to start a new contract with Earthlink. They never billed us for either one. We're currently using one of them for our DSL Exteme connection.

^-.-^

[mattm04]

I have Cox Communications. Very reliable service only 1 service call in 4 or so years to install a signal amplifier thingy due to too poor of a signal to get correct speeds on internet or HDTV signals. A little more expensive than the other services though, but this is all I can get besides sat/dial up in my area.

[DeltaSierra]

I had to deal with incompentent techs a few times. The craziest was when I had only recently gotten DSL and was having some issues with the phone lines (later found out it was an issue at THEIR end not mine.) In the process of troubleshooting the tech told me to make sure I had the DSL phone filter installed on the line GOING TO THE COMPUTER! When I tried to explain that you can't put a DSL filter on the line that goes to the modem, the tech insisted that I HAD to, or I wouldn't get DSL. Needless to say I hung up and got a diff tech who knew what they were talking about and they sent somebody out who found the real issue.

[Getpowned]

i work for the company of the name we do not speak lol

i work in internet tech support and that does happen alot its not as hard as people make it to be you which dont even work there knew more than the csr lol this also happends alot some people are just not going to know there job until they have alot of experince sounds like you got a NEWB!

[Midorikawa]

I used to work for Cox before another company took over in my area. I had MANY similar experiences that usually were just fixed with me writing the MAC address down and going in the next day and fixing it from there rather than have one of my more clueless coworkers stuff it all up.

More than once I called in about a cable box being disconnected (even GIVING the tech the troubleshooting steps involved) only to hang up and go back to browsing the net and get the "oh eff off" from the server. ...yeah. calling back in did stuff all, and only resulted in me sending supervisors bad reports about idiotic "techs"...until I got told to stop sending emails to sups, and subsequently, quit fixing my own account. It's no easier from the inside than it is the outside, which is about the saddest thing I've typed in ages.