A reader points me to
this Consumerist post on how to get a response from a recalcitrant company; the comments are priceless. As always, the point is not to do this until you've really been abused, not merely when you want something fixed NOW and they can't do it for two days. I mean, if you're talking about a leaking sewerage pipe, fine, but otherwise, it's not unreasonable to expect slight delays and occasional mistakes.
I did this to Comcast a year ago. I'd had increasing problems with signal quality on HD channels - I'd get dropouts in audio, bad pixellation, and eventually I'd have no picture or audio for 5-10 seconds. My cable modem would drop to near dialup speeds.
I had at least 8 or 9 visits by techs to look at the problem. I was told the signal was too strong or too weak. It was my wiring, it was the lines outside. It was the amplifiers, it was the temperature. The last straw came after they sent a tech out to put an amplifier in my attic. He showed up at 5 PM for an 8 to 10 AM appointment, despite my calling at 10, 12, 2, and 4 for updates as to when he'd be there. Had to burn 4 hours of vacation time. The signal seemed better, but since the problem was intermittent, I decided to wait a while.
On Sunday PM, the signal went to pieces while my wife and I were watching football. You don't mess with football. I called tech support and demanded to talk to a supervisor. After 20 minutes on hold I was disconnected.
So, I sent an email to the entire management chain of Comcast cable - the Houston manager (found via google), the regional VP, the VP of customer service, and the president of the cable division. The post was titled "Lies and Broken Promises from Comcast Cable Service". In 45 minutes I had a reply an assistant to the president. 5 minutes later, a reply from the local manager. 5 minutes later, the Houston service manager called me at home, promised quick resolution and gave me his cell number. 30 minutes later, there were two trucks and 3 techs at the house who rewired the entire house, all the way to the pole. Over the next two days they replaced a bunch of wiring and equipment on the poles. I even got an apology card in the mail from the president of Comcast Cable. Also, some of the techs that went to my house were fired.
Of course, over the last three weeks, I've noticed the problem starting up again. Sigh. fortunately, I've got the emails saved.
Good lord, ech, I feel for you!
I presume that Comcast is your only option, yes?
It sounds a lot like a similar issue that I had with my apartment complex, who wouldn't allow me to switch providers, that I was only ever able to resolve once I broke my lease and moved to another complex where I wasn't contractually locked into a given provider.
I presume that Comcast is your only option, yes?
Yes and no. I could go to a dish and had one when I first moved into the house, as Time Warner (who ran the cable system at the time) didn't offer some of the channels we liked (i.e. Food TV - gotta watch Good Eats!).
The problem with any dish is signal dropout when we have thunderstorms. Which, since I live in Houston, happen all the time from April to September. Plus I need high speed internet.
The other alternative is AT&T U-verse. I tried to have it installed, since a friend a few block away has it, and it stayed up all through Hurricane Ike. I didn't get mains power after Ike for a couple of weeks, but I had a generator after a week to power the fridge and a window unit for one bedroom. However, Comcast wasn't back up for over two weeks after power came back on. So, I scheduled U-verse to install on a day off from work and found out that I'm about 250 feet too far from the box to have it installed. Supposedly, the area will be rewired and I'll be in range of a different box. I sent off an email carpet bomb yesterday to see when exactly this will happen.
Megan, I'm glad you found my recommendation enjoyable. It really does seem that a well done EECB can be quite effective. Also, to the ech, if you're not a read of the Consumerist, you may wantto start. Comcast horror stories are pretty common over there, and you may find a support group.