Eaglesfan27
05-07-2004, 09:10 PM
Last week my cable modem and internet went out. I got a repairmen on Friday who seemed fairly knowledgable and got things back up and running. Then on the following day my cable modem started occasionally flickering out of service. So, I place another order for service from Cox in New Orleans. Originally they say they will get to me on Wednesday. I realize the fact that it will take 3-4 working days is not a good sign as it means they must have a lot of service calls to take. Anyway, due to a late meeting at work, I postpone my appointment til tonight.
Tonight the guy shows up and I immediately realize I might have a problem as he had an incredibly difficult time finding my apartment. It's a little tricky to find, but I gave crystal clear directions. Anyway, after three phone calls he makes it to my place. He immediately gets to work, and knocks out all of my service. He then takes 30 minutes to get my cable working, but my modem is still out. Then, I can tell he is getting frustrated that this isn't a quick job but I push him to get my cable modem working again. He goes outside and fiddles for a while and then he comes back and tells me cable modem must have died tonight and that is my problem now. He says I should buy a new modem. I ask if he can install a new one right now if that is truly the problem, and I tell him if it works I will buy it, but I believe mine is fine and I doubt the new modem will work. He hems and haws a bit, and then agrees to try a new modem. It doesn't work. So after my prodding him again, he goes back outside, and a few minutes later my cable TV and my modem are both out again. What the heck is going on I wonder?
He comes in and tells me how bad the wires are (I do realize they are old wires as this is an old building) and proceeds to tell me how he is amazed my modem or my digital cable is even working at all. I proceed to tell him how they have been working 1 and a half years without incident until this past week. He says, "Well gotta go, someone will be here in the morning at 8AM."
By nature as an adult, I'm become too passive. My wife is constantly pushing me to be more assertive. I don't argue with people well at all, but this guy's cavalier attitude is enough to make me politely point out that the cable and the modem were working before he got here, albeit with an occasional flicker out of the modem, and I don't expect a cable service call to leave my service in worse condition then when they started working. He says, "It's an imperfected world." I say, "What? Have you been watching the Breakfast Club lately? (I admit I was frustrated and perhaps being unnecessarily rude) I'm going to call your boss if you leave here without attempting to restore service and I'm going to tell them I'm cancelling my service because of the lack of acceptable service on this call." (I'm embarassed to tell you all how much I pay a month with full digital cable service and cable modem service, but I'm certainly buying just about everything Cox offers and making them a decent amount of money.)
He says, "I don't care" and proceeds to walk out. I'm incredulous for a minute and then I start calling Cox Cable. Before I can even get done dialing the number I notice the cable flickering on. Then, a minute later it starts working perfectly and my modem lights up. I hang up and look at it suspiciously. A minute later the phone rings and on the other line is the voice of my not so great cable repairman. He says, "Well, one of the connectors I put on outside broke off and that is why it hasn't been working, but you should be fine now. Sorry for getting you mad, I was mad too. Is everything working now?" I check and tell him everything is working except for the new on demand service, but I don't really care about that at this moment. He says "good night." It ended well, but that was the most frustrating service call I've ever experienced. Furthermore, it really makes me wonder why he couldn't figure this problem out 2 hours ago when he was only 30 minutes into this service call as he apparently made a final quick fix at the last minute.
Tonight the guy shows up and I immediately realize I might have a problem as he had an incredibly difficult time finding my apartment. It's a little tricky to find, but I gave crystal clear directions. Anyway, after three phone calls he makes it to my place. He immediately gets to work, and knocks out all of my service. He then takes 30 minutes to get my cable working, but my modem is still out. Then, I can tell he is getting frustrated that this isn't a quick job but I push him to get my cable modem working again. He goes outside and fiddles for a while and then he comes back and tells me cable modem must have died tonight and that is my problem now. He says I should buy a new modem. I ask if he can install a new one right now if that is truly the problem, and I tell him if it works I will buy it, but I believe mine is fine and I doubt the new modem will work. He hems and haws a bit, and then agrees to try a new modem. It doesn't work. So after my prodding him again, he goes back outside, and a few minutes later my cable TV and my modem are both out again. What the heck is going on I wonder?
He comes in and tells me how bad the wires are (I do realize they are old wires as this is an old building) and proceeds to tell me how he is amazed my modem or my digital cable is even working at all. I proceed to tell him how they have been working 1 and a half years without incident until this past week. He says, "Well gotta go, someone will be here in the morning at 8AM."
By nature as an adult, I'm become too passive. My wife is constantly pushing me to be more assertive. I don't argue with people well at all, but this guy's cavalier attitude is enough to make me politely point out that the cable and the modem were working before he got here, albeit with an occasional flicker out of the modem, and I don't expect a cable service call to leave my service in worse condition then when they started working. He says, "It's an imperfected world." I say, "What? Have you been watching the Breakfast Club lately? (I admit I was frustrated and perhaps being unnecessarily rude) I'm going to call your boss if you leave here without attempting to restore service and I'm going to tell them I'm cancelling my service because of the lack of acceptable service on this call." (I'm embarassed to tell you all how much I pay a month with full digital cable service and cable modem service, but I'm certainly buying just about everything Cox offers and making them a decent amount of money.)
He says, "I don't care" and proceeds to walk out. I'm incredulous for a minute and then I start calling Cox Cable. Before I can even get done dialing the number I notice the cable flickering on. Then, a minute later it starts working perfectly and my modem lights up. I hang up and look at it suspiciously. A minute later the phone rings and on the other line is the voice of my not so great cable repairman. He says, "Well, one of the connectors I put on outside broke off and that is why it hasn't been working, but you should be fine now. Sorry for getting you mad, I was mad too. Is everything working now?" I check and tell him everything is working except for the new on demand service, but I don't really care about that at this moment. He says "good night." It ended well, but that was the most frustrating service call I've ever experienced. Furthermore, it really makes me wonder why he couldn't figure this problem out 2 hours ago when he was only 30 minutes into this service call as he apparently made a final quick fix at the last minute.