consumerist.com— Comcast Tech Bullies Customer for Cash to do the install then breaks his hard drive & drills huge holes in walls and baseboards
Mar 7, 2007View in Crawl 4
Out here in remote Alaska....some customers in the villages are using Starband satellite service via satellite modem as their carrier. In some areas...You have no choice at all. Dial up is at times only topping 19 bps..nothing over 23 bps lowest at 6 bps..alot of duplexing(echos) and disconnects. These people have payed up towards $2,000.00 to get the setup (Don't what the going price is now), pay for contractor services (installation of antenna, modem, etc, PAY for their airfare-roundtrip about $1,000 and up(Charter plane), some pay for passenger seat fare if the village has daily passenger flights..if they get stuck.due to bad weather ...they would have to stay at someone elses house Or at the customers house of there is no other lodging available the contractor doesn't pay their service people airfare, lodging+food. By the time this gets done....the customer has paid upwards of $3,500.00 and more...these dish antennas if set up improperly go out easily when it cloudy, rain, snow...sometimes no connection for a few days due to bad weather...so far the installation service guys in my view have done a superb job...You can become an installer after you pay about 1500.00 bucks via training outside Alaska...on top of that they are paying about $100.00 a month for the service. Don't get me wrong...there is nothing really wrong with Starband...there is a user group which is very helpful when troubleshooting....I am sure there is someone out there can refute this and i welcome it....To make this comparison......the dude has got it so easy...lighten up....there people who are in more serious situation you are...then again...
@ griz"You don't even need a box behind the wall. Just the faceplate. You can secure it to the wall by using a couple of small plastic wall anchors."You do need a box behind the wall. Part of the reason that the box is there is to stop dust, fluff or anything touching the wires and starting a fire. Don't skimp to save a few minutes and pennies.
@Kutza [quote] I caught one of my sister's friend trying to go on my computer without permission. I told her if I ever caught her again, I would take her to court for trespassing, computer trespassing, invasion of privacy, and computer invasion of privacy printed out the laws as well as a couple of shots of her with my webcam trying to access it (I use Dorgem to monitor my room; while at home from school I have many siblings including a little brother not allowed in my room period as he breaks and steals my stuff). Guess what, she never even showed up to the house again.[/quote]Wow.... just wow... You are one f**ked up dude... Your poor family.... wow....
*Blink* The guy came to install cable. I think there's a reasonable assumption that he'll be cautious and do everything possible to prevent accidental damage. Unplugging power strips without asking is NOT cautious. Especially when devices are connected to it that look like they might have file systems. Getting on a computer without permission and closing applications randomly is not cautious either. Nor is drilling holes in the wall in what is clearly an office environment without even asking whether the guy would like a wall outlet. And turning up an hour before the scheduled time, leaving before the scheduled time and calling it a missed appointment is just being an assh**e. Plus Comcast (not the technician) screwed up the guy's order twice with the gateway, and the installation was partially botched (OnDemand doesn't work).Bottom line: someone at Comcast was incompetent. The tech failed to do a working install. And the tech was both negligent (not considering possible damages resulting from his actions) and an assh**e (the money thing).
I HATE comcast. You should see the hole they put in my wall. A drilled hole on one side, the other is just where he shoved the drill bit through the drywall tearing it and making an oddly shaped hole I can't even really describe. Countless billing errors, etc. I had someone call me once for a survey and asked me all about the service - which has been great, but I had to add that while the actual internet is great, the customer service is the absolute worst I've ever experienced. Just abysmal, incompetent people, and I have yet to hear an exception to this general rule of thumb.
salmonizedMar 8, 2007
Out here in remote Alaska....some customers in the villages are using Starband satellite service via satellite modem as their carrier. In some areas...You have no choice at all. Dial up is at times only topping 19 bps..nothing over 23 bps lowest at 6 bps..alot of duplexing(echos) and disconnects. These people have payed up towards $2,000.00 to get the setup (Don't what the going price is now), pay for contractor services (installation of antenna, modem, etc, PAY for their airfare-roundtrip about $1,000 and up(Charter plane), some pay for passenger seat fare if the village has daily passenger flights..if they get stuck.due to bad weather ...they would have to stay at someone elses house Or at the customers house of there is no other lodging available the contractor doesn't pay their service people airfare, lodging+food. By the time this gets done....the customer has paid upwards of $3,500.00 and more...these dish antennas if set up improperly go out easily when it cloudy, rain, snow...sometimes no connection for a few days due to bad weather...so far the installation service guys in my view have done a superb job...You can become an installer after you pay about 1500.00 bucks via training outside Alaska...on top of that they are paying about $100.00 a month for the service. Don't get me wrong...there is nothing really wrong with Starband...there is a user group which is very helpful when troubleshooting....I am sure there is someone out there can refute this and i welcome it....To make this comparison......the dude has got it so easy...lighten up....there people who are in more serious situation you are...then again...
ray901Mar 8, 2007
@ griz"You don't even need a box behind the wall. Just the faceplate. You can secure it to the wall by using a couple of small plastic wall anchors."You do need a box behind the wall. Part of the reason that the box is there is to stop dust, fluff or anything touching the wires and starting a fire. Don't skimp to save a few minutes and pennies.
merdieselMar 8, 2007
This guy sounds like a real pussy. Tell the technician to get the f**k out of your house and then call his boss.
mirekMar 8, 2007
@Kutza [quote] I caught one of my sister's friend trying to go on my computer without permission. I told her if I ever caught her again, I would take her to court for trespassing, computer trespassing, invasion of privacy, and computer invasion of privacy printed out the laws as well as a couple of shots of her with my webcam trying to access it (I use Dorgem to monitor my room; while at home from school I have many siblings including a little brother not allowed in my room period as he breaks and steals my stuff). Guess what, she never even showed up to the house again.[/quote]Wow.... just wow... You are one f**ked up dude... Your poor family.... wow....
fafnir43Mar 8, 2007
*Blink* The guy came to install cable. I think there's a reasonable assumption that he'll be cautious and do everything possible to prevent accidental damage. Unplugging power strips without asking is NOT cautious. Especially when devices are connected to it that look like they might have file systems. Getting on a computer without permission and closing applications randomly is not cautious either. Nor is drilling holes in the wall in what is clearly an office environment without even asking whether the guy would like a wall outlet. And turning up an hour before the scheduled time, leaving before the scheduled time and calling it a missed appointment is just being an assh**e. Plus Comcast (not the technician) screwed up the guy's order twice with the gateway, and the installation was partially botched (OnDemand doesn't work).Bottom line: someone at Comcast was incompetent. The tech failed to do a working install. And the tech was both negligent (not considering possible damages resulting from his actions) and an assh**e (the money thing).
mynameisjodyMar 9, 2007
I HATE comcast. You should see the hole they put in my wall. A drilled hole on one side, the other is just where he shoved the drill bit through the drywall tearing it and making an oddly shaped hole I can't even really describe. Countless billing errors, etc. I had someone call me once for a survey and asked me all about the service - which has been great, but I had to add that while the actual internet is great, the customer service is the absolute worst I've ever experienced. Just abysmal, incompetent people, and I have yet to hear an exception to this general rule of thumb.
crazybotMar 12, 2007
The moral of this story is think for yourselfIf you read the story this guy has some mental issues sorry dude but your bats**t crazy
yakizzMay 20, 2007
Doubtful info... I'd better go and sleep instead of reading THIS